Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12575 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-01
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 355 minutes

From Amazon.com
Since the first chapters debuted as a direct-to-video release in 1990, this sprawling sword-and-sorcery epic has delighted fantasy fans with its ancient prophecies, lost kingdoms, enchanted swords, dragons, and wizards. The tangled story line borrows heavily from The Lord of the Rings, the Star Wars films, and numerous other fantasy works. Six mismatched characters find themselves thrown together to protect the land of Lodoss from imminent destruction: Parn is the impetuous young warrior with heroic potential who typifies the genre; in place of the usual spunky girl, there's Deedlit, an elf with magical powers. They're joined by Etoh, a young priest and healer; Ghim, a dwarf-warrior with a heavy heart; Slayn, a wizard in training; and the rascally thief Woodchuck. Their allies include the dashing lord of a desert realm, a mercenary and her Berserker companion, and a benevolent, Arthurian king. They're pitted against an array of villains that includes human warriors, an evil sorcerer, dragons, kobolds, zombies, and Karla, the mysterious "Gray Witch" [sic]. An elegant art nouveau sensibility runs through the designs of Lodoss War, especially the extravagant armor of the warriors. But the film lacks a coherent plot, probably the result of producing so much animation in a short time with multiple directors. Characters are forever dropping in and out of the story: the initial villain, the evil emperor Beld, is replaced by his henchman, Ashram, who is superseded by the dark sorcerer, Wagnard. The last three episodes build to a titanic climax that leaves a lot of plot points unresolved. Hard-core fantasy fans will love Lodoss War; but other viewers are likely to tire of its drawn-out and needlessly complicated story. Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and up; considerable violence and an extremely complicated plot. --Charles Solomon

Additional Features
The ancient prophecies, lost kingdoms, enchanted swords, dragons, elves, and wizards in this vast sword-and-sorcery epic have delighted fantasy fans since the first OAVs appeared in 1990. For this special edition, both the Japanese and English tracks have been rerecorded in Dolby Digital--a marked improvement over earlier versions. Both discs are loaded with extras, although many of them, including "Comics" and "Character Profiles," are quite brief. The DVD-ROM features, which are available only in a PC version, include a huge gallery of images, lists of the English and Japanese vocal casts, and credits. The scripts are transcriptions of the dialogue, with minimal descriptions of the action, unlike an American screenplay. Serious fans of the Lodoss saga will enjoy these additional features; others will probably look at them once, then stick to watching the series. Rated 13 Up: Considerable violence, grotesque imagery, an extremely complicated plot. --Charles Solomon