Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (M) 25th Anniversary PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM & English Subtitles
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (M, 2001) 25th Anniversary Presented in 35mm Film & English Subtitles by The Revival House Perth
In the year 2621, the ragtag crew of the spaceship Bebop hunt bounties across the galaxy to make ends meet. Spike Spiegel (John Cho), a former crime syndicate hitman trying to escape his violent past, has partnered with easygoing Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir) to survive on the fringes of space. When they take on a bounty involving a mysterious woman named Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda), a con artist with amnesia and dangerous secrets, their simple life becomes complicated. As Faye joins their crew, old enemies resurface—particularly Vicious (Alexander Woo), a member of Spike's former crime organization who wants him dead. The Bebop crew must navigate bounty hunts, personal vendettas, and the lingering question of whether the past can ever truly be escaped, all while surviving on a shoestring budget and whatever they can earn in the vast emptiness of space.
Director Shinichiro Watanabe's original 1998 anime series is a beloved classic, and this 2021 live-action adaptation brings the stylish space noir to cinema with ambitious scope. John Cho captures Spike's world-weary cool, bringing physicality to the character's martial arts prowess. Mustafa Shakir's Jet provides grounded humanity, while Daniella Pineda makes Faye's desperation and cunning palpable. The film's production design creates a lived-in future aesthetic that blends retro and advanced technology, honoring the anime's visual style. The action choreography delivers exciting set pieces across multiple planets and space stations. The film balances episodic bounty-hunting adventures with an overarching narrative about Spike's reckoning with his past. Yellow Magic Orchestra's influence on the score evokes the original series while creating its own sonic identity. It's a faithful adaptation that respects the source material's themes of redemption, found family, and the inescapability of one's history.
Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film and English subtitles unless noted otherwise.
When: Friday, July 10th at 7:20PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: M (Medium level violence)