Tokyo Phoenix: 100 Years of Destruction and Rebirth in Color (2014)

• 83%
• 2014
• Documentary
• Shinji Iwata

In the 18th century Tokyo, known as Edo at the time, was already one of the largest and the most thriving cities in the world. With influx of Western cultures in the late 19th century it experienced an amazing change. Traditional style houses and shops were replaced with modern, several-storied buildings, and people clad in traditional kimonos and those in Western clothes were seen walking on the streets at the same time. We travel back in time to Tokyo's past, captured in monochrome films, but when we meet everyday people living in that age, we begin to see them in color - After Tokyo became the capital of Japan in the late 19th century, the city was destroyed twice; first by a massive earthquake and for the second time by a violent war fire. Yet, every time it faced devastation, it sprang to life again. Cutting-edge footage colorization technology will bring miracles of Tokyo to life. NHK and CC&C colorization team, behind the hit series Apocalypse, join hands to reveal a grand history of changes, destructions, and miraculous reconstructions of one of the most dramatic cities in the world. Uncover the secret to deep reserves of human energy, which enabled the remarkable development a nation has undergone in the past century.