For years the crowning achievement of Japanese animé films was Akira. And while that spectacular mix of sound and vision is still a landmark cinematic experience, you can safely add Metropolis to the list of all-time great animation films. As with Akira, the plot is sometimes a bit too serpentine for animation fans who are used to a more kid-friendly approach. But for those with a more adventurous spirit, Metropolis should more than satisfy. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment's two-disc set is fantastic and should more than please fans of the film. The feature is offered in a letterboxed (1.85:1 enhanced) format and has been given both Japanese language 5.1 and DTS soundtracks, as well as an English language 5.1 option. Although the Japanese language option is definitely the way to go, the English-dubbed track is recorded with skill and is acceptable for those of you who don't want to miss any of the spectacular animation while reading subtitles. Theatrical trailers are also included on the disc. Disc two contains the meat of the special features, giving one access to a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of the making of the film, exclusive interviews with the filmmakers, multiple angle storyboard-to-film comparisons, a great art gallery, and much more. It should be noted that disc two comes as a mini-sized DVD. So don't worry, the disc didn't magically shrink.