Studio Ghibli on DVD

[movielocke]

To tell the truth, I loved Poppy Hill -- not as much as my very favorite Ghibli films, but more than Howl or Ponyo.

I completely agree on this point, one of the strongest films the studio has put out in a long time, it's also better than arietty, but not as good as the similar whisper of the heart.

[Michael Kerpan]

I would add, that I like Poppy Hill a LOT more than Wind Rises (even though I must confess that, purely technically speaking, Wind Rises is qute impressive). Wind Rises is the only Ghibli film to date that I like less and less as I think back on it.

[movielocke]

I love The Wind Rises for the stunning central metaphor that Jiro's dreams were bloody and doomed. Having his two loves parallel and represent each other makes the film, richer and more melancholic the more I think about it.

In a way the film examines the premise of intentional morality and rejects it completely, even Jiro's innocent and naive completely committed love and good intentions don't matter.

Jiro's plane had tuberculosis, it was a plague of death hovering over his country.

[FerdinandGriffon]

I would add, that I like Poppy Hill a LOT more than Wind Rises (even though I must confess that, purely technically speaking, Wind Rises is qute impressive). Wind Rises is the only Ghibli film to date that I like less and less as I think back on it.

We must just be at opposite ends of the Ghibli spectrum, with Totoro as the transcendent exception. For me The Wind Rises was a more emotionally overpowering experience than any other film in recent years. I blubbered throughout, and I'm still moved close to tears whenever I think about it for too long (which is fairly often).

What do people see in Poppy Hill? I'd really like to know. It was just such a nothing experience for me and other friends who saw it. Ponyo too fell a bit flat for me, but was at least lovely and distinctive looking.

[jojo]

The Wind Rises is probably Miyazaki's most ambitious film by far--moreso than Spirited Away and Mononoke. As such, it's a lot more divisive for longtime fans of Ghibli. I totally "get" why some people don't like it, but I think in some ways The Wind Rises is a more interesting film to talk about than many other Ghiblis BECAUSE of its divisive issues.

I really like Poppy Hill on several levels. And the essay from Goro Miyazaki that was included with the Blu-Ray release really puts into context where Goro was coming from in trying to handle the material that was written by his father. On the face of it, it IS just a regular shoujo melodrama, but there's an interesting tension between the script and the direction. Hayao Miyazaki's script is fairly generic stuff, but Goro Miyazaki's direction shades it with a sort of skepticism that I think the original script lacks. It's obvious Hayao was going for a "Weren't young people just better back in the 60s?" vibe, but Goro directs the material from a more objective remove. I also like that Goro cares more about the soundtrack than most Ghibli directors. He had a certain vision for how the film should sound like musically, and its soundtrack is certainly distinct from almost any other Ghibli film I've seen, being compiled from a variety of sources including helping write some of the songs himself.

Arrietty as Zedz said is a very fine film, and technically very accomplished on the animation front, but it is also fairly straightforward stuff from a story point of view. There's nothing in it that suggests Yonebayashi was working on any level other than trying to not displease Hayao Miyazaki or the Ghibli "brand."

(BTW--I apologize for the familiar use of names in this post because it's the only way I know how to differentiate between Miyazaki Senior and Junior)

[Dansu Dansu Dansu]

What do people see in Poppy Hill? I'd really like to know. It was just such a nothing experience for me and other friends who saw it.

To be honest, I have a hard time finding what those who love other Ghibli films don't like about Poppy Hill. For the record, not only do I think Tales from Earthsea is the worst Ghibli film, it's one of the worst films I've ever seen. I wasn't exactly expecting much out of this, even though I was encouraged that the eldest Miyazaki wrote the screenplay.

In a nutshell, I think of this film as a Naruse melodrama, complete with cultural criticism of postwar Japan, wrapped in the warm hug of the Ghibli aesthetic. This film overflows with atmosphere, both in its visuals and sound design. It certainly isn't the best animated Ghibli film, and the frame rate is abysmal, but its environment is incredibly vivid. Even though the story is improbable, to the extent that the characters even comment on it, there is a great deal of emotional subtlety in how the characters react to it. Thematically, it explores the era in which Japan got back on its feet economically, eager to move forward without truly processing the trauma of the war, or moving forward in order not to process war trauma. Family represents the traditions of the past (such as her morning ritual with the flags), where love represents the future, and the female protagonist finds herself in the middle of these desires. The clubhouse is the cultural representation of this personal dilemma, which is the acceptance of Japan's history, both the good and the bad, over the veneer of modernity (they have to fix the clubhouse to save it from demolition, which makes the need for a new building obsolete). I don't know if I would personally go as far as to say Hayao Miyazaki thinks the youth of this era were better, as these youth aren't exactly typical of the sixties. Like all of his films, he grants his protagonists with qualities he finds attractive and wants his audience to emulate. It doesn't cut nearly as deep as Naruse's best, and it is a bit too nostalgic for its cultural criticism to fully resonate, but I also don't think the thematic aspect is lightweight, either. It's something like a cross between Hayao Miyazaki and Takahata's contemporary films, perhaps leaning towards the latter but lacking some of his more didactic tendencies.

Edit: By the way, I didn't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with disliking this film. In fact, I find it interesting how divisive the film seems to be for Ghibli fans.

[domino harvey]

Kiki's Delivery Service coming in November to Blu in the US

[AMalickLensFlare]

The Wind Rises out on Blu-ray in the U.S. November 18:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Wind- ... ray/96233/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Movie-Brat]

Double feature: Miyazaki style. Awesome. Though I'm honestly more interested in Kiki's Delivery Service given it's one of my all time favorite films and it is how I was introduced to Studio Ghibli in general.

[domino harvey]

Kiki and Princess Mononoke are the ones I've been waiting for, so halfway there!

[domino harvey]

And the wait is over: Princess Mononoke also coming in November \:D/

[FakeBonanza]

I plan to pick up all three of these, but Kiki's Delivery Service and Princess Mononoke are big-time priorities for me as I consider them to be among Miyazaki's very best work (along with Totoro and Porco Rosso).

With these releases and the B&N sale, November is going to be a killer month. Good thing Christmas will be just over the horizon.

[Movie-Brat]

With these releases and the B&N sale, November is going to be a killer month. Good thing Christmas will be just over the horizon.

Well, there is always Black Friday. In any case, Princess Mononoke getting a Blu-Ray as well is good news for me. With that film, it was the one (along with Cowboy Bebop) that introduced me to Anime that wasn't like DBZ.

[movielocke]

Is kikis the same dub? I have nieces in need of Christmas presents but always disliked the dub too much to get it for them. They've permanently adopted my copy of totoro though, so I'm very tempted

[domino harvey]

Are you kidding me, Kiki Dunst as Kiki the delivery girl and Phil Hartman? It's a good dub, don't be a snob about it, kids will love it

[Movie-Brat]

It likely is but in its defense, it's not a bad dub. Though I tend to prefer it in its current form when it was re-released on DVD in 2010 when they removed the added music cues and dialogue that wasn't in the actual film.

[movielocke]

It likely is but in its defense, it's not a bad dub. Though I tend to prefer it in its current form when it was re-released on DVD in 2010 when they removed the added music cues and dialogue that wasn't in the actual film.

Oh I didn't realize they'd changed it from the first dvd. The added dialogue was my biggest problem.

[Movie-Brat]

It likely is but in its defense, it's not a bad dub. Though I tend to prefer it in its current form when it was re-released on DVD in 2010 when they removed the added music cues and dialogue that wasn't in the actual film.

Oh I didn't realize they'd changed it from the first dvd. The added dialogue was my biggest problem.

Yeah, they even took away "Hey Kiki, over here!" at the end of the film. Oh, and the Japanese songs returned as well. I even kept the two DVDs for comparison purposes.

[Michael Kerpan]

So there was a dubbed Kiki version that has/had the original soundtrack used in the Japanese version (as opposed to the English songs and random extracts from the Kiki image album)? I'm confused...

[domino harvey]

According to Wikipedia, the 2010 DVD release reinstated the Japanese music cues, took out sounds added in, and removed the Hartman line at the end that changes the narrative of the film

[manicsounds]

Yes, the English dubs for Kiki and Castle In The Sky done by Disney, the original 2002 DVDs and the 2010 DVDs had slightly different dubs. Basically, the Kiki dub changes the English music back to the Japanese, and the "added" dialogue is removed.

[Michael Kerpan]

I never knew. ;~}

Thanks!

[jojo]

The revised Castle in the Sky dub was a shame. The original dub release had a re-scored Hisaishi soundtrack and it was a nice contrast to the synthy original.

Let's hope the Kiki blu fixes the dubtitle issue on the last DVD.

[manicsounds]

Castle In The Sky has many variations of the Disney English dub.

The 2002 US DVD, and also the UK DVD had the orchestral rescore and some additional lines of dialogue plus new sound effects.
The Japanese Blu-ray had the orchestral rescore, but the additional dialogue and sound effects removed.
The US Blu-ray had the original synth score reinstated
The UK Blu-ray had the original synth score reinstated, and the additional dialogue and sound effects were removed.

As baffling as it sounds, I just listen to the Japanese audio track, so it's not a big deal for me...

[jojo]

My thing with the dub changes is that I know people who were first exposed to the original first-release dubs, and then when the subsequent releases tinkered with them, it upset people who grew up with those dubs. There are some people who claim that the changes were better because they made it "more accurate to the original" but I'd counter that if they want accuracy to the original, the answer is to simply watch the original Japanese track. The dub tracks are there for a totally different audience and there were some unique elements in them that were worth preserving for that specific audience, in my opinion.