So I guess he's not retiring.
My friends and I watched The Cat Returns last night, and I gotta say… that Baron is one classy dude.
So I guess he's not retiring.
My friends and I watched The Cat Returns last night, and I gotta say… that Baron is one classy dude.
[http://www.indiewire.com/article/academy-invites-276-new-members-who-are-the-new-oscar-voters
J](http://www.indiewire.com/article/academy-invites-276-new-members-who-are-the-new-oscar-voters)oe Hisaishi was invited to the Academy…I didn't even care about the Academy but that's good news right?
I didn't know they had a publicly disclosed voting body. :O
Besides the music people added, I only know a handful of people in that list. And of course, Hisaishi and Prince are probably the ones I hear of the most in the music section.
Didn't know where to put this so I made a new thread.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/12/hayao-miyazaki-manga-comic-retirement
Seems like there are few details other than the setting (samurai themed in the warring states period), but this is pretty exciting. Anybody heard anything else about this?
Edit: Well he's not really part of Studio Ghibli anymore…but sure why not move it here.
Studio Ghibli's other half, Isao Takahata's new project Kaguya-hime has both a teaser and a trailer out:
Definitely not the kind of animation that we're used to seeing from Ghibli, much more sketchy and storyboard-like. But that Takahata's style, not Miyazaki. Looks gorgeous though.
[http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/19/the-wind-rises-trailer
N](http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/19/the-wind-rises-trailer)ew Wind Rises trailer.
Looks gorgeous
The Artbook for it looks amazing. Animated trains on top of the backgrounds just can't get anymore breathtaking than this. Did Oga or Youji work on the backgrounds for this movie?
So who wants to watch the ENTIRE Jo Hisaishi Budoukan concert?!
I have no idea if or when this will get taken down, so strike while the iron is hot.
This news article announced that Miyazaki possibly going to retract his recent retirement. Miyazaki already retracted his retirement before for 6 times (there is a rumor that it is actually 10 times), so if he does return, then it'll be 7th time.
And absolutely no one is surprised.
The man just wants a break when he finishes a product, but creating is too in his blood, he won't stop till he dies. Maybe work in a lesser role than he has in the past (less animating personally for instance) but he's going to keep working. This has been every film since Mononoke now?
Hell, at this point its practically a marketing ploy. "Go see Miyzaki's final fim!"
"Hey Hayao, We've been having some money problems so we need you to retire again for the new movie"
"Again? Where do all our money goes?"
"Well, that real-life size replica of the Nausi.."
"Ok,ok. I'll say that i'm retiring again"
@RobbyBevard:
And absolutely no one is surprised.
The man just wants a break when he finishes a product, but creating is too in his blood, he won't stop till he dies. Maybe work in a lesser role than he has in the past (less animating personally for instance) but he's going to keep working. This has been every film since Mononoke now?
Hell, at this point its practically a marketing ploy. "Go see Miyzaki's final fim!"
Well I've seen quite a few people slightly more knowledgeable than me pointing out how Kaze Tachinu really felt like a closing statement on his carreer, and that his claims that he was retiring actually seemed to have a bit more weight to them than before because of that… Not that I'd know because, even though I did actually see Kaze Tachinu while I was in Japan, I don't feel like I really understood it. Also I didn't know at the time that it was meant to be Miyazaki's swan-song either.
Incidentally I also saw Kaguya-hime no Monogatari while I was there. On the premiere-day, even. With very little expectations, mostly just because I had nothing else to do that day... And that was a film I ended up finding utterly fantastic on pretty much every level, and one that I'll almost certainly be importing once the BluRay comes out in Japan. I mean, I might with Kaze Tachinu too, if only to actually have some subtitles which might make it a bit easier for me to follow along with what's happening… Granted for that I might just go see it a second time when it comes out in Norwegian theaters in a couple of months.
Dammit modern Simpsons! Why must you continue to only occasionally come out with something really awesome?
Nice but needs more Mononoke Hime.
Miyazaki Gorou (the director of Gedo Senki and Kokuriko Zaka Kara; the son of Miyazaki Hayao) going to direct the upcoming TV animation, called Sanzoku no Musume Ronia.
@Kaizou:
Miyazaki Gorou (the director of Gedo Senki and Kokuriko Zaka Kara; the son of Miyazaki Hayao) going to direct the upcoming TV animation, called Sanzoku no Musume Ronia.
Holy shit, Ghibli's doing a TV series, yay !
Holy shit, it's gonna be full CGI, nooo !
I read Ronja as a child so I was overjoyed when i found out about this news…
... and then i cursed myself for my excitement because of Goro and CGI. WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?!
Ronja is being adapted! yay! I love, love the book (read it many time) it used to be one of my favourites.
There was a really successful Ronja play put on here when I was a kid, I loved it and used to listen to the cassette all the time. Really excited about this, don't mind the CGI too much.
Any one see The Wind Rises yet?
Well, since no one else is talking about it:
I saw The Wind Rises yesterday, and…
! Yeah, it's a pretty solid film. It's not among Miyazaki's best, like Totoro, Mononoke, or Spirited Away, but it's still another worthy entry in the Ghibli library.
! At first I was a bit skeptical, as the brief and vague premise of this film made it sound like there wouldn't be a lot of meat to it and I was wondering how Miyazaki would be able to pull it off. And, for the most part, yeah, he does; though there are some hiccups along the way.
! While this is Miyazaki's alleged last film (ha ha, yeah sure) it's also his most down-to-earth film. It's a historical piece (more or less) about the life and career of Jiro Horikoshi, with only intermittent dream sequences providing the imaginative and fantastic visuals we've come to expect from the master. But that's fine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Miyazaki making a relatively calm slice-of-life film, as long as the story is told well. And I can tell this is a very personal film for him, what with his obvious love of flight. So is the story told well? Well…
! I honestly did think the first hour or so was a little slow, but once Jiro gets his job at Mitsubishi and begins his aircraft engineering career proper, I think, is when the movie really shines. And while I honestly felt that Jiro himself was kind of a boring character (though I still couldn't help but kinda root for the guy), he's surrounded by some really colorful characters to make up for it.
! First there's Honjo, Jiro's best friend since his college days, and I honestly think he's my favorite character in the film. Voiced by John Krasinski (providing probably the best performance in the entire dub cast) he brings this impeccable sense of humor and sardonic wit that I just can't resist.
! And there's Jiro's boss, Kurokawa, voiced by Martin Short. At first he seems like your average stuffy middle-aged boss, but he soon shows that he has a good head on his shoulders, and eventually we even learn that maybe he's not as bad as he seems. I particularly love how his hair bobs up and down as he stomps through the office corridors.
! All the while, Jiro continues his aeronautics career, impressing his bosses, taking a trip to Germany, and witnessing test flight after test flight, which, more often than not, end up duds. He also has those occasional dream sequences I mentioned earlier with the famed Italian engineer Giovanni Battista Caproni, where we get some fantastic visuals as well as some introspection and a look at the tragedy of the aircraft designer. Again, I think it's these moments with the character interactions, cool visuals, and intrigue into the aeronautics profession where the movie really shines.
! Now let me talk about the stuff I don't think works.
! Throughout the film, Miyazaki brings up this cruel tragedy of the aeronautics engineers who built planes for Japan during wartime. Jiro's dream is to make beautiful planes that soar through the sky and provide transportation for people the world over. But, inevitably, his inventions are only used for destruction. Now, this is fine as far as moral quandaries go, but Miyazaki unfortunately doesn't do that much with it. Yeah, it's brought up every now and then, but then it's just as quickly forgotten with Jiro effectively saying, "Well, it's my dream, so I guess I'll do it anyway."
! However, this reminds of something Peter Parker said in Spiderman 2:
! "Sometimes, to do what's right, we must be steady and give up the things we desire the most. Even our dreams."
! I happen to absolutely agree with this sentiment. But, I dunno. I guess Miyazaki's ultimate response was, "Yeah, my planes will be used for destruction, but ultimately I'll help advance the aeronautics industry and my inventions will ultimately be used for good." And I guess that's a fair enough answer, but I guess I wish the film had spent a little more time on this aspect, especially since Miyazaki's the one who brought it up in the first place.
! And then there's the romance, which is my least favorite part of the film. Don't get me wrong, the romance itself isn't bad. I mean, it's not a love story for the ages or anything, and it's pretty simple when it comes down to it, but I still like Jiro and Naoko and wanted them to be together. I'm just not a fan of the doomed romance trope. Or, at least, not when it's used in this capacity.
! Yes, I get the message, "Life is beautiful, but short. So appreciate the time you have together." It's a fine message, but how many times do we have to have it told to us in this way? Ultimately, these tragic romances just leave me feeling bummed out. I mean, aside from the message, there's really nothing else to take away from it. Illnesses and natural disasters and what-have-you will always be around, so it's not like there's much we can do to improve the situation. Really, it's kind of bleak and depressing when you think about it.
! Now, admittedly, I don't know if this is true or not. I don't know if Horikoshi really had a wife that died of tuberculosis or whatever, but if he did then, yeah, I think I'd be more forgiving of this. But if it's just something that Miyazaki invented then, yeah, give us something a little more uplifting or at least different, sensei.
! Phew Well, I've rambled on enough. Despite the complaints I have with this movie, I do still think it's a good film and I'm glad I went out and saw it. So yeah, I'd definitely recommend this film to anyone who has any interest in Studio or Ghibli or Japanese animation. Just, you know, don't expect TOO much.
I saw the movie. It was pretty good, not his best. I was going to do a big write up, but Nobodyman's pretty much says what I would.
Great visuals and colors, likeable characters, LOTS of airplane porn. The romance was cute and typical and I liked aspects of it, but then it descended into cliche.
After I got home I looked up some of the folks in the movie to see if any of them had more info, what happened to them historically. Honjo apparently never did anything truly noteworthy, and his write up anywhere I can find is about a sentence long, and mentions him being in this movie. And as for his wife…
! as near as I can tell… Jiro WASN'T married in real life? I'm fine with romanticizing and playing up certain elements of his life, to make the romance part... more romance-ey... (such as meeting early on and then not again for 10 years) But was there actually no girl at all? I'm finding nothing. If so, then.... the love story was reeeeally weak and the drama/tragedy of the tuberculosis just feels really unfair and heavy handed and... not done very well. Historical wife has an illness, fair game. Completely fictional wife to a real person gets an illness? That's just.... I dunno, something is off about that. (The part where they were playing with paper planes was good.)
! It feels a little unfair, Grave of the Fireflies style, to just insert tragedy into real events to try and play the heartstrings in a way thats not really totally deserved. "Oh look, they had this illness, what a tragedy. Watch as they wither in a fleeting manner!" which... is a thing and actually happened, but at the same time...
! Also, the german guy was weird and never really explored.
And, I know the movie ALREADY gets flack for focusing on somebody the was part of Japan's dark history and shining a positive light on him… but even that considered... it still felt like the movie reeeeally dodged around the subject matter it needed to be talking about, and felt a little hollow from it. He built war planes, and it seems really out of place to just completely swipe that under the rug aside from a sentence here or there.
Its a ghibli movie on the big screen, so you should try to catch it if you can, but if the audience at mine was any indication, it really won't be there long. You've got maybe a week.
Or you could go see Lego Movie instead.
Agreed with the above. Very solid film, but not among Miyazaki's best.
! The usual Ghibli scenery porn was there which made things very very pretty of course.
! But as for the plot, I think it suffers a lot from being very disjointed in its narrative for the first hour or so. Actually, iirc, the whole film is a mish mash of a lot of different elements, and it really shows because a lot of the scenes end up feeling like different pieces. The Wind Has Risen was a book about Japanese tuberculosis patients committed to the sanatorium. The movie of course focuses on Jiro and tries to capture Miyazaki's love of planes. Hell, the German dude at the hotel was a reference to what they were talking about, The Magic Mountain. Which of course he conveniently just disappears after. Anyway Miyazaki tried to weave in all these sorts of things, and I think during the last half hour it actually works out alright, but building up to it was what made the momentum really slow.
! And yeah, the plot really dodges the major question of ethics of building war machines just because you wanted to build it, but I believe Miyazaki was inspired to do this movie by a quote by Jiro saying "I just wanted to build beautiful airplanes" or something like that. It was said by Jiro to Caproni at some point. Miyazaki really is trying to paint Jiro as someone really innocent of all this business, but I think it doesn't work too well when they bring up all the war references and none of the reactions by Jiro other than to follow through. Hell, the German engineer dude was even said to be having a falling out with Hitler and Jiro doesn't even bat an eye to it really. Having the last three or so minutes devoted to it I don't think was enough but it was a good pointer to the thought process I suppose.
! I can't judge too much on the basis of events considering I haven't read Jiro's autobiography, which I would assume would be the key to figuring out if Naoko was real or not. May be just trying to weave in the original book the title lifts from though. But I thought it was pretty satisfactory. You already know there's a death sentence on Naoko… but I thought it worked out well enough.
! Overall, it's definitely the more colorful cast that carries the film rather than Jiro. His boss, his university friend, the German guy, I feel like it's not that the film picks up when Jiro enters Mitsubishi but that that's when the rest of the cast starts coming together so that the Jiro doesn't have all the attention.
! Oh and I'm just going to throw in a word about the soundtrack. I thought it was very lovely stuff by Joe Hisaishi as per the usual for him. A lot of the stuff worked in the film, too, but there were some very odd choices I believe for certain scenes, such as the scene I think when Jiro and Naoko are looking at the rainbow? I guess it had to try to fit in with Jiro not having seen a rainbow in awhile and reminiscing about something but it just stood out as odd to me.
! Lacking the fantasy elements of older Miyazaki films also makes things feel comparatively slower I suppose, but I actually kinda liked that. I think it's not that the film has a slow momentum but that it never gets to build up any semblence of a momentum in the first hour or so. Dialogue is kinda just shot out of characters mouths at random intervals and it doesn't really fit in the flow. If they were able to transition between scenes more fluidly and build dialogue more naturally I think it would've been a smoother ride.
! Anyway, I would say I would still recommend it, but unlike other Miyazaki films, I would have to be particularly more thorough about considering to whom I'm recommending it
@RobbyBevard:
I saw the movie. It was pretty good, not his best. I was going to do a big write up, but Nobodyman's pretty much says what I would.
Great visuals and colors, likeable characters, LOTS of airplane porn. The romance was cute and typical and I liked aspects of it, but then it descended into cliche.
After I got home I looked up some of the folks in the movie to see if any of them had more info, what happened to them historically. Honjo apparently never did anything truly noteworthy, and his write up anywhere I can find is about a sentence long, and mentions him being in this movie. And as for his wife…
! as near as I can tell… Jiro WASN'T married in real life? I'm fine with romanticizing and playing up certain elements of his life, to make the romance part... more romance-ey... (such as meeting early on and then not again for 10 years) But was there actually no girl at all? I'm finding nothing. If so, then.... the love story was reeeeally weak and the drama/tragedy of the tuberculosis just feels really unfair and heavy handed and... not done very well. Historical wife has an illness, fair game. Completely fictional wife to a real person gets an illness? That's just.... I dunno, something is off about that. (The part where they were playing with paper planes was good.)
! It feels a little unfair, Grave of the Fireflies style, to just insert tragedy into real events to try and play the heartstrings in a way thats not really totally deserved. "Oh look, they had this illness, what a tragedy. Watch as they wither in a fleeting manner!" which... is a thing and actually happened, but at the same time...
! Also, the german guy was weird and never really explored.And, I know the movie ALREADY gets flack for focusing on somebody the was part of Japan's dark history and shining a positive light on him… but even that considered... it still felt like the movie reeeeally dodged around the subject matter it needed to be talking about, and felt a little hollow from it. He built war planes, and it seems really out of place to just completely swipe that under the rug aside from a sentence here or there.
Its a ghibli movie on the big screen, so you should try to catch it if you can, but if the audience at mine was any indication, it really won't be there long. You've got maybe a week.
Or you could go see Lego Movie instead.
Would you have preferred Ponyo 2 which apparently was the movie Miyazaki wanted to make initially?
Given that I didn't like Ponyo, no, not at all.
Would have rather he did Porco Rosso 2 since that's still on his radar and he clearly wanted to do an airplane movie anyway.
@RobbyBevard:
Would have rather he did Porco Rosso 2 since that's still on his radar and he clearly wanted to do an airplane movie anyway.
Wasn't this supposed to be a spiritual sequel to Porco Rosso?
Maybe? But he's stated he has ideas for Porco 2, so…
I feel kind of bad that I haven't managed to summon up any interest in seeing this.
I'd wait in line for Porco 2.
I feel kind of bad that I haven't managed to summon up any interest in seeing this.
Don't feel too bad if you miss it. While it's good, it's still one you could just wait for the DVD for.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
BTW, whenever I hear the title, I can't help but think of Bane saying, "Yes, the fire rises."
Made all the more fitting as Caproni kept asking Jiro if the wind was still rising.
I really didn't enjoy The Wind Rises. I saw it maybe a week or so after it came out over here, so my memory of it hasn't exactly sharpened. I found it aesthetically charming and loved the theme song. Maybe I expected more than I should have, and should have paid attention to the fact that it was very honest about being a very Japanese simplistic movie. I actually felt sort of less sophisticated or even dumb for not liking it, and haven't really been able to appreciate the points of people I talk to who loved it. I do want to see it again, though–hopefully without having to worry about laughing out loud in a silent theater whenever that German dude shows up.
Letting it sink in a bit, I feel like, retrospectively, I really do enjoy the movie more after breathing it in rather than during it. The film itself has a lot of structural problems with it of course, but I feel that whenever I think about the movie, I really do think the feel of the movie brings this sort of nostalgic sort of sentiment to simpler times in life (not that I'm old or anything) where you're capable of exploring what you really want to do and chasing that sort of fantasy and helping to push the bounds of human ingenuity, even when finding that the work and subsequent creations are used as tools of war. A bit like Tom and how he tells Franky to embrace every creation of his no matter what. The movie definitely could have and should have explored that topic more about such usage, but I feel that when I look back on it that I liked the focus on just Jiro's love of creating planes.
And with that regard, I definitely do feel that, much as it was done to allude to the story of the book that the title was lifted from, the tuberculosis and the romance subplot definitely weakened that aspect of the movie by detracting from it. Still, I think the aftertaste of this movie is better than the actual taste during it.
about to watch From up on Poppy Hill
Please o please let this one be a more cheerful Ghibli movie. Yesterday's Grave of the Fireflies left me with no more tears to shed.
On a related note; as unbelievable as it may sound, I haven't seen many Ghibli movies and am in the midst of catching up. To all those veterans out there, which movies should I start with? What movies are the classics one absolutely needs to have seen in their life? Thanks in advance.
On a related note; as unbelievable as it may sound, I haven't seen many Ghibli movies and am in the midst of catching up. To all those veterans out there, which movies should I start with? What movies are the classics one absolutely needs to have seen in their life? Thanks in advance.
Honestly, most of them are pretty great, and I find that it doesn't make a huge difference in what order you watch them, but you could still watch them in order to see the directors' styles change and evolve over time.
As for must sees:
-My Neighbor Totoro
-Princess Mononoke
-Spirited Away
And I'm sure Robby (and maybe others) will tell you Whisper of the Heart as well, though I haven't seen it myself. Also, these are the ones you can skip:
-Nausicaa (not that it's bad, per se. The manga is just infinitely better)
-Pom Poko
-Tales of Earthsea
The rest range from decent to great, but they're all worth your time if only for the spectacle. So yeah, if you want to do it chronologically, you can get started with Castle in the Sky and My Neighbor Totoro and work your way up.
Castle of Cagliostro also, while not technically a Ghibli film, is Miyzaki's first directorial debut and my personal favorite movie ever.
Mononoke, Porco Rosso, Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart, Totoro are all pretty great.
I'll be watching Poppy Hill for the first time myself in the next couple days with my girl, should be fun.
Thanks, you two. I'll make sure to heed your advice and try to watch some of the films this week even.
Finished From up on Poppy Hill just now and I liked it. A lighthearted nostalgic movie with a bit of romance and a lovely ending.
Well, since no one else is talking about it:
I saw The Wind Rises yesterday, and…
! Yeah, it's a pretty solid film. It's not among Miyazaki's best, like Totoro, Mononoke, or Spirited Away, but it's still another worthy entry in the Ghibli library.
! At first I was a bit skeptical, as the brief and vague premise of this film made it sound like there wouldn't be a lot of meat to it and I was wondering how Miyazaki would be able to pull it off. And, for the most part, yeah, he does; though there are some hiccups along the way.
! While this is Miyazaki's alleged last film (ha ha, yeah sure) it's also his most down-to-earth film. It's a historical piece (more or less) about the life and career of Jiro Horikoshi, with only intermittent dream sequences providing the imaginative and fantastic visuals we've come to expect from the master. But that's fine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Miyazaki making a relatively calm slice-of-life film, as long as the story is told well. And I can tell this is a very personal film for him, what with his obvious love of flight. So is the story told well? Well…
! I honestly did think the first hour or so was a little slow, but once Jiro gets his job at Mitsubishi and begins his aircraft engineering career proper, I think, is when the movie really shines. And while I honestly felt that Jiro himself was kind of a boring character (though I still couldn't help but kinda root for the guy), he's surrounded by some really colorful characters to make up for it.
! First there's Honjo, Jiro's best friend since his college days, and I honestly think he's my favorite character in the film. Voiced by John Krasinski (providing probably the best performance in the entire dub cast) he brings this impeccable sense of humor and sardonic wit that I just can't resist.
! And there's Jiro's boss, Kurokawa, voiced by Martin Short. At first he seems like your average stuffy middle-aged boss, but he soon shows that he has a good head on his shoulders, and eventually we even learn that maybe he's not as bad as he seems. I particularly love how his hair bobs up and down as he stomps through the office corridors.
! All the while, Jiro continues his aeronautics career, impressing his bosses, taking a trip to Germany, and witnessing test flight after test flight, which, more often than not, end up duds. He also has those occasional dream sequences I mentioned earlier with the famed Italian engineer Giovanni Battista Caproni, where we get some fantastic visuals as well as some introspection and a look at the tragedy of the aircraft designer. Again, I think it's these moments with the character interactions, cool visuals, and intrigue into the aeronautics profession where the movie really shines.
! Now let me talk about the stuff I don't think works.
! Throughout the film, Miyazaki brings up this cruel tragedy of the aeronautics engineers who built planes for Japan during wartime. Jiro's dream is to make beautiful planes that soar through the sky and provide transportation for people the world over. But, inevitably, his inventions are only used for destruction. Now, this is fine as far as moral quandaries go, but Miyazaki unfortunately doesn't do that much with it. Yeah, it's brought up every now and then, but then it's just as quickly forgotten with Jiro effectively saying, "Well, it's my dream, so I guess I'll do it anyway."
! However, this reminds of something Peter Parker said in Spiderman 2:
! "Sometimes, to do what's right, we must be steady and give up the things we desire the most. Even our dreams."
! I happen to absolutely agree with this sentiment. But, I dunno. I guess Miyazaki's ultimate response was, "Yeah, my planes will be used for destruction, but ultimately I'll help advance the aeronautics industry and my inventions will ultimately be used for good." And I guess that's a fair enough answer, but I guess I wish the film had spent a little more time on this aspect, especially since Miyazaki's the one who brought it up in the first place.
! And then there's the romance, which is my least favorite part of the film. Don't get me wrong, the romance itself isn't bad. I mean, it's not a love story for the ages or anything, and it's pretty simple when it comes down to it, but I still like Jiro and Naoko and wanted them to be together. I'm just not a fan of the doomed romance trope. Or, at least, not when it's used in this capacity.
! Yes, I get the message, "Life is beautiful, but short. So appreciate the time you have together." It's a fine message, but how many times do we have to have it told to us in this way? Ultimately, these tragic romances just leave me feeling bummed out. I mean, aside from the message, there's really nothing else to take away from it. Illnesses and natural disasters and what-have-you will always be around, so it's not like there's much we can do to improve the situation. Really, it's kind of bleak and depressing when you think about it.
! Now, admittedly, I don't know if this is true or not. I don't know if Horikoshi really had a wife that died of tuberculosis or whatever, but if he did then, yeah, I think I'd be more forgiving of this. But if it's just something that Miyazaki invented then, yeah, give us something a little more uplifting or at least different, sensei.
! Phew Well, I've rambled on enough. Despite the complaints I have with this movie, I do still think it's a good film and I'm glad I went out and saw it. So yeah, I'd definitely recommend this film to anyone who has any interest in Studio or Ghibli or Japanese animation. Just, you know, don't expect TOO much.
I just saw the movie today, it had some of the most beautiful scenes and background music I've seen this year. My thoughts on their relationship:
! It's fine that you got bummed out about their relationship (I was too), but I felt the whole message Miyazaki was trying to get across was that the defacement of beauty (the planes) by militarism was something to be lamented. And the relationship, invented or not, was to parallel the corruption of technology to the death of a close person, something that I felt goes all the way back to the voices being used for most of the machines (and also early on, the destructive earthquake that tore down any manmade construct, machines or not). I paid close attention to the sound effects and I'm pretty sure that the unorthodox use of voice was a wholly conscious decision centered around this parallel. Believe it if you want.
I just saw the movie today, it had some of the most beautiful scenes and background music I've seen this year. My thoughts on their relationship:
! It's fine that you got bummed out about their relationship (I was too), but I felt the whole message Miyazaki was trying to get across was that the defacement of beauty (the planes) by militarism was something to be lamented. And the relationship, invented or not, was to parallel the corruption of technology to the death of a close person, something that I felt goes all the way back to the voices being used for most of the machines (and also early on, the destructive earthquake that tore down any manmade construct, machines or not). I paid close attention to the sound effects and I'm pretty sure that the unorthodox use of voice was a wholly conscious decision centered around this parallel. Believe it if you want.
[Hide] I didn't see the possible parallels until you mentioned them but that could just mean I'm only seeing them because I want to see them now. I think you're right or at least on to something very close though. During the last dream sequence he does see them both off in their original beauty with the rising wind. Before they were corrupted by war/disease. You could also say the planes went off to die in the war just as sadly as his wife went back to the mountains to die.
Man…that was depressing.[/hide]
Cagliostro's going to see a new blu ray release at the end of the year. I'm assuming it's from the new hd transfer Japan is getting with the uber boxset. It'll have the streamline dub and the other one, and may have that awesome interview Otsuka did for the manga dvd. Hopefully the transfer is a lot better then the last one
Yeah, they announced that it's getting a rerelease in Japan under the Ghibli label too… Kinda odd that they'd do that when the movie really has nothing to do with Ghibli aside from being directed by Miyazaki... I mean I guess Nausicaa was also technically done by Toei (I think?) but at least that was done by all the same staff that then went on to form Ghibli afterwards, so I can see why that one is counted in the catalog... But Castle of Cagliostro seems a bit more of a stretch to me. Then again I suppose it's entirely possible that they just struck a deal with TMS who were like "Hey, having our movie released under the Ghibli ga Ippai label will mean more sales!"
Oh and also Spirited Away is getting a BD-release in Japan together with The Wind Rises in June. About time, I say... Though I'm a bit disappointed that my previous theory that The Wind Rises and The Tale of Princess Kaguya would get a simultaneous home-release (what with them apparently being originally planned as a double-feature in theaters) didn't pan out. If only because I really really liked Princess Kaguya and really wish they'd give it a home release sooner rather than later.
They're listed as the publisher - I guess they just bought the distro rights so it could be added to the Hayao Miyazaki Complete Works, and given they also spent the money on it to be restored again (after the cack-handed job VAP did on it the first time round), decided to release it on its own as well to get their moneys worth.
Finally got to watch the wind rises, and actually I loved it, it never seemed slow to me but maybe that's simply because I study aircrafting engineering.
Today Studio Ghibli is 29 years old.
On this occasion, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, the documentary on Ghibli from last year, has finally been subbed.
Also, these are the ones you can skip:
-Nausicaa (not that it's bad, per se. The manga is just infinitely better)
-Pom Poko
-Tales of Earthsea
I know I'm a few months late in responding to this, but I think it's a really underrated movie. It is disjointed, but I think it's got a lot of good humor and the transforming and hyakki yakou parade they do is really cool imagery. And then, the penultimate scene, where they use all their might to summon back an image of what the land used to look like, and the grass comes rolling in, and they see their friends as if they were alive again, and one woman sees her grandmother as a young woman… I don't know, man. it reached something in me, at least.
it's also kind of unique to have an environmental animals vs construction movie, where the message is "nature loses every time, and we all have to deal with the consequences of what that means." instead of, you know, the plucky animals successfully defending their home and gaining rapport with the humans. because it just doesn't happen that way in real life.
I saw it on a whim, even though everyone always puts it at the bottom of their ghibli lists, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, and how much it resonated with me. I'm just suggesting that people actually give it a chance. as long as you can get over the magical transforming testicles aspect.
I intend to watch Pom Poko in the not-too-distant future… Honestly, I'm not particularly looking forward to it. Not because of the magical transforming tanuki-balls, but rather because, from what I can gather... the movie suffers from a major case of Designated Hero Syndrome. Like, isn't there a part where the tanuki outright kill some construction-workers (who mind you, are portrayed as perfectly decent people simply doing their jobs with no ill intentions whatsoever) and then proceed to celebrate about it? Followed then by one of them saying that they shouldn't celebrate the fact that they've taken someone's precious life away… which is pretty much ignored entirely?
Now, granted, that's only one scene and for all I know the movie might actually prove them genuinely wrong on this in the long term but... with just that scene in mind... how am I expected to root for these characters?
Anyway, I'm basically going to sit through it for one simple reason: I've seen two of Takahata's films, that being Grave of the Fireflies and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (also DAMMIT GHIBLI WHERE IS THE BLURAY OF THAT. DO I REALLY HAVE TO WAIT A FULL YEAR FROM ITS THEATRICAL RELEASE BEFORE I GET TO GIVE YOU MY MONEY FOR IT AGAIN?! WHY DO YOU NOT WANT MY MONEY?!!!!!!!!!!!), and while I sort of assume that this means I've seen Takahata's best, I sort of still want to give the rest of his films a try to actually add some weight to that. Or who knows, maybe Only Yesterday, Pom Poko or My Neighbors the Yamadas will take me completely by surprise and end up actually being even better than the previously mentioned two films I've already seen?
I think you should just watch the movie and trust it to deliver whatever message it wants to deliver. It's an environmental movie where there is no clear villain, and the animals themselves are portrayed as flawed individuals. it's more of a story of a small village resisting urbanization, I feel. they're clannish, impetuous, naive, wasteful, but also brave, loving, and wise in the way that all people who live connected to the land are wise.
It's an environmental movie where there is no clear villain, and the animals themselves are portrayed as flawed individuals.
Well to be fair I have praised Princess Mononoke for being just that too… (Or, okay, saying that that one had no clear villain might be pushing it, but it certainly didn't portray any of its characters as being completely unjustified for their actions.)
But yeah, I am going to watch it regardless. It's just one of those cases where what I've heard about it makes me a bit hesitant…
EDIT: Okay, I just saw it. And... I didn't like it. And heck, that scene I mentioned earlier wasn't even my main issue with it. The problem, for me, was that it just felt like it would never end. So much time devoted to stuff that in the grand scheme of things contributed absolutely nothing to the overall plot. "Hey, I have a plan to drive away the humans! … Okay we tried that plan and it seems to have worked!! No, scratch that, it didn't... Well I have another plan too!" Rinse, repeat. And their big operation to try and get rid of the humans (which was one of the few cases that at least led to something) just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on…............ You know, throwing trippy visuals at the audience can only hold one's attention for so long and that scene outstayed its welcome so badly it's not even funny. And at the end, even the movie's admittedly fairly interesting message gets kinda botched by the fact that the movie feels the need to literally have one of its characters face the camera and directly tell it to us. Just… WHY.
Also I saw Only Yesterday the other day... It was okay-ish. Even if the constant glorification of life in the countryside got really annoying after a while.
The next Studio Ghibli movie
When Marnie Was There
It's the story of two girls becoming friends, one of them… being a girl who lived in another time, I think it's fair to say.
The first footage from the film is as beautiful as you'd expect. Haunting song too, no pun intended.