Castle of Cagliostro |
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One of the most popular anime
characters throughout the ages(well, at least in Japan,
anyway) has been the lanky Lupin the Third. Even though
the characters were created nearly thirty years ago, they
still appear almost every year in a special, movie, or
something to that extent. What makes Castle of Cagliostro
stand out from the years and years of animated programs
starring the master thief is that this movie was directed
by the one and only Hayao Mayazaki. In case you didn't
know, Mayazaki is the director, writer, and all around
creative genius behind such films as Princess Mononoke,
Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa,
and many others he created with the help of his
production company, Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki adds his
touch to Lupin in Castle of Cogliostro, one of his first
roles as a director. While the movie certainly isn't new,
Miyazaki adds a timeless quality to it that had me
doubting the title's age at many points. Castle of Cagliostro is based on the manga of Monkey Punch(hopefully a pen name), but even though the characters are already established in another format, it isn't hard to get into the story. The whole thing starts off with Lupin, master thief and a little bit of a lech, and his partner, the gung-ho and trigger happy Jigen, escaping from a casino that they had just pulled a major heist from. After a little escape sequence, their glee turns to depression as they find out that the bills are phony. Never one to back down from an adventure, Lupin decides to track down the source of the bills, seeing as a bunch of counterfeiting plates would be much, much, more valuable than their now worthless stash. The bills lead Lupin and Jigen to a small European country, and to the castle mentioned in the title. Soon after saving a girl after a very nice car chase sequence, Lupin is left a ring that leads him to the castle. It turns out the ring is one of two artifacts needed to find a valuable treasure, hidden for centuries. The owner of the ring is a captive in the castle, desperately awaiting her knight in shining armor to come and rescue her. Enter Lupin, the anti-hero of the story, to get the job done. He gets by with a little help from his friends, as well. The back of the DVD cover claims that Castle of Cagliostro was "once one of Steven Speilberg's favorite movies," or something to that extent. While the reason is unknown why good ol' Stevie doesn't have it on his favorites list anymore(probably just a case of sequel-itis), Castle of Cagliostro is a classic that should belong in the home of anime fan of anime, or even animation in general. Given a rather long running time of an hour and forty minutes, Castle of Cagliostro does a whole lot with the premise so the movie really doesn't have too many "slow" spots. This was my first time seeing Lupin in any form, and I must say that I was thoroughly entertained by his antics. There are some great characters here, most importantly Lupin, the thief with a heart of gold and a touch of chivalry, Jigen, the doubtful, yet still destructive partner, and Goemon, who seems to be ashamed that he's helping the previous two at all. Must be that whole "honor of the samurai" thing. Like I said before, these are established characters, but one you see them in action for five minutes you already get a feel for who they are and what they're doing. I guess they were hard pressed to include all of the characters from the original story, but they did do a good job and they all seem to fit in the story except for Fujiko. While she was an interesting character, she hardly had enough screen time with Lupin to develop any real sexual tension. Oh, well, at least a few of her scenes had some lovely fan service. Castle of Cagliostro is one of those movies, where after watching it, you will discuss it with statements like, "How about that part when ___," or, "Did you see that awesome scene when ___?" Of course, I left the ends of those statements blank because castle of Cagliostro is full of so many neat, if improbable, scenes that will leave you giggling like a schoolgirl. Even if some of the car chases, jumps, and fights are a tad unrealistic, Lupin has fun with typical movie conventions and takes the action up a notch. For a twenty year old movie, Castle of Cagliostro has some really great set pieces that you will find yourself rewinding and watching over and over. It's hard to intentionally make something "cool," but Castle of Cagliostro does it so flawlessly it almost seems like second nature. Castle of Cagliostro looks great, but not just because of the great transfer. Miyazaki added some of his character design and animated know-how to this movie, and if you are familiar with his other works you will be absolutely delighted. The main characters, although already drawn and established, have a much softer look and feel to them than in other pictures that I've seen of them. The sheer artistic quality of this movie is simply amazing, and I would have to say that it's the best animated Japanese movie of this time period. There were no laughable scenes, as I usually find in most archaic anime shows and movies. Everything is done with a master's touch, something that is apparent in the rest of Mayzaki's movies. Okay, I think that's enough gushing about how much I love the art, don't you? Manga gave Castle of Cagliostro a whole lot of TLC, and the end result is something that looks a heck of a lot better than it could have. I'll go as far to say that it look better than a lot of five year old shows that are on DVD right now. A full restoration was made, for video and audio on this release. The video has a few specks of dust here and there, but only if you're looking for them. And as much as I wanted to hear the Japanese track, I was surprised to find that the English track was so much better. While the English track is nothing that's mind-blowing, the Japanese track sounds like it was recorded on walkie-talkies. While switching between the two, the difference is astounding. While I am a little disappointed that the Japanese track wasn't revamped, I am happy that the English track was well produced and had an excellent dub. Kudos to Manga, and I'm hoping they pay the same attention to quality with the upcoming Neon Genesis Evangelion movies. There are no extras on this disc. A tad disappointing, but with a movie of this age I doubt very many extras could be dug up. I wish the presentation was a heck of a lot better, as I feel the cover could use something more epic than Lupin climbing a wall(in a fuzzy screen shot, no less). So much time was spent enhancing the audio and sound, and it's a shame that they dropped the ball with the presentation. Another thing : Just what is with those menus transfer screens? This is Lupin, not Terminator 2! I gave into the hype and bought Castle of Cagliostro, and I must say that I was more than impressed with this movie. It's something you can share with your family, and something that you'll be watching again and again after your first viewing. Now, if only we could get some more of the eleven thousand Lupin related movies/shows released here... - Bob Mackey |
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