Studio Ghibli on DVD

Discuss North American DVDs and Blu-rays or other DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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manicsounds
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#1 Post by manicsounds » Thu May 12, 2005 11:16 pm

I had this posted yesterday, but disappoeared.... anyway, Takahata's 2 films "My Neighbor The Yamadas" and "Pom Poko" will be out from Disney on Aug 16th.

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#2 Post by Arcadean » Fri May 13, 2005 3:13 am

Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro is one of my favorite films. It ranks in my top 10 favorite films actually. I was VERY angry when I bought the DVD and found out it was only dubbed and not in its original transfer. I then went and bought the Japanese Region 0 version. I couldn't read Japanese but I learned which one was the English subtitles through a process of elimination.

I'm looking forward to the 2-disc set that Disney promised. They have kept pushing it back which doesn't make me happy. It was supposed to come out with Nausicaa and Porco Rosso. The release date is now unknown.

I did end up buying Nausicaa as it is my second favorite Miyazaki. It was a nice DVD they put out.

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#3 Post by mrannouncer » Fri May 13, 2005 7:15 pm

Yes I watched it [Howl's Moving Castle] about a month ago. Great movie, but a lot of missing parts.
I know this is Miyazaki's first adaptation of a book (Nausicaa doesnt count),
and it seemed to me that there must have been a lot cut out of it.

Actually "Kiki's Delivery Service" would be Miyazaki's first book adaptation.

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emcflat
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#4 Post by emcflat » Thu Jun 30, 2005 12:46 pm

Not sure if this is where I should post, but I happened to rent the R1 dvd of Princess Mononoke, and it does not even have the original Japanese audio track (!). Anyone think there is a chance of a re-release of this to match the 2-disc sets of the other Ghibli output?

Also, do we know when if ever we will see "Only Yesterday" and "Whispers of the Heart?"

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Michael Kerpan
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#5 Post by Michael Kerpan » Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:09 pm

emcflat wrote:Not sure if this is where I should post, but I happened to rent the R1 dvd of Princess Mononoke, and it does not even have the original Japanese audio track (!). Anyone think there is a chance of a re-release of this to match the 2-disc sets of the other Ghibli output?"
We have the US DVD --and it has both versions. I can't imagine what you rented.
emcflat wrote:Also, do we know when if ever we will see "Only Yesterday" and "Whispers of the Heart?"

"Whisper" was started some time ago, but was delayed due to music rights issues; it is now apparently back on track for eventual release. Last I heard, Disney (sadly) had no current plans for a US release of "Only Yesterday". Oh well, the HK DVD is (reportedly) reasonably priced and decently subbed. (The Japanese DVD is great -- but more expensive).

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#6 Post by J M Powell » Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:59 pm

Perhaps the confusion comes from the fact that the box for the R1 Mononoke doesn't list the Japanese audio track, though the disc itself does contain this track. IIRC a fan campaign succeeded in getting this feature added after the disc was initially announced without it.

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emcflat
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#7 Post by emcflat » Fri Aug 19, 2005 6:19 pm

Netflix' version does not have the original track.. Their site lists the disc as having English & French language tracks, but it did not have the french either.

Anyone care to comment on the 2 Takahata's, "My Neighbors the Yamada's" & "Pom Poko" now out? Bought both on a blind buy, watched "Yamada's" and it put me in a great mood. Awesome family movie.
I also find these interesting in that "Yamada's" is the first in the series not to have a second disc for the storyboards (though they are included.) This is the only feature included on all the 2nd discs and they always struck me as kind of light.

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Michael Kerpan
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#8 Post by Michael Kerpan » Fri Aug 19, 2005 7:22 pm

The original Japanese version of "Yamadas" also came on just one DVD, but I think the second edition came on two.

I consider "Yamadas" a work of sheer animation genius -- and a treat to watch. I've always been mystified by its ho-hum reception, both in Japan and elsewhere. Maybe the new DVD will make it more of the many fans it deserves.

"Pom Poko" is weird -- but mostly pretty great. My least favorite Takahata film (not counting "Horus" and ""Panda kopanda"), but still amazing -- and quite worthwhile.

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manicsounds
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#9 Post by manicsounds » Sun Aug 21, 2005 6:13 am

The original and reissue of the Japanese Yamadas DVDs are both 1 discers. Only the box art is different.

Also, its rumored that Howls Moving Castle and Totoro will be available in R1 either around the end of 2005 or the beginning of 2006.

And, in the UK, the first English subbed version of "The Adventure of Hols: Price Of The Sun" (Isao Takahata / 1968) will be released by Optimum on Oct 17th.

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#10 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Aug 21, 2005 11:24 am

"Hols" (or Horus, etc..) is a fascinating peak into the future. Although a Takhata film (with Miyazaki working in a supporting role), it is more of a preview of Miyazaki;s future career than Takahata's.

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#11 Post by Titus » Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:53 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote: Last I heard, Disney (sadly) had no current plans for a US release of "Only Yesterday". Oh well, the HK DVD is (reportedly) reasonably priced and decently subbed. (The Japanese DVD is great -- but more expensive).
Only Yesterday is, IMO, the best film Ghibli has released (along with Totoro), and is one of my personal favorites of any genre. It's a shame Disney's not in a rush to release it, but I suppose it would be hard to market here.

I've got the HK DVD and it's not a great buy for English-speakers. The subs, though well translated and lacking in a surplus of spelling and grammar mistakes, are unever in their delivery. Occasionally someone's dialogue will appear for less than a second before going away. You have to rewind and pause in several instances just to see what was said. On top of this, the extras are disposable at best (outside of the storyboards, if you're into that). I'm planning to upgrade to the Japanese DVD here pretty quick with the news that Disney's not planning to release this for at least 2-3 more years. Is yesasia the best place?

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Michael Kerpan
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#12 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Aug 21, 2005 1:23 pm

If you are only buying one Japanese DVD, YesAsia is usually the best bet -- as the postage is so much cheaper. If you are a pre-ordering several new releases, amazon Japan is usually the cheapest. If you are ordering a batch of already-released stuff, CD Japan can be competitive.
Last edited by Michael Kerpan on Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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#13 Post by DDillaman » Sun Aug 21, 2005 2:16 pm

I absolutely LOVED POM POKO - it's probably my second favorite Ghibli film (after TOTORO), very weird but very wonderful. Haven't seen YAMADAS yet, but my girlfriend thought it was on par with POM POKO, which she also loved. Really need to pick both of these up.

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#14 Post by Napoleon » Mon Sep 26, 2005 5:42 am

Play(UK) have quite few new releases available for pre-order including Totoro for 27/02/2006. No mention of aspect ratio, but the optimist in me says that this will be 'proper' release.
I think that it is also reasonable to assume that new US versions will be available around the same time.

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emcflat
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#15 Post by emcflat » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:34 am

The Fanning Sisters in 'Totoro'
New Version Out in 2006

Dakota Fanning, who had a featured role in War of the Worlds and who will voice the title character in the stop motion-animated version of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, and her sister Elle have provided the voices for the two sisters in the new English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro. One of Miyazaki's best films, Totoro is the story of two sisters who accompany their father to a rural retreat while their mother is hospitalized with a serious illness. Miyazaki's film is infinitely sensitive to the vivid imaginations of inchoate fears of its two young protagonists -- and their roles are absolutely central to the film.

Buena Vista's deluxe two-disk DVD of My Neighbor Totoro, which is due out next spring, will include a behind-the-scenes featurette showing the Fanning sisters working on the voiceovers and highlighting the way Elle was able to learn from her older, more experienced sibling, who at the age of eleven has already amassed an impressive list of animated, as well as live action, credits.
Yay?

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Fletch F. Fletch
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#16 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Wed Nov 23, 2005 10:02 am

From DavisDVD:
Buena Vista's third wave of titles from acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki are on their way on March 7th. This shipment will include the long-delayed My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart and Howl's Moving Castle. Each two-disc set will feature new anamorphic transfers and both English and original Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks ("Totoro" will feature Dakota Fanning, while "Howl's Moving Castle" will feature Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Blythe Danner and Billy Crystal). Extras will include behind the scenes footage, storyboards, featurettes and trailers. Retail is $29.99 apiece.

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#17 Post by Titus » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:41 pm

This could serve as a reminder that My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart, and Howl's Moving Castle just got their R1 releases, but my actual concern was with Central Media's Grave of the Fireflies disc:

I've heard nothing but raves about this disc, and I had been privy to it before purchasing it and don't recal these problems (though this was 2 1/2 years ago and on an analog TV), but upon revisiting it, I was struck by the horrific ghosting that was prevalent throughout. I also noticed some combing (not nearly as bad), and the disc seemed to have trouble rendering the darker scenes, in which pixelation was fairly bad at times. Could this just be a defective disc (the video hicupped several times during playback on my HDTV, which, along with the knowledge that this was supposedly a benchmark-type release, initially caused my concern, but I didn't notice this during a quick scan on my PC), or are these probelms inherent in this release?

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manicsounds
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#18 Post by manicsounds » Thu Jun 22, 2006 10:35 pm

Saw on some sites that Miyazaki's 1979 version of Lupin III Castle Of Cagliostro" will be reissued by Anchor Bay on 8/29

Says it will be anamorphic this time, and with bonus alternate angle storyboards carried from the Japanese region 2 version.

Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.77
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - English,
Japanese, Spanish (Castillan), French
Additional Release Material:
Interview - Yasuo Otsuka - Director
Trailers - Japanese Trailers
Interactive Features:
Motion Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Stills/Photos - Photo Gallery
Storyboards with Feature Soundtrack

Dont know if the English is the Carl Macke dub or the newer one from the Manga release. Not that I really care about dubs.....

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Gropius
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#19 Post by Gropius » Sun Aug 06, 2006 4:50 am

I had previously been sceptical about anime (all those 'cute', westernised faces), but I just saw a couple of Miyazaki films on one of the cable channels here, and of course have been forced to change my opinion. They're showing a few more, but all in the American dubbed versions.

Would the purists here recommending holding off and renting the films to get the Japanese audio? Dubbing seems less of an issue with animation, but do you think one loses something (ambiance or whatever) by watching these Americanised versions, given that Japanese animation already seems saturated with American cultural influence?

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Steven H
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#20 Post by Steven H » Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:23 am

Definitely do what you can to see the original language version. In these films, dubbing can go a long way towards original intent/content, but it's really not even close. Miyazaki, Takahata, and the late Kondo (with Whispers of the Heart, garnering a very high recommendation from me) are all fantastic at using just the right voices in the original Japanese, and had little say or care in the english versions.

Some of the most fluid phrases are rendered awkward, and in some cases important references are either changed ("sea of decay" called "toxic ocean", in Nauscaa, which strikes a very different chord in my opinion) or ignored (in Princess Mononoke they talk about "China" in the original language, but it's changed to "lands from the east" for the dubbing.)

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Schkura
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#21 Post by Schkura » Sun Aug 06, 2006 9:14 am

That, and Claire Daines makes a thoroughly unconvincing badass in Princess Mononoke.

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Gropius
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#22 Post by Gropius » Sun Aug 06, 2006 10:49 am

Yes, I think I'll avoid the rest of the dubbed ones. However, of the two I saw, 'Kiki's Delivery Service' seemed to have had an above-average dubbing job, with Phil Hartman quite good as the wise-cracking cat. The film succeeded in melting much of my initial prejudice ("a teenage witch, how cloyingly Harry Potteresque"); for a 'kid's film' to do that to a cynical adult is quite rare, but then Miyazaki is clearly more of a visual artist than most. To call him the 'Japanese Disney' is a gross disservice, since Disney haven't produced anything of interest since... oh, the 60s at the latest ('The Jungle Book' was okay)?

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souvenir
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#23 Post by souvenir » Sun Aug 06, 2006 10:58 am

Gropius wrote:To call him the 'Japanese Disney' is a gross disservice, since Disney haven't produced anything of interest since... oh, the 60s at the latest ('The Jungle Book' was okay)?
Well, in Walt's defense, he has been dead since 1966.

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#24 Post by Michael Kerpan » Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:07 am

Gropius wrote:Yes, I think I'll avoid the rest of the dubbed ones. However, of the two I saw, 'Kiki's Delivery Service' seemed to have had an above-average dubbing job, with Phil Hartman quite good as the wise-cracking cat.
The dub _sounds_ okay -- taken on its own -- but it really isn't a very accurate representation of the original film -- and the dub mucked around needlessly (and ineptly) with some of the original background music (in addition to having different -- but also good-- opening and closing songs).

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Gropius
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#25 Post by Gropius » Sun Aug 06, 2006 12:36 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:The dub _sounds_ okay -- taken on its own -- but it really isn't a very accurate representation of the original film -- and the dub mucked around needlessly (and ineptly) with some of the original background music (in addition to having different -- but also good-- opening and closing songs).
You must be a zealous fan if you've systematically watched both versions. I thought the opening/closing songs were horrible 80s cheesy listening; I'm sure the Japanese versions were better, although I can't imagine watching anime films for the soundtracks, or, for that matter, the plots, which seem to stick to fairly conventional fairy tale themes. It's the backgrounds and settings, the more peripheral flourishes, which I have found intoxicating so far.
souvenir wrote:Well, in Walt's defense, he has been dead since 1966.
Disney's last credit as a director was in 1945, but his brand lives on. I'm actually of the (vaguely controversial?) opinion that Disney did more damage to the growth of animation as a serious art form than anyone else in the 20th C. The quintessential example of this is Walter Fischinger's poetic abstraction using Dukas's music, 'Study No. 8', which was plagiarised into the clodhopping anthropomorphism of Disney's 'Fantasia' ('unresisting imbecility', to quote Stravinsky). Miyazaki might be a cut above, but there are still traces of Disney, however residual, all over him.

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