Rating: Summary: Konnichi wa Mononoke Hime Review: After years of Hayao Miyazaki's work, Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) has been one of his best one. Actually, all of his work never disappoints the majority of his audiences. This film is one everyone must see. Of course, Princess Mononoke story is originaly written and created by Mr. Hayao Miyazaki. It took him 13 years of thinking and planning/sketching and 4 years of working on the film production. The animation is astonishing, despite the fact it is traditional classical animation style viewers are still inspired tremendously. The music is incredible as well. Jou Hisaishi has done it again! He uses traditional instruments from Japan and China to mix with the symphony instruments. You can feel as if the story is coming alive and taking you into its world of the 13th century of southern Japan. I strongly suggest everyone to see it. Children under 13 may not understand the theme and story, however, they will grow. The film is breathtaking and unforgettable. You don't have to be Japanese or Chinese to understand the story plot and culture, the film introduce the culture to you.
Rating: Summary: Life is too short for this movie Review: Let's face it: animé, like sushi, is an acquired taste. I went to see this one because it drew solid reviews in the U.S., and because I happen to believe that all good films have certain storytelling elements in common, regardless of genre: strong characters, a well-crafted story, and pace, to name a few. PRINCESS MONONOKE nails the first one, falls short on the second, and fails miserably on the third.Let's start with the good things: first of all, the animation is beautiful. Every hand-painted frame of this film is clearly the work of an artist and a perfectionist. Three of the main characters form an intriguing psychological triangle--the young, heroic Ashitaka, the mysterious San (who is also the title character), and the icy Lady Eboshi. Early on, the quality of the artwork and the appeal of the personalities involved fooled me into thinking that I was watching a great adventure film. Then the story went on. And on. And on. I must have memorized every distinguishing mark on my watch from checking it so many times. Look, I don't mind an intricate storyline; I happen to be a big fan of gratifyingly complex plots. But a GOOD complex plot has craft, coherence, and shape; it also has a clear sense of where it's going, and it doesn't bore you to death as it's trying to get there. PRINCESS MONONOKE isn't content with 90 minutes' worth of material; no, anything less than epic scale would be unacceptable. Unfortunately, it's so heavy-handed and self-indulgent, so lacking in any sense of narrative structure, that it feels remarkably turgid and unenergetic despite the large helpings of action and violence. Visually inventive? Yes. Wondrous to behold? Without a doubt. Da Vinci himself could have painted every landscape in this film and it still would have been a bloody mess. It has no pace. It has no subtlety. It has no restraint. It has none of the qualities necessary to take a well-animated epic and turn it into a truly great--no, that's aiming too high--an even remotely satisfactory experience. Note to the multitude of diehard animé fans who will no doubt be infuriated by my lack of respect for this "masterpiece": I may not be crazy about the genre, but I believe that it's just like any other genre--capable of great things, so long as a little economy is applied. I would rather sit through a fifteen-hour "Sailor Moon" marathon than watch PRINCESS MONONOKE again.
Rating: Summary: A must have for any anime fan! Review: Princess Mononoke is a must have for any anime fan. I went and saw this movie in the theater not even knowing what it was about, but this film really surprised me. It is one of the best anime films of all time. Princess Mononoke is about a prince who must leave his village because he becomes cursed by a god. After he leaves, he meets many people in friendly villages, but one particular person catches his eye, a wild woman who lives with the wolves, the one that they call Princess Mononoke. If you are an anime fan, you should definately check this movie out. The voice acting is incredible, with an all-star cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, and Minnie Driver. Princess Mononoke does have a lot of violence and blood in it, so I would not reccommend it for young viewers. Also, the animation in Princess Mononoke is spectacular! It will amaze you how wonderfully drawn it is.
Rating: Summary: No Japanese track on DVD by Buena Vista - really BAD news Review: This is a wonderful movie (5 stars), but... This is really SAD news. Check out news at Nausicaa.net and Aintitcool.com . Once I get the preorder DVD, and the case really shows only English dub...I'm really returning it to Amazon.com unopened. Sorry Amazon, we all have to share the burden here. Maybe you can help us -your loyal customers on this. Hey I bought a lot of stuff from you. Disney, Buena Vista, you really don't know how to make good DVDs. 0.0 features to start with. Take a look at Prince of Eygpt and all the other neat Anime DVD like Fushigi Yugi, Lodoss War, Tenchi Muyo, Ghost, Ninja Scroll, etc... Learn by example please. I'm not ever buying TWO versions of any DVD no matter how good, and I've got 200 DVD disks, so I'm one of those guys in your "market" studies. Please take the time to put the film right where it belongs: Together with the Japanese track that came with it and made it big and popular in the first place. I don't appreciate butchered movies at all, nor folks that do them.
Rating: Summary: Buy it. It's REALLY worth it. Review: I went to see this movie on the cinema. It was just great! I knew I had to buy it, see it again. The magic, the reality and the bravery made me love it. There was one thing wrong, though. The movie was rated for six year old children. But it's too violent for them and they couldn't understand it anyway.
Rating: Summary: At least one version is released for dubbed anime collectors Review: I saw this film (dubbed) in theatres here, and think it's fine that dubbed version of this great animation film was released so quickly on dvd; after all, it is the version that was seen in theatres in the US. It will be available for those that saw and loved it in theatres. I think it will do well! True anime collectors have always known to wait for the real version, with original Japanese dialogue with/without subtitles. I know I'm waiting! I am one to appreciate art in its truest form. And yes, I did cancel my initial Amazon order once I found out it was dubbed. It will come out soon enough.
Rating: Summary: Don't support what Disney's doing! Review: This isn't a rating on the movie, which is of course fantastic. This is a rating for what Disney is doing. It is absolutely absurd to not include the original Japanese language track on this disc, especially when Disney is already charging more for a practically bare bones disc then most companies do for discs jam packed with extras. Pass on this disc and let Disney know that they need to handle anime better in the future!
Rating: Summary: One of the top 5 anime ever created! Review: Unfortunately, animation films are never nominated for best picture -- let alone best foreign film. In my opinion, this was the best film of 1999(American release). It is a story of mythic proportions, that tells the tale of a woman of nature pitted against a woman of industry. It's also the tale of a young prince outcasted by a bizzare disease who tries to bring peace between the two factions. And finally it's a tale of those who hunt a god, and the ramifications this brings. Miyazaki's artwork is breath-taking, and you will never forget this film. Puts Disney productions to shame. In Japan, this is the highest-grossing blockbuster of all time. I've seen this in Japanese without subtittles, and then I saw the American dubbed version. Though I prefer hearing it in the original Japanese, the dubbed version is highly respectable.
Rating: Summary: Un legado maravilloso para el arte y la literatura. Review: Simplemente una obra maestra, la trama llevada al límite de la perfección. Una obra que no es sólo una increíble animación, sino principalmente una trata que maravilla, que hace reflexionar. No es solamente una película para ver como cualquier película taquilla y nada más, sino una película creada con la intención de crear una trama fascinante y que cause catarsis, que te haga levantarte del asiento y aplaudir cada vez que la ves. Veo difícil poder superar esta película, incluso por una película de live-action (más conocidas y por lo tanto mejor reconocidas por la crítica), esperemos que el maestro Miyazaki nos siga dando estos maravillosos regalos, y espero que, cuando tenga hijos, sepan apreciarlos tanto como yo.
Rating: Summary: Do Not Buy This Version. Please Wait. Review: I want to start by saying that I love this film and I think that Miyazaki is a briliant film maker. Disney has decided to release 'Princess Mononoke' as English only, on both DVD and VHS, without including the original Japanese or releasing a Japanese version. They are doing this for profit reasons only. The people at Ain't It Cool News have asked for people to participate in a petition on Nausicaa.net, which is already complete and they will contact Buena Vista's PR rep. I am canceling my order and waiting to see how everything goes. I recommend that those who have also pre-ordered this DVD do the same and those who haven't to just wait. Thank you for your time.
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