Rating: 
Summary: Miyazaki=Anime Excellence
Review: One of my all-time favorites. I personally prefer it with the original Japanese dialogue, but the english dub included on this DVD isn't bad. Though I must say the English dub directed by Carl Maceck was better, if less literal. (Quickly dodges all the Robotech-haters out there...) (Carl Maceck's translation is NOT included on this DVD)Lupin III is a master thief. With his cohorts Jigen and Goemon and the unwitting help from his ex-girlfriend Fujiko as well as Lupin's self-proclaimed nemesis, Inspector Zenigata, they free a beutiful Princess from her evil captor who is intent on marrying the young princess to steal the family fortune. Like all of Miyazaki's other works, this film has gorgeous animation that compliments a very intricate and heartful story.
Fans of the original Lupin III comic by Monkey Punch may not appreciate it as much since the characters act a little 'nicer' than the fans may prefer, but Miyazaki's talent lies in weaving a good story together with beautiful animation, and it is clearly evidenced here. This film stands not just as a good example of whats good about Japanese animation, but as a good movie in general... Interesting characters, clever plot twists, amazing action, and a good dose of heart. I still stand surprised that some hollywood shmuck hasn't bought the rights to it and mangled it into the lame "blockbuster" live-action formula that America is currently plagued with. But I digress... I can think of no better introduction to anime than Hayao Miyazaki. Castle of Cagliostro is definitely one of his better works, and you will find yourself amazed at how 'real' this hand-drawn animation feels compared to the generic pocket-monster-giant-robot-half-naked-girls-with-guns-otaku-fanboy-teenager-boobshow stuff... in fact I'd say that's the only thing this film is missing. :) ... again, I digress... This work is a cut above and deserves a higher respect, as it's done by a man who clearly has more respect for the art.
Rating:
Summary: More Lupin, Please!
Review: I heard from a friend of mine who spent a lot of time in Japan that Lupin III is their answer to James Bond and Batman. Seeing the movies and videos, I say that Lupin can easily whip either of them. His humor, cleverness, abilities, and wise choice of loyal friends (Jigen, the sharpshooter; Goemon, the swordsman; Fujiko, the femme fatale; and Zenigata, the inspector), make him overcome enemies and obstacles that would make Bond and Batman pause. It's too bad that, while popular in Japan, Lupin never had much of an exposure stateside, like Pokemon and Sailor Moon. Hopefully, the re-release of "Castle of Cagliostro" would change all that. For some time, I owned the Japanese version of the film, and with a downloaded English translation, I still enjoyed the film despite my limited (more like nascent) knowledge of Japanese. The well-crafted plot and story, with Lupin and the gang at their best, makes this my favorite animated feature. I also own copies of the other Lupin TV movies (the latest being "Fujiko's Unlucky Days"), but while all are rather good, "Castle of Cagliostro" is still the top of the form. Watching it finally on DVD further re-affirmed that belief. I wonder of Spielberg still considers this one of the best action/adventure films even, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. My advice, get the DVD or subtitled versions. Like Pokemon and Sailor Moon, Lupin is best in the original Japanese, and the subtitles are more accurate than the English voice-acting.
Rating: 
Summary: DVD Review
Review: Castle of Cagliostro is Miyazaki's first feature and stars the characters of the Lupin series. Miyazaki worked on much of the first season of Lupin and did two episodes in the second including the finale. I haven't been able to determine if these episodes are avaible on any in-print English release. While the animation is considerably cruder then Miyazaki's later works, the film is filled with thrilling adventure and fun humor. The breakneck pace and knock out action set pieces make up for the cruder animation style. Even without any prior knowledge of the Lupin characters, the story is simple to follow. Only the appearances of the female spy and the samurai seemed odd to an unititated viewer.
Film: 4 stars out of 5.
It is not Miyazaki's best, but it is easy to see his style emerging. The character designs for the count and the bride would soon appear in Nausicaa as Kurotawa and Nausicaa. Castle of Cagliostro is a great adventure film, but lacks the emotional realism and epic narratives that make up his later films. It may be Miyazaki's best on a pure entertainment factor. Think of it as a James Bond film by way of Pink Panther with Jackie Chan. Manga's dvd is less then stellar. Picture quality is dicey. Most of the time the picture is fine with good color, but there are problems that pop up. Black spots appear on the film from time to time and several times heavy black blobs show up on the frame. The print also suffers for instances when the images shudders and appears to shake a bit when there isn't movement in the frame. These problems do detract, but generally they didn't distract from my viewing. The video is presented in letterboxed format with subs that are half on the frame, half on black. I avoided the dub because the Japanese audio was just fine. Purists might be annoyed to find that the end credits are typed in English over a black screen without music, I don't know what the orginial Japanese print had. There aren't any extras other then several lame Manga Video ads. Castle of Cagliostro is not part of the Disney/Ghibli deal so don't plan on them for releasing a new dvd. I would still recommend this dvd, although hopefully someone in the future will release it without the minor picture problems. Pioneer and Funimation both have recently put out other Lupin dvds, but I don't know of plans to pick up this title.
DVD: 3 out of 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: "Lupin III" stars in a Hayao Miyazaki animated masterpiece
Review: This tale stars the infamous gentleman-theif Lupin, along with Jigen the expert marksman, and Goemon the samurai of the old school. With Lupin and Jigen heading for Cagliostro (Europe's smallest country) they become involved in an adventure including preventing a fixed marriage, a Princess and an evil Count. This being one of my favorite movies, and Miyazaki being my god, I cannot recommend this movie enough. Highly original, Cagliostro's action sequences will leave you breathless while the emotion brought forth from the highly addictive story will draw you in and leave you lingering in a world that is simply too beatiful to want to leave. From the fist scene where Lupin and Jigen rob the Monte Carlo, and while escaping leap over several bicycle racks and sub-humanly glide 12 feet with perfect ease while a comical springing sound is made, this instantly becomes a classic. Thank God for Manga for re-releasing this film treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Lupin the 3rd in one of the most enjoyable movies ever made.
Review: Lupin the 3rd is one of my favorite anime characters. My interest in Lupin the 3rd started with The Castle of Cagliostro. For those of you that aren't familiar with Lupin the 3rd, he has been in 6 theatrical films, 10 television films and 2 or 3 television series containing a total of 228 episodes. I have seen about half of his movies, and so far The Castle of Cagliostro is still my favorite. This movie has it all, action and adventure, comedy, romance, and of course the most important thing of all, a master thief as a hero. The story and characters in this movie are very enjoyable to watch. Just keep in mind that the characters and their relationships with each other have been developed in other movies and shows before this movie. So if you feel like you are missing out on how everyone is connected to each other throughout the movie, then that is the reason. In conclusion, if you haven't seen this movie yet, I'd recommend you give it a chance. This is the only DVD in my collection that I have watched over 10 times. I personally think this is a good movie for anyone, even if you aren't a big fan of anime. As long as you enjoy action mixed with some comedy, you'll enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Great caper film which happens to be anime.
Review: Monday, May 03, 2004 / 4 of 5 / Great caper film which happens to be anime. This was my first full length film exposure to the Lupin mythos. Long ago I had played the laser disc game 'Cliffhanger' in the arcades when it first came out, it incorporated most of its plot and scenes from this movie. It was great to finally see the whole thing as I only ever made it about half way through the game, heh. Lupin and sidekick rob a casino and during the ensuing pursuit happen upon a princess chased by thugs. Ultimately leading back to a castle, a count, and a small country holding secrets to counterfeiting and beyond this was an excellent early anime with a great plot. It's interesting to see the character and stylistic cues later anime, particularly Cowboy Bebop, took from the Lupin saga. The plot was what surprised me the most, very sophisticated and entertaining for an anime, it was almost like an animated Bond film, or similar spy caper/mystery. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The best Lupin movie; one of Miyazaki's best movies
Review: This film is great! A great mix of genres(suspense, action, romance, humor), a feel-good tone throughout the film, and a great, light-hearted story make this a must-see film for anime fans and even non-anime ones. Fujiko goes from being brunette to blonde in this one, although it's not really important. A bit of Lupin's past is revealed when he and Jigen trail a counterfeiter to Castle Cagliostro. What can I say? It's just good. The English dubbing(on the DVD, as I've never heard the original English dub) is excellent, far beyond the horrid dubbing used for the TV series. Unlike Tony Oliver, David Hayter(Metal Gear Solid) does a perfect job of capturing the same tone of the late Yasuo Yamada. Sadly, this was the first and last Lupin show/movie he did(as of now). The dubbing people of the Lupin TV series should watch this film and pay attention on how to make a good dub! But enough said, the movie's EXCELLENT!
Rating:
Summary: Now we're cooking with gas!!
Review: This is the cream of Lupin films and was created by a celibrated master storyteller and director. It's got everything a good adventure aught to have. The dashing roguesh hero. His faithful assosiates of great skill and daring. A beutiful damisal in distress. And evil and dastertly villan. Lost tresure. Harrowing escapes and great car chases. All of which are crammed into this rip-roaring ride that is Castle of Cagliostro. Throw in international esponage and intrege. Add a dash of comic relief.While stirring in the boys from Interpol and you get the general idea. This film simply ROCKS!!
Rating:
Summary: The castlew of Cagliostro
Review: This movie is interesting and if your looking fro an action packed movie this is it. This movie isn't rated and does contain fowl language. But that's because it's dubed in American and it needs to be more Americanized. If your kids want james bond but are too young try this.
Rating:
Summary: Weak Miyazaki, but Great Lupin
Review: If you're coming to CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO after having admired Miyazaki's other work, you'll be extremely disappointed - it's his first feature as a director, and is clearly a work-for-hire based on Monkey Punch's popular (and VERY Seventies) LUPIN III manga and anime. So there's very little of Miyazaki's humanism or love of nature here - and a lot of Lupin III's outlandish sideburns and 007-Meets-Benny Hill schemes. However, if you're coming to this movie looking for Lupin III, you'll be delighted because it's an outstanding adventure for him and his usual gang of cohorts (including Inspector Zenigata - who has to work WITH him for a change to catch a genuinely dastardly villain!). If any touches of Miyazaki are evident, it's in the movie's treatment of women and sex - the heroine Clarisse seems tremulous at first glance but proves to have a lot of courage in the clinch, and for once Fujiko is more effective female hero than doublecrossing tease. Even Lupin's perpetual horniness is toned down considerably - he comes off as a genuinely gallant "gentleman thief" than the loud jacket-wearing stunned-ox-in-heat he often comes across as in the anime series (currently playing on Cartoon Network's ADULT SWIM block). Another good touch is the portrayal of Zenigata - "Pops" isn't a totally-incompetent bullying buffoon in Miyazaki's view, but a good cop driven bonkers by his fruitless pursuit of a great adversary. He knowingly risks his career (and life) and teams up with the man he's been determined to arrest since - well, forever! - to stop the villainous Count Cagliostro's schemes. Of course, the movie ends just as almost every Lupin III adventure does, with Zenigata chasing Lupin - again! - and Lupin, Jigen, Goemon and Fujiko getting away from him with foolish ease...again.... If you go into CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO looking for a fun lighthearted adventure, you'll be delighted - just don't expect to see much of the man who would later give the world classics like TOTORO, PRINCESS MONONOKE or SPIRITED AWAY.
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