Home :: DVD :: Animation :: Science Fiction  

Anime & Manga
Comedy
Computer Animation
General
International
Kids & Family
Science Fiction

Stop-Motion & Clay Animation
The Castle of Cagliostro

The Castle of Cagliostro

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $23.96
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 9 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I was asked to describe Lupin once. Here's what I came up with, "He's like James Bond, Batman, Jackie Chan, and Indiana Jones, but he's a cat-burglar."

I'm a huge fan of the Lupin III series. I'll be the first to admit that the series itself isn't that good and that many of the TV movies aren't that good either. However, the two episodes and the movie which Myazaki directed are hands down some of the best things I have ever seen.

With that out of the way, no, this isn't Myazaki's best work. For every other film he does, the characters are his. He creates his characters specifically to fit a role. However with Lupin III, he had to use characters that were already established in the hearts and minds of thousands of viewers. It's amazing how Myazaki manages to take these characters and make them all shine and yet stay true to their original motivations. There's never a point where the viewer thinks, "Now that's not something I think Lupin would do." This is something that many of the other directors of the Lupin movies could not achieve.

I have seen the Lupin series with a wide range of voice actors, including the Japanese. The cast of this dubbed version of Castle of Cagliostro is the best of the group. They really know how to make the characters shine. The Japanese cast is frightening and unemotional at best, but the English cast of this version certainly makes up for the shortcomings of the Japanese one.

Like many of Myazaki's works, and certainly with all of the Lupin III series, you have to bring your imagination along for the ride. Everything will happen, even if you're not quite ready for it. There's car chases, princesses in tall towers, a counterfeiting scheme, instant noodles, and an exploding archbishop. The Castle of Cagliostro is a wonderfully light-hearted film, and the absolute best of the Lupin III series. I would recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not Miyazaki's best, but good!
Review: Once again, I had looked into this movie originally because it was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, personally one of my favorites! I later learned that this movie is a part of a really long series from what I understand of and Television series, of Lupin the 3rd. This movie is really good, has the main characters, Lupin, Jigens, Fujiko, Zenigata! It's story is ok, not too original, but still good! The characters are funny... I don't really know what else to say, except it's good!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ah, Lupin
Review: Few anime/manga characters have caught the hearts of fans like Monkey Punch's Lupin III has. Add the Master of Anime Hayao Miyazaki and then you have a film that will not fail. For those who are just getting introduced to anime don't let the age of this anime masterpeice scare you off because of the age. Although it is 23 years old the qualityof this movie is leaps and bounds over much of the stuff that is released today. Add to that a onderful Japanese voice acting talent, and you have an anime film that can hold its own with any live action film. Do yourself a favor and watch this.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best of the Lupin movies
Review: There has been a flood of other Lupin DVDs put out since the success of this disc. But don't be fooled, this one is easily the best of the bunch. Reminds me of an anime version of "Princess Bride". Action packed, very funny, and a decent English dub for those (like me) who enjoy watching movies more than reading them. Adding foul language was poor a dubbing decision, but it's my only minor quibble with an otherwise excellent film.

Recommended for ages 6 to Adult. Fighting, some intense scenes, but no blood.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The movie is a lot of fun, but starting to show some age
Review: Ref. Editorial Review for story.
The movie reminded me of the old Peter Sellers movie "The Pink Panter Strikes Again" with a touch of James Bond. The setting is similar and there's a lot of the same kind of gags. Not that this has to be a bad thing, but it does give the movie a slightly dusty 70's odor. The same goes for the animation in selected scenes. For example, the movie's damsel in distress, Fujiko, is drawn in a "cute anime girl" style that looks a bit dated today.

On the positive side, the movie *is* a lot of fun, and well worth watching. Not to mention that the story appeals to all ages and is fairly safe for family viewing(no nudity, violence limited to slapstick comedy). A lot of the animation is really good as well, just don't expect overall visual quality like Princess Mononoke or other more recent works.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: James Bond meets a screwball comedy
Review: It's my understanding that the Japanese culture is totally different from American culture in that animation is not exclusively for children, but for adults as well. So keep this in mind that this movie is not made for children, though children will most likely enjoy it and probably the language is no worse than some of the stuff that appears on cable television.
Having said that, I will tell you this is a terrific film and Lupin is a wonderful character - sort of a screwball comedy in the best sense, with James Bond thrown in for good measure. And this movie lends itself well to rewatching it - and I have.

Many other reviewers here have gone into the technical details much better than I'm capable of doing, so for that info please check their reviews. I have seen the subtitled version, so I don't have an opinion of the dubbed version. But I do have an opinion of the content of the movie and that is it's a terrific movie and you _need_ to see this great movie to appreciate Japanese anime'.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie!!!
Review: Well let me first say I have watched this possibly 50 times. But that was on VHS. Since the VHS copy I have was looking really bad I decieded to get the DVD copy. It looks fantastic. One thing I found a little strange though...they re-did the voices. It's almost a different movie with the new soundtrack. The conversations they have are completely different. Granted the new soundtrack makes more sense then the original, I still had a little trouble with it. And there was a few shots that were re-edited. So the story went a little differnt. I would have liked if they included the other track. But otherwise a great movie. Lots of action with alot of comedy. Which is why I love to watch it so much.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Terrific animated comedy-romance-adventure from Miyazaki!
Review: Acclaimed Anime genius Hayao Miyazaki scored his first box office hit with this charming, fast-paced, enjoyable tale about a clever thief coming to rescue--you guessed it--a princess from a dastardly monarch who wants to marry the lass for his own purposes. He's accompanied by a loyal gunman and a solemn but cunning ninja and pursued by a Japanese police detective who actually helps him at one point of the story. Along the way, there are a bunch of other obstacles to overcome, including bad guys with armored claws, the mazelike corridors of the Cagliostro castle itself, and a counterfeiting scheme. The animation is obviously dated, since the film is over 20 years old, but there are elements of Miyazaki's characters in his later films to be found in the designs of the protagonists and antagonists--the big, round eyes, wide-opened mouths when laughing and/or shouting, and of course, their everchanging facial expressions. The jazz-rock underscore by Yuji Ohno lacks the richness of Joe Hisaishi's scores for Miyazaki's films after this one, but it suits the tone of the film perfectly. Although not as beautiful, meaningful, or powerful as Miyazaki's later films, CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO is a joy to watch, with plenty of action-packed sequences, humor a-plenty, and enough fun to keep one enchanted. (Wait until you see the tools that the hero posesses!)

The DVD version features a respectably good transfer presented in its 1.85:1 aspect ratio, even if it does show its signs of age, such as occasional film scratches and/or smudges. However, this is probably best to be expected since the film is over 20 years old. The Japanese language track is presented in mono, and sometimes sounds as though it was transferred through, say, a telephone. (A characteristic of the recording techniques of the early years, no doubt.) The English language track, on the other hand, is presented in clear stereo with a full, rich sound. One wonders how they were able to clean up the soundtrack for this dub -- it sounds like it could have been made recently.

I only spotchecked the Japanese language track, but the acting is decent, from what I heard. The film was originally dubbed in English by Carl Mecak of Streamline Pictures. I have not seen this dub, but I heard it received mixed opinions; it has its fans while others detested it. However, I DID enjoy this "new" dub created by Manga Entertainment, which follows the script closely, despite some questionable inclusions of profanity in the dialogue ("We're rich bastards!"). The voice cast is well chosen and sound like they are having a great time hamming it up.

On the downside, the DVD contains no special features other than trailers for MANGA releases, rather lame menu selections, second-rate packaging, and not enough chapter selections for advancing. A film this wonderful deserves a better treatment. A "Making-Of" documentary, please?

Don't let the drawbacks hold you back, though, CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO is ***** material, as can be expected from the master of Japanese animation. I recommend it very highly.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Anime Movie
Review: I first saw this movie in Japan and while I didn't understand a word being said, I found that I was very interested in the goings on. A few years later, I purchased this movie on VHS when it was released in the US. So when I saw the DVD was out, I took a chance and purchased it.

Having watched the VHS version so many times, I was immediately struck at some translation differences (in English). While the story was the same, there were parts that were very differently translated so that certain parts were almost like a different movie. I was annoyed until I did some checking (and watched the original Japanses version which is also on this DVD). As a result, I've come to the conclusion that the DVD contains a much better translation than the VHS version.

If you like your DVD's to have tons of extras, you may be dissappointed with the lack of goodies in this one. However, if you are a fan of Lupin III, this is a must-have DVD. The story, characters, anime style (though dated), and humor are what make this DVD so special. Of all the Lupin III's I've seen (TV or movie), this one is the best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: she shot him! HAHHAHAHAHAhehehe ohthatsfunny.
Review: When I visited "Jafax" I bought four DVD's: Ronin warriors vol.1, Tenchi the movie tenchi muyou in love, Ghost in the shell and of course thte castle of cagliostro. All of which were good (except Ronin warriors. Don't even bother) But The Castle Of Cagliostro was definately the best of the pick.

The Castle Of Cagliostro is a non-stop action-comedy-thriller. It's about a professional (and geeky) theif who accidentally saves a princess. The princess runs away from Lupin. (the theif dude) but drops her ring on the way. Lupin uses his detective skills to trace her back to the castle of Cagliostro with the help of the ring. He then finds out she is being forced to marry against her own free will. It's lupins job to save her.

Everything about this movie is well done. The animation is actually good despite the cover. The dub is excellent. Perhaps the greatest feature of this DVD. And with every turn lupin takes you'll find yourself keeling over with laughter.

You can't beat The castle of Cagliostro.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 9 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates