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Miyazaki's Spirited Away U.S. Release
soupforare writes "Spirited Away is slated for a US limited theatre release in on Sep. 27th
nausicaa.net has a theatre listing and some more info. It looks like some theatres are even going to be showing the subtitled version." No showings near me, but hopefully those prints will make it around. Been wanting to see this one for a long time.
I'm really tired of the japanese enforcing their culture on all of the rest of us earth-dwellers. I mean come on! I can't even walk down the street with out tripping over a sushi restaurant, or an anime video store. Now they're taking over disney! Is nothing sacred! /sarcasm
Read this interesting article detailing how japan can leverage it's cultural roots to overcome it's economic hardships:
Japan's Gross National Cool
Then, on a less serious, unrelated note, read:
Ricard Gere's Ass Zoo
tcd004
And here I was hoping to take my boy to see it, since he's a big Toonami fan. I should have known that if Taco said he couldn't see it, I wasn't either, since we live in the same area. Oh well, guess we'll have to settle for the Monsters, Inc. DVD that's coming from Netflix tomorrow...
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
Comment removed based on user account deletion
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/SpiritedAway-11160 64/
I've had the wonderful opportunity to see this movie several times already. It's my favorite Miyazaki flick. It's great eye-candy and wonderful fantasy. Highly recommended. See it in the best theater you can.
..which includes a brief interview with Miyazaki.
Here 'tis.
It's a rather fawning bit, but this seems to me to be one of the rare interviews in which the director isn't just puffing up his work, but actually discussing it.
Besides, this movie looks to be that good. I grabbed a VCD bootleg of this in Taiwan many moons ago, and despite the crappy transfer quality + lack of dubbing/subtitles, I watched the entire first half before I began to feel lost (stopped after that so that I could enjoy the movie in its full-fledged form more). Miyazaki is a fine, fine visual storyteller, and by all accounts so far, the dub (lead by John Lassetter of Pixar fame) is an achievement in of itself.
Theater listing for Spirited Away in the U.S. and Canada
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
This movie was a special sneak preview at the 29th Telluride Film Festival, Labor Day Weekend. It played twice and was well recieved. I saw the first showing and I was pretty impressed. TFF also premiered Mononoke when it came out a couple years ago.
Of the 2 movies, I think that Mononoke is better. The story is a little more enjoyable for me. Spirited Away has the excellent animation that you'd expect from Miyazaki, and the excellent voice acting that we've come to expect from Disney. All in all, It's a great translation and a good film. I think it's geared towards a slghtly younger audience than Mononoke was though.
Often in Error, Never in Doubt.
Been wanting to see this one for a long time.
Then why haven't you bought it on DVD?
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Saw the trailer on Apple a couple weeks ago. Pretty cool. Very long, too.
Opening on Sept 27
KIPS BAY, Manhattan
86TH ST. EAST, Manhattan
PAVILION, Brooklyn, NY
MIDWAY, Forest Hills, NY
ROOSEVELT FIELD, Westbury, NY
FARMINGDALE 14, Farmingdale, NY
SOUNDVIEW CINEMAS, Pt. Washington, NY
WESTCHESTER 10, Hawthorne, NY
LOEWS PALISADES, West Nyack, NY
LOEWS ROUTE 4, Paramus, NJ (Tentative)
EDGEWATER 16, Edgewater, NJ
EAST HANOVER 12, East Hanover, NJ
CLAIRIDGE, Montclair, NJ
WHITE FLINT, Kensington, MD
AMC CENTURY CITY Los Angeles, CA
BEVERLY CENTER Los Angeles, CA
MONICA, Santa Monica, CA
PLAYHOUSE, Pasadena, CA
AMC BURBANK, CA
GALLERIA, Sherman Oaks, CA
AMC PROMENADE, Woodland Hills, CA
AMC COVINA, CA
EDWARDS STADIUM, Long Beach, CA
MANHATTAN VILLAGE, South Bay, CA
AMC ROLLING HILLS, Torrance, CA
AMC ONTARIO, CA
AMC THE BLOCK, Orange, CA
SOUTH COAST VILLAGE, Santa Ana, CA
No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
It's a little movie.. in the sense that the Titanic was a little boat. Working on that tangent.. this movie outgrossed "Titanic" in Japan and is the only movie thusfar to have grossed over $200 million.. without setting foot in North American theaters. And it was done entirely by hand (save for cg backgrounds).
It's also the film that won the Berlin film festival and praise from almost every critic I can think of. TOo bad it'll be relegated as arthouse fare.
In synopsis, it's an Alice in Wonderland type story inspired by a friend's daughter. A ten year old girl and her family go on a trip together, through a tunnel to what looks like an amusement park, when the girl gets lost and the fantasy begins. Every kind of fantasmagoric creature from anyone's dreams apears...
Can't wait for it.
I used to be someone else. Now I'm someone better.
Real life is underrated.
I had the good fortune to see the US premier of this movie last Tuesday at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood.
First off, the showing itself was wonderful -- it's a very nice old-style theater with a balcony and a curtain in front of the screen. The movie was digitally projected, and it looked perfect to me. It was also very nice not having any commercials/trailers at the beginning -- they did some light effects, opened and few curtains and the first thing on the screen was the blue Studio Ghibli screen (and the whole audience applauded at that).
The movie itself is a great movie. Miyazaki did make it for 10-year old girls, but it can appeal to anyone, I think. The feel was a bit like Alice in Wonderland, with a young girl finding this world of spirits and monsters where she meets interesting people and has some adventures (if you really want a good review, there are others out there). Basically, if you have a chance, go see it. I did see the dub, and it was actually fine; after a bit everything just started flowing and I stopped noticing that it was dubbed (I'm generally a big sub-snob for watching anime).
Miyazaki himself was there for a short interview after the movie; he was asked various questions, first mainly about Spirited Away, and then some audience questions ranging from if he's going to work on the Seven Samurai anime (no, he's opposed to it), to if he's ever going to do more in the worlds of Totoro (never), Laputa (never) or Lupin III (never; he leaves that world to others).
Anyway, very cool experience. If you're in the LA area, El Capitan will be showing Spirited Away for a month or so, mostly in English, but a few showings in Japanese, subbed, and while Miyazaki won't be there, it should be a great place to see it.
-Darien Jax
Watch Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. (There is, of course, a page for it on nausicaa.net ... but for obvious reasons, you're not going to be able to visit it for a few hours now.) It's only available as a fansub, but it's well worth it -- IMO, it's the best anime I've ever seen. (And many of the themes explored in it were carried directly over into Princess Mononoke.) Spirited Away was also an amazing movie, and I hope that it's showed in my area at some point ... but Nausicaa was Miyazaki's best work.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
The legitimate region 2 DVDs can be had for around $50-60 from import DVD sites like cdjapan.co.jp -- and it has English subtitles.
The only issue (besides the region) is the color balance, which has a slight reddish tint which some people find annoying. Interestingly enough, according to Nausicaa.net, this was done deliberately so that it would look right when played on plasma or lcd screens.
It's a fine movie if you like Miyazaki's work, although its somewhat less "normal" than his other projects. It's targeted at younger folks than Mononoke Hime was, and lacks the violent action. In fact it turns out to be quite similar to his previous Kiki's Delivery Service (a pre-teen girl looks for a job around the intersection of magic and the real world). This one is a bit more disney-like though, with some more overt antagonism than Kiki faced.
Like Mononoke, you can occasionally see places where the animation budget was preserved, but it detracts not at all.
The dub is just as good as Mononoke Hime's was- that is to say not perfect, there are moments of awkardness when they were obliged to be additionally verbose to help out us slow Americans. But there's nothing as painfully bad as the Gillian Anderson-techno-reverb wolf voice the end of Mononoke suffered from.
Roger Ebert has a story on it though is review seems to be missing at the moment (he loved it... so did Roeper).
The IMDB entry is here.
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
The movie really isn't anything like Mononoke Hime. It's much more kid-oriented, and mostly feels like a really good, creative Disney movie. Very little violence or action (though there's quite a bit of blood at times). I personally liked it, but a lot of my friends didn't. Just be cautioned: this movie isn't for anyone.
Karma: Could be worse (could be raining)
I can only hope that they dont try to shift the color balance to red to justify not replacing all the DVD's that were misprinted with the wrong color-balance..
Starman97@Gmail.com (bring it on spammers)
Two things that bothered me:
The same thing happened in Kiki's Delivery Service too- Kiki was descending a random staircase, and for no reason at all they decided it should play like a piano. They feel a need to stuff in extra stimulation to keep us Yanks in the seats.
Some relationships to Western myth:
Most of the magical background was Japan's kami, of course. Ubaga was rather like a cross between an oni and a western witch (but original, all her own).
Random associations: "don't look back"- like Orpheus' walk out of Hades, but inverted. (That story also featured the eating of food as a way to bind yourself to a supernatural realm)
"don't take food meant for the gods"- Odysseus' men did the same , and were punished for it. As pigs, no less.
The date's a bit off. I live in Minneapolis and I know it starts here tomorrow (at the Uptown Theater, for anybody that knows the area. Probably the biggest screen in town).
I would imagine New York, LA, etc. would start tomorrow then, too. All part of the big eight or ten markets, if I'm not mistaken-- the above-mentioned three, plus, I dunno, Boston, Miami, Toronto.
So check your listings, gang, and see it early. Who knows how long it'll stick around?
Ebert & Roeper reviewed it this weekend and loved it. They said that kids will really like it but adults will probably enjoy it more. Apparently Miyazaki almost didn't make this movie. You can hear the review here: http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/tod ay.html
If you're thinking of seeing this ask yourself what you value in a movie.
If you just like non-stop action with 2 braincelled heroes like Vin Diesel don't go see this. You'll only get lost half way in and get frustrated.
If you like a "thinker" movie that challenges your views of the world DO see this movie. You'll also be lost like the action-seeker crowd but it won't bother you and the ending will reward you and explain the entire movie.
This movie is classic Miyazaki. Although there is a weird sensation when switching from a 3D scene to a 2D scene and vice versa, it is still stuning and there is, unlike many other movies, a story.
I just bought this movie on DVD when I was in Japan two weeks ago. It's EXCELLENT! The animation was great, and it had a wonderful storyline. I would definitely recommend seeing it when it hits the theater. Or, if you have or are in the mood for region hacking your DVD player (for those not in region 2) go order the DVD.
Life is but a mist upon the horizon.
I'm so happy, the smaller (but nice) independent/alternative film theater right nearby me is showing this, I saw the poster for it today. =D
I know that many movie "experts" consider dubbing as a terrible thing: breaking the director's original vision, etc. For certain foreign movies, I agree. However, for visually rich films like this one is supposed to be, I much prefer dubbing; even bad dubbing. I hate missing what's happening on the rest of the screen while staring at the words on the bottom.
The film showed at the Uptown Cinema, one of the few remaining cool theaters in this berg. AND he did a Q&A!
Not that I had tickets, mind you. --And I've been a fan of Miyazaki since before people even knew that Japan had an animation culture to export.
Whatever. It'll be cool to see the work of such a master on big screens. I've looked over the production sketches and paintings for the film, and it's very nice; some really clever techniques were used. From what I could see, the transition the characters made from the real world to the magical world is clever in similar ways as that done in "Being John Malcovitch".
Looking forward to this one. There are so few good film makers still allowed to share their works on the screens of the masses. Miyazaki is a wise man with his head screwed on right, has things to say worth hearing and knows how to speak them without offending or condescending. There are not a lot of great teachers left out there. --What with Lucas having been brain-sucked and all!
-Fantastic Lad
I saw this w/ subtitles here in Japan. It really is a beautiful movie. The characters are instantly authentic, and it has the typical lack of black and white, good vs. evil that separates Japanese and Eastern stories from the traditional 'good vs. evil' central to Western plots...Evil never has any redeeming aspects in Western ideology. (Just ask Bush)
I'd like to second peoples remarks about Nausica. It is an amazing animation, and the movie is only one story out of a series of manga.
The movie most closesly resembles Ghibli's "Ponpoko," in that it's random misadventures, where the generic lead and generic supporting cast go through a series of misadventures that can't really be called a plot. As opposed to the really cool worlds of other Ghibli movies, the setting is mostly the claustrophobic servant's quarters of a luxury hotel. Once you accept the weirdness of the setting, there really isn't much interesting about it.
Similarly to Ponpoko, the reason to watch it is for the whimsical animated asides. Monsters look crazy and whatnot. It's not as continually imaginative as the novel _Alice in Wonderland_, or the best anime, but it's still a site to see, and is continually well-drawn. A lot of the monsters incorporate traditional Japanese demons, so it's probably more exotic and overwhelming for an American audience, than it would be for Japanese. I don't know if that's good or bad, though.
A final note: man, these ten year old girls who have to fend for themselves, but end up making good because of their kindness and plucky spirit, is as big a cliche as anything in American movies. "Princess Mononoke" wasn't my favorite, but I was hoping Miyazaki would continue dealing with more difficult themes, and having more interesting leads. I think this movie was a step back to standard Ghibli - only, without anything special enough make it stand out from what's come before.
Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
I'll add the disclaimer that I *hate* dubs, generally. I usually can't stomach the arguments of people who say, "reading subtitles disturbs the continuity and distracts the eyes from the rest of the screen." This movie, however, is an exception.
I've watched this movie three times subtitled, and once dubbed now. Even after three viewings of the subtitled version, there were a lot of subtle, but really cool things that I missed, that I noticed at Tuesday's showing at the Guild 45th. And it wasn't like they were "deep" things, either -- everyone in the entire theater noticed them. The fact that our eyes were on the screen, rather than the subtitles, allowed us to see them.
With movies that have a lot of things happening on-screen, reading subtitles makes you miss things. Your argument that you read the subtitles subconsciously only means that you're looking at the bottom of the screen (away from the picture) subconsciously. You become zoned out from the visual content, and you miss the throwaway visuals.
That said, there were many things about this dub that I did not like. Such as the voice for Haku. How many inflection patterns does that guy know how to make? I counted two. Even when he was supposed to be supportive and consoling, he still used the "grim" voice. The only deviation from the "grim" voice was when he asked a question, which was really only three lines in the entire frickin' movie. I swear they pulled this guy from a TV commercial. And if he happens to be some famous actor that I just don't know about, then he couldn't possibly be famous for any sort of real talent.
Chihiro was similar, but for some reason she grated on me much less. I guess her acting, while mostly invariant, sounded more like what I'd expect her character to sound like.
And just so that you don't think I'm an impossible-to-please dub hater (close, but not quite), the voice for Lin was *awesome*. The emotions, the "I'm a bitch, just kidding" vocal transitions, the matching of attitude to facial expressions... this girl has some serious range.
Final verdict: A hellaciously fun movie, an adequate (though not spectacular) dub, in a format that allows the eyes to wander over the screen and catch all the little things.
Sokay, I missed it at first too.
;P
Probably needed a sarcasm opening tag at the beginning
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
Grump grump grump. No showings in Vancouver (yet). I may have to drive to Seattle to watch it next weekend.
Even though the dub is showing, I think it will be just fine - Lasseter is an artist with integrity himself, so I expect it will be very well-done.
Here's hoping he does versions for theatricals of Totoro, Laputa, and Nausicaa as well.
N.
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
Saw this one at Gencon in August. The folks running the Anime room had quite a line up, and there's nothing like seeing a new anime materpiece with a bunch of otaku who are also seeing it for the first time. Of course, it brought the house down when it played.
I'm generally very tough on anime, the storylines aren't usually enough to keep me interested. Didn't much care for Akira, didn't like the new Metropolis, didn't much care for Ghost in the Shell... generally I don't like a lot of Anime that folks tell me I'm supposed to like, but I did like this one.
This movie reminds me a LOT of the original Neverending Story, which was my favorite film when I was a kid. The animation is unmatched, of course, and the story is very... unique. Such a strange and magical setting, so many unique characters, it was very refreshing to get a good look at someone else's imagination for a change. There were some very good laughs in this film as well.
I'd highly recommend this one to anybody who is getting sick of Disney's idea of a kid's movie. I'll definitely be catching this one in the theater, and buying it for my collection.
Hell is being intelligent in a world full of idiots.
You don't need two DVD players as long as you're careful about which one you buy. Region checking is usually done two places: first is in the DVD playback software (PowerDVD, WinDVD, etc), but you can use something like "DVD Genie" to get around that. The second is if the DVD player is RPC2 enabled then the hardware itself will check. However, many RPC2 players have a utility available to turn the protection off. As with all things, just doing a little research with Google before you buy is a good idea.
The movie has been available as a high quality subbed DVD-Rip, and if you didn't get the story you must not be too smart. It's a (brilliant) children's movie, and as such can be understood by anyone above the age of 8. It's way less weird than the ending of Mononoke Hime.
Switch back to Slashdot's D1 system.
Toronto is another one of those cities. Actually, it played here September 7th (dub) and 9th (sub) at the Toronto International Film Festival. I tried to get tickets, but was denied. I'm going to try and head to a matinee this afternoon, yipee! I hope this film does well, so that I can see more anime films at my local theatre. For those who need convincing, check out some reviews here, and here.
"Now gluttony and exploitation serves eight!" - TV's Frank
A local video store here in Atlanta already has the original Japanese version (with subtitles) on VHS and DVD. If you really want to see this film, get the subtitled version. Disney's doing the dubbing and I know they're going to screw it up. The dubbed version of Princess Mononoke had Billy Bob Thorton playing the priest character. God only knows who they'll get to play these voices.
If you can only see the dubbed version--definitely still see it. It's one of the best anime I've ever seen. It's got a magical quality to it that reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. It's a very strange story, very surrealistic at times, but something kids will love and adults can really get into. I loved Princess Mononoke but I thought Spirited Away was at least as good.
There are two licensed R3 release from Hong Kong, a Cantonese dub, and the original Japanese version (with English subtitles), which is about half the price of the Japanese R2 release, see:
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http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx?pid=10018
There also are, or will be soon, licensed R3 versions from Taiwan and Korea. For Chinese readers, the Taiwanese DVD is described at:
http://bvhe.bvi.com.tw/event/ghibli_spiritedawa
Bottom line: If a DVD of a Miyazaki film claims to be "all region", it's almost certainly a bootleg. If it has a region code, it is probably an authorized release. For further information on bootleg versions, see:
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/video/answers.
MEK
Credo quia impossibilis -- Tertullian
My daughter (now 6) loves Totoro and Kiki.
Can I take her to see Spirited Away? Or will it be too scary?
Read Epic the first RPG novel.
was in japan last week. the damn thing is on sale *everywhere*.
two reasons prohibiting:
1) region code: yeah sure by-passable, blah blah. but not for everyone. and one more reason mpaa / riaa sucks elephant trunk
2) jesus christ they were like 40bux a pop!!! in fact, ALL japanese DVDs were about that much (4000 - 4500 yen). no wonder they poped up something called a region code, eh? certainly can't have people buying legit copies of US version movies and selling them half-price in japan now, can we.
My life in the land of the rising sun.