Off topic: Miyazaki movies

[rockmanxpr]

Hey SilentRealm, I noticed on your site that you really liked Spirited Away, so I would highly recommend getting Kiki's Delivery Service, My neighbor Totoro (the disney release, not the Fox release), and Castle in the Sky. They have been released in the states, so I would hope Australia would have them too, unlike Symphony X stuff

 

[Friend of Moloch]

Laputa: Castle in the Sky is a great movie. I've liked all of his so far, but that's my favorite. And you'd probably like some of Studio Ghibli's stuff too. Grave of the Fireflies is the saddest movie I've ever seen in my life. With Pay it Forward and Life is Beautiful running close second and third.

 

[symphonyXjapan]

what about Princess Mononoke?

 

[rockmanxpr]

My fav is Kiki followed by Nausica (hopefull that one will be released soon) As for Monoke Hime, it was fine but I prefer Nausica over that one since they are sort of a similar story, but Monoke got too preachy at times for me

 

[SilentRealm]

I have been trying desperately to find more Miyazaki movies here in Aus.. but to no avail.. they havent been released here as far as I know so far.. I've asked the video store, I've looked online..found no where that I can get them. Spirited Away is the first as far as I know by Miyazaki that has been released here. Last resort is when/if I ever get a debit card, I will import them in.


But if the others are anything like the quality and appeal of Spirited Away, then I just cannot wait to see the rest of his work.

 

[Manga-San]

Laputa is the BEST..!!!

Mononoke is really good, more adult-themed I think with all of the fighting...

Grave of the Fireflies is uber-sad. I can't really watch it anymore because I cry everytime I do...

Spirited Away is awesome. So much imagination in that film, and the music is just breathtaking...

Haven't seen the rest yet...

 

[rockmanxpr]

I see that Australia is Region 4 coding for DVD's, doesn't coding just suck... To help you in your Miyazaki quest, I suggest looking at www.world-import.com to get a Region Free DVD player, and they are no more expensive than a region player, and order your DVD's from Amazon or such.

On a side note I'm hoping to head up to Tokyo next week and visit the Miyazaki museum and take some pics

 

[SilentRealm]

Grave of the fireflies sounds like one i would love to watch..

Thing I loved so much about Sprited Away were a few things, one the haunting beauty in the music, two the little extras that make it so endearing (such as when Chihiro and Haku are falling through the air crying together and the mouse tries to catch one of the tears..I just loved those little things in it), and three.. the whole area when theyre driving up to the theme park reminded me exactly of parts of Okinawa, the island I lived on in Japan. Just such a strange haunting place, I'm sure all of Japan is like that. I took it all for granted when I lived there, but now believe it or not, theres alot of aspects to it that I miss.

 

[SilentRealm]

btw my dvd plays all regions, I have some movies I got in the states, so when I bought a dvd player I had to make sure I got one that plays all.

 

[rockmanxpr]

Here is a nice site to aquaint yourself with the other Miyazaki movies http://www.nausicaa.net/
enjoy!

 

[Manga-San]

I cannot stress how frigging sad Grave of the Fireflies is. Oh yeah, you HAVE to watch the Japanese version, because the American voice-overs are horrible. The people who do it are obviously not into their character, because they have abosuletly no emotion. And the chick that does the four year old girl is like 25 and you can REALLY tell that a kid didn't do the voice...

So sad, though. *tear*

 

[Hyoukinmono]

Totoro is definitely my favorite. It's got great atmosphere, there's character development, and you feel good when it's over (unlike that horrid Princess Mononoke, "Ooh, people are evil! Animals and nature are great! Die, humans, die!!!" I don't know, maybe it comes across differently in English, but it just seemed like a VERY heavy-handed environmental extremist propoganda film, without a single truly likable character, though the animation was fine. Yes, I truly despise that movie.)
I've seen just about all of Miyazaki's films in Japanese, but I saw Totoro once in Japanese, and the voice overs and sound quality were pretty bad. (It was about 14 years ago, so maybe the newer version is better.)

One of my favorite lines comes from Kurenai no Buta (Sorry, I don't know the English title. It's the one where the pilot turns into a pig.) The pig-man says "A pig that can't fly is just a pig." ("Tobenai buta wa tada no buta" for you Japanese speakers.) For some reason I find that really funny, especially in Japanese.

I liked Spirited Away, though I thought I wouldn't since people were raving about it so much (the same people who were raving about Princess Mononoke). Definitely the little extras that were mentioned are part of the charm. The parents seemed unnecessarily cold, though. Spirited Away is probably the only one that my kids have watched anywhere near as often as Totoro.

For the most part I like Miyazaki's work, but that Mononoke...

 

[SilentRealm]

lol i've found a thread to go nuts on..
but i love the bit with the parents where the father, played by Michael Chiklis, the badass guy from the show 'the shield'..is like..dont worry you got daddy here... in that full on NY accent.. i love that accent so much.

 

[rockmanxpr]

i wouldnt waste my time on kiki's. go straight for the big guns like princess mononoke or spirited like you already did. princess mononoke is by far his best film if you ask me. grave of fireflies is pretty decent too.

BLASPHEMY!!!:hotjump:

As for the Flying Pig movie, that's The Crimson Pig (english) or Porco Rosso (Italian)
Ditto for Hyoukinmono , thought monoke was too preachy, better version of that story is Nausicaa

 

[Friend of Moloch]

Nausicaa is great, but I've only read the manga. Personally, I generally like the mangas better, but there's always exceptions.

Mononoke was the first Miyazaki flick I watched, but I've liked most of his other ones better since then. And for some reason, I keep wanting to bring up Ima Soko ni Iru Boku (Now and Then, Here and There). It's not Miyazaki, but I got a similar feel from it even though the characters can actually seem pretty shallow.

 

[symphonyXjapan]

How can you NOT like Mononoke? It had Billy Bob Thornton in it! I don't know I guess it kinda did seem "preachy" but I can see how any movie based on a particular opinion can seem that way. My biggest complaint is that the last 30-45 minutes just dragged on and on and not much really happened in that alloted time. I still have not seen Spirited Away because I heard it was like Alice in Wonderland. If it is it is just a ripoff of that on a more serious note.

 

[Hyoukinmono]

In a lot of ways, Spirited Away is like Alice in Wonderland in that a little girl goes into this strange world and deals with a lot of irrational characters and then comes back. The charm of Spirited Away isn't in the story, but in the visual details and the interesting characters. Not really much plot or character development, but it's enjoyable to watch.

 

[SilentRealm]

yeah but thats where the similarities between spirited and alice end.. its nothing like alice in wonderland at all..and you should see it and make up your own mind what you think, dont rely on other peoples judgement, because your perception and their perception are two entirely different things.

 

[Hyoukinmono]

yeah but thats where the similarities between spirited and alice end.. its nothing like alice in wonderland at all..and you should see it and make up your own mind what you think, dont rely on other peoples judgement, because your perception and their perception are two entirely different things.

Actually, my perception is always correct, so you can always trust me...except for when I'm wrong.

I think that the similarities are basically just those superficial things too. I didn't mean that Spirited Away was a copy, but just that there is similarity in the basic premise and types of event that happen to the little girl. The concrete aspects are definitely very different.
The differences are even more profound when you are familiar with Japanese religion(s) and folklore. A lot of the "weird" stuff makes more sense. (Well, a LITTLE more sense, anyway! )

Spirited Away is one in which I find something new each time I watch it. There are so many fun little details, that it's like doing one of those "Where's Waldo?" books.

 

[Friend of Moloch]

Actually, my perception is always correct, so you can always trust me...except for when I'm wrong.

I think that the similarities are basically just those superficial things too. I didn't mean that Spirited Away was a copy, but just that there is similarity in the basic premise and types of event that happen to the little girl. The concrete aspects are definitely very different.
The differences are even more profound when you are familiar with Japanese religion(s) and folklore. A lot of the "weird" stuff makes more sense. (Well, a LITTLE more sense, anyway! )

Spirited Away is one in which I find something new each time I watch it. There are so many fun little details, that it's like doing one of those "Where's Waldo?" books.

Well, Miyazaki does that with a lot of his work. Nausicaa was based off a tale he read in 1001 Tales of Japanese Mythology (or something that sounds similar) about a princess, Nausicaa, with a fondness for insects that preceded her fondness for society. But that doesn't make it any less good or imaginative.

Anyway, I'm not really arguing... just bringing that up.