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Post by Mighty Jack on Mar 11, 2010 0:38:33 GMT -5
I finally saw Porco Rosso Outstanding! This was one of the Miyazaki’s funniest; but it had poignant moments as well. I watched it with dubs, this one worked better for me that way (due to the humor? I laughed easier when I was hearing the English inflection, rather than reading while I’m listening – and Brad Garrett is always a plus)
Anyway – he oversold the ‘pig’ thing, and I would have liked a clearer resolution on the relationship with Gina. Otherwise it worked. I’m not sure where I’d rank it. Miyazaki is the one guy I can’t really make a top 10 for. Mononoke is a clear #1. I find it epic, breathtaking, intellectually challenging, brilliantly nuanced. And Totoro is a sentimental favorite. But beyond that they are all note worthy, so far I’ve yet to see a Miyazaki movie that wasn’t great (I’ve not seen Lupin, and no one has it for rent)
I aslo got Whisper of the Heart in today.
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Post by angilasman on Mar 11, 2010 12:05:04 GMT -5
[Massive Porco Rosso Spoiler] There is a clear resolution to Porco's relationship with Gina, you just have to play really close attention to that final scene - and maybe use the zoom function on your DVD player.
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Post by spackle on Mar 11, 2010 13:28:43 GMT -5
Alllll riiiiigggght..... *puts Porco Rosso on Netflix list again*.... I'm going to have to give Porco another try. So many MSTies can't be wrong!
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Post by Mighty Jack on Mar 12, 2010 1:50:57 GMT -5
Dang, I've already sent it back (I never hold onto my netflix long) Edit - Wiki tells all, so now I know. Whisper was okay. Not as wonderful as the ones he directed. A few repetitions ("I'm not good enough, all I do is read silly books...", she says several times. Plus the blushing, man they did a lot of blushing in this movie. It was cute at first, but they over did it) I liked it when she got into her writing. I can relate to that kind of obsession, once you get into the creating mode that's all one zeroes in on.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Mar 15, 2010 9:35:02 GMT -5
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro By far the lesser animal in the Miyazaki collection. The art isn’t up to his high standards and I didn’t care for the score. This story about a super thief is still entertaining, I’m glad I saw it. But it lacks the depth and magic of the director/writers best work.
Now I've seen them all thanks to this thread.
I enjoyed myself so much I put the other Miyazaki titles on hold from the library (I froze my Netflix account for a few months). I really want to see Howls because I haven't seen that one since it was in theaters and it doesn't seem to get as much love as the others.
Edit: BTW, re-reading this thread. In my Totoro DVD, the dub - she doesn’t say “There goes the neighborhood” she says…”Well Mei, so much for bringing dad his umbrella” (the subtitle said “He took dad’s umbrella”).
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Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 15, 2010 9:47:06 GMT -5
Edit: BTW, re-reading this thread. In my Totoro DVD, the dub - she doesn’t say “There goes the neighborhood” she says…”Well Mei, so much for bringing dad his umbrella” (the subtitle said “He took dad’s umbrella”). Yeah, along the line of something you mentioned a few pages back, I think there were at least two Totoro dubs. My disc was actually the region 2 release w/o an English soundtrack, but I think I found the "neighborhood" version on YouTube somewhere. Thanks for reminding about the library! I'll have to see if I can get it there.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Mar 15, 2010 10:40:40 GMT -5
That's probably it.
I watched the subtitled Lupin III just now (much better), and noticed that they don't have the swear words. The English dubs include a friggen, a few shhhts and bastards and a "you bitch!" The closest I saw was dang for damn. I wonder which was more accurate? (I notice in some new subs on Kurosawa, they include swearing - even an F-bomb).
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Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 15, 2010 12:20:26 GMT -5
That's another tricky aspect of translating from Japanese. It doesn't really have clear equivalents of English swear words, but there are certainly things they say where the tone and particular forms chosen can have the same kind of impact.
I was looking at Testsuo again recently, and a recurring line in that is "Saa, koi!" Literally it means something like: "Well, come here!" In context it's what you say if you're trying to provoke a fight and probably would involve some profanity in US English.
Edit: I was just recollecting that the really extreme form of that is "Saa, koi yare!" That adds an imperative and demeaning form meaning "do it!" In the film it's shrieked as one character attacks another.
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Post by spackle on Mar 15, 2010 21:45:21 GMT -5
Dang, I've already sent it back (I never hold onto my netflix long) Edit - Wiki tells all, so now I know. I watched Porco Rosso again tonight, and I appreciated it more this time. I guess the first time was right after watching Nausicaa and Mononoke, and I was hoping for something as breathtaking. Porco really is funny and beautiful, and a great story. Thanks to this thread, I was on the lookout for the very subtle resolution to the Marco/Gina story. I took a screen shot, and will post it below in case you'd rather see it than read about it, MJ. I don't think it's a spoiler for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, since you won't know what to look for, but be forewarned anyway.......... Oh, and I had to listen to it in French for a while, because I love Jean Reno's voice. Subtle, eh what?
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Post by Mighty Jack on Mar 22, 2010 23:14:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the screen cap
Two from the library: Watched both subs and dubbed versions.
Howl’s Moving Castle Ebert felt this was a lesser effort from Miyazaki, and while I agree it doesn’t match Mononokoe or Spirited, it is spectacular. The art is among the very best I’ve seen on a Ghibli film, it’s beautiful and I liked the movement (The camera work? So to speak)
So is the castle a nod to Steampunk? (Speaking of which, I know it didn’t get good reviews, but I thought “Steam Boy” was a really cool movie and the animation was awe-inspiring. I couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen) – back on subject, though I enjoyed the film a lot, the ending seemed a bit abrupt and it was funny when Christian Bale gave us a preview of his Batman voice.
Princess Mononoke In a word, it’s ‘perfection’. There’s not a missed beat, not a flaw in the theme or the narrative. Miyazaki delivers his message but I never felt like he was hammering me over the head with it. I loved the ambiguity, Lady Eboshi isn’t cut and dried villainy, she does good for her people. On the other hand, nature can be volatile and dangerous (I love when the wolf grabs the Prince’s head and starts shaking it – these aint Disney’s happy, helpful singing animals); we are given many shades of gray. The ending is epic, truly breathtaking. The box cover compares it to Star Wars (what… it’s cheesy and dated?), I think it strikes a higher chord than that, and can stand among Japans greatest cinematic efforts.
Oh, and I like those forest ghost baby things, cute and freaky.
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Post by spackle on Mar 23, 2010 7:45:27 GMT -5
Interesting thought about steampunk. I hadn't associated it with Miyazaki before, but many of his contraptions could be thought of as steampunk. Howl's castle is a prime example, but all the cars in the movie are steam-powered, and many of his flying machines in various movies are of such an alternate (and probably impossible) kind of design, they could be called steampunk. I previously thought of it as a kind of retro nostalgia on Miyazaki's part. Oh, and I like those forest ghost baby things, cute and freaky. Those are called kodama. I love their rattling little heads.
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Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 23, 2010 20:54:30 GMT -5
I love their rattling little heads. {INSERT COMMENT HERE} It wouldn't surprise me if it's associated with steam-punk. His first 'real' film was released in 1984, at right about the time that the steam-punk movement was starting to be noticed in SF literature. Hey Ijon, wikipedia cites Karel Zeman's The Fabulous Worlds Of Jules Verne as an early example of steam-punk in films. Now, I really want to find it.
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Post by spackle on Mar 24, 2010 10:15:04 GMT -5
Hey Ijon, wikipedia cites Karel Zeman's The Fabulous Worlds Of Jules Verne as an early example of steam-punk in films. Now, I really want to find it. Voila! Also called A Deadly Invention. Fantastic! I wish it had subs. Er, well, it's got subs, but not the kind I was talking about.
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Post by The Mad Plumber on Mar 24, 2010 17:16:26 GMT -5
I just rented and watched Ponyo. Ummm ...
To be honest, I didn't like it. Maybe it loses something in its English conversion, but I just couldn't relate to it. The characters were obnoxious and it did start to get boring. Also, I think they glossed over Liam Neeson's character's desire to execute the genocide of humans. Also, that ending credit's song is just grating.
It's a creative interpretation of "The Little Mermaid", but it didn't strike a chord with me.
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Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 25, 2010 9:50:18 GMT -5
Voila! Also called A Deadly Invention. Fantastic! I wish it had subs. Er, well, it's got subs, but not the kind I was talking about. Thanks! I saw it before in Czech with Japanese subs, and the visuals were such that it was captivating nonetheless. Check it out, chicken, it is indeed the granddaddy of steam-punk.
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