Lupin III: Castle Of Cagliostro (1979)
Lupin III: Castle Of Cagliostro (1979)
Anime film director Hayao Miyazaki has become a household name with films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Howl's Moving Castle with his studio, Studio Ghibli. Before he started Studio Ghibli he was an animator, his feature film directorial debut came in 1979 with Lupin III: The Castle Of Cagliostro, based on the popular Lupin the Third manga and anime series by Monkey Punch. Some of the style elements of The Castle of Cagliostro would help to define the style that would be recognized as Hayao Miyazaki's. The Castle Of Cagliostro, would go on to be one of the most well-loved anime films of all-time, however it didn't begin as such. When The Castle Of Cagliostro was released, many felt that it changed too much of the manga and anime, and made Lupin III a more heroic character, rather than the ruthless scoundrel that he was in the anime and manga. In the words of Lupin III creator, Monkey Punch, "I wouldn't have had him rescue the girl, I would have had him rape her!" However Monkey Punch did say that he liked Miyazaki's version of the character, and how he changed him to better fit Miyazaki's image of a hero. Some of the more erotic elements of the series were also softened, and though it might not exactly be a family friendly anime film, it is much softer edged than the original series.
The Castle Of Cagliostro follows the adventures of renowned thief Lupin The Third, after he and Daisuke Jigen rob a casino, only to find out the money is clever counterfeits. So they go to find the source of the "goat" bills, and along the way they help to save a woman dressed in a wedding gown, though she ends up being captured by Count Cagliostro, her name is Clarisse, and she is being forced to marry Count Cagliostro. Lupin and Daisuke plot to free Clarisse while finding out the secret of the "goat" bills, and also seeking the Cagliostro treasure, and all of these plots end up coming together in a great comedic adventure film.
The Castle Of Cagliostro was directed by Hayao Miyazaki with a screenplay by Miyazaki and Haruya Yamazaki. The characters and story are based on the Lupin The Third (Lupin III) manga and anime series created by Monkey Punch. The film was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, and distributed by Toho. The film was released with English dubs by Streamline Pictures in 1992, Manga Video 2000 (they also did the 1996 UK distribution, but using the previous english language dubs) Studio Canal did the 2012 UK distribution, with a new high def release, and Discotek Media released the 2014 DVD and 2015 Bluray release (which is the version that I have, which has all three, the Japanese language, and both English language versions).
Anime film director Hayao Miyazaki has become a household name with films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Howl's Moving Castle with his studio, Studio Ghibli. Before he started Studio Ghibli he was an animator, his feature film directorial debut came in 1979 with Lupin III: The Castle Of Cagliostro, based on the popular Lupin the Third manga and anime series by Monkey Punch. Some of the style elements of The Castle of Cagliostro would help to define the style that would be recognized as Hayao Miyazaki's. The Castle Of Cagliostro, would go on to be one of the most well-loved anime films of all-time, however it didn't begin as such. When The Castle Of Cagliostro was released, many felt that it changed too much of the manga and anime, and made Lupin III a more heroic character, rather than the ruthless scoundrel that he was in the anime and manga. In the words of Lupin III creator, Monkey Punch, "I wouldn't have had him rescue the girl, I would have had him rape her!" However Monkey Punch did say that he liked Miyazaki's version of the character, and how he changed him to better fit Miyazaki's image of a hero. Some of the more erotic elements of the series were also softened, and though it might not exactly be a family friendly anime film, it is much softer edged than the original series.
The Castle Of Cagliostro follows the adventures of renowned thief Lupin The Third, after he and Daisuke Jigen rob a casino, only to find out the money is clever counterfeits. So they go to find the source of the "goat" bills, and along the way they help to save a woman dressed in a wedding gown, though she ends up being captured by Count Cagliostro, her name is Clarisse, and she is being forced to marry Count Cagliostro. Lupin and Daisuke plot to free Clarisse while finding out the secret of the "goat" bills, and also seeking the Cagliostro treasure, and all of these plots end up coming together in a great comedic adventure film.
The Castle Of Cagliostro was directed by Hayao Miyazaki with a screenplay by Miyazaki and Haruya Yamazaki. The characters and story are based on the Lupin The Third (Lupin III) manga and anime series created by Monkey Punch. The film was produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, and distributed by Toho. The film was released with English dubs by Streamline Pictures in 1992, Manga Video 2000 (they also did the 1996 UK distribution, but using the previous english language dubs) Studio Canal did the 2012 UK distribution, with a new high def release, and Discotek Media released the 2014 DVD and 2015 Bluray release (which is the version that I have, which has all three, the Japanese language, and both English language versions).
For this review I watched the Manga Video English dub from 2000, which is the best English dub of the film to date. There was a previous English dub, but it changed Lupin's name to The Wolf, and also watered down the language making it too family friendly. The 2000 version by Manga, is the truest to the original Japanese release from 1979, and also has the best sound as well, with a stereo rather than mono soundtrack. The Castle Of Cagliostro (2000 Manga Video version) stars David Hayter as Arsene Lupin III, John Snyder as Daisuke Jigen, Dorothy Elia-Fahn as Fukio Mine, Michael Gregory as Goemon Ishikawa XIII, Kevin Seymour as Inspector Koichi Zenigata, Bridget Hoffman as Lady Clarisse do Cagliostro, Kirk Thornton as Count Lazare do Cagliostro, James Milton as Jodo (or Jodot), Barry Stigler as the Gardiner Christopher, Joe Romesa as Gendarme Captain Gustav, and Peter Spellos as Interpol Chairman. The film has a great cast, I love David Hayter as Lupin III, I first became a fan of David Hayter from his role as Tomahome in Fushigi Yuugi, which is my favourite anime of all-time, others might know him as the voice of Snake in the Metal Gear videogames. All of the voice actors were really well cast, and they do an amazing job at bringing these colourful characters to life. 
Hayao Miyazaki creates a beautiful film with The Castle Of Cagliostro, the film is beautifully animated, the story is engaging and entertaining, bringing in the suave style of James Bond, if only James Bond were a thief that drives a beat up old Fiat 500. The Castle Of Cagliostro has gone on to become a huge success, and a very influential animated film, and one of the best loved anime films of all-time. The film is well deserving of the status that it has obtained, and though it is a bit of a change form the character of Lupin III that we know from the manga and anime, this more nobel version of him works really well, and has become the image of Lupin III that most people now think of. This is definitely a high quality animated film and should be in every film collector's library. This is definitely a must see film, so if you haven't yet checked it out, I highly recommend tracking down a copy, but makes sure you either watch the Japanese language version or the 2000 Manga English language dub, and not the earlier English language dub.
Hayao Miyazaki creates a beautiful film with The Castle Of Cagliostro, the film is beautifully animated, the story is engaging and entertaining, bringing in the suave style of James Bond, if only James Bond were a thief that drives a beat up old Fiat 500. The Castle Of Cagliostro has gone on to become a huge success, and a very influential animated film, and one of the best loved anime films of all-time. The film is well deserving of the status that it has obtained, and though it is a bit of a change form the character of Lupin III that we know from the manga and anime, this more nobel version of him works really well, and has become the image of Lupin III that most people now think of. This is definitely a high quality animated film and should be in every film collector's library. This is definitely a must see film, so if you haven't yet checked it out, I highly recommend tracking down a copy, but makes sure you either watch the Japanese language version or the 2000 Manga English language dub, and not the earlier English language dub.
Comments
Post a Comment