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Lupin the 3rd - The Castle of Cagliostro Director: Hayao Miyazaki Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Letterbox Format: Dubbed, Subtitled Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 100 minutes Studio: Palm Pictures/Manga Video Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2000-04-25 Buy from Amazon |
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From Amazon.com Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) achieved his first international hit with this delightful 1979 adventure yarn. Quick-paced, high-spirited, and loaded with wit, Cagliostro is a dandy throwback to the caper pictures of the '60s. International man of mystery Lupin III stumbles back into the picturesque European duchy of Cagliostro with his faithful and gruff sidekick, Jigen. They will encounter, in no particular order, a runaway bride, a magical ring, an evil count with a dastardly plan, an inspector bent on catching Lupin, perilous rooftop chases, hooded guards with superhuman powers, a well-used dungeon, a counterfeiting scheme, and an ancient mystery promising grand treasure. Lupin deploys an array of Bond-type gadgets, razor-sharp wit, and a surprise up both his sleeves. Despite the hail of bullets, this caper is great fun, never taking itself seriously. Miyazaki's career illustrates how limiting the term anime can be for these films; there are hardly more than 10 live-action films of this genre as entertaining. Far less mean than Hollywood fare, it nevertheless is for ages 9 and up with language and gunplay. The Lupin character has been featured in other anime films, but never as successfully or with as much fun as in Miyazaki's film. The new English-language dubbing is excellent to boot. --Doug Thomas |
 "what a sneaky character"This Lupin the 3rd movie which was made in 1979 is great you should go see it. It's fun an adventurious, comedy little romance. Lupin is like James Bond.  "We love Miyazaki, but found Cagliostro wanting."We are a family of four, and buy DVD's for all of us to watch. The two girls, ages 4 and 7, have loved many Miyazaki films. They often have a young girl as protaganist and they identify with the character. Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl, Castle in the Sky, and Nausicaa may be their favorites. Castle of Cagliostro has more of a prototype feeling. The animation is less detailed, and more common in style. The characters are always in action, and don't stop and have the heartfelt moments that some of the later films have. All in all it seems like what it is: an animated TV show made long. Even his early movies show signs of the greatness that would come later, but I don't think we'll watch it again. "Don't judge a movie by its cover"At first glance this movie looked very corny because of the box art which is why I avoided this for months. I felt very stupid after watching this. I watched it 3 times in a row. Great animation for its time. The story was interesting and entertaining from beginning to end. Lots of action, all the characters are interesting, and several scenes are very funny. Being the forth Miyazaki movie I've seen, without a doubt I enjoyed this most. Lupin has quickly became one of my favorite characters because he seems to be a cross between Batman & James Bond. I recommend this movie to everyone. Believe the positive reviews. You cannot go wrong with this.  "Castle- Not for small kids"This is a fun flick for adults and teens but there are substantial "cuss-words" that prohibit viewing by small kids...an unexpected dissapointment...  "A great film, albeit a bad adaptation"I don't know who that guy is, but he's emphatically not Lupin III. Lupin is a sexist, arrogant jerk, and the hero of this film is eminently likeable -- a gentleman thief with a quirky sense of humor, honorable despite himself and a terrific reluctant hero. He's an action hero who's more interested in showing the villains up than in killing them. Lupin has just committed a daring heist of cash when he discovers the money he's stolen is counterfeit -- they're the legendary "goat bills," near-perfect forgeries created to devalue the world's coinage. Tracing the money to its source, he finds his way to Cagliostro, a fairy-tale kingdom full of beautiful women, hidden treasure and deadly perils. Like most Miyazaki films, Castle of Cagliostro feels like it was aimed at adults while remaining suitable for children. There aren't any terrifying moments like in Spirited Away, just a fun spy romp. Young kids may need the concept of counterfeiting explained to them, though. This film is, however, very similar to Laputa: Castle in the Sky, though with fewer fantastic elements and a simpler ending. Overall, I'll admit that Laputa has better visuals, but Castle has more interesting characters and holds up better on later viewings. |
