DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "Kiki's Delivery Service" (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[jeroen]

deleted

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hey folks!

Thanks for the kind replies.

Kiki's Delivery service is a 2-disc
release. Realize that I work with templates
and sometimes I can miss subtle mistakes, which
I have just corrected.

The screen captures are further compressed as
I can no longer upload large, uncompressed images.

Take my word for it -- this transfer is exceptional.

 

[David Lambert]

I trust ya', Ron! Boy oh boy...this one is SO mine!

 

[Anthony Thorne]

KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is my favourite Miyazaki movie, and probably my favourite film discovery of the year (I caught it just a couple of months back). It is stunning. Gorgeous animation, a wonderful soundtrack, clever humour and - the surprise for me - a carefully constructed story that becomes unexpectedly gripping in the final scenes when everything comes together. An amazing movie, better than a lot of non-animated features I've seen recently.

 

[Brendon]

Having bought and watch Princess Mononoke a year or two back, and whilst being impressed, was not blown away by it.

On the strength of Roger Ebert's review of Spirited Away, I bought the R3 release a couple of weeks back and was COMPLETELY blown away in a fashion not experienced since my first viewing of Hitchcock's North by Northwest.

Since then I've ordered the R3 My Neighbor Totoro (the R1 release being p&s'd and dubbed to boot) and the R1 Kiki's - Rons review swayed me towards the R1 over the R3.

On top of this I'm quite tempted towards Castle In The Sky (Laputa), Naussica etc. I'll happily put elderly female relatives on eBay to finance this, I just need selling on it...

Anyone care to push me over the edge on the remaining Miyazaki titles ?

Brendon

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Thanks for the great reviews, Ron! I'm glad you've discovered Miyazaki. As others have stated, it's difficult to compare his films to other anime, because even in Japan they are in a class by themselves.

That being said, there are other anime films you might enjoy:

The Wings of Honneamise, one of my favorites,
Princess Mononoke, more Miyazaki magic,
and Akira will blow your mind. Unwrap that thing!

And, as for adults watching animation, just remember what C.S. Lewis said... "When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." I may be paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it.

Anyone care to push me over the edge on the remaining Miyazaki titles ?

Brendon, visit Nausicaa.net for a wealth of information about Miyazaki's and other films from Studio Ghibli.

 

[Richard Waller]

I will be glad to replace my R2J version with this set. Disney and John Lasseter are finally giving R1 Miyazaki fans what they deserve.

 

[Woo Jae]

Most of the works by Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli are well worth owning and are loved not just by Japanese but anime and animators and animation fans all over the world. I just can't wait until the release of Nausicaa here in Region 1, the movie that truly made me love Miyazaki and anime in general.

Ron, kudos to the review - stellar as always!

If any of you ever decide to purchase an anime movie title, make sure to get Grave of the Fireflies, Collector's Edition for yourself. Highly recommended by this anime fan...

 

[James_M]

Miyazaki films are nothing to be ashamed about watching. I'd be more ashamed of people who don't get around to watching this good stuff out of animation bias.

Briefly comparing some of those shots with my R3, the R1 appears to be very slightly cropped. But the detail looks a bit sharper on the R1 than on the HK R3.

 

[Tony-B]

I'd be more ashamed of people who don't get around to watching this good stuff out of animation bias.

I concur 100% with you!

 

[Ray Chuang]

Why do you think I've pre-ordered all three Studio Ghibli movies coming out on R1 DVD on 15 April?

Hayao Miyazaki will go down as one of the greatest animators of all time, PERIOD. I'm very glad that Disney has decided to give these three movies a first-class treatment.

 

[Ty Durden]

I haven't felt the need to post in a long time, but the request for more Miyazaki titles has me ready.

It may be difficult to find a non-"hk-bootleg" disc but anyone wanting more mastery should check out Porco Rosso. Up until Titanic was released in Japan, it was the highest grossing movie there. It still remains one of the few films that Miyazaki did not intend to be seen by children. Or, more adult-oriented than children. It contains all of the Miyazaki staples and is considered a metaphorical biography of the master himself. It's got planes, mercs, punch'em ups, romance, political games, beautiful settings, and strong characters. Do yourself a favor and hunt down a region free player and this disc. A masterpiece.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It's easy to find one

http://www.dddhouse.com -R3 version
http://www.cdjapan.co.jpR2 version

Simple

 

[Anthony Thorne]

Agreed - Porco Rosso is a great movie. It has one of the best Ghibli soundtracks, as well. I have a suspicion that it'll be hitting Region 1 later this year.

 

[Leif Ashby]

Ronald, you say the Japanese language track is the original stereo mix, which is strange because the Disney website for it states it's Dolby Digital 5.1 and another reviewer of this DVD release states that it's a 5.1 remix.(AOD)

Just wondering.

 

[Ryan Peter]

Hey Ron,

Now that you love the first two, will you complete the set and do a review for Castle in the Sky?

 

[John Torrez]

Do the other movies have dubbed tracks as well? And if so, how are those? No flaming, please.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Yes, and overall poor. Typically exactly 1 actor knows what they're doing and the rest are horribly miscast or jsut poor voice actors

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Now that you love the first two, will you complete the set and do a review for Castle in the Sky?

That all depends how many screeners I receive
over the nest few days.

 

[Andy_Bu]

Do the other movies have dubbed tracks as well? And if so, how are those?

Many people have already commented that the dubs are quite good. If you ever want to get a large broadbased opinion of dubs, check out the following forum on Chris's wonderful anime site. It gives a ton of information and opinions.

For people who are just getting into dubs, I would recommend starting with the thread listed below.

It is very interesting to read why so many original "purists" have started to stray from the subs and move more into the dub world as they continue to get better and better. I first started out to only watch subs because I was being a bit brain washed. Watching the Cowboy Bebop dub completely opened my eyes as to what I was missing. And it is nice to see how many others are making the same transformation.

This does not mean all dubs are good so it is worth researching and choosing carefully.

http://forums.animeondvd.com//ubbthr...b=5&o=&fpart=1

Andy