A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Tale of the Princess Kaguya -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

For those who follow Studio Ghibli, the names Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata are modern gods of animation.

Mr. Miyazaki's most recent work, The Wind Rises set a tone unmatched in serious modern feature film animation, and the Disney organization has been giving Ghibli's earlier work due respect.

In a similar fashion, but taking a totally different perspective toward physical animation is Mr. Takahata's 2013 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.  The overall look of the work, at least to me, is based upon beautifully styled Japanese watercolors.  

Except they move.

It's a totally different style from films such as his Grave of the Fireflies, and the works of Mr. Miyazaki, which are cell animation.

To create Princess Kaguya, Studio Ghibli had to literally reinvent their infrastructure of animation.  The film was drawn, shot digitally, and taken to a 2k DI for distribution for those venues seeking film.

Universal is releasing Princess Kaguya, and their Blu-ray is astoundingly beautiful.  I sampled both the English language track, as well as the original Japanese with subs, and my personal preference is the original.  This is not to infer that the English is in any way intrusive.  It isn't.  Simply personal preference.

Others will makes notes regarding the story, which begins when a bamboo cutter discovers a young princess in the forest.  It's rather like the the opening of The Ten Commandments, except not among papyrus reeds with handmaidens standing at the ready.

To me, the Blu-ray release of Princess Kaguya is an Event, as it's Mr. Takahata first film since 1999.  It has arrived on Blu, after playing limited runs and film festivals in the United State during the fall of 2014.

In my humble opinion, this is a film that deserves to be seen and appreciated by a wider audience.

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[Mark-W]

This film looks amazing in so many ways!

 

[Howard Tom]

The use of a freehand animation style (much like the late Frederic Back's short film work) draws attention to the texture of the drawing in a startling way. Even in motion some frames can burn the detailed linework into your eyes.


Here's a strange anecdote from former Ghibli Head Toshio Suzuki about one of the early press screenings in Japan.


As one of the nominations for Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards it will hopefully get the notice it deserves here in the west.