Grave of the Fireflies (1988) (1 Viewer)

[John Chow]

Well, I would have to say I don't think Disney is necessarily hamstringing Spirited Away. It is actually showing in multiple theaters in Houston, 3 of which are very large theaters. Compare that to Mononoke, which showed in one theater, which was an obscure arthouse type theater. I've also seen a total of 1 tv advertisement vs. the 0 I saw for Mononoke. Considering the total bomb that Mononoke was, it's interesting that they're actually putting more into Spirited Away.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It just annoys me that they HAVE the rights to release many of Miyazaki's works on DVD or VHS, and that they haven't for over 4 or more years. It's my impatient nature grating at me, I suppose....

Buy a region free deck, or hack your DVD-ROM and have them now then

 

[Scott_MacD]

Damn straight, Jeff.
I saw Spirited Away over the weekend on a friend's copy of the Hong Kong DVD - in Japanese DTS-ES no less. It's a miracle of a film, the kind of delightfully imaginative cinematic sorcery noone does.. (Enjoyed Princess Mononoke, and will see Grave of the Fireflies soon and post my thoughts in this thread when it arrives.)
Anyway, an order for the R3 DVD of Spirited Away is now in progress. Fantastic! :star: :star: :star: :star: out of four

 

[Tino]

I only wish that I could have enjoyed Spirited Away as much as I did Grave Of The Fireflies.
I watched this again the other night and it is in my opinion a much better film that Spirited Away, which I enjoyed.
GOTF has a better story, richer animation, better developed characters and is so much more powerful.
The animation in particular of Setsuko is amazing. The way she smiles, the way she swings her feet while sitting, the scene where she runs into the cold water at the beach, her cries when her Aunt takes her mothers kimono's etc... Setsuko is one of the best, if not THE best, animated characters ever realized.
The scene where Seita places the dead body of Setsuko in the small wooden coffin with her doll and sets fire to it
was so heartbreaking that it brought me close to tears.
That an anime film can have this much power is a testament to the makers of this film.
Bravo.

 

[Scott_MacD]

I don't doubt you, Tino..
Anyway, my copy of GotF has shipped and I should have my initial thoughts here by the end of the week.

 

[DonMac]

Tino wrote:

Yes, this is a sad, powerful extremely moving film, but not to the extreme of being unpleasant.

And when you think about it, if you take the prologue and turn it into an epilogue, which it actually is, the film is not as sad. Those of you that have seen it will know what I mean.

Exactly what I was going to suggest. After the end, start the movie over again and watch it up until it flashes back. It really makes for a beautiful and rather uplifting epilogue.

 

[Woo Jae]

My GtoF is finally shipping! should have it in a few days (prolly next week or maybe tomorrow All depends on the USPS or UPS). IMHO it is ultimately uplifting and a powerful reminder for those alive to remember the transient quality of life.

 

[Tino]

Woo
I'm curious. Instead of waiting this long, why didn't you just buy the film at Circuit City or BestBuy? I think they both have stores in the Bronx, no? And how much did you pay, if you don't mind saying? As I said, I bought my copy at BestBuy for $19.99.
I would have paid twice that amount, btw.

 

[Woo Jae]

Well, I ordered it first on line so that's how I decided to get it. Most anime and DVD I get online anyway so it was no big deal.

19.89, - I guess I saved about a dime :p

Anyway, I get most of my purchases online due to the generally lower prices.

 

[Woo Jae]

The newer version is VERY VERY clean and is a great transfer. Just watched it this weekend for the first time, and it was just as moving (even more so since I noticed new things that I did not remember from before.) Heart breaking anime at its best.... Don't miss it.

 

[Ted Lee]

hey guys
i picked up the se a while ago, but still haven't had the strength to watch it again.
but i have a nagging question from the previous time i watched it.
somebody help me get this story-point straight:
it seems to me that near the end, the pair didn't have any money. that's why the sister got sick. however, after she died didn't seita go to the bank and get more money? if that is indeed the case, why in the world didn't he go to the bank earlier and get money to help cure his sister before it was too late?
again, i'm not sure i'm right about that sequence, but if i am it's gonna kill me!

 

[Mattias Stridsman]

Ted,

If I remember correctly they had money, but they couldn't buy any food because of the rationing. When Seita wants to buy some food from the farmer the farmer tells him that he doesn't have any for sale, and that Seita should return to his aunt - "you can't survive outside of the system"

Hope that answers your question.

 

[Ted Lee]

ahh...that does make more sense mattias. thx!

 

[Dome Vongvises]

One quick question: is this film readily available at Best Buy, or do I have to buy it online?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Best Buy carries it, even advertised it in their circular if I recall correctly

 

[Tino]

As I said earlier in this thread, I bought it at Best Buy for $19.99. Get it today Dome. You will not regret it.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

It'll have to be Friday. My trip up to Lexington got pushed back a day late. My sister's looking foward to it to for some reason.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

It's close to two in the morning, and I just finished it.

I'm going to be frank: I can't watch it again. I have a very close bond with my sister, and it hurt even more.

 

[Woo Jae]

I myself watched it last about 2 1/2 years ago before viewing this edition recently. Can't watch this often since the film is so heartbreaking, but it is worth sharing with friends and family.

Truly a classic.

 

[Edwin-S]

GoTF is a good movie but I found the message in the film too ambivalent. On one hand this movie is ostensibly an anti-war flick, but on the other hand it actually can be interpreted with a diametrically opposite message. At least it wasn't completely gross like the message in "Rail of The Star".