Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro (Special Edition)

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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

Description

When master thief Lupin III, a.k.a. "The Wolf" inadvertently steals a fortune in counterfeit bills from a casino, he is quick to realize the high-quality printing plates that made them are worth even more. Tracing the source of the money to the small European country of Cagliostro, Lupin and his team of colorful outlaws cross swords with the local count over his forthcoming marriage to the last princess of the Cagliostro family. It's fast-paced adventure as Lupin must battle fearsome ninjas, rescue a damsel in distress and uncover the key to the lost Cagliostro fortune. The first feature film written and directed by Academy Award™ winning anime pioneer and visionary Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Laputa: Castle in the Sky), the film was allegedly inspired by Prince Rainier of Monaco's wedding to American movie star Grace Kelly as well as Maurice Leblanc's 1924 novel Countess Cagliostro. In fact "Lupin III" creator Monkey Punch, originally conceived of the character as the grandson of M. Leblanc's Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Thief - a rogue Sherlock Holmes famous for swindling goods from the World's rich. "The Wolf's" adventures have since became some of Japan's most popular stories and were made into three television series, five movies and numerous made-for-TV movies. The animated movie The Castle of Cagliostro, was the second film featuring the Lupin character. In addition, a Sony Playstation game of "Cagliostro" was released in January 1997 and film footage from The Castle of Cagliostro was used in an early 80's laserdisc-based arcade game called "Cliffhanger." Many features of Miyazaki's other works can be seen in this film, including the Mediterranean Riviera setting seen in Porco Rosso, the strong environmentally-conscious female protagonist familiar from both Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke, the mossy ruins from Laputa and the final location of the Cagliostro treasure which draws heavily from scenes within his 1971 take on Treasure Island.

Customer Reviews:

A classic movie for just about any viewer.......2007-09-02

A very strong story coupled with a classic cast of memorable characters makes this a must own for any anime fan and a great watch for anyone else. Directed by the award winning Hayao Miyazaki, the plotline is filled with action, suspense, romance and comedy, all strung together magnificently such that the story never drags. The characters look somewhat dated due to their iconic design but overall the visuals still look magnificent. The soundtrack is magnificent and complements the story well. Watch this movie and you won't be disappointed.

the best of the best.......2007-07-05

The Castle of Cagliostro is the first full length movie featuring Lupin III. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who became later on an international superstar (with movies like Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, My Friend Totoro).
The Castle of Cagliostro is in the words of Spielberg one of the best action movies of all time. It's catchy, it's intriguing and and it's visually perfect.
In the 1970s Hayao Miyazaki directed the first series of TV episodes of Luoin III and also directed a series called 'Conan -the future boy'--based on Alexander Key's novel "the incredible tide'. Those who have seen Hayao Miyazaki' Conan will not fail to recognize that the characters in the Castle of Cagliostro are visually very similar to those in the Conan series.
With the exception of spirited away, Castle of Cagliostro is probably Hayao Miyazaki's best movie. As in all the most recent movies by Hayao Miyazaki, the movie makes full use of the four elements; water,air, fire and earth. Unlike the most recent movies by Miyazaki, Castle of Cagliostro is not pervaded by the magical realism that characterizes spirited away, porco rosso and so on. there is very little magic in the castle of cagliostro. but the movie is permeated by the kindness which pervades all Miyazaki's movies (and which is th reason why some hard core Lupin III fans were not so happy with this movie).
but again, the Castel of Cagliostro is a great movie. it's ingenious, it is innovative, it is full of action and it's a lot of fun. one of the best cartoon-movies ever made

English dub not appropriate for younger children.......2007-05-28

We are big Miyazki fans. Lupin III was one of the only ones we don't have. However, the dub was done more for teenage anime fans, than for family watching. In the first 4 minutes you have "son of a bi***", "bast***", "he**", and "sh**". We stopped there - I can only assume this carries on throughout the film.

We watch Miyazaki films precisely to avoid this type of gratuitous language. Usually the PG/PG-13 ratings have to do with the violence intrinsic to the moral conflict of the film - which is something you can discuss with children. This language was a pointless addition.

JonesK43.......2007-05-13

This is a spectacular mix of comedy and James Bond. Beautifully animated and a wonderful collection for anyone familiar with Studio Ghibli or Spirited Away.

One of my favorite films by Hayao Miyazaki.......2007-04-27

"The Castle of Cagliostro" is one of my favorite films by Hayao Miyazaki, but this U.S. version made such an unforgivable change on the opening title sequence! The original Japanese version features beautiful scenes of Lupin and Jigen traveling though Europe. But the U.S version changed these fully animated scenes into a bunch of still images so that it could lay English titles over them! This is such an unfortunate rendition of the masterpiece, and for that, I give it 4 stars. Otherwise the movie easily deserves 5 stars, and this special edition has superb picture quality as well.

The Castle of Cagliostro (Lupin the III)

Average customer rating:

A classic movie for just about any viewer
the best of the best
English dub not appropriate for younger children
JonesK43
One of my favorite films by Hayao Miyazaki

The Castle of Cagliostro (Lupin the III)
Starring: Yasuo Yamada , Bob Bergen , Eiko Masuyama , Kiyoshi Kobayashi , and Makio Inoue
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Manufacturer: Manga Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00000JL3V
Release Date: 2000-04-25