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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2015
Like many fans here, I've often lamented the lack of a truly "definitive" release of Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro in the US. Previous releases have been, in many ways, cut, edited, adapted, punched-up and generally tampered with, resulting in "incomplete" releases (the only time we ever got the opening title sequence unaltered previously was in Manga's 2000 DVD, and even then, it had blurry, letterboxed video image). I'm an advocate of films being released in their original, unaltered forms, and for it to take a whole 35 years for Cagliostro to get this treatment is simply ridiculous. Hayao Miyazaki and Lupin both deserve better.
With all that said, fans can rest assured, as Discotek (in cooperation with many other people in the know) have crafted a beautiful, unaltered and "definitive" release of The Castle of Cagliostro. Unlike previous releases (such as Manga's, which I believe used some DVNR techniques), the video is presented with lush colors, stabilized image and fantastic color correction. Unlike in previous releases, you can now clearly see the film grain, meaning no loss in quality resulting in crushed blacks or line erasure. The film is now also presented in full anamorphic widescreen, without the annoying "overscan border" that plagued Manga's 2006 Special Edition.
The audio and subtitle options are where the real cream of the crop is, though. For audio, you have the default Japanese, the 1992 Streamline dub, the 2000 Manga dub, an edited version of the 2000 Manga dub removing profanity (think of those TV edits of movies like Blazing Saddles and Pulp Fiction and you have an idea of the audio editing), and an excellent and thoroughly entertaining commentary by Reed Nelson of LupintheThird.com. In subtitles, you have a new translation of the original Japanese by Shoko Oono (Evangelion 1.11/2.22, Metropolis, The Place Promised in Our Early Days), a transcript of the 1992 dub, songs and signs tracks for the 1992 and 2000 dubs, and for the first time on home video, a full restoration of the 1980 theatrical subtitles used in film festivals and private screenings in America throughout the early 80s, the same print viewed by legendary animator John Lasseter. This is my personal favorite feature on the DVD, as it's a great piece of film history.
The remaining extras are small, but sweet. They are translation notes by Reed Nelson and Shoko Oono and the opening and ending credits for all previous home video releases in the United States.
If previous releases have left you burned, you have yet to own this movie, or if you're a Miyazaki fanatic who wants to see where the legend began, then this DVD is an absolute must. It's a damn near perfect release of a damn near perfect film.
With all that said, fans can rest assured, as Discotek (in cooperation with many other people in the know) have crafted a beautiful, unaltered and "definitive" release of The Castle of Cagliostro. Unlike previous releases (such as Manga's, which I believe used some DVNR techniques), the video is presented with lush colors, stabilized image and fantastic color correction. Unlike in previous releases, you can now clearly see the film grain, meaning no loss in quality resulting in crushed blacks or line erasure. The film is now also presented in full anamorphic widescreen, without the annoying "overscan border" that plagued Manga's 2006 Special Edition.
The audio and subtitle options are where the real cream of the crop is, though. For audio, you have the default Japanese, the 1992 Streamline dub, the 2000 Manga dub, an edited version of the 2000 Manga dub removing profanity (think of those TV edits of movies like Blazing Saddles and Pulp Fiction and you have an idea of the audio editing), and an excellent and thoroughly entertaining commentary by Reed Nelson of LupintheThird.com. In subtitles, you have a new translation of the original Japanese by Shoko Oono (Evangelion 1.11/2.22, Metropolis, The Place Promised in Our Early Days), a transcript of the 1992 dub, songs and signs tracks for the 1992 and 2000 dubs, and for the first time on home video, a full restoration of the 1980 theatrical subtitles used in film festivals and private screenings in America throughout the early 80s, the same print viewed by legendary animator John Lasseter. This is my personal favorite feature on the DVD, as it's a great piece of film history.
The remaining extras are small, but sweet. They are translation notes by Reed Nelson and Shoko Oono and the opening and ending credits for all previous home video releases in the United States.
If previous releases have left you burned, you have yet to own this movie, or if you're a Miyazaki fanatic who wants to see where the legend began, then this DVD is an absolute must. It's a damn near perfect release of a damn near perfect film.
