Castle in the Sky
|
Our Price: $31.54 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $13.75 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Castle in the Sky
Movie Review: fansastic
Summary: 5 Stars
Pazu is an orphan who works for the owner of a mine and one night after everyone has left he sees something falling from the sky. He runs up to a platform and sees that it's a young girl floating down from the heavens. Just as he tentatively reaches out to catch her, almost as if she weren't real, she stops floating and falls heavily into his arms, almost knocking him off the platform himself. The girl's name is Sheeta and she is on the run from the leader of this organization who wants to get his hands on a crystal Sheeta got from her grandmother and keeps on a necklace. Pazu decides that he'll help Sheeta escape both the man and an unruly gang of pirates who are also after the crystal. This back and forth chase leads everyone to a mythical castle in the sky. Pazu's father got lost in a storm surrounding the island and Pazu has been preparing to go find the floating castle that his father was searching for.
This is a wonderful film. There is action, adventure, romance, and suspense. It's both whimsical and grounded at the same time. The movie is about a dream of a floating castle, but that fantasy and whimsy is brought down to earth by greed and power. The characters are wonderful and I enjoyed the dynamic between Sheeta and Pazu. A wonderful film for all ages.
Movie Review: A Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I was so excited when I got this DVD because I am a fan of Hayao Miyazaki. The movie was no less then I expected, with great art, a great score, a fantastic fantasy world with plenty of imagination, amazing characters with amazing personalities, and above all else, a great plot. Pazu is an apprentice to an engineer, and dreams of finding a fantasy land in the sky, called Laputa (thats LA pewta). One day he see's a girl falling (or should I say floating?) from the sky. There is a crystal around her neck that glows and seem's to be holding her up in the air. Soon the military and secret agents get caught up in a unique plot to control Laputa and find the all powerful crystal. Also, air pirates want the treasure that can be found at Laputa and at the same time seem to be after, and helping, Pazu and the girl, Sheeta. Sheeta also has a powerful crystal that leads her to Laputa.
If you could describe Laputa: Castle in the Sky in one word, it would be Classic. Castle in the Sky has unique air ships and a FANTASTIC environment. I must say that Castle in the Sky is one of my favorite movies of all time (the other two being Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, other works of Hayao Miyazaki). Oh, I wish that that movie went on forever! (maybe there will be a sequel?)
Movie Review: One of the most amazing films...
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is probably one of the most beautiful animated films I have seen. It is a kid's movie, yet I'm sure that adults will enjoy it too. The views of Laputa, even though it is animated is breathtaking, and the technology in the movie is quite imaginative. It is about a boy named Pazu who finds a girl one day named Sheeta. She is apparently chased by all sorts of people, government agents, etc and he helps her...she has a pendant that seems to be a Levistone, and they set off to find Laputa along with a crew of "pirates"...I don't want to say more but that's the basic outline...The music is probably my most favourite music ever...Joe Hisaishi really shines as the composer here (the music he did for Princess Mononoke was amazing too, but I liked this soundtrack much more) he has some fun tunes like Pazu's trumpet music, some sad tunes like the main theme, and a totally heartwrenching theme (I think it's called Sea of Cloud) that is incredible in its simple piano tones.
Beautiful movie...the fact that Amazon has put up a page for the English language Disney version makes me more hopeful that it will indeed come out soon (and hopefully on dvd)
I guarantee you'll enjoy this film--young or old.
Movie Review: A comment on the Disney English version of Laputa
Summary: 5 Stars
5 stars for the Japanese version and 3 stars for the English version.The music of the English version of Laputa had failed to create the atmosphere which the Japanese version had done a very good job - especially from chapter 10 to the end.
The appropiate moments to stop the music and the suitable moments to start the music are totally messed up in the English version. Besides, some of the melodies fail to harmonize with the atmosphere. Moreover, the voice acting of Pazu and Sheeta are simply 'acting' without soul.
The volume level of the dubbing in the English version is much higher than the music which further downgrades the important role of the music in the original Laputa.
With the help of the screen selection and audio setup, one can compare the overall effect between the English version and the Japanese version in a fly.
Anyway, both the music and sound effects in the English version are very disappointing - even a tiny subtle thing like the singing of birds are absent at the begining of Chapter 10. In the Japanese version, with the effect of music and sound, my heart said: "Wow! Laputa." In the English version, my heart said: "Hmm..., it seems like this is Laputa."
Movie Review: A Wonderful Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not a specialist of Japanese animation movies; though I have seen a few. I love the world of this movie, it's as dreamlike and beautiful as that of "Princess Mononoke". It's a bit of a mix of 19th century industrial era visuals and what you'd expect from the best sea stories, except that here they are transferred to the sky. Remember those pirate movies? Well you'll find a nice tribute to that in this movie. Having clouds instead of waves is seriously impressive, and a long fall instead of cold waters is not bad either.
I have to say this Japanese work of art is very, very rich. Both in images and references. The very floating island, Laputa, is taken directly from Swift, as is made clear by one of the main characters. You'll also find parallels with the Golem, and other religious connections.
It may be important to say here that I've seen this movie dubbed in French, so I wouldn't know anything of the English dubbed version. But I guess this wouldn't make a substantial difference to my review.
The visuals of this movie are so beautiful and impressive I could spend my whole review just repeating that. It's just wonderful. I totally recommend it!