MPR Discusses Studio Ghibli Film Festival in Minneapolis

Posted by Daniel Thomas MacInnes Categories: film festivals

On Friday, Minnesota Public Radio devoted a portion of their weekly radio movie hour to the Studio Ghibli Film Festival, now playing at the Lagoon Theater in Minneapolis.  Stephanie Curtis, known on MPR as "The Movie Maven," has been on my must-contact list for years, and one of these days, I'm going to send her a box of discs and movie files from the entire Takahata/Miyazaki canon.

You can play MPRs Friday program here.  In addition to Studio Ghibli, Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" opens this week, and it promises to be a sensational picture.  Daniel Day-Lewis is the greatest actor of our time, isn't he?  He should be a lock for the Best Actor Oscar, if there's any justice in the world.

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Grave of the Fireflies US Blu-Ray Arrives November 20

Posted by Daniel Thomas MacInnes Categories: blu-ray, grave of the fireflies
Like many of you, I'm greatly looking forward to seeing Grave of the Fireflies on Blu-Ray.  The US Blu-Ray will be released on November 20, just in time for the holiday season...oh, and the Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective here in Minneapolis.  Good timing.

Sentai Filmworks will not only deliver Isao Takahata's 1988 masterpiece directly from Japan (Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro was released in Japan earlier this year), they have also created a new English-language dubbed soundtrack.  The previous dub dates back to Central Park Media's home video releases from the 1990s, so this will be an event to watch.  As always, the option.to play Japanese and English soundtracks is available.

However, when it comes to extras, you might wish to keep your existing DVD release.  Storyboards, deleted scenes, and original trailers are the only extras on the Blu-Ray.  That's slim pickings compared to CPM's excellent 2002 "Special Edition," which included an interview with Roger Ebert and a compelling discussion on the firebombing campaign in World War II.

Obviously, I strongly recommend buying the new Fireflies BD.  The picture quality will be spectacular, and the audio quality will be a clear improvement over the (lossy) DVD.  We Americans are falling far behind the rest of the world on Studio Ghibli Blu-Rays - here's a rare chance to catch up.  Please do what you can to support Sentai Filmworks, and encourage them to support the scene in the future. Related Posts : blu-ray, grave of the fireflies

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New Miyazaki and Takahata Films Titled

Posted by Daniel Thomas MacInnes Categories: miyazaki, takahata

Toho, the film distributor of Studio Ghibli's movies in Japan, has acquired domain names for Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata's upcoming films - "Kaze Tachinu" (The Wind Rises) and "Kaguya-Hime no Monogatari" (Princess Kaguya Story).  The official announcements on these films are expected in the coming days and weeks.

Kaze Tachinu is adapted from Miyazaki's most recent color comic, about the man who designed the Zero Fighter which was used in World War II.  Princess Kaguya Story is an adaptation of the Japanese folk tale, "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter."  This fable was referenced in Takahata's 1999 feature film, My Neighbors the Yamadas.

Thanks to GhibliWiki for the original news scoop.

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Daniel Bait, Ghibli Film Festival Edition

Posted by Daniel Thomas MacInnes Categories: miyazaki

"The debut film from Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is considered by many to be his masterwork—and there are few films, animated or otherwise, of such sweeping scope and grandeur."

- Landmark Theaters, Lagoon Cinema (bold added)

They're off by twenty years.  D'oh!  This is why I need to score press passes to the Studio Ghibli Film Festival here in Minneapolis.  I've also volunteered to give free lectures to the audiences, and share some insights and history.  It's become my destiny to replay that Woody Allen-Marshal MacLuhan scene from Annie Hall, isn't it?  Ah, well.

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