Azora
Crisis Trader
Lost in translation
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Post by Azora on Jul 2, 2007 13:29:25 GMT -5
I love Miyazaki. <3 Kiki's Delivery Service was my first film I saw by him. I love it because it's cutesy, but it doesn't really offer an example of what a master he is. Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away were absolutely stunning though - both musically (yay Joe Hisaishi and Youmi Kimura) and visually. I've seen Princess Mononoke, but it was a long time ago - same with Laputa, and I only think I saw parts of that.
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Post by mochibuni on Jul 2, 2007 14:38:09 GMT -5
I have to add that I watched Howl's Moving Castle not too long ago and was very, very happy with it. It exceeded all the hype, and I loved it! Normally Ghibli films just drag on and on, which is a main reason why I'm rather "eh" with them, but Howl was wonderful. *_*
Yeah, I'm not too partial to the animation style, either, but I think that's because I've been spoiled by Disney. :x But you know it's a good movie when you completely forget that it's animated in the first place. XD
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sam
Super Trader
sweet as sugar, bright as yellow, deep as navy!
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Post by sam on Jul 2, 2007 21:14:15 GMT -5
My biggest problem with Howl's Moving Castle was how much artistic liberty he took. I read the original novel years ago, and while Howl was perfect, everything else was pretty much new :/ It was already a perfect novel for him to adapt to film without him screwing with it.
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Latara
Crisis Trader
You must tell me, baby, how your head feels under something like that
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Post by Latara on Jul 2, 2007 21:31:44 GMT -5
Azora, you make a good point! I love Hisaishi's score for Mononoke, so much so that I actually have the soundtrack, which I rarely do. It's really beautiful.
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Post by mochibuni on Jul 3, 2007 0:49:29 GMT -5
While I love the book, I think the movie version is perfect. I actually respected Miyazaki's ability to take the material, and while it being true to original source (the spirit and characterizations are still there), make it workable and amazing-- much in the same fashion that I respect Spieldberg. I was surprised, too, because Ghibli films tend to feel overly long due to poor plot point choices. I honestly can't imagine a true replica of Howl's without it being overly long and boring. Though it's true that I love the movie more than the book, so perhaps that's just my bias speaking.
I've accepted liberties with book adaptations, just because of the massive amounts of material to be shown in under two hours (except for when they're really fudged, like the 3rd HP movie).
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sam
Super Trader
sweet as sugar, bright as yellow, deep as navy!
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Post by sam on Jul 3, 2007 2:24:12 GMT -5
Ack, don't even get me STARTED on HP3. I enjoy it as an individual movie, but compared against the original material on which it's based? Tcha!
Yes, the spirit and characters remain intact, but jeez, there was no war! No weird...bird monster thing! It's just Miyazaki rehashing his tried-and-true messages against war and technology. YES, Miyazaki, we KNOW these are your views; but they don't really apply to this particular story. It just made me angry that he used someone's else's work (hacked it up a bit too) just to re-re-re-reiterate his beliefs. It would have been my favorite of his films if not for that, but... eh :/
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Azora
Crisis Trader
Lost in translation
Posts: 731
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Post by Azora on Jul 3, 2007 10:09:34 GMT -5
I've read Howl's Moving Castle - good book. However, I've mostly accepted that the movie world doesn't always follow the book, and that's usually okay with me. Except in the case of Memoirs of a Geisha - that's a totally different story. That movie... omg. Should never have been made. ANYWAY.
Latara: I don't buy a lot of soundtracks either, and while I don't have much of the music from Ghibli films, I've considered buying them because they're so amazing.
I <3 Ghibli, despite changes Miyazaki makes to the original works he bases them on.
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tmfkasueshm
Crisis Trader
/me needs a SpecialHalloween003 :x
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Post by tmfkasueshm on Jul 10, 2007 16:53:12 GMT -5
My favorite is probably Grave of the Fireflies, which was directed by Isao Takahata, and not Miyazaki as most Ghibli films seem to be. The movie was so sad throughout the entire thing, especially the end Of Miyazaki's films though, I'd say my favorites are probably Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and possibly The Cat Returns. I never read the original HMC, so I don't have any opinion on those matters, I just know I hearted Calcifer and Howl, even when he was emo ^^; "What's the point of living if you can't be beautiful? *ooze*" XD
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Liz
Star Trader
Kinsei ni kawatte, oshiokiyo! :D
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Post by Liz on Jul 17, 2007 16:57:42 GMT -5
I love Studio Ghibli films, and of course Miyazaki most of all. Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Totoro are my favorites. I used to love to watch Totoro as a little kid, and I still do! I was kind of sad when they re-dubbed it with Dakota Fanning and her little sister doing the to main voices...ick.
It's kind of weird, some of his movies I prefer to watch in Japanese and some in English. My Dad bought me the DVD for Spirited Away before it came out in America (just the DVD, I'd already seen the movie once in English), so it only had the Japanese track. After watching that so many times I can't bear to watch it in English. >.< Same for Princess Mononoke, except this time it's the English I prefer. I haven't watched the whole thing in Japanese yet.
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sam
Super Trader
sweet as sugar, bright as yellow, deep as navy!
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Post by sam on Jul 17, 2007 20:46:14 GMT -5
Liz has a good point - Disney does a great job of casting. I like the dub for Mononoke more than the sub, but for Spirited Away I haven't heard the dub, so I can't make a decision. Mostly I like both equally...
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Post by mochibuni on Jul 18, 2007 19:01:37 GMT -5
Spirited Away has Jason Marsden, and I love his voice acting. ^^
I'll only watch Howl's in English, I love the voices. I'm partial to Steam Boy in English as well.
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