Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro 4K UHD

Checking out Miyazaki’s early years before Ghibli was a real treat.

It's been a long time coming, but the ultimate release of a classic film is finally here! I've owned the old Manga release, and the horrific "Special Edition" that butchered the opening credits. When I saw that the a new release was out I immediately purchased it, hoping that AT LAST I would have the release that this film has always deserved. I was not disappointed.First of all, you are probably wondering if the picture quality has finally been cleaned up to make this film look the way it always should have, and the answer is a resounding yes! It appears that like so many American DVD releases of anime coming out, this one was pulled off of an HD Japanese master probably used for the Japanese blu ray. No more yellowed, speckled, cruddy, dirty picture. Everything is bright and colorful and crisp. Simply gorgeous! But the REAL surprise for me was in the audio options.I know that voice!I was a fairly big fan of the old Manga release (but not the additional swearing), and the Japanese dub is a classic despite it's mono sound. So when I saw there was yet another English dub I was thinking it would probably be yet another sub-standard dub like the mediocre Disney dub from Castle in the Sky. I was shocked and amazed when what I found was more akin to the classic English dub of Giant Robo!Like Giant Robo, the original English dub is VERY loose with the translation and is nowhere near the subtitles. And like that classic dub, it is incredibly over-the-top. And yes, like that dub, I absolutely love it to pieces! I did detect a voice or two from Giant Robo, and I'm pretty sure Trigun is in there as well as some other classic 90's voices (Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid is Lupin!!!!). Everyone does an absolutely fantastic job in their role. In particular I loved the ridiculous fake European accent from the guard who now sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger! It's silly, over-the-top and at time laugh-out-loud cheesy, and all the more awesome for it. In addition...The Effect of SoundAnime in general is not known for having fantastic sound effects, and the sound in the original Japanese dub of this anime is quite subdued. But the new dub features surround sound effects that are incredibly immersive and superbly balanced. You hear birds chirping, thunderous waterways, and suitably punchy sound effects in fights and chases. All of this makes the movie immensely more theatrical than it was before. Likewise, while the original Japanese dialog is classic, the new Americanized dub is on-par with the very very best of dubs that rewrote the dialog to create something new. I'm reminded again of Giant Robo, but also of Martian Successor Nadesico and Bubble Gum Crisis Tokyo 2040.There's more!There's also a commentary, a reversible case, and other extras. Purists will buy this release for the improved picture alone. But if anyone wants my two cents, I'll say you absolutely MUST hear the new dub if you haven't before. Yes, the original Japanese is a classic, and so is the old dub. But this dub, amazing as it may sound, is ANOTHER classic. It's nothing like the old dubs with their quieter, less immersive effects, but it IS absolutely fantastic and recommended both to fans with an open mind, and people who don't normally like anime and have never seen this film before.If you love great films, buy this release. It's definitive.

You can find my full review here: http://www.fandompost.com/2015/05/25/lupin-iii-the-castle-of-cagliostro-collectors-edition-blu-ray-anime-review/ but below are a couple brief points:Audio:There are six audio tracks present here including the original Japanese track in mono, as well as in 5.1 surround sound. We also get the 1992 English audio track produced by Streamline Pictures in mono, the 2000 English dub done by Manga Entertainment in stereo, a family friendly version of the Manga dub, and finally a commentary track hosted by Reed Nelson of lupinthethird.com, who’s pretty darned competent doling out info.It’s interesting to hear how these tracks vary a bit. Both the English dubs are decently acted. The Streamline Pictures dub directed by the late Carl Macek had the usual actors you would hear in their Akira and Robotech dubs, anchored with some perfectly goofy voicework from Bob Bergen as Lupin himself. A couple things are a bit off though in that Lupin himself is referred to as The Wolf because there was a legal with the estate of Maurice Leblanc, creator of the original Arsene Lupin character Lupin III is derived from (see below for more). This is understandable, given the issue. However, the script is written so that his partner Jigen refers to Lupin as his “Boss” which, never quite rings true given their association, as they’ve always acted more like partners than employer / subordinate. Also, the mixing is a bit different from the others in that dialogue and music tend to be higher than foley like gunshots at times.The Manga Entertainment dub directed by the late Kevin Seymour (for which he himself portrayed Inspector Kenji Zeningata) punches up the foley effects a bit while mixing really good performances by David Hayter as Lupin and Ivan Buckley as Jigen among others. Of course, there’s no replacing Yasuo Yamada’s zaniness with certified cool as the original Lupin, but the American casts do acquit themselves well. Meanwhile the score by Yuji Ohno is an excellent mix of 70s style French Connection action, whimsical stylistic jazz and simple harp & piano combos that that you through many moods of excitements, drama and sorrow the screenplay possesses.Video:The video is in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen and fits perfectly onto the TV. The general colors are brighter with the blues and greens benefiting the most from this treatment. There are song subtitles in blue and white for a couple vocal pieces on here. Also, though, in addition to the regular subtitles in yellow, you have the option of using closed captioned subtitles in yellow (which take the regular subtitles and add sound effects in the key moments for hearing impaired). Also present are the subtitles from the 1980 international releases so you can see big white blocky text in times new roman font, same translation and all. So you can see Inspector Zeningata referred to as Ed Cott if you want, just like the original trailer for Mystery of Mamo.In Summary:When movie collectors talk about The Criterion Collections of movies with awe and respect, it’s because they know the people behind those releases put a lot of time and energy into putting out a good product to not only entertain but educate the person spending money on the DVDs at hand, as well as tapes and laserdiscs in years gone by. If there’s an equivalent to Criterions for American anime releases, it would be Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro – Collectors Edition.

こんにちは。久々にカリオストロが見たくなったので、取り寄せてみました。　緑色ジャケットのジブリ版となります。　物語や内容は、こちらを拝見する前にも、幼少時より何度も見ていて名作なのは存じていました。　私は古い時代の人なので、TV放映版の録画VHSを擦り切れるまで見返したものです。　各シーンのセリフを覚えて、ごっこ遊びしてしまうくらいでした。　正直、所持しているアニメDVDとそんなに画質は変わらないかなーと思っていました。　しかし、全然そんなことはなかったです。　フィルム揺れが起こらない、輪郭がくっきりして滲まない、動作がブレない、色調に違和感が無い、と全く違いました。　引越しの際にVHSを紛失して、15年振りにカリオストロを拝見しましたが、本当によく出来たルパン映画だと思います。　物語の始まりゴート札、クラリスとの出会い、城下町の賑わい、公国の真実、伯爵側の悪役っぷり、小道具の描き込み――作品として歪な部分が見当たらないので繰り返し見ることが出来ます。　手持ちの洋画は徐々にBDに変えていっているのですが、これからはアニメもBDにしたいと思えました。　ご精読ありがとうございました。

4k ultra HD の感想です。ある意味、Blu-rayが完成形だったのかも。画質の雑みは、Blu-rayの時点で解消されていたので、今回は発色の良さだけですかね。あしたのジョーの様な感動はありません。擬似的な7.1サラウンドも効果はほぼありません。Blu-rayをお持ちの方はそのままで良いかもしれません。

モーリス・ルブランのルパン・シリーズの「カリオストロ伯爵夫人」からカリオストロとクラリスの名前を貰って、モンキー・パンチの原作から離れた、宮崎駿監督のオリジナル・ストーリーが展開されるのが、この「ルパン三世／カリオストロの城」です。私は封切り時に地方の映画館で､この作品を観たのですが、たしか、同時上映が「Mr.Boo!／インベーダー作戦」でした。あまりの面白さに、電車に乗って、他の町の三番館まで追っかけたのも、良い思い出です。まず、画質ですが、「カリ城」の国内ブルーレイ盤を所持していないので、「風の谷のナウシカ」の国内BD盤と比較しますと、「ナウシカ」がフィルムの粒子感が強く、時々､画調がソフトになるのに比べると、「カリ城」は粒子感がなく、均一のきっちりした画質ですね。ちなみに、昔から、冒頭で用心棒たちの車が切断されているのに、「どうして、五エ門がいないのか」と不思議だったのですが、このBDの画像だと、ルパンたちが飛び乗るフィアット５００の後部座席に、座っている五エ門の頭のてっぺんと仕込み刀の柄が、ちゃんと見えます。音声は、うちの安価なホームシアターセットで聞く限り、日本語５．１chの音の分け具合も結構で、楽しめました。輸入盤のDVDやBDは、日本のものに比べると、ジャケットのレイアウトがお粗末だったり、印刷の質が悪かったりするのですが、この商品は非常にキレイです。ジャケットの裏に横長ポスターの画を入れたり、裏表紙やメニュー画面に「カリオストロの城を見つめる、十年前の若きルパン」を用いたり、極めつけはディスクの表にクラリスの指輪の画を印刷するとか、スタッフの「カリ城」愛がビンビン伝わってきます(添付画像を参照のこと)。興味深いことに、この作品の１９９２年版と２０００版の英語吹き替え音声を聞くと、日本の声優の方々の演技力がどれほど高いか、まざまざと実感できますね。どちらの英語役者陣もそれなりに頑張っていると思いますが、変幻自在の山田康雄さんの演技に追いつけないのは仕方ないとしても、石田太郎さんのカリオストロ伯の重厚さの足下にも及ばないのは、困ったものです。クラリスは、２０００年版の女優さんに軍配を上げますが、島本須美さんの可憐さと清らかさには、まだ遠いです。演技力の差というよりも、精神論のようでイヤなのですが、二次元のキャラに自分の声で命を吹きこもうとする気迫の差のような気がします。特典映像の中に、ボビーの「炎のたからもの」が流れるノンテロップのオープニングがありますが、英語訳の歌詞と一緒に、原語で唄いたいマニアのためか、日本語歌詞のローマ字表記が流れていたのが微笑ましいです。昭和の三十､四十年代に、洋楽の歌詞に、カタカナで英語の発音が書かれていたのを思い出しました。TVシリーズの「未来少年コナン」とともに宮崎監督の初期の代表作であり、作品そのものが、世界のアニメ史に残る傑作であることは疑いもないですし、公開から四十年近くたっても全く古ぴることのない面白さを存分に味わえるこの商品は、値段以上の価値があると思うので、激しくオススメです。

The film always was brilliant; now it sparkles on the screen.Wonderful colours, vibrant and clean. Really good sound, and subtitles are clear and timed perfectly.The 'dub' is only 'OK'; I'm sorry but, American/English voices just can't articulate the grunts , groans, and laughter of the characters with conviction.Lets pray for more Studio Ghibli on 4K.

Hayao Miyazaki is one of these anime directors who always manages to maintain a level of excellence that can never falter. His recent efforts with Princess Mononoke(Mononoke Hime) is proof of this. Long before "Porco Rosso" and "Kiki's Delivery Service", Miyazaki introduced us to a character called Lupin the third(or Wolf as he became known in the west). An exceptional thief with gadgets that make James Bond look like a second rate pretender, and thieving talents to rival the Pink Panther. Lupin, with his partner Gegan, stumble across a money counterfeiting operation that emcompasses the world, originating from the small country of Cagliostro, ruled by the villianous Count Cagliostro. Meanwhile, the count is knee deep in a scheme to uncover a fabulous treasure, which can only be found in an arranged marriage to Princess Clarisse. Lupin, of course, has to intervene. Quite a few hilarious moments and action sequences. The car chase is the highlight. Animation is of the typical Miyazaki fare, some what simplistic, but does the job. With the story that's presented, it's always going to be a winner. A top film.