I was told that on August 29th (this past Tuesday) that the great "Lupin the II: The Castle of Cagliostro" came out in a great new Special Edition release! This film is a wonder. Directed by the great Hayao Miyazaki of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle fame ( I REALLY dig his Porco Rosso. That's a great movie...that I don't own. D'oh! My Neighbor Totoro is really cute, too!). If you are even remotely familiar with the "Lupin the III" series, I strongly advise you to pick this up. My wife and I get up very early during the week (5 A.M.) and because of my young son, who gets up earlier than that sometimes (GRUMBLE GRUMBLE ) we would catch Lupin on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim. My wife really starting digging it a lot. The show is funny and filled with twists and turns and the movie is all that squared. Here is the press release:
"...One of the Greatest Adventure Movies of All Time..."
-- Steven Spielberg
FROM THE OSCAR™-WINNING DIRECTOR OF “SPIRITED AWAY” --
IDT ENTERTAINMENT’S MANGA ENTERTAINMENT OPENS THE
“CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO” SPECIAL EDITION DVD
Chicago, IL -- Before he enthralled audiences all over the world with such magical animated features as Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and the 2001 Academy-Award™ winning Spirited Away, renowned Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki held audiences spellbound in 1979 with his first feature-length animated film, The Castle of Cagliostro. Now, Manga Entertainment, an IDT Entertainment company, proudly presents The Castle of Cagliostro Special Edition DVD, digitally remastered with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, available August 29th at the enchanting SRP of $24.98. Pre-book is July 19th.
The Castle of Cagliostro (also known as Lupin III: Cagliostro No Shiro) spins the fantastic tale of master thief Lupin III, traveling to the European province of Cagliostro (pronounced “Cal-ee-os-tro”) to pull off a huge job. When a chance encounter with the Princess Clarice, engaged to the evil Count Cagliostro, distracts him from his original plans, he also stumbles upon a secret kept for over 500 years and now struggles to keep one step ahead of Cagliostro. Torn between his professional objectives and his increasing affections for Princess Clarice, Lupin is locked in a race to solve the mystery of a fabulous hidden treasure, dating back to the Renaissance...
Filled with Miyazaki's trademark rich animation and imaginative storytelling, The Castle of Cagliostro Special Edition DVD takes the experience even further with a treasure chest of bonus features including:
Interview with Animation Director Yasuo Ohtsuka.
Complete Animatic – Storyboards with Feature Soundtrack;
Imagery from Original Storyboard
Original Character and Set Drawings;
Fans Gallery;
Trailers
Now, I'm gonna run out and get mine. I only have this on VHS and that just ain't cool. So do yourself a favor and pick this up. It's a treat for all animation fans of all sizes.
