Plot Details: This opinion reveals no details about the movie's plot.

Here's my review:

This is, far and away, Miyazaki's best film ever. Run, don't walk to the video store and get this. Better than My Neighbor Totoro, better than Nausica of the Valley of the Wind - it's that good.

Sadly, Epinions requires slightly longer than a two sentence review.

Released in Japan in 1979, The Castle of Cagliostro is a simple story that begins when master thief Lupin the Third and his partner in crime Jigen steal a load of money from a Monaco casino. Lupin's joy turns into disappointment when he realizes all the money he has stolen is counterfeit - really good counterfeits that are nearly indistinguishable from real money. Soon Lupin and Jigen are on the way to the tiny Duchy of Cagliostro - the source of the forged money - in hopes of cutting themselves in on the action.

However, the pair soon find themselves caught up in a conspiracy much bigger than simple funny money. They rescue a girl from a carload of dark suited thugs, cross swords with the evil Count of Cagliostro and his assassins and are soon hot on the trail of a long lost mysterious treasure that can only be unlocked by two ancient Cagliostro family rings. And off Lupin goes to save the girl, thwart the bad guy and steal the treasure. . . .

I will freely admit that this is one of my favorite movies - not just animated, mind you - but of all time. Cagliostro is an example where everything comes together just right - fantastic visuals, likeable and charming characters, and just the right mix of action, romance, and comedy. It's got a tight story, ruining from gleefully silly to classically romantic, and driven by some of the craziest action sequences this side of a Jackie Chan film. Ninja battles, over the top car chases, lots of explosions, outlandish gun fights, rooftop escapes, all climaxing in a swordfight inside a clock-tower that has to be seen to be believed.

Miyazaki managed to pull character development for the regular characters not so much in what they say and do - but what they DON'T say and do. Very little background is given between Lupin and Inspector Zenigata, the long suffering Interpol agent assigned to catch Lupin. However it's clear that not only do the two have a long history, but Zenigata has a deep respect and admiration for his foe. Although this interaction is present in some of the later Lupin films (like Plot of the Fuma Clan), Miyazaki refines it to a subtle yet razor sharp edge.

The art, under the masterful hand of Miyazaki is downright beautiful - especially considering the film is nearly 30 years old now. No, its not as polished and refined as some of his later works, but frankly I think that the slick polish of the Princess Mononoke style would look out of place in Lupin's world. It's fine just the way it is.

THE DVD -
Ok, here's where things get a bit complicated. There have been several releases of this film over the years, with the various rights to the character tied up all over the globe. When Monkey Punch originally invented the character back in the 60's, he was inspired by the French author Maurice Leblanc's character Arsene Lupin. The resulting lawsuit prevented the film being marketed as Lupin, so the early releases called the character Wolf and didn’t tie the film into the rest of the franchise. This is the version released on VHS in America, sporting a dub from Streamline Pictures (the region 2 Japanese release also has the Streamline dub on the DVD release as a secondary audio track).

By the time Manga Entertainment released Cagliostro on DVD in America, the Maurice Leblanc copyright had lapsed and Arsene Lupin was public domain, so the new Manga dub is more accurate, calling Lupin by his real name and tying the film back into the franchise.

The thing is, the Streamline dub - at least to me - is vastly superior. Lupin's voice actor hits the character perfectly and Jegen is dead on as well. Zenigata's actor does a very good job and seems to really be having fun with the role. Sure there are some weak performances - Count Cagliostro's toady minion Gustaf springs to mind - but the voice actors really work overall. Unfortunately the Streamline dub, directed by Robotech hackmaster Carl Macek, takes some liberties with the original script. Cool, iconic lines are dropped in favor of going for a gag in places. It's a damn shame.

In contrast, Manga's dub was more faithful to the original script, but unfortunately undermined by mediocre actors. They manage to range from the completely flat Zenigata (the voice actor somehow managed to completely miss the emotional subtexts that the original managed to captured), to the merely adequate Fujiko. Jigen and Lupin were decent but nothing to write home about.

The other problem with the Manga dub is the liberties they took with the script. Now while I understand that there will inevitably be some localization that happens between Japanese and English, Manga added some unnecessary rough language and cussing that was never present in the original. It's not anything that I would consider hard swearing, but was it really necessary to add things like bitch and ass to the dub? It does a real disservice to the fans of the film and is a slap in the face of Miyazaki.

There's also a third DVD, a special edition released from Manga - but we'll get into that in a bit.

As far as the look of the DVD, the Japanese R2 release looks stunning, with nice vivid colors and a nice anamorphic print that's clean of blemishes and artifacts - at least that I could see. The background details, the whole thing - just wow. The American non-special edition release isn't nearly as nice. There are elements from the film - scratches and reel change markers in the upper right corner - present. The colors look good, but not eye popping. The special edition release, I suspect uses the Japanese print - it's jawdroppingly good and all the film elements have been cleaned up.

However - and you knew there was an however, didn’t you - things are not perfect. The beautifully animated opening credit sequence has been cut from the Manga releases, replaces with stills using English text over the soundtrack. It's a small piece of the film and may not seem like that big of a deal, but the sequence - Lupin and Jegen's journey from the Casino to the nation of Cagliostro - goes a long way in establishing what sort of men the pair are. For a special edition, I find the DVD wanting.

THE EXTRAS -
This review has gone on far too long, so we'll go into bullet point mode here:
* Region 2: Movie with storyboards instead of finished animation, trailers for other Ghibli releases,
* Region 1: nothing, a bare bones release
* Region 1 Special Edition: Storyboards set to Feature Soundtrack, an Interview with Animation Director Yasuo Otsuka, Photo Gallery, Japanese Trailers.

As far as extras, the Special Edition wins out over the three.

MPAA RATING -
The gratuitous cussing has turned what I would consider a G rated film into a PG film that some people may not want to let their kids watch. - and that’s a crime.

THE BOTTOM LINE -
I'm not one to throw around the term classic lightly, but The Castle of Cagliostro is a film very much deserving of the title. Even with the changes to the dub and the removing of the opening credits, the heart of this movie still shines brightly. This is one movie that needs to be in everyone's DVD collection, and the special edition is probably the best version of the film available.

OTHER LUPIN ADVENTURES
* The Castle of Cagliostro
* Lupin the 3rd - Vol. 1: The World's Most Wanted
* The Fuma Conspiracy
* Legend of Babylon's Gold
* Farewell to Nostradamus
* Missed by a Dollar


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older