Howl's Moving Castle [DVD] [2005] | ![Howl's Moving Castle [DVD] [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518F52HD9HL._SL160_.jpg) | Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Actors: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin, Ryunosuke Kamiki
Studio: Optimum
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £4.90
as of 11/3/2010 15:59 MST details
You Save: £15.09 (75%)
New (15) Used (12) from £3.40
Seller: surrey_software
Rating:  119 reviews
Sales Rank: 4353
Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Box set, Dubbed, PAL
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), English (Dubbed)
Rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.6
UPC: 506003457211
EAN: 0506003457211
ASIN: B000B83IYG
Theatrical Release Date: August 25, 2005
Release Date: March 13, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Like a dream, Howl's Moving Castle carries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million, Howl passed Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke to become the #3 film in Japanese history, behind his Spirited Away and James Cameron's Titanic. Based on a juvenile novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle marks the first time Miyazaki has adapted another writer's work since Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). Sophie, a 19-year-old girl who believes she is plain, has resigned herself to a drab life in her family's hat shop--until the Witch of the Waste transforms her into a 90-year-old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie searches for a way to break the Witch's spell and finds unexpected adventures. Like Chihiro, the heroine of Spirited Away, Sophie discovers her hidden potential in a magical environment--the castle of the title. Using CG, Miyazaki creates a ramshackle structure that looks like it might disintegrate at any moment. Sophie's honesty and determination win her some valuable new friends: Markl, Howl's young apprentice; a jaunty scarecrow; Calcifer, a temperamental fire demon; and Heen, a hilarious, wheezing dog. She wins the heart of the dashing, irresponsible wizard Howl, and brings an end an unnecessary and destructive war. The film overflows with eclipsing visuals that range from frightening aerial battles to serene landscapes, and few recent features--animated or live action--offer as much magic as Howl's Moving Castle.--Charles Solomon
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 119
 a bit wierd February 19, 2010
Booknose
I love studio Ghibli and this is still suitably sublime but, possibly because I was watching it with a cynical friend I found so many bits (serious bits too) really very funny. The fire deamon (at least in the american version) is intentionally funny, and delivers, but then what got me and my friend was how wierd some of the bits are, the witch turns to blubber, then stares at the fire (for good reasons but it was still wierd) The missing Prince appears out of nowhere (that was hilarious!!) Howl's odd skinny jeans, the dog that can't go upstairs but can fly!?! oh and the important transitions of Sophie from old to young for apparently no reason (that left us guessing) and the fact her dress kept changing colour, oh and how cute the super old sophie was!
This film, isn't as good as Spirited away (and almost all reviews suggest you watch it, so if you haven't, why are you even looking at this?) but it comes second and I've watched alot of studio Ghibli.
Worth a look, really it is. Very enjoyable, but not the best.
 Howl's moving castle.. utterly fabulous! January 6, 2010
I. Zedi (UK)
My daughter begged father christmas to bring this film for her.. she loves the story, great graphics/visuals.. really charming story and, I admit, I sat fascinated and spellbound myself. Greatly recommend this (my daugher is almost 11) for all ages.
Magical, delightful. January 2, 2010
Beertje (Netherlands)
Howl's Moving Castle, based on Diana Wynne Jones's book of the same title, is another Miyazaki masterpiece. The adaptation to screen of the book is quite masterfully executed, and the visuals are simply stunning. We have seen the movie several times - it's our daughter's undisputed favourite - and we find something new in it every time we see it. The movie just never gets old.
The audio track we usually play when watching the movie is the Japanese one, but the English audio track is also quite enchanting - very good voice casting, most notably in having Lauren Bacall voice the Witch of the Waste. Christian Bale adds an intriguing and aloof quality to Howl, and Billy Chrystal does a lovely job of Calcifer.
The musical illustration to the film is once again by Joe Hishaishi, whose work complements the film beautifully. 'The Merry-go-round of Life' and 'The Promise of the World' are wonderful melodies that stay with you well after you have switched off the DVD-player.
All in all a movie I highly recommend. You'll likely find yourself watching it again and again.
Beautiful fairytale with stunning animation November 16, 2009
Jennifer Yellow Hat (London)
I am new to Miyazaki and to anime, and don't usually watch many animated films, although I have enjoyed some titles like Persepolis, Waltz with Bashir, and Secret of Kells in the last couple of years. I had heard some great recommendations for Miyazaki, so thought I would start with Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, as both are recent titles that I knew had been strong at the UK Box Office and had been an Oscar winner/nominee.
They were both great films, but for me HMC has the edge. I think it's a good choice if you are new to Miyazaki and Japanese films, as it has a British/European feel to it, particularly in terms of the character Sophie and the locations. (Also while HMC does feature a few bizarre language-less blobby monsters and creatures, there are fewer of these than in Spirited Away, perhaps this is what makes it seem like it has a better flow and sharper pacing)
Visually this film is very beautiful and very striking - both when it is portraying the fantastical (Howl as a bird, the ramshackle moving castle) and when it is portraying the more mundane (the elderly drooping face of Sophie, or the rolling fat of the obese Witch of the Waste). The colours are vibrant and the sense of movement in the film feels very strong.
At the centre of the story is the young girl Sophie who is transformed into a 90-year-old by an evil curse, and in the English-dubbed version Sophie is voiced by two actresses - Emily Mortimer as young Sophie and Jean Simmons as elderly Sophie (I think it's a lovely detail explained in the Extras on the DVD, that the producers listened to the voice of Jean Simmons as a young woman, and then chose Emily Mortimer because her voice matched the young Jean). One thing in the film that I found especially imaginative and striking was the moments (particularly towards the end of the film) when the images and voice of Sophie moved between young/old. For example, a frame in which Sophie feels hope and love for Howl might show Sophie as visually old but with the young Sophie's voice. There were also several times that visually she was at some in-between stage moving between young and old (indicated by variations in the greyness of hair, length of hair and posture which were all subtly altered). Very imaginatively done.
There are some dark themes in the film (war planes in the night sky, Howl's depression/difficulty adjusting when coming back from the dark side to 'normal' life, the threat of death). However there is also a great deal of humour - for example the character of Calcifer (voiced by the always-funny Billy Crystal, although perhaps a little under-used), and there's a particularly funny scene where the obese Witch of the Waste and the elderly Sophie (carrying a dog) are struggling to climb an extremely long flight of stairs while trying to maintain some dignity!
***** One thing to note: I wish I had know before purchasing from Amazon, that this product was the English dubbed version, as I usually prefer to watch foreign language films in their original language with sub-titles. However I found that it really wasn't distracting (in the way it can be on a 'live action' movie), and it didn't jar with the context of the film (British/European style settings). Apparently in the original Japanese version they only used one voice for Sophie throughout, and as I noted above I felt that the use of two voices for the young/elderly Sophie added to the strengths of the film, so there are advantages to getting the English dubbed version after all!
 Good, Not Great Ghibli October 16, 2009
MLA (Wien, Österreich)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Howl's Moving Castle is visually one of the most spectacular and impressive of the Ghibli collection. As the Ghiblis are generally magnificent this is a very high standard to live up to. The Moving Castle itself is a tremendous addition to their works and this is one of the few times where a male character is sympathetically drawn in the artwork if not in characterisation. Despite the lavish scenery and at many times beautiful images the plot and characters fall away quite badly and a decent first half falls asleep into an unimpressive conclusion.
Howl is a wizard who lives in hiding. His Moving Castle is a series of illusions designed to keep out prying eyes. He is a very attractive young man and is lusted after shamelessly by the older women he has met. One of those women is the Witch of the Waste who is chasing him as he happens into the story's main protagonist Sophie. Sophie of course like every other woman eventually falls deeply in love with Howl but the Witch of the Waste has cursed her with old age. A young girl herself she leads an unfulfilling and somewhat ignored life until she is whisked into adventure with Howl and the magical creatures he lives with.
It is a decent enough set up and the first half as Sophie explores Howl's world is great. The scene with Sophie and the Witch of the Waste walking up the stairs to the palace and giving each other verbals is terrific but the second half goes nowhere and the familiar Ghibli themes are shoehorned in. Miyazaki's anti-war message, his primary focus on the coming of age of a young and honourable girl, and the persistent references to looking below the skin are all fine but are weakly delivered. I really wanted to know what the Scarecrow was all about but the payoff for that is embarassingly shallow.
It is a shame because this is definitely one of the best looking Ghiblis but it just does not hold together as a film. I originally watched it in Japanese as I always prefer the original language but the cutesy characters and the emotion the voice actors provided did not mesh well. This is the first time I have preferred the English language despite Billy Crystal's best efforts to add "comedy". Christian Bale is a solid presence as Howl which is a better effort than the Japanese version and that does make a difference as Howl is quite a complex character.
Fans of Ghibli should still watch this - the art is tremendous and the first half is very good. The storyline lacks either charm or depth but is passable fare and enjoyable enough.
The DVD Extras are either an hilarious parody or really show the differences in culture between the US and Japan. The ridiculously fat and uncouth Pixar Studios director who gets to meet Miyazaki and displays no dignity or class while next to arguably the greatest man in animation cuts a very unsympathetic character. I really hope this is not the genious behind the great Pixar. Tacky commercial placement, overbearing towards the diminutive Japanese, and almost entirely unable to speak coherently I really found him distasteful. The Japanese part of the Extras is an overly technical exposition of the artwork's construction - perfect for an industry symposium but utterly impenetrable for a layman. I assume the crass American and the technical Japanese are deliberate parodies so I chose to laugh with them.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 119
|
We display the lowest priced offers from a list of new and used items. It is clearly indicated right before the displayed price on whether the displayed item is new or used, i.e. "Buy Used: £8.00" or "Buy New: £8.00".
For more options to buy new (or used) just follow the link that looks like this "New (7) Used (2) from £9.99" right below the shopping cart. The link will not be displayed if there is no other offer. More about FREE Delivery, click here. |
|
|
| Browse by genre |
|
DVDs
Action & Adventure: Comedy, General, Heroes & Heroines, Historical, James Bond, Martial Arts, Romantic, War, Westerns
Children's DVD: Ages 0-2, Ages 3-4, Ages 5-8, Ages 9-11, Animation, Characters & Series, Childcare & Parenting, Disney, Educational, Family Favourites, General, Music
Classics: Children's, Comedy, Drama, General, Horror & Suspense, Musicals, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Silent, War and Westerns
Comedy: Animated, General, Romantic, Stand-Up
Crime, Thrillers & Mystery: 24, A Touch of Frost, Alfred Hitchcock, Alias, CSI, Cadfael, Columbo, Inspector Morse, Kojak, Law & Order, Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple, Monk, Poirot, Prime Suspect, Sherlock Holmes, Spooks, Starsky & Hutch, The Sopranos, Thrillers, General
Drama: Comedy, General, Historical, Period
Gay & Lesbian: All Gay & Lesbian, Millivres Multimedia, Peccadillo, Pride Video Productions, Prowler Press, TLA Releasing
|
Horror: Asian Horror, Comedy Horror, Devils, Demons & Exorcisms, Ghosts & Hauntings, Slasher Movies, Vampires, Film Series, Foreign Horror Films, General
Music DVDs: Artists & Bands, Blues, Concerts, Country, DVD Singles, Easy Listening, General, Gospel & Spiritual, Instructional, Jazz, Karaoke, Pop & Dance, R&B and Soul, Rap & Hip-Hop, Rock, World & Folk
Musicals & Classical: Ballet & Dance, Classical Music, Musicals & Stage Performances, Opera
Science Fiction & Fantasy: Animated, Cult Series, Fantasy & Futuristic, General, Science Fiction, Television
Sports & Fitness: Angling, Compilations, Cricket, Exercise, Football, General, Golf, Motor Sport, Motorcycle Sports, Rugby, Water Sports, Wrestling & Martial-Arts
Television & Documentary: Art & Antiques, Children's TV, Comedy, Documentaries, Drama, Food & Drink, Gardening, General, History, Horror, Instructional, Military & War,
Music & Entertainment, Mystery & Detectives, Natural World, Religious, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Soaps, TV Series, Transport, Travel
World Cinema: All World Cinema, Anime, Australia & New Zealand, British, Chinese, French, German, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Scandinavian, Spanish, US & Canada, Other Languages, Directors
|
|
|
|
|
|
Over 250,000 
![Spirited Away [DVD]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000087JI1.01._AA75_PU_PU-5_.jpg)
![Princess Mononoke (Special Edition) [DVD]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CBEWZ6.01._AA75_PU_PU-5_.jpg)
![My Neighbour Totoro [DVD]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CBEWYM.01._AA75_PU_PU-5_.jpg)
![Laputa - Castle In The Sky [DVD]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CBEWYW.01._AA75_PU_PU-5_.jpg)
![Kiki's Delivery Service [DVD]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000CBEWZG.01._AA75_PU_PU-5_.jpg)
