Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Yes, they are. But looking at your Criterion link, I assume you can playback region A releases anyway...

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I had no idea Japan releases were region A!

Any idea why Porco Rosso would be missing from that set? Or are the titles not all pictured? (I just saw it seems to say 13 discs but only 10 images at the bottom)

ETA: Just read that it includes Porco Rosso and 2 bonus discs. However, at over 750$, I'm afraid I'll have to pass.

I'm assuming that like most Japanese releases, there won't be English subtitles?

$750?! How does anyone in Japan afford anything?! Good lord!

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

First post answers it, but yes English subtitles (with the exception of Lupin)

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

It said English audio, I didn't know if it had the subtitles as well. Why they're omitted on Lupin, who knows.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I've read somewhere that it might have to do with Discotek owning the rights to the English version or something.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ps09fce07a.jpg

Received the 2 new UK releases. Both are region B blu-rays.

Wonder if English subtitled versions of that Japanese Ultimate Edition of PM will ever appear? I doubt it'll ever come out via Disney in the US at all, so I should think about that UK disc.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

if you can afford it - go with the Region A Japanese edition - it's a 4K scan, has subtitles and the English dub version - the original Japanese 2-channel mix AND the 5.1 mix as well.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

for fans of the French dub on Porco Rosso - its on the Japanese edition, plus the English dub ... and man, wow, the picture quality is just staggering. :thumbsup:

Nice to know that unlike SOME Japanese studios *cough Toho,* Ghibli takes excellent care of their masters.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Has anyone heard about the PQ on the UK Mononoke? I've read complaints that most if not all of the UK Ghiblis are a little DNR heavy compared to the US releases.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I would have that UK version of the Princess Mononoke bluray in a second if I had a region free player. :(

C'mon Sony, update the PS4 to region free! :sad:

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

if blowing 50 bucks is no problem just go with the Japanese release of Mononoke. :D

How anyone in Japan affords anything is beyond me.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

eh...the point is moot now. Amazon raised the price from under £15 to £17.75.
Even though I've been ordering stuff like a drunken sailor the last couple weeks, I've been good about maintaining a ceiling for what I'll pay for something that I can wait for, like this.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Not during the DVD days. Every title was windowboxed, Spirited Away had that bloodshot tint, the blu-rays are excellent in quality though.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/image...339943778_.jpg

The set has been postponed one month to 7/2. The music video by CHAGE & ASKA is being removed. The dumb reason for it? One half of the duo ASKA was arrested for drugs a few days ago.

Japan is especially strict for drugs and celebrities. All their albums have been pulled from stores, none of their music can be used for advertising, no radio play, obviously affecting quite a lot of markets. (The current "Studio Ghibli Short Short" DVD which includes the music video as well has been pulled from stores as of yesterday, used copies going for $450 on Amazon Japan marketplace sellers.)

So because of that, the "complete" Miyazaki box will not be "complete" anymore.

I hadn't heard about those controversies, that's interesting. So what happened as the high-def era came around? New management?

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Will the Japanese one play on a US (region A?) blu ray player?

Does the Japanese one have the English voice cast as an audio choice?


EDIT: saw your post to han above, it does have the english voice cast as an audio option and apparently all Japanese blu rays are region free?

Hmmm, very tempting. This seems to be the one Ghibli release that slipped through the cracks in the US. I'm not sure why Disney won't just grab it since they have everything else....

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Just a reminder --

Region A:
Includes most North, Central, and South American and Southeast Asian countries plus Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

DVDBeaver has some comparisons, but since their site background is black, it's usually hard to see if titles are windowboxed or not.

Here's a good example of the color controversy of "Spirited Away", and the severe windowboxing

The color issue was corrected for the US DVD, although there is still a slight red tint.

The windowboxing issue: In the days of tube TVs with overscanning, it was impossible to tell. But now with HDTVs showing edge to edge, the black bars are extremely noticeable. (Even Criterion did this for a bit. Hey, even the best make odd choices!)

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

At the time, Studio Ghibli claimed that the red push on the Japanese DVD for Spirited Away was done deliberately so that the movie would look better on plasma televisions (which were fairly new at the time, and many had lousy contrast and color decoding issues). It was a perplexing decision to hobble the movie to suit the constraints of a minority of defective televisions.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I was under the impression that because Mononoke was owned by Miramax, Disney lost the rights when the two went their separate ways... this news is 3 years old, but I'm not sure what happened or who currently owns the rights in the US

Princess Mononoke is no longer licensed in the US

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

This article is from 3 years ago so is it still accurate? I'm surprised, if Disney hasn't already swooped up the rights and will release it through Touchstone Pictures like they did with "The Wind Rises".

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

so....anyone actually watch the UK Mononoke release yet? Or at least spot check it to see how it looks?

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I haven't watched it all the way through yet. Only spot checked for opening/closing credits, aspect ratio, subtitle and audio options. I think I will get around to it tomorrow after work.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

parallel importing Ghibli releases back into Japan from another country - interesting concept there ;)

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Pre-orders are up on Amazon for Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service (and The Wind Rises), with a release date of November 18th. :up:

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Mononoke is a surprise given the multiple things I've seen written stating Disney no longer held the rights. But I'm thrilled if those dates are really legit. It was the one title I would consider paying the outrageous costs it would take to get the Japanese release if it was necessary.

Still not all of the Ghibli's they own and haven't released on BD. But I guess it's too much to ask that they just get on with releasing the rest in one batch. Not sure what they'll do if they don't have any new Ghibli releases to tie the old releases to anymore.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

There are still 2 more "new" Ghibli movies that have yet to be released in the US, "Princess Kaguya" (GKIDS has the rights) and "When Marnie Was There". Disney US is taking their sweet time

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Can Disney release either of those? I thought I read something that stated "Wind" was it other than the older titles like Porco that they have been making us wait forever for.

Could those actually be coming from the same guys that released "Poppy Hill" instead?

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I hope they fix the audio problems on Kiki's english audio track. It sounds like Kiki's talking from inside a toilet bowl.

But given that they dropped the updated score on the last Castle in the Sky dvd and blu-ray I don't have much faith in them. :(

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

Happy that more are coming out. Still want a US Spirited Away!

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31xEP5BzTlL.jpg

The Tale Of Princess Kaguya, 12/3/2014

In addition, in January, a "Isao Takahata Collection" on Blu-ray, from his debut "The Little Norse Prince" to "Princess Kaguya", but it is still not announced which titles in between will be or will not be included.

Also, for Ghibli to milk more of fans money, on 12/3 they will also release this separately:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51caQfLlIFL.jpg

Yup, the making-of Princess Kaguya will be sold separately...

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cTWu1m2LL.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/612wBMsSejL.jpg

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I'm sure this has been answered somewhere in this thread but are all of these limited edition "disney vault" bullshit type releases?

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

No, Disney merely licenses the Studio Ghibli films. These are not considered Disney films.

Re: Studio Ghibli in HD
 

I'm very surprised that the Disney banner is all over the Princess Monokee Blu ray since it's rated PG-13. It was the reason Miramax released it and not Disney when it first arrived in the states. I'm still waiting for Spirited Away. I don't want to spend 70 bucks on the Japanese Blu Ray.

Disney might've loosened up after POTC showed how profitable a PG-13 venture could be for them. Though you're right that if someone pick it up expecting a Disney movie about nature, they're in for a rude awakening. Though I suppose with Miramax gone, what label would they have used?