Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29736 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-22
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Animated, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: Japanese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 130 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Princess Mononoke has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, this epic, animated 1997 fantasy, represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylised approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here.

Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god", transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature.

Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. -- Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com

On the DVD: with an impressive widescreen aspect of 2.35:1 and a pleasant 5.1 Dolby digital sound, you cannot fault the transfer of this animation in any way. However, the special features leave a lot to be desired on what is a classic piece of modern anime. The "Behind the Scenes" feature holds no information on the making of Princess Mononoke in its original form--with no input from animator Hayao Miyazaki--and the trailer is taken from the American release of the movie (even though it calls itself an "original" theatrical trailer), complete with the annoyingly hyped-up voiceover that comes with US film trailers. The redeeming feature of this DVD is the ability to watch the anime in its original language with subtitles, a much more passionate and beautiful form--so much of the feeling and lyricism of the movie is lost with the transfer to English language and misplaced casting. After watching the original Japanese version of Princess Mononoke and reading the book you begin to wonder why the West has become such a solitary child of Disney. --Nikki Disney

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English\Japanese
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English Japanese
Dolby Digital 5.1
Original Japanese Language
Original Theatrical Trailer
Behind The Scenes Featurette
English

Synopsis
A beautifully realized tale of civilization versus nature, PRINCESS MONONOKE is a true epic by Japan's master animator Hayao Miyazaki. While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the warrior Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) is cursed with a rapidly spreading scar that threatens to end his life. Seeking a cure and a reason for the animal-god's attack, he journeys into the sacred depths of the Great Forest Spirit's realm. On the edge of this once serene forest, however, the Tatara clan have begun to destroy the surrounding land to produce iron. In retaliation, San (Claire Danes), the adopted daughter of the wolf-god Moro (Gillian Anderson), has begun raiding the Tatara fortress to stop their encroachment. Soon Ashitaka is caught in the middle and must stop the war between the humans and the forest dwellers before they destroy each other.
Miyazaki, who was personally responsible for 80,000 of the film's 144,000 hand drawings, uses the story's lush feudal setting as a character unto itself, filling the screen with vast mountainous landscapes and gorgeous wooded glens that recall his early film, NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND. The film also features battle sequences that are reminiscent of the stunning live action warfare in Akira Kurosawa's RAN. The startlingly fluid movements of these mythological characters are detailed far beyond any other hand-animated production, easily making this one of the most spectacular animated films ever made.

Customer Reviews

Truly a work of genius
Princess mononoke is one of my favourite films of all time.
The first time I saw it I was blown away. When it ended I was rendered speechless.
It is fantastic to look at, has a great plot and the characters are deep and complex. And it also has a great message behind it.
Amazing.
It is said that Spirited away is Miyazaki's best film, but, for me, this easily wins that title.
Buy it. Anime fan or not, buy it.

Stunning and intriguing
This was originally the first anime film I had ever seen, and the film that gripped me into the anime world.
Firstly, the visuals are stunning. The heavily detailed backgrounds combined with the simple yet striking characters really make a treat for the eyes.
Secondly, the story. There are many levels on which this film can be appreciated. For the young (or just the younger side within us), there is the magic and wonder of the great forest gods and tree spirits. For the more mature audience, there is the gripping story which we can relate to our own world, albeit with a more blatent and fantasy approach -the battle for balance between nature and civilisation. The film does not try to rose-tint one side or sway you; rather it shows you the struggles that both go through and leaves you to make up your own mind.
A truly wonderful, magical and wise film.

More Ghibli Magic
This is a fantastic film! The animation is superb (especially for the forest spirit), as to be expected from Miyazaki, and the story is original and engaging. The environmental themes to the story are especially relevant and give the added poignancy that make this one of Miyazaki's many triumphs. The translation is excellent with respected actors providing their voices. This has to be in any top 5 anime films.