Other Titles • Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1979) • The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) • Arsene Lupin and the Castle of Cagliostro (1979) • Hardyman räumt auf (1979) • Kariosutoro no Shiro
Synopses for Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
1.
The feature film debut of Hayao Miyazaki (NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, PRINCESS MONONOKE), THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO depicts one adventure of the master thief Lupin and his rough-around-the-edges gunman, Jigen. Something of a cross between Batman, James Bond, and Cary Grant's character in TO CATCH A THIEF, Lupin is a suave ladies' man who is also given to feats of athletic daring, aided by a gadget filled belt that gets him out of more than a few scrapes. The plot has Lupin and Jigen traveling to the sleepy little country of Cagliostro and coming to the aid of the unwilling fiance of the diabolical Count Cagliostro. After CAGLIOSTRO, Miyazaki stopped creating "slapstick" feature films in favor of more serious fare; CAGLIOSTRO shows, however, that he is quite capable of delivering the goods in this genre. Based on the Lupin comics by the artist Monkey Punch, CAGLIOSTRO is a great heist/chase film that surpasses most similar live action fare and breezes by with more than a couple of inventive set pieces, as well as some excellent comic dialogue.
2.
The delightful 1979 adventure yarn The Castle of Cagliostro was the first international hit for Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro). Quick-paced, high-spirited and loaded with wit, Cagliostro is a dandy throwback to the caper pictures of the 1960s. International man of mystery Lupin III stumbles back into the picturesque European duchy of Cagliostro with his faithful and gruff sidekick, Jigen. They will encounter, in no particular order, a runaway bride, a magical ring, an evil count with a dastardly plan, an inspector bent on catching Lupin, perilous rooftop chases, hooded guards with superhuman powers, a well-used dungeon, a counterfeiting scheme, and an ancient mystery promising grand treasure. Lupin deploys an array of Bond-type gadgets, razor-sharp wit, and a surprise up both his sleeves. Despite the hail of bullets, this caper is great fun, never taking itself seriously. Miyazaki's career illustrates how limiting the term animé can be for these films; there are hardly more than 10 live-action films of this genre as entertaining. Far less mean than Hollywood fare, it nevertheless is for ages nine and up since it contains adult-orientated language and gunplay. The Lupin character has been featured in other animé films, but never as successfully or with as much fun as in Miyazaki's. The new English-language dubbing is excellent to boot. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com
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