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Feature Presentation:
The is the first theater & Anime DVD release by a non-Anime company. Disney bought the rights for all the Miyazaki films. When I first saw it in theaters, I love it & I watch it many times. Finally, I got the DVD version in my hands. I think this movie is one of the best of all the Miyazaki films. The main theme is one that attracts me more into the film, as it portraits the war between human & nature. However, there is really no good nor evilin this movie. It's really not so complex to understand the messasge this movie is sending. It can touch your heart & make you aware of the bigger picture of life.
Video:
Miramax did a very great job. However, it seems that the images is a little fuzzy, like there has static, when you look closely at it. The movie is feature on Widescreen format. If you got a Widescreen TV, you're going to enjoy this even more. However, there seem to be watermark work done. You will only see the original Japanese credits if you turn on the Japanese audio track. The angle option is used, but you can't access it, meaning you can't watch the movie with the English track, with the original Japanese credits on screen, for the example. Oh, you can't skip all the warning logos when you load the DVD disc.
Dubbing: English:
The English dubbing is well done. Can you guess who is who, the actor & actress lending their voice talents. They have pick quite an interesting cast. They try to keep the original Japanese dialogue as much as possible, but somehow, not as much. They also dubbed the songs during the movie. It's about 80% of the original Japanese.
Dubbing: French:
The French dubbing is really cool. It's actually more close to the Japanese dialogue. It's about 85% of the original Japanese.
Audio 01: English 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system in my home, I can't really say much. According to many fans, it was really cool! One little note, you can't change the audio track during the movie, which bites.
Audio XX: English 2.0:
Just letting you know, there isn't an English 2.0 audio track on this DVD. This is artificially made from the 5.1 audio track, that's why I noted it as "XX". I found no problem with the audio, but I bet it would be alot more interesting with the 5.1.
Audio 02: French 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system in my home, I can't really say much. According to many fans, it was really cool! One little note, you can't change the audio track during the movie, which bites.
Audio XX: French 2.0:
Just letting you know, there isn't an English 2.0 audio track on this DVD. This is artificially made from the 5.1 audio track, that's why I noted it as "XX". I found no problem with the audio, but I bet it would be alot more interesting with the 5.1.
Audio 03: Japanese 5.1:
Unable to test it, since I don't have a 5.1 surround system in my home, I can't really say much. According to many fans, it was really cool! One little note, you can't change the audio track during the movie, which bites.
Audio XX: Japanese 2.0:
Just letting you know, there isn't an English 2.0 audio track on this DVD. This is artificially made from the 5.1 audio track, that's why I noted it as "XX". I found no problem with the audio, but I bet it would be alot more interesting with the 5.1.
Subtitle:
The subtitle is a little hard to read, but it's readable. I find that the translation for the Japanese dialogue need to be improve. All the subtitle is in yellow. There are two tracks of subtitling. One track is for the original English dialogue for the hearing impaired & the other one is for the Japanese dialogue. However, they didn't translated or subtitle for the Japanese songs for both subtitle track, like most other Anime company does.
Menu Option:
The menu is also in widescreen format, but if got just a regular full screen TV, it will display in that format with no problem. There is the "Play", "Screen Access", "Set Up" & "Extras". One of the background music of the movie is playing in the background.
DVD Extras:
There isn't much extras on this release at all, just a featurette & the theatrical trailers. The featurette is just a commentary done by the dubbing voice actress & producers what they think of Princess Mononoke. That's pretty much it.
Packaging:
The packaging is a little too plain for my taste. In the front cover, you see Ashitaka fighting pose, but somehow, the other sword doesn't really make sense. Is that Ashitaka's other arm, since he is the only character that wears those type of gloves. The background is a dark Iron Town. In the back, just two screenshots & another image of Iron Town. The insert is just the chapter list. The DVD disc itself have the same image as the cover. I just want to note that there are two version of the case. For all those who live in Canada, you might find a dual lauguage cover in some stores for all of those who speak French.
PC Viewing:
Watching it on the PC is the same as watching it on the TV. However, like on the TV, it seems that the images is a little fuzzy, like it has static, when you look closely at it. The sound is just great. The movie is place on one single track, so loading time is really small. You can fast forward to the first to the last screen with one move on your mouse! Still, it got the same problem, you can't switch the angle. Also, you can't skip the warnings & logos when you load the disc.
Overall DVD Rating:
This is a great movie to see for the entire family. For all you Anime fans that really into Anime, it lacks subtitle for the Japanese songs, like most of you are used to, but it's a great addition to your collection.
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