The Sky Crawlers [Blu-ray]

The Sky Crawlers [Blu-ray]
by Mamoru Oshii

The Sky Crawlers [Blu-ray]

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Blu-ray details

Actor: Chiaki Kuriyama, Megumi Yamaguchi, Rinko Kikuchi, Ryo Kase, Shôsuke Tanihara
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Brand: Son
Cinematographer: Hisashi Ezura
Producer: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa
Producer: Seiji Okuda
Producer: Tomohiko Ishii
Producer: Toru Kawaguchi
Writer: Chihiro Itô
Writer: Hiroshi Mori
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Japanese (Original Language); English (Original Language); English (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.78:1
Running Time: 122 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2009-05-26
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Product features:

Condition: New
Format: Blu-ray
AC-3; Animated; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen

Blu-ray Reviews of The Sky Crawlers [Blu-ray]

Blu-ray Review: Absolutely stunning visuals, awesome sound and love the Oshii special features!!!
Summary: 4 Stars

In 2001, the best-selling novel "THE SKY CRAWLERS" by Hiroshi Mori was written and published. The novel would feature several books released between 2004 and 2008 which include "None But the Air", "Down to Heaven", "Flutter Into Life", "Cradle the Sky" and "Sky Eclipse".

In 2008, the novel was adapted to an animated film by critically acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii ("Ghost in the Shell", "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence", "Angel's Egg", "Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer", "Jin-Roh" and many more well known titles) and features music from well known composer Kenji Kawai and of course, the acclaimed animation studio Production I.G.

Instead of going with popular and experienced anime voice talent for the main character roles, Oshii went with Japanese top acting talents in film such as Academy Award nominated actress Rinko Kikuchi ("Babel", "Naisu no Mori: The First Contact"), Ryo Kase ("Hachimitsu to Clover", "Naisu no Mori: The First Contact", "Tokyo!", etc.) and Chiaki Kuriyama ("Kill Bill Vol. 1', "Azumi 2: Death or Love", "Battle Royale", etc.).

VIDEO AND AUDIO:

"THE SKY CRAWLERS" is one of the most impressive looking anime that I have seen to come from Japan in terms of bringing realism and animation together. The opening sequence is just enough to surprise anyone of how beautiful director Mamoru Oshii strives in outdoing the look and feel of his last film.

"GHOST IN THE SHELL: INNOCENCE" looked gorgeous but "THE SKY CRAWLERS" which is featured in 1080p High Definition (aspect ratio 1:78:1) features awesome cloud effects, water effects, sunlight, shading and just everything you can think of Production I.G. can do to make it feel like you are watching real footage. In one scene where the planes fly high overhead, you can see water crashing into the rocky cliffs and it looks so breathtakingly real, I was very impressed of how 3D was utilized in the film.

I also found the background art and overall artistic look of the locations, an office or bedroom looked in the film. From the posters on the wall, details on the wood of table, details of the many trees. It's one thing to have vibrancy in colors which "THE SKY CRAWLERS" definitely has but to have this level of incredible detail was amazing.

If there was one thing that did surprise me is with the gorgeous 3D and the magnificent backgrounds, the character designs looked simple and clean but without the massive shading or detail that the film showcases in the background and for some, that simpleness may not be accepted when everything else looks beautiful.

I would imagine that the direction for the character design was to put emphasis on the pilot's surroundings and the various location shots but nevertheless, aside from the character designs, everything else looks incredible.

The picture quality of the film is nice and colorful and I don't recall seeing any compression artifacts, nor did I see any dust or scratches. If anything, the picture quality was very well done.

But what I found incredible on this Blu-ray is the audio quality. "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is featured in Japanese, English and Portuguese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (also, in Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1). For the making of this film, director Mamoru Oshii and Production I.G. worked with the folks at Skywalker Sound acclaimed for their expertise in audio. So, aside from the audio directionals on different channels which you would expect from the air battles and aircraft zipping around the air, audio is not limited to action scenes. In fact, you will be immersed in sound as you can hear the wind, crickets, birds and various sounds from the distance come alive all around you.

The audio is quite immersive and I don't think I have heard an anime film (aside from the recent "Akira" Blu-ray release) that would utilize audio so effectively. The lossless track for "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is well done!

Picture and audio quality definitely earn high marks for this Blu-ray release. As for subtitles, "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is featured in English, English SDH, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"THE SKY CRAWLERS" has a total of three informative special features which are all featured in High Definition with subtitles in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The special features included are:

* "Animation Research for The Sky Crawlers" Featurette - (30:52) A very informative special feature showcasing Mamoru Oshii and the Production I.G. staff in the Czech Republic. Director Mamoru Oshii explains why he does a lot of research when it comes to looking for locations on which to utilize in "THE SKY CRAWLERS". Oshii is quite thorough as he looks at various aircraft, inspecting them, looking at things in the walls, various pipes, crates, switch panels and anything he can utilize in the film in a similar condition and making sure his photographers are there to take a picture of those objects. Also, featuring Oshii looking at soldier uniforms, buildings, school rooms and having his staff experience bowling. Also, shopping in a mall area and purchasing dozens of fashion books. A very interesting behind-the-scenes look at how meticulous Oshii is about getting certain details of machinery to clothing styles and incorporating it into "THE SKY CRAWLERS".
* "The Sound Design and Animation of the Sky Crawlers" Featurette -(32:16) Director Mamoru Oshii and the Production I.G. staff fly to California to visit Skywalker Ranch. It is the first time that Oshii utilizes the acclaimed studio for audio but a very good behind-the-scenes look at how Oshii directs the crew of how he wants audio utilized and being impressed with what Skywalker Ranch has been able to give him. This is very interesting to watch because in past interviews with Oshii, he has a very pro Japanese stance in the way films should be made, so for him to mention how Skywalker Ranch works on a lot of Hollywood films and then he, himself utilizing the popular sound studio was interesting. Also, interesting is how he interacts with his staff and the voice talent and the amount of work his whole staff went through in the process of making the film. Very informative and enjoyable to watch!
* Sky's the Limit: An Interview with Director Mamoru Oshii - (15:18) Director Mamoru Oshii talks about the characters and working on this film. Although the duration is around 15 minutes long, the interview portions are featured sporadically with anime cuts from the film in between each interview portion. Nevertheless, any featurette that helps the viewer learn the mindset of Oshii is a major plus.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"THE SKY CRAWLERS" is indeed a beautiful film that showcases top notch anime visuals utilizing 3D CG and beautiful background artwork. The film features an incredible lossless audio track that is definitely going to impress audiophiles who have desired more quality anime releases with top notch Japanese/English audio quality.

With that being said, I have to say that "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is another masterpiece from the critically acclaimed anime director and the film is nothing short of stunning and fantastic. With that being said, Oishii films are appreciated by fans who are willing to be open to cerebral storylines or storylines with a philosophical meaning behind it.

Like many of his film's, I have to watch it several times to appreciate the film in various levels. "Ghost In the Shell 2: Innocence" was visually captivating but the amount of detail that went into the creation of "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is amazing. The amount of detail incorporated to the audio is just amazing. You hear the basset hound barking in certain parts of the film that made me pause and wonder if the dog barking was coming from a neighbor, even the crickets.

Obviously, Oishii working with Skywalker Sound was definitely a magnificent partnership because the audio truly made this film come alive. It matched the quality set by Production I.G. in the beautiful 3D and artistic backgrounds and you really feel immersed in the detail and the storyline.

Also, it was a very bold move to go with Japanese film actors instead of experience anime voice talent. Even with the interviews on the special features, actress Rinko Kikuchi and actor Ryo Kase were unsure how they did in the film but were assured by the staff that they would take care of the rest. The talent felt they could have done more, so that uneasy feeling that they had, I think that Director Oshii wanted that. To make the film sound real, unclear emotions to be real and not to be well-acted. Definitely interesting choices made in the creation of this film.

With everything that I said being so positive about the film's video and audio quality, I do have to say that "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is a film that moves slowly. This is not a film to watch late at night if you are tired, this is a film that you may need to watch twice to understand certain scenes that you may have missed earlier in the film. Oishii chooses not to reveal much about the Kildren, he chooses to focus on the main characters.

This leaves us with many questions of "Why are they like this?", "Why were they created?"... A lot of questions asking "why?" and unfortunately, the film doesn't go into detail about the why's, it explorers these people who were created this way and live this way and now question that way of life and not having really any control of their destiny or do they?

Overall, "THE SKY CRAWLERS" is a fine film and the Blu-ray release definitely makes you much more appreciative of Mamoru Oshii's work. And most importantly, advice from Oshii from the special features, make sure you watch the film entirely as their is an imporant scene that takes place after the credits.

"THE SKY CRAWLERS" is highly recommended!

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Description of The Sky Crawlers [Blu-ray]

No description available for this title.
Item Type: BLU-RAY DVD Movie
Item Rating: PG13
Street Date: 05/26/09
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
Language: ENGLISH
Foreign Film: noSubtitles: no
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve

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