Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical:
Blu-ray: CoMix Waves Films
Disc:
Region: A
Runtime: 63 minu
Chapters: 13
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: April 18, 2008
Video:
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: AVC / MPEG4
Subtitles:
None
Extras:
• Trailers & TV Spots in HD
• Music Video in HD
The Film:
9>7
For quite some time now those in the know have been
declaring Makoto Shinkai the next Hayao Miyazaki.
Starting with short films animated purely by himself
on his home computer Shinkai has steadily built a
fiercely loyal following around the globe, his fans
drawn by his clean lines, attention to detail and
willingness to let his character’s breathe. Shinkai,
like Miyazaki, is one of those very rare film makers
- even more rare in the animation world - who
understands that less can often be more, that the
quiet moments often tell us more than any amount of
action or dialog ever could, and he has an uncanny
knack for capturing the pregnant pauses that open
the souls of his characters. While Shinkai’s latest,
a triptych of interconnected stories titled 5
Centimeters Per Second, does not quite raise him to
the current level of the great master it definitely
represents a huge step forward and is exactly the
sort of film that you would expect to come out of
Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli on one of their better
days. Yes, though the film has its weaknesses,
Shinkai really is that good.
5 Centimeters Per Second - named for the speed at
which cherry blossoms fall to the ground - is made
up of three stories surrounding Takaki, a Japanese
boy, at three different stages of his life. We meet
him when he is young, just in junior high and coping
with the departure of Akari - his closest friend, a
girl for whom he has developed feelings he cannot
express - the year before while also preparing for
his own move away from Tokyo and to a remoter part
of the country. We then move to Takaki at the final
stages of high school, preparing to move on to the
next stage of his life and completely, blissfully
ignorant of the feelings Kanae, a girl in his class
has for him. Finally, we meet Takaki again as a
young adult, twenty six and giving in to
disillusionment. – [Todd Brown - December 7, 2007]
Excerpt of review from Twitch Magazine located HERE
Image:
10 (10/10)
The score of 10 indicates a relative level of
excellence compared to other Blu-ray DVDs. The score
in parentheses represents: first, a value on a
ten-point scale for the image in absolute terms;
and, second, how that image compares to what I
believe is the current best we can expect in the
theatre.
If this isn't my first 10/10/10, it's certainly
uncommon in my scorecard library. Shinkai Mikoto's
watercolor palette positively glows with life. The
color is dense and translucent by turns, brilliant
and quiet, realistic, fanciful and lyrical. The HK
AVP SD-DVD edition, as lovely as it is, is marred by
edge-enhancement, which you can just make out in
these screen shot comparisons, but is readily
apparent on large screen front projection.
Hong
Kong SD Edition TOP vs. Japanese Blu-ray
BOTTOM
Hong Kong SD Edition TOP vs. Japanese
Blu-ray BOTTOM
Audio & Music:
10/8
This is quite simply a stunning audio track: subtle,
atmospheric – you can almost feel the heat of the
day or the chill of the night. Realistic train
sounds feature prominently.
Operations:
8
As with other Japanese language DVDs I found these
menus easy enough to sort – it's nice that
everything is in roughly the same place with much
the same function.
Extras:
3
The Bonus Features, such as they are, are in 1080p.
They all look great, as they amount to little more
than a string of beautiful images. The music video
("One more time, One more chance") has that going
for it. The one major fault of this DVD is that it
includes no substantive extra features. There is a
2-disc Region 3 SD edition
HERE that, in addition to a trailer and the
same music video, also includes: an Interview with
the Director, Storyboards, Interview with Voice
Actors, and a Production Gallery. I believe it has
English subtitles for both the feature and the
extras.
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Bottom line:
9
My feeling is that the final third of this film
devolves into the mundane at a cost to the bulk of
the story's time and emotional appeal. It matters
little to me that childhood romanticism gives way to
adult triviality (as it does for most of us), unless
this idea is developed. Instead, the final (and
thankfully also the shortest) part soon gives way to
a pop music video. I would want the director spend
some time with Ray's Apu Trilogy to learn about what
he's missing. This could have been quite the little
masterpiece instead of the gem it turned out to be.
Despite my high score for the image, you should not
leap on this BRD any too quickly. Remember it has
no
subtitles, nor any extra features to speak of in any
language – and it has a good deal of voiceover
narration. And it's expensive – about a dollar a
minute at current prices. On the other hand, after
watching a subtitled version, perhaps one part at a
time – this is a short film after all – you should
be able to immerse yourself into one of the best
looking - and sounding - videos on the planet.
Hypnotic.
One final travel advisory: you may come across
timings for this film around 103 minutes. This is
incorrect. I believe it derives from a translation
misunderstanding. The total time for the feature
film is 1 hour, 3 minutes.
Leonard Norwitz
May 18, 2008
