DVD Collectors Online

Mimi wo Sumaseba , a review by dfmorgan

Mimi wo Sumaseba (1995/Japan) (Japan) Director: Yoshifumi Kondo Writing: Aoi Hiiragi (Original Material By), Hayao Miyazaki (Screenwriter) Length: 111 min. Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: Japanese: PCM: 2-Channel Stereo, Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio: 5.1, English: DTS: 5.1, German: DTS: 5.1, Cantonese: DTS: 5.1, Mandarin: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Korean: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean

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Stars:
Youko Honna as Shizuku Tsukishima (Voice)
Kazuo Takahashi as Seiji Amasawa (Voice)
Takashi Tachibana as Yasunari Tsukishima, Shizuku's father (Voice)
Shigeru Muroi as Asako Tsukishima, Shizuku's mother (Voice)
Yorie Yamashita as Shiho Tsukishima, Shizuku's older sister (Voice)

Plot:Extras:

Sorry to repeat but another wonderful upgrade. I hadn't noticed it before but there was a framing error with the end titles on the R1 DVD in which a little bit of follow up action on a bridge wasn't clearly shown. That problem does not exist in this copy. I quite like the case that these Japanese Studio Ghibli Collection Blu-rays come in and if it wasn't for the price I would be sorely tempted to replace my existing UK Optimum Blu-rays.

Original DVD review is here

(From Ghibli Blu's on July 31st, 2011)

Earth, a review by Danae Cassandra

Earth
Year of Release: 1930
Directed By: Alexander Dovzhenko
Starring: Stephan Shkurat, Simon Svashenko, Julia Solntseva, Ellen Maximova
Genre: Drama

Overview:
One of the undisputed masterpieces of the cinema, no single viewing of EARTH will ever reveal all of its poetic brilliance.  The third in a triptych of films by Ukranian director Alexander Dovzhenko (after Zvenigora in 1927 and Arsenal in 1928), EARTH is strikingly simple in plot.

On the eve of collectivization in the Ukraine, an old farmer dies peacefully in bed.  His grandson Vasil has a new vision: the village council will buy a tractor to be shared among the farmers.  Struggling against the superstition, rich landowners and nature itself, Vasil is ultimately the victim of a tragic murder, but the dawn brings forth a new life and the promise of prosperity to the poor village.

The story itself is secondary to the visually stunning images that Dovzhenko creates.  His love for the Ukranian people and land intoxicates the viewer with the sensual splendors that fill the screen.

My Thoughts:
Looking at the beautiful vistas captured in this film, it's easy for me to imagine what Dovzhenko might do with today's technology. It's a poetic, stunning little film. The thin plot - conflict between richer landowners and collectivist peasants culminating in murder - is political propaganda, but Dovzhenko isn't really concerned with that here. His film is really a love letter to the land and the people of Ukraine. Still, I wish the plot had been fleshed out a bit more, and the actors could use some work. That aside, this is an important film just begging for a high quality restoration. It seems criminal this is only available on a disc with two other films, and the other films in this trilogy are completely unavailable in an R1 release. I'd love to see a company like Criterion pick up Dovzhenko's entire Ukraine Trilogy for a bluray release.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on March 11th, 2016)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Crusade



What's the show about?
The crew of the Excalibur searches in the galaxy for a cure that the plague the Drakh left on Earth.

What happened before?
2267, 5 years after the 5th season of "Babylon 5" the Drakh a former ally of the Shadows attacks Earth. They leave a plague on Earth which threatens to kill all life within 5 years. One of two prototype starships is ordered to find a cure to this plague. This was seen in the TV movie "A Call to Arms".

"War Zone"
What's the pilot to this show? That's a really difficult question. The storyline started with the TV movie "A Call to Arms", but none of the characters of the series was present in that movie (except Galen and Lochley). But JMS (the producer of Babylon 5) considers "War Zone" in the logical order on place 13. I still take it because it introduces the crew.

Captain Gideon takes over the command of the newly-built starship "Excalibur", one of two prototypes equipped with Human, Minbari and Vorlon technology. Gideon's mission is to find a cure for the plague that is going to wipe out all life on Earth. But first he has to take a little detour to hunt down one of the Drakh ships...

My Opinion
I haven't come around to watch this show yet. In fact this was the first time I ever watched an episode of it. Mainly because the show was canceled before it was even shown to an audience. If I like it, I'll know it will only last 14 episodes and I am somewhat confused that the order of the episodes is not the chronological order and if you watch it in the latter order uniforms change and some dialogs don't match. I've got no idea what JMS was thinking. Originally Crusade should have a 5-year-storyarc just like B5.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 4th, 2008)