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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Porco Rosso (Kurenai no buta) (Studio Ghibli Collection) (Blu-ray) (1992)

Porco Rosso (Kurenai no buta) (Studio Ghibli Collection) (Blu-ray) (1992)

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Released 20-Nov-2013
Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Animation	Main Menu Audio & Animation Theatrical Trailer Multiple Angles-Alternative Angle Storyboards Interviews-Crew-Toshio Suzuki (Studio Ghibli Producer) + Voice Cast Trailer-Studio Ghibli Trailers (3) Reversible Cover
Rating
Year Of Production	1992
Running Time	93:18
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Hayao Miyazaki
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Shûichirô Moriyama Tokiko Kato Sanshi Katsura Greg Ellis Tsunehiko Kamijô Akemi Okamura Akio Ôtsuka Hiroko Seki Carey Elwes Michael Keaton
Case	Amaray-Opaque-Secure Clip	Starring
RPI	$29.95	Music	Jô Hisaishi Tokiko Kato

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Linear PCM 48/16 2.0 Japanese Linear PCM 48/16 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

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Plot Synopsis

Many years ago now in 2005, one of Hayao Miyazaki's wonderful animated films, Porco Rosso was released on DVD. You can find our review of that release here. Finally, this marvellous film has been released on Blu-ray and it is a huge step up from the DVD release which is an NTSC-PAL conversion resulting in some significant video artefacts.

This is a wonderful film, with adventure, humour, romance and lots of marvellous flying machines. I thoroughly agree with Rob's asssessment of the film in his review and for fans of Studio Ghibli this is a must own title. In my vew, however, it is even better than the four stars Rob gave it as a film and for me at least is right up the top with My Neighbour Totoro & Ponyo in the Ghibli canon. One thing which really leaps out on this Blu-ray version is the beautiful score by Joe Hisashi, Miyazaki's regular collaborator.

Just buy it already!

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Transfer Quality

Video

The video quality is excellent.

The feature is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080p HD encoded using the AVC codec.

The detail and clarity is excellent throughout showing off the spectacular animation.

The colour is also excellent revealing the beauty of the ocean, sunsets and seascapes.

There were no noticeable artefacts.

There are subtitles available in English which translate the Japanese language version.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

The audio quality is also excellent.

This disc contains an English soundtrack in LPCM 48/16 2.0 and a Japanese soundtrack with the same technical configuration. Not having a surround soundtrack is consistent with a film of this vintage.

Dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout. The English dub is very good, however, my pick is the original Japanese version.

The music by Joe Hisashi sounds fantastic on this Blu-ray following the highs and lows, action and adventure of the film.

The surround speakers were not used.

The subwoofer provided support to the music.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

A decent selection of extras. All the ones from the DVD version are here and one new one.

Theatrical Trailers (7:34)

A series of very similar trailers for Porco Rosso are played back-to-back with English subtitles. All are presented in 1.85:1, but without 16x9 enhancement.

Multiple Angles-Alternative Angle Storyboards

The entire film can be viewed in storyboard formas a picture-in-picture extra. A lot of the sketches are simple and some are roughly coloured, but they give an interesting insight into the early stages of this production.

Interview-Toshio Suzuki (Studio Ghibli Producer) (3:20)

Toshio offers his thoughts on the director and what makes this film different to Miyazaki's earlier efforts. This interview was made for Nippon Television and is presented in 1.33:1 full frame.

Behind the Microphone (7:03)

US voice cast interviews and the recording process including Michael Keaton, Cary Elwes & David Ogden Stiers. This extra does not appear on the DVD version.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

There is no Region A US release at this time and the Region 2 version is exactly the same.

Summary

A fantastic animated film from Japanese master, Hayao Miyazaki.