The Collected Works Of Hayao Miyazaki Available on Blu-ray Exclusively from Amazon.com on November 17

For the First Time Ever in North America, Academy Award®-Winning Director Hayao Miyazaki’s Films Come Together in a Single Collection

THE COLLECTED WORKS OF

HAYAO MIYAZAKI

Available on Blu-ray™ Exclusively via Amazon.com on November 17, 2015

The Collection includes a 1972 TV Pilot Directed by Miyazaki, Three Episodes from the

 Hit Anime Series “Little Samurai” and a Commemorative Booklet

About: Experience the majestic works of one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema. Hayao Miyazaki weaves his unique style of artistry and epic adventure into astonishing tales of triumph, bursting with imagination and wonder.  For the first time, enjoy all 11 of Miyazaki’s feature-length masterpieces in one spectacular 12-disc collection, complete with hours of captivating bonus features and the Academy Award^®-winning Spirited Away(2002, Best Animated Feature Film).

Films:                         Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Castle in the Sky (1986)

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Porco Rosso (1992)

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Spirited Away (2001)

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Ponyo (2008/2009)

The Wind Rises (2013)

Bonus Features:  “Yuki no Taiyo” (Yuki’s Sun) - A 1972 TV pilot based on an original manga by Tetsuya Chiba, directed by Hayao Miyazaki who was also in charge of storyboards and key animation.

“Akado Suzunosuke”(Little Samurai) - Three episodes (Episode 26, 27 & 41) of the hit 1972 anime series with storyboarding and more by Hayao Miyazaki.

Director Hayao Miyazaki Retirement Press Conference, Uncut Version

Booklet: A collector’s edition book featuring “The Great Dichotomy: Looking at the Works of Hayao Miyazaki” by Tomohiro Machiyama, which explores the themes and techniques of this revered Japanese filmmaker, and selected text from Hayao Miyazaki’s initial notes and creative proposals for the production of each film

Release Date:            November 17, 2015

ABOUT STUDIO GHIBLI:

Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, and has produced twenty-one feature-length films. Most Studio Ghibli films have ranked number one at the box office in Japan in the year in which they were released. SPIRITED AWAY, directed by Hayao Miyazaki and released in 2001, is the all-time highest grossing film in Japan, earning over 30 billion yen at the box office. The studio’s SPIRITED AWAY (2001) and HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004) are among Japan’s top 5 highest grossing films. Studio Ghibli films have garnered numerous awards and critical acclaim from critics and animation specialists around the world. SPIRITED AWAY was awarded the Golden Bear for Best Feature Film at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and won the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature at the 2003 U.S. Academy Awards®. In October 2001, Studio Ghibli, in conjunction with The Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation, founded the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, designed by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli’s film, THE WIND RISES, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was released in Japan on July 20, 2013, and was nominated for the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature.  In 2014 Hayao Miyazaki was presented with an Lifetime Achievement Award “Oscar” award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA, directed by Isao Takahata, opened in Japan on November 23, 2013, and was nominated for the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature.  WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (director of ARRIETTY), opened in Japan in July 2014.

ABOUT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS:

For over 90 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under the following banners: Disney, including Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios; Disneynature; Marvel Studios; Lucasfilm; and Touchstone Pictures, the banner under which live-action films from DreamWorks Studios are distributed. The Disney Music Group encompasses the Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records labels, as well as Disney Music Publishing. The Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Disney on Broadway, Disney On Ice and Disney Live!

Movie Review: The Wind Rises

Outside of The Walt Disney Studios, my other favorite studio is Studio Ghibli led by master animator Hayao Miyazaki. When Miyazaki announced his retirement and that The Wind Rises would be his last film, I had high expectations for his swan song. He not only soars here on his final mark on animation but he exceeded my expectations.

The Wind Rises follows the journey of Jiro Hirokoshi, who has a passion for flying. We see him flying in his dreams with his hero, the Italian airplane designer Caproni. In his dream Jiro watches a plane crash and in real life his dreams of becoming a pilot crash as he doesn't have the proper eyesight to become a pilot. So, with the help of Caproni in his dream, Jiro decides to focus on becoming an airplane builder.

Jiro then dreams of his designs soaring through the skies. His dreams and eventually real life help him solve a design problem. But Jiro lives in the 1930s and Japan is gearing up for war. His design leads to a warplane that causes thousands of deaths. But Jiro isn't concerned about the war, he wants to create the perfect plane. His focus on perfectionism is much like Miyazaki. Miyazaki created a film that doesn't use his typical magical fairies or animals and instead uses people from history with great strengths and flaws. Jiro's relationship with his boss for instance seems very confrontational at first, but when the two finally see eye-to-eye a very unlikely friendship begins that plays out in an unexpected and surprising way.

In the end, I think the relationships are the entire point of the film. That despite the odds that we should strive to do better, to do more. In the event of the massive earthquake sequence where Jiro meets his future wife, we see him acting selflessly trying to save others. Perhaps this is Miyazaki's message, to do our best even in the worst of times. To be able to stand up triumphantly despite the number of times we have fallen.

The Wind Rises in theatres now.

THE WIND RISES / Trailer

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 The Wind Rises arrives in limited US theaters February 21, 2014 and expands on February 28, 2014.

Poster for The Wind Rises! Miyazaki's Final Film!

NOTES:

*   “The Wind Rises” was released in Japan in July 2013, topping the Japanese box office and the $100 million mark.
*   Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential and admired filmmakers and a major figure in the Japanese cinematic landscape. His films have inspired moviegoers and colleagues around the world, from Pixar's John Lasseter to fantasist Guillermo del Toro to Chinese director Tsui Hark, and consistently top the box office in his native Japan.
*   Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
*   Hayao Miyazaki has directed eight feature films, including the Oscar®-winning “Spirited Away” (2001), as well as “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004) and “Ponyo” (2008), among others. “The Wind Rises” marks his last film as his retirement plans were announced in 2013.
*   The title “The Wind Rises” comes from a novel of the same name by Tatsuo Hori, who took a line from Paul Valery’s poem, “Le vent se Leve, il faut tenter de vivre” – The wind is rising. We must try to live.

OFFICIAL BOILERPLATE:

In “The Wind Rises,” Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be a pilot, Jiro joins a major Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting key historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. Jiro meets and falls in love with Nahoko, and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo. Writer/director Hayao Miyazaki pays tribute to engineer Jiro Horikoshi and author Tatsuo Hori in this epic tale of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world. From Studio Ghibli, “The Wind Rises” is slated for limited release in North American theaters on Feb. 21, 2014, and expanded release on Feb. 28, 2014, under the Touchstone Pictures banner. The film will also open for Academy Award® qualification engagements in New York and Los Angeles Nov. 8-14, 2013, showcasing the original film in Japanese with English subtitles.