Word: filming
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Every now and then a movie appears on the horizon, sending streaks of a false dawn through the sky long before the actual appearance of the film; Princess Mononoke is that sort of movie. It was the highest grossing film in Japan when it was released in 1997 (to be replaced, tragically, by Titanic, and bootleg copies have been circulating though North America for years.) The big screen debut in America has been completely unlike that of any other foreign animated film; touting the voices of stars like Gilian Anderson, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Billy...
...Unfortunately, the use of famous voices to attract general audiences in America degrades the brilliance of what is, on its own, a wonderful film, and interferes with the creation of a captivating fantasy. Several of the vocal performances are wonderful, such as Billy Crudup as Ashitaka and Gillian Anderson as Moro the Wolf Goddess. Crudup is entirely believable, sounding in turn appropriately brave, vulnerable, and kind. Gillian Anderson's voice is altered here, designed to sound more godlike (the effect succeeds). Her growling tones are menacing and eerie, and her Moro is as intelligently complex as many of the human...
...these performers, however, manage to make their roles their own. Except Claire Danes, who in the title role is nothing short of a great detriment to the film. Even if the viewer does not recognize her as Angela from "My So-Called Life" or Juliet from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, her voice is absolutely grating. Princess Mononoke is a poor translation of Mononoke Hime, which more literally means "Spirit/Monster/Ghost Princess"--there is nothing remotely spiritual, monstrous or ghostly about Danes' Princess Mononoke. While her behavior and lines present Princess Mononoke as a tough, dangerous, furious woman, she sounds...
...Despite the problems the Western cast presents, Princess Mononoke is a phenomenal film. It deals with issues of environmental degradation, social progress, repressed minorities, and real-world implications of spirituality. Each benefit of animation is exploited, and the drawbacks minimized. The star-studded cast will almost certainly draw in a larger audience than anime has ever known in the United States, and neither devoted fan nor newcomer will leave Princess Mononoke disappointed...
...ghost of a girl he couldn't save. He finally finds redemption with the help of Mary (Patricia Arquette), whose own suffering brings them together. Here, Scorcese revisits his Last Temptation of Christ with a bit of Taxi Driver thrown in. With enough Christian motifs packed into the film to revive Sunday school memories for any born-again atheist, this movie explores the world of the paramedics as they provide salvation-on-wheels to the wretches of New York City...