Movies - The Castle of Cagliostro

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	Movies - The Castle of Cagliostro

The Castle of Cagliostro (ルパン三世カリオストロの城 Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro 1979) by Japanese anime director and manga artist Hayao Miyazaki is one of the Master thief Lupin III movies.

Probably the definitive Lupin III movie, Castle of Cagliostro was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki before he formed the famous Studio Ghibli. The movie is filled with adventure, romance and subtle nuances of emotion. There is a longstanding rumor in American anime circles that Steven Spielberg considered Castle of Cagliostro "the best action movie ever made." The movie is based on gentleman thief Lupin III, grandson to the French literary master thief Arsène Lupin, who was created by Maurice Leblanc. Some fans of the original manga version of Lupin III dislike this movie as Lupin comes across as too good natured where the original Lupin was a cynical, playboy character.

On a side note, most of the footage for this movie is used in the laserdisc arcade game Cliff Hanger, with Lupin starring as Cliff.

Originally dubbed and released in 1991 by Streamline Pictures, a new dub was recorded by Manga Entertainment in 2000 and changed the tone of many characters. It is debatable which dub was better in quality.

The title alludes to La Comtesse de Cagliostro (The Countess of Cagliostro), the title of an original Arséne Lupin adventure.

Plot

The movie starts out with Lupin and cohort Daisuke Jigen doing what they do best, escaping pursuit after having robbed the national casino of Monaco - only to discover that their entire haul is counterfeit. The bills are of amazingly high quality and could be none other than the legendary 'goat bills' - perfect counterfeits that have been used to rock the economies of nations since the invention of paper money.

When Lupin was just getting started as a professional thief, he almost was killed while searching for the source of the goat bills. He decides that it is time to take another chance, and the two head off to the (fictional) Duchy of Cagliostro - a tiny country (the smallest country in the United Nations according to Lupin) that appears to be a conglomeration of various old-world European locales.

Shortly after arriving, they rescue a young girl from a car full of thugs, only to let her get captured again when Lupin is knocked unconscious after tumbling down a cliff. They later discover that she is the late grand duke's daughter and is engaged to be married to the evil count.

The count wants to recover the ancient treasure of the Cagliostro family, and needs the princess's ring in order to find it. Wackiness, chases and intrigue ensue.

Lupin's former lover, sometimes enemy/friend Fujiko Mine shows up as an employee in the castle, cohort Goemon Ishikawa is called in to help the gang in their final assault on the castle, and Lupin arch-rival Interpol agent Inspector Zenigata even finds himself allied with Lupin and company in order to expose the count.

Trivia

Lupin III is the grandson of the literary thief Arsené Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc. Most of Lupin III's cast refers back to older entertainment which is popular in Japan. His nemesis Zenigata refers to a long running drama Zenigata Heiji - who is a 18th century Japanese Lawman who uses a jitte and throwing coins. Goemon is based on (and decended from) the Japanese folk hero Ishikawa Goemon.
The Disney
film The Great Mouse Detective
share many similar scenes, particularly the fight in the clocktower. Disney was accused of plagiarism, although no lawsuits have been filed.
The real Cagliostro was an alchemist/charlatan.

Full cast

Yasuo Yamada
as Lupin III
Kiyoshi Kobayashi
as Daisuke Jigen
Makio Inoue
as Goemon Ishikawa XIII
Eiko Masuyama as Fujiko Mine
Goro Naya
as Inspector Zenigata
Taro Ishida
as Count Cagliostro
Sumi Shimamoto
as Lady Clarisse d'Cagliostro
Kohei Miyauchi as the groundskeeper
Ichirō Nagai
as Jodo
Tadamichi Tsuneizumi as Gustav
Yoko Yamaoka as the waitress
Streamline dub
*Bob Bergen
as Lupin III/The Wolf
*Steve Bulen
as Daisuke Jigen
*Steve Kramer
as Ishikawa Goemon XIII
*Edie Mirman
as Fujiko Mine
*David Povall as Inspector Keibu Zenigata
*Michael McConnohie
as Count Cagliostro
*Joan-Carol O'Connell as Lady Clarisse d'Cagliostro
*Mike Reynolds
as the groundskeeper and the German councilmember
*Jeff Winkless as Jodo and the Interpol chairman
*Kirk Thornton
as Gustav and the archbishop
*Juliana Donald as the waitress
*Kerrigan Mahan
as Sam
*Stephen Apostolina as an Interpol officer
*Tom Wyner
as the forgerer and the Russian councilmember
Manga Video English dub
*David Hayter
(Credited as Sean Barker) as Arsene Lupin III
*Ivan Buckley as Daisuke Jigen
*Richard Epcar
as Ishikawa Goemon XIII
*Dorothy Melendrez
as Fujiko Mine
*Dougary Grant as Inspector Keibu Zenigata
*Sparky Thornton
as Count Cagliostro
*Ruby Marlowe
as Lady Clarisse d'Cagliostro
*the late Gil Starberry as the groundskeeper
*Richard Barnes as Jodo
*Joe Romersa as Gustav
*Bambi Darro as the waitress
*James Lyon as an Interpol officer
*Additional voices
**Wayne Anthony
**Sensil Astoroth
**William Bassett
**Lauren Benjamin
**John Daniels
**Susan Chavez
**George C. Cole
**Christopher Cunnington
**Bambi Darro
**Andrew Ebert
**Alfred Thor
**Gloria Gines
**Kevin Guy
**David Jeffries
**Marlon Mann
**Jeff Nimoy
**Jack Hammer
**Richard Plantagenet
**Elliot Reynolds
**Adam Sholder
**G. Gordon Baer
**Carol Stanzione
**B.D. Vesbite
**Keith Roger Washington
**David Waterhouse
**Abe Lasser
**Ken Zhee

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Castle of Cagliostro ]

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