8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
On the final days of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his four-year-old sister Setsuko are orphaned after their mother is killed during an air-raid by American forces in Kobe, Japan. After having a falling-out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency funds and rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko must struggle to survive their hardships as well as those of their country, which is on the losing end of the war.
Starring: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi, Tadashi NakamuraForeign | 100% |
Anime | 83% |
Drama | 11% |
History | 3% |
War | 2% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Two English tracks, original and rerecorded
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
The horrors of war have provided grist for the filmic mill since virtually the dawn of the medium, resulting in a number of all time classics from All Quiet on the Western Front to Saving Private Ryan. It’s perhaps more than a little ironic that one of Mankind’s most dunderheaded proclivities could also offer artists in so many different mediums the inspiration to create such memorable works. Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace—the list is as endless as Man’s seemingly eternal genetic desire to wipe out other humans who don’t share their same nationality, politics, race, religion or any other given distinguishing characteristic. The world of anime hasn’t been immune to exploiting the possibilities of war themed material, though as any anime fan will tell you, nine times out of ten that use tends to be set in a dystopian future, where people are either dealing with a post-apocalyptic world or are otherwise attempting to fight off encroaching hordes of aliens. One of the very rare exceptions is the haunting 1988 feature Grave of the Fireflies, a simple but devastating account of two children trying to make their way through the burnt out husk of the Japanese city of Kobe in the closing days of World War II. Based on a 1967 semi-autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, Grave of the Fireflies was the first animated production by publishing house Shinchosha, but its claim to fame in animation circles comes from the fact that Studio Ghibli was hired to handle the actual animation. As Ghibli fans will no doubt attest, that studio has not just an incredibly distinctive style, but also a tendency to deal in somewhat bittersweet stories, almost always focusing on children, and in that regard Grave of the Fireflies fits snugly into the Ghibli tradition. In other ways, though, the film is decidedly more gruesome and troubling than many Ghibli releases.
Grave of the Fireflies is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Since this wasn't an "official" Studio Ghibli release, my sense is it may not have been curated as effectively as some actual Ghibli creations, something perhaps hinted at by the state of the original English audio (see the audio section below for more details). While this is often an extremely pleasing high definition presentation, the elements here do seem to be just slightly faded at times, without the deep saturation that tends to define a lot of other Ghibli animated product. That said, the image here is excellently sharp and well defined, with crystal clear line detail and a generally very naturally filmic appearance. You'll note that this film frequently features "static" backgrounds, even when those should be swarming with things like fire and billowing smoke, and that aspect lends a certain painterly look to the film which is rendered very well on this release.
Grave of the Fireflies features three audio options, all delivered via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mixes. There's a newly recorded English track, the original Japanese track, as well as the original 1988 English audio track. A note on the audio options states that the masters for the original English audio track have been lost (hence my mention above of the perhaps shoddy curating this film experienced), and that a dupe track with damage was utilized for this Blu-ray. The biggest problem with the original English track is one of amplitude. Nothing really ever pops sonically, and it's quite hard to hear some occasional lines of dialogue (it seems like this would have been an easy thing to fix with any number of pro audio tools). There are other occasional issues with this track, like pops and cracks. The two other tracks sound excellent, though there's quite a difference in the voice work in the new English track compared to the original. Fidelity on both the new English track as well as the Japanese track is excellent, and the English track especially makes some rather good use of wide stereo separation. This track and the Japanese track also exhibit very good dynamic range.
To describe Grave of the Fireflies as a heart wrenching experience may qualify as the understatement of the year. This film manages to be as resolutely anti-war as Johnny Got His Gun, with the same general avoidance of actually concentrating on battle that the Dalton Trumbo outing did. Perhaps that comparison is apt in more than one way, for as with Johnny Got His Gun, we're confronted with basically helpless individuals who are unable to properly cope with the devastating effects a war has had upon them. The fact that Grave of the Fireflies manages to be so incredibly expressive and lyrical even as it is emotionally devastating is perhaps its greatest achievement. This Blu-ray looks fine and sounds great, and as long as you have a steady supply of tissues handy, Grave of the Fireflies comes Highly recommended.
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