Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Movie Review

A first-rate documentary exploring the creative journey of master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki

An intimate and rewarding documentary providing a rare glimpse into the creative world of renowned filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki offers fans of Studio Ghibli a portal to the passion of one of the best filmmakers of any medium. Renowned across the globe for a career that has spanned decades and has resulted in many anime masterpieces such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki is a strong-willed and dedicated artist who has always given his all to each and every project.

On a day to day basis, Miyazaki frequently clasps hold of a cigarette between his fingers while he toils away at creating his art. For a beloved genius it’s clear that the filmmaker still struggles with the day-to-day process of creation. Often doubting himself and his capabilities (as well as his artistic worth), Miyazaki ponders the importance of his work and why he pursues it.

Unlike many of his peers in the anime medium, Miyazaki does not start a project with a traditional written screenplay. Though every film he makes is credited to him as the screenwriter and director, Miyazaki approaches his films in a way that is not employed by virtually any other filmmaker in the craft. Starting instead with his rough sketches, Miyazaki storyboards his films from beginning to end with careful thought to attention and detail on each and every crevice of his filmmaking. The story is written alongside the artwork with dialogue noted on the pages of his hand-drawn art as he crafts his films.

The documentary begins with the press conference held by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli following the release of the semi-autobiographical The Wind Rises. Miyazaki, as tired as always after completing a new project, once again announced his retirement from filmmaking and declared The Wind Rises his last film. This declaration was not to last.

Miyazaki eventually decided to return to filmmaking with a new short animated feature entitled “Boro the Caterpillar” about a cute caterpillar and its journey. The project was designed to charm and delight audiences of all ages. Unlike his previous feature length productions, Miyazaki decided to approach the project with a medium almost completely unfamiliar to him: CGI animation.

Having only used CG animation sparingly for action scenes and panning shots in films like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke (while keeping the vast majority of the artwork hand-drawn), Miyazaki decided that to increase the production turnaround time on his short film he would delve into CG animation from start to finish. Fearing that he might pass away before completing another project, Miyazaki decided that he would embark on a new creative adventure rather than hang up the creative towel altogether for retirement.

A genius toils away at his creative process

Bringing in a new group of animators to help him learn the craft of using CG animation, Miyazaki also instructs his collaborators on the desired movements of his characters and art. In one particularly breathtaking scene of the documentary, Miyazaki describes the way in which he wishes for the caterpillar to appear as he delicately turns his head with childlike wonder (instructing the team of CG animators that the earlier take was “too fast” and that the art did not accurately portray how a child would move their head). Audiences get to experience firsthand the process of genius in motion as Miyazaki crafts his latest project with as much care and love as given to any of his feature films. Miyazaki’s bubbly energy and his passionate demeanor presents the genius with a childlike wonder which Miyazaki has clearly never lost.

It’s fascinating to see one of the world’s greatest animators and storytellers work his magic while still finding moments of frustration and difficulty in the process of creation: from the furious shuffling of his feet as he works on a sketch to the confusion of how to use computer drawing programs to sketch out his art. Even when setbacks arise, Miyazaki never gives up. True to the documentary’s pitch-perfect title, Miyazaki is indeed a never-ending-man.

Following the journey of Miyazaki as he embarks on his new creative undertaking, the film explores both Miyazaki's meetings with Studio Ghibli producer Isao Takahata about his creative endeavor as well as some intimate moments away from the workplace in his quiet abode. He often boils himself a pot of tea and sits to contemplate his place as a filmmaker. The insights are eye-opening and engaging. One feel’s highly privileged to learn the intimate thoughts of a master filmmaker as he considers his creative process.

In the best sequence of the entire film, Miyazaki is brought to a presentation room where a group of young animators present to him a short animated test of a CGI zombie crawling across the ground in a display of chaos. Unlike Miyazaki’s CGI endeavor with Boro the Caterpillar, in which he carefully involves himself with his team of animators for each and every scene, these younger animators are developing a program that utilizes artificial intelligence to create animation for them. Miyazaki stares at the horrific work with dismay and disappointment. He calls the work an “insult to life” and feels human beings have started to lose faith in their own abilities: why exactly would anyone design a program to replace their own ability to create?

Few documentaries about filmmakers feel as intimately rewarding as Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki. From exploring this work, it’s clear that the master filmmaker has not lost any of his enthusiasm or drive for filmmaking. Despite becoming burned out after completion of projects and announcing his retirement time and time again, Miyazaki is the true artisan who will never call it quits: he’s a true visionary who will continue to work until his last moments on Earth. Until that time comes, Miyazaki will continue to create new things and always with a passion and drive as if starting anew for the first time.

Miyazaki has had a profound impact on my life as a writer. He is one of the filmmakers who served as a inspiration to me to pursue creative endeavors. I even named my sweet cat Kiki (after Kiki’s Delivery Service) and my puppy Chihiro (named after the character in his masterpiece Spirited Away). Few filmmakers have inspired this much passion. I know that Miyazaki has directly impacted the lives of countless individuals across the entire globe. When Miyazaki ponders the true worth of his art (as displayed in fleeting moments in this documentary as well as in The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness), I respond: “more than you know.” It matters. It makes a difference. Therein lies Miyazaki's greatest magic.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki is presented on Blu-ray from GKids and Shout Factory with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation. This presentation is true to the source material utilized and accurately presents the image. Having seen the film both during a limited theatrical engagement and on Blu-ray, the home media release by GKids looks true to the quality of the footage I witnessed during its theatrical presentation. That's the good news about this presentation. The less enticing element is that this is a rather soft high definition presentation which appears to have been filmed utilizing low-quality digital cameras.

The image is often noisy and lacks the finer finesse of other documentaries with better video (such as other Ghibli documentaries like The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness or the brilliant Jiro Dreams of Sushi, with it's impeccably smooth cinematography). Dark scenes have extremely poor black levels and the digital noise becomes a true distraction at times. The image is certainly disappointing. Colors are not as impressive as one would hope for and the image has the appearance of a low-budget television special. The image also has many moments with apparent macroblocking (though often in blink or you miss it moments). All things considered though, viewers should not let the average quality presentation deter them from enjoying this amazing documentary. The average video-quality is no fault of GKids and is clearly a source-related issue.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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The audio on this release is no better than the video quality. Presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio stereo, it's clear that this documentary production did not have the budget or means to form a more pleasing audio experience. Though dialogue is always clear and easy to understand, the track lacks true high-resolution clarity or fidelity. There is often background noise from the workplace environment or the outdoor surroundings which would have been less distracting if better audio recording techniques were utilized for the film's production. Instead, the production quality is not as high as one would expect to find for a master filmmaker like Miyazaki to receive. The audio is sometimes harsh sounding and though it's never a total detriment to enjoying the documentary, it feels like a low-fi soundstage at best. Subtitles are provided in English, French, and Spanish.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This is a Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack release which includes a beautiful slipcover for it's first print run. The cover art also includes an image printed on the reverse side.

The release includes a short alternate version (HD, 48 min. 10 sec.) of the documentary with English narration and some different footage than the main cut of the feature-length version.

Comparing the two versions of the documentary, I found myself pleased with both of the different cuts. Each version has something unique to offer viewers as an experience. The short version is not as in-depth as the main feature but the narration quality is excellent and the editing was superb. There are also a few brief sequences with different or extended footage not included in the main cut. Though these differences are rather small, audiences may enjoy getting to experience more behind-the-scenes footage (even if these unique moments are fleeting).

Trailers (HD, 4 min. 7 sec.) for Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki are also included.

Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hayao Miyazaki is one of the best filmmakers in the world. Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki reinforces why he is one of the best filmmakers around with an intimate behind-the-scenes journey which explores the master filmmaker's creative process as he works on the short film "Boro the Caterpillar" after he renounced his retirement.

Having grown up watching Miyazaki's movies, Miyazaki is one of the primary reasons why I ever decided to endeavor into creative writing and storytelling, and I'm sure he has been an inspiration to many all over the world. Never Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki serves as a reminder to us all as to why it's important to always follow one's dreams and to never deter from one's passions in life. Dreams can truly come true and Miyazaki has proved this time and time again. An essential documentary for fans of the filmmaker and Studio Ghibli.