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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
Miyazaki Hayao 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 French master thief
Arsene Lupin.
The movie starts out with Lupin and cohort 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 Jigen) 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
(obligatorially 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 shows up as an
employee in the castle, cohort
Goemon Ishikawa (a ninja sword saint) is called in to help the gang in
their final assault on the castle, and Lupin arch-rival
Interpol inspector Zenigata even finds himself allied with Lupin and
company in order to expose the count.
Most of Lupin III's cast refers back to older popular Japanese
entertainment. His nemesis Zenigata refers to a long running drama
Zenigata Kagin - who is a 18th century Japanese Lawman who uses a
jitte and throwing coins. Maurice Leblanc 's Arsene Lupin was a cousin to
Sherlock Holmes.
- Carl Macek is responsible for producing the excellent English
version. Fred Patton assisted.
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