The Castle of Cagliostro

by Japanese anime director and manga artist Hayao Miyazaki is one of the master thief Lupin III movies.

The second animated Lupin III movie and arguably the most famous, Castle of Cagliostro was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki (who also co-directed the first Lupin III TV series and directed two episodes of the second) before he formed Studio Ghibli. Cagliostro features gentleman thief Lupin III, grandson to Maurice Leblanc's French literary master thief Arsène Lupin. Some fans of the original manga version of Lupin III (as well as Lupin III's creator, Monkey Punch) dislike this movie as Lupin comes across as too good-natured where the original Lupin III was a cynical, playboy character.

In the wake of the runaway success of interactive movie game Dragon's Lair, footage from Castle of Cagliostro was adapted into the laserdisc arcade game Cliff Hanger.

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 by Maurice Leblanc).

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 was almost 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 and master swordsman 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.

Releases

In 1979, Tokyo Movie Shinsha released the original theatrical version. In 1991, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer created a subtitled version for American theatres. MGM/UA Home Video released the film on VHS in 1992 (dubbed by Carl Macek's Streamline Pictures), and Best Film and Video Corp. released it on VHS in 1993 (the Streamline dub). In 2000, Manga Entertainment created an all-new dub.

Streamline's dub, while lauded for the overall acting talent of the voice cast, has been widely criticized for its cropping and retiming of the opening credits to remove all traces of Japanese hiragana, as well as for the liberties taken with the translation of its dialogue. Most famously, Goemon's signature line, "Once again I have cut a worthless object"—uttered as Goemon slashes Lupin's burning clothing off—was altered by Macek into "Should've worn an asbestos suit."

Manga's new dub of Cagliostro has been lauded for its overall faithfulness to the original Japanese dialogue, but criticized for its unnecessary use of four-letter words. In addition, Manga's original DVD release has been criticized for lacking an anamorphic transfer or any extras apart from previews for other Manga Video releases, and the way English titles are hard-matted onto the movie's video image, obscuring parts of the screen behind them.

Optimum Releasing re-released Cagliostro in the UK after Manga Entertainment lost its license in the UK. The new DVD features an anamorphic widescreen print with the original Japanese audio track as well as the Streamline dub, both in Stereo.

According to DVD Aficionado and The Right Stuf, Manga plans to release a new "special edition" DVD of Cagliostro in late 2006. AnimeOnDVD states that it will include a new digital transfer, 5.1 audio, storyboards, and interviews with Monkey Punch and the film's animation director.

Trivia

Lupin III is the grandson of the literary thief Arsène Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc. Most of Lupin III's cast refers back to older entertainment which is popular in Japan. His nemesis Koichi Zenigata refers to a long running drama Zenigata Heiji—who is an 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 shares many similar scenes, particularly the fight in the clocktower. Disney was accused of plagiarism, although no lawsuits were ever filed.

The Animated Series features a few Cagliostro references, most notably in the episode "The Clock King" (the clocktower fight) and the movie Mask of the Phantasm (Batman being washed down the sewer matches shot-for-shot Lupin being washed down the aqueduct).

Another Cagliostro in-joke appears in episode 24 of Macross/Robotech, where a suspiciously Lupin-like blue-jacketed figure is shown playing a video game that re-enacts Cagliostro's car chase scene.

Gary Trousdale, co-director of Disney's The Lost Empire, has admitted that a scene at the end of Atlantis, where the waters receded from the sunken city, was directly inspired by a similar scene from Cagliostro.

There was a real-life historical figure named Alessandro Cagliostro; he was an infamous alchemist, Freemason, and forger who was implicated in the affair of the diamond necklace, an incident that led up to the French Revolution. His iconic standing in French history subsequently led to his appearance or mention in many works of French literature, including Leblanc's Arsène Lupin tales. Early in his career, the original Arsène Lupin crossed swords with Countess Cagliostro, who was either a descendant of Cagliostro or his alchemically-long-lived daughter. Subsequently, she kidnapped Lupin's firstborn son and raised him to challenge his illustrious father in a very long-ranged scheme of revenge. There seems to be no direct connection between the Count Cagliostro of this movie and the Countess Cagliostro of Arsène Lupin's, though his apparent age could make him her son or nephew.

Castle of Cagliostro includes elements that were seen in other Arsène Lupin works, as well. One Arsène Lupin tale involved the discovery of a tremendous stash of forged Franc notes with which World War I-era Germany had planned to destabilize the French economy. Another featured a secret treasure hidden at the bottom of a lake.

Sharp-eyed viewers will note that Lupin and Jigen are not alone in the opening robbery. The top of Goemon's head and sword can be seen in the back window of the car when Lupin throws the money out of the sunroof. This explains why the casino security force's cars fell apart so readily a few moments before; Goemon had cut them apart with his sword.

Every weapon used in the film really exists, including the MP-40 submachine gun, MG-34 machine gun, and PTRS anti-tank rifle.

There is a long-standing rumor that Steven Spielberg saw Castle of Cagliostro when it was shown at the Cannes film festival and called its car chase one of the greatest chase sequences ever filmed, and/or called Cagliostro "one of the greatest adventure movies of all time." While this rumor has not been specifically verified, Manga Video considered it credible enough to mention on the back cover of its DVD release.

WILHELM SCREAM: In the Streamline dub, Wolf loosens one of the gears in the clock tower, sending Count Cagliostro's men running for their lives.

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

External links

1979 films | Adventure anime | Films directed by Hayao Miyazaki | Lupin III

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