Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro on returns to DVD this week, courtesy of Discotek Media. This 35th Anniversary Collector's Edition is absolutely packed with features, and is one of the most hotly anticipated anime releases this year. This release includes four audio soundtracks: the 1979 Japanese language track, the 1992 Streamline Pictures US dub, the 2000 Manga Entertainment dub, and a "family friendly" version of the Manga soundtrack that omits most of the naughty words.
Lupin expert and anime scholar Reed Nelson has been in charge of this project, and he is especially proud of the results. A tremendous amount of work has gone into making this the best home video release of Cagliostro ever. I think they understand the challenges in re-releasing vintage movie titles that have seen multiple home releases, as well as the challenge in combatting online downloading and streaming. The logic is the same as my own with the Horus DVD: Give the fans a ton of features. Give them something they can't find anywhere else.
Additional bonus features include: newly translated English subtitles, audio commentary track by Reed Nelson, translation notes, a collection of the movie's opening and closing credit sequences, and the original movie trailers.
A Blu-Ray edition of Cagliostro is also coming this year, but no official announcements have yet been made (which BD source will be used, the 2008 VAP, or the 2014 Studio Ghibli?). Until then, I highly recommend purchasing this new DVD. I expect the picture quality to be spectacular, the cover designs are masterful, and the features raise the standard for anime films. I personally held this Cagliostro release as a standard when compiling the features for Horus, Prince of the Sun, and I'm thrilled to see what the fans think.
As I always say, Discotek Media devotes every penny they earn to bring you the best in home entertainment (doesn't that sound like a sales pitch?). Every anime fan deserves to support them right back. Go out and buy this DVD today, kids! Go, go go!
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