The Wind Rises Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Stephen Hornbrook

The Wind Rises Blu-ray Movie Review

Synopsis

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away, 2002) comes a spellbinding movie beyond compare.

Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Gianni Caproni. Nearsighted and unable to be a pilot, he becomes one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers, experiencing key historical events in an epic tale of love, perseverance and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world.

On his journey to the university to become an aeronautical engineer, Jiro unknowingly meets the love of his life after a strong earthquake strikes during the train ride. Jiro gets a job with Mitsubishi and is sent to Germany to study the designs of their metal airplanes. With Japan falling behind in the technological race, it’s up to Jiro to design a strong, fast, and agile fighter plane.

Specifications

  • Disney
  • 2013, Color, rated: PG-13, 2 hours 7 minutes
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • 1080p
  • English DTS-HD MA 1.0
  • Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Martin Short, Stanley Tucci, Mandy Patinkin
  • Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Rating

  • Entertainment:
  • Video:
  • Audio:
  • Extras:
  • Violence: Yes
  • Sex: No
  • Language: No

Commentary

Based upon the life of Jiro Horikoshi, The Wind Rises is an incredible tale of love and passion. Jiro was the designer of the Mitsubishi A5M and A6M Zero fighter plane used by Japan during WWII.  At a young age, Jiro is inspired by Italian aeronautical designer Caproni and he quickly realizes his passion for the art of design. This is a fascination film and one that I highly recommend people watch. The artwork is stunning and a treasure in and of itself. I found this animated tale to possess more emotion than most Japanese anime I have seen and is among Miyazaki’s very best work. The English performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, and Martin Short are exceptional and felt more natural than your average dub of foreign animation.

Miyazaki has now retired from directing and as his last piece, The Wind Rises is a true masterpiece. Should not be missed!

Technical

The vivid hand painted backdrops of The Wind Rises are exceptionally recreated on this Blu-ray. The crisp colors sparkle on screen and each frame could be a framed print on a gallery wall.

The audio on this disc is presented in DTS-HD MA 1.0 mono and that’s exactly Director Hayao Miyazaki’s intent. For a mono track, the dialog is clear and dynamic and Hisaishi’s score comes through nicely.

Extras

I was hoping for more extras on this extraordinary tale, inspired by the real story of Jiro Horikoshi.
Blu-ray Bonus Features include: The Wind Rises: Behind the Microphone; Storyboards; Original Japanese Trailers and TV Spots; & Announcement of the Completion of the Film.