Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 18, 2014
MSRP: $36.95
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Film: A / Video: A / Audio: A- / Extras: B+

In recent days, one of the worst possible stories for fans of animation in general floated over the summer has been all but confirmed: Studio Ghibli may be finished with feature films altogether, instead focusing on maintaining the Ghibli museum, working on manga, and other, smaller projects. If this ends up being the truth–and would anyone really raise an objection if they change their minds?–it’s a true shame to see the death of hand-drawn feature animation occur so abruptly. This general sense of depression at the end of artistic genius, though, began when Hayao Miyazaki said that, for real this time, The Wind Rises would be his final feature film as a director. (Studio Ghibli has released two more features in Japan, the first of which, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, opened in an English-language dub last month in the States.) Whatever the case may be regarding his feature career, this much is clear: hand-drawn feature animation is an art form in its death throes, and its last true master is Hayao Miyazaki. And The Wind Rises may well be his final stroke of brilliance.

Ostensibly, The Wind Rises is a biopic focusing on Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Zero fighter planes used by Japan in World War II. But Miyazaki, whose pacifist nature is clearly on display in even his more violent and action-heavy Princess Mononoke, is less interested in the political machinations that led to the Zero being employed by countless soldiers in WWII and more in Horikoshi’s desire to “make something beautiful.” That, in effect, is the conflict here: is it worth it to design or make something beautiful if it will be used for destructive purposes? For Jiro and his mentor (if only in dreams), Caproni, the answer is yes, even if there are reservations behind that affirmative response. The story follows Jiro from childhood, as he worries that he won’t ever be able to even work on airplanes because he’s nearsighted, to his days as a star designer at Mitsubishi in the 1930s. As Jiro’s star rises, he remains tethered to a burgeoning romance with Nahoko, a young woman who he first encounters in the minutes before the infamous Tokyo earthquake of 1923 that caused massive death and destruction. As much as he attempts to balance his desire with that of the men who use his planes, Jiro tries to figure out a way to keep making the best possible planes while dealing with a true love who’s stricken with tuberculosis.

The Wind Rises emphasizes, frequently, the limitless nature of dreams–Jiro appears to share dreams with the real Caproni, not just imagining that the Italian man is a guiding force of some sort–and its animation bears this out. The world of animation is one of infinite possibility, and Hayao Miyazaki, even in his elder years, continues to explore it fantastically. Though this is a darker, more melancholic, and introspective film than, perhaps, the hallmarks of his career like My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away, The Wind Rises features some of Miyazaki’s best setpieces, from the terrifying scene where the earthquake strikes while Jiro rides to the city on a train to his dreamy visits to Caproni. The story is, in general, not quite tied to reality, much like its lead character; the romantic element may be slightly less fleshed out than necessary, but it’s a fantasy (Nahoko is completely made up) in and of itself, so it feels apt that the film focuses on Jiro’s truest love: airplanes. It’s not difficult to ascribe some of Jiro’s notions to Miyazaki himself; when Jiro’s told that “airplanes are beautiful dreams,” you can’t help but apply that sentiment to Miyazaki’s films. They are all beautiful dreams, and The Wind Rises is no less gorgeous and emotional and thorny than his previous efforts.

A/V

Happily, Disney does Miyazaki justice with this Blu-ray transfer, though slightly more in the video than audio. As with each of his previous films (and with all Ghibli projects honestly), The Wind Rises is exquisitely animated and features a panoply of vibrant colors utilized in awe-inspiring and terrifying ways. From the red and green hues of Jiro’s shared dreams with Italian airplane designer Count Caproni to the brown overlay of the real world in the aftermath of the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923, The Wind Rises looks as beautiful and harrowing on the Blu-ray as it did on the big screen. The audio is slightly less perfectly captured, though the monstrous sounds of the aftershock, as well as Joe Hisaishi’s mournful theme, are recreated excellently.

Extras

File under Not At All Surprising, but there are a meager bunch of special features here, including the original Japanese trailers and TV spots and a 10-minute featurette titled “Behind the Microphone.” (The latter focuses on five of the actors in the English-language dub, from Emily Blunt to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But come on: how do you not interview Werner Herzog, who voices Castorp in this dub, for this featurette?) The two supplements worth noting are the original storyboards, where anyone can hear the finished product and see it in a much messier form. This is a common feature on Disney’s Ghibli Blu-ray releases, and it’s good to see here as well. Even if the final film is more colorful and striking, there’s no doubt that Miyazaki’s artistry is present even in its roughest form. Then, there’s an 80-minute press conference announcing the completion of the film. Miyazaki, along with Hideki Anno (who voiced Jiro in the original film) and the singer of the closing song, answer questions from an emcee to a crowd of journalists and photographers. If anything, this is compelling primarily because how often do animated films (or, in fairness, live-action ones) garner such lengthy and fawning press conferences? Even the recent Marvel event was less a Q-and-A and more an Apple-style product launch.

Overall

If Hayao Miyazaki’s sticking to his guns this time and truly retiring from feature filmmaking, then The Wind Rises is a hell of a way to go out on top. And while it would be nice if the film’s North American Blu-ray release was given more special features, getting to see the process from storyboard to finished product remains truly insightful and fascinating for animation junkies. In short, if you love the art of animation, you do yourself a disservice by not buying this disc.