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Pile of Shame - Adventures of Hols, Prince of the Sun


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dm
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Joined: 24 Sep 2010
Posts: 1346
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:45 pm Reply with quote
This is a surprisingly good film, considering its age. There are still vestiges of the Disney influence --- cute mascot animals and some musical interludes.

Hilda's influence may even reach to Evangelion. I've seen her first appearance --- singing among the rocks by the side of a lake --- compared to when Shinji meets Kaoru. Once it's pointed out, it's hard to miss the comparison.

You could import it from the UK with English subtitles for a while (very inexpensvely from Amazon.co.uk). I don't know if that's still true or not.
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OldCharlieStoletheHandle



Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 1288
Location: Mastic Beach, NY
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:58 pm Reply with quote
I have a copy of the UK release (region 2 PAL) which I got a couple of years ago, as I recall it was not expensive. I was able to watch it on my computer (hooked to my TV) with VLC player and I really enjoyed it. It seems unlikely the original Japanese version will get a DVD release here which is unfortunate (a DVD release with both English and Japanese dubs would be great) as this is a fine movie.
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E-Master



Joined: 21 Aug 2005
Posts: 471
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:51 pm Reply with quote
It's a very innovative film for it time. I remember becoming familiar with it when looking up every film that Takahata and Miyazaki directed or were involved with and this was among the ones I checked out cause of it being Takahata's very first film. I always bring this film up whenever I talk about Takahata's earlier films made prior to Grave of the Fireflies.
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RTL3



Joined: 13 Apr 2009
Posts: 36
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:46 pm Reply with quote
Great film. I wasn't expected much more than a kid's film when I first saw it, and then it opened with Hols swinging that hatchet at half a dozen wolves, which won me over quickly. I loved this movie, it's gorgeous to look at, has some really fun action scenes, and has a good message about community. Inspired by the staff having to stick together to get it made. Really wish we could a proper R1 release....

*cough right up Discotek's alley cough*
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:05 pm Reply with quote
One a few things I haven't seen yet, but it's on my to-do list. I'd get around to it if a BD came out, which is how I'd prefer to consume older things these days, the HD just really makes the art more striking and digestible than some old low quality DVD.
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GTO Neko



Joined: 11 Oct 2007
Posts: 94
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 5:34 pm Reply with quote
Good to hear it's on Hulu, so I'll have to check it out then.

Have been catching up on my Lupin III on Hulu (part 2/red jacket, will soon be working on part 3/pink jacket).
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ailblentyn



Joined: 28 Mar 2009
Posts: 1688
Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:43 pm Reply with quote
Has the idea for "Pile of Shame" changed? I mean, there is no way Justin hadn't seen this before this week?!
It is a great film, determined to be creative at almost turn. I seem to remember some very interesting shots, including a moving crane shot over a house roof? One of the wonderful little extra joys of the Optimum release is the "Little Prince Valiant" title card. Fantastic!
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rheiders



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 1137
Location: Colorful Colorado :)
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:50 pm Reply with quote
Ooh, I've heard of this one and have wanted to check it out, but I had no idea it was on Hulu! I'll have to go watch it soon. Very Happy
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1684
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:05 pm Reply with quote
ailblentyn wrote:
Has the idea for "Pile of Shame" changed? I mean, there is no way Justin hadn't seen this before this week?!
It is a great film, determined to be creative at almost turn. I seem to remember some very interesting shots, including a moving crane shot over a house roof? One of the wonderful little extra joys of the Optimum release is the "Little Prince Valiant" title card. Fantastic!

You caught me. Heck, my fansub group did this one on VHS back in the mid-90s. But I hadn't written about it before, and it definitely warranted an article.

(Full truth: the title I was going to write about was really kind of crappy and I couldn't get through it)
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2530
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:26 pm Reply with quote
jsevakis wrote:
ailblentyn wrote:
Has the idea for "Pile of Shame" changed? I mean, there is no way Justin hadn't seen this before this week?!
It is a great film, determined to be creative at almost turn. I seem to remember some very interesting shots, including a moving crane shot over a house roof? One of the wonderful little extra joys of the Optimum release is the "Little Prince Valiant" title card. Fantastic!

You caught me. Heck, my fansub group did this one on VHS back in the mid-90s. But I hadn't written about it before, and it definitely warranted an article.


Well, this isn't even the first time you covered a previously-seen title with Pile of Shame. You also wrote about Blue Sonnet, which you admitted in that article to having seen years ago.

Quote:
(Full truth: the title I was going to write about was really kind of crappy and I couldn't get through it)


Oh, just what title could this be? Will this be a later Pile of Shame article, supposing you can get through it all?
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ailblentyn



Joined: 28 Mar 2009
Posts: 1688
Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:14 pm Reply with quote
jsevakis wrote:
(Full truth: the title I was going to write about was really kind of crappy and I couldn't get through it)
I'm also curious!
I like the use of Hols rather than Horus! Horus always seemed so bizarre, given the very un-Egyptian setting. And isn't some creative (very vague memory here) on record as saying that the name was not intended to be "Horus", but to sound Germanic?
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Jose Cruz



Joined: 20 Nov 2012
Posts: 1767
Location: South America
PostPosted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Being a great fan of Miyazaki and Takahata's work I watched every movie they made (except their two last ones).

This one is a great movie. Miyazaki wrote about it being the first work of animation that proves that animation can be powerful drama. Indeed, compared to anything dating before 1968, it's incredibly innovative.

Curious fact: Hols used 160,000 cells in it's production while Princess Mononoke used only 144,000 cells (though the level of detail is higher in PM's case).
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4564
PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:17 am Reply with quote
Wow...I'd never so much as heard of this movie before now, but it sounds like an absolute must-see. And if it's on Hulu, I have no excuse not to.
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doomydoomdoom



Joined: 08 Mar 2013
Posts: 278
Location: Michigan, USA
PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:28 am Reply with quote
Can't believe I'VE never heard of this, as a classic anime fan. This sounds like a premium film indeed. For one thing, it's Isao Takahata. For another, if this is the anime film that invented modern anime (primarily shonen from the looks of it) ideals and storytelling, surely it is indeed a must-own for anime buffs. I think I'll take a look at the Optimum DVD (I would never bring myself to sit through the dub, but glad it's on Hulu and Netflix). Good old Optimum BTW.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 3:06 pm Reply with quote
I have the subbed DVD, but I wasn't aware there was an English dub. Is the dub a Disney dub, or one done way before Ghibli and Disney signed their distribution deal?

Quote:
Politically, the late 60s in Japan were a period of this youth trying to instill unionization and democratic ideals into the stodgy old money that still ran things in Japan.
This can be seen in the basic theme of "From Up On Poppy Hill"
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