The Wind Rises

Hideaki Anno Director: Hayao Miyazaki Hayao Miyazaki

Overview

An aviation-obsessed engineer named Jirô Horikoshi (Hideaki Anno) has loved the aesthetics, spirit, and science of flight for as long as he can remember. For years he's been designing and building his dream plane, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and it's finally completed. But Jiro's dreams come crashing down when he learns, to his horror, that his creation will be used for combat in World War II.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/22/2020
UPC:	0826663209891
Original Release:	2013
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Time:	2:07:00
Sales rank:	8,600

Special Features

Behind the microphone; Film completion press conference; Original theatrical trailer; TV spots; English SDH subtitles

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Hideaki Anno	Jirô Horikoshi (Japanese language version)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	Jirô Horikoshi (English language version)
Emily Blunt	Naoko Satomi (English language version)
Miori Takimoto	Naoko Satomi (Japanese language version)
Hidetoshi Nishijima	Honjô (Japanese language version)
John Krasinski	Honjô (English language version)
Masahiko Nishimura	Kurokawa (Japanese language version)
Martin Short	Kurokawa (English language version)
Mirai Shida	Kayo Horikoshi (Japanese language version)
Mae Whitman	Kayo Horikoshi (English language version)
Darren Criss	Katayama (English language version)
Elijah Wood	Sone (English language version)
Jun Kunimura	Hattori (Japanese language version)
Mandy Patinkin	Hattori (English language version)
Steve Alpert	Castorp (Japanese language version)
Werner Herzog	Castorp (English language version)
Shinobu Otake	Kurokawa's Wife (Japanese language version)
Jennifer Grey	Kurokawa's Wife (English language version)
Morio Kazama	Satomi (Japanese language version)
William H. Macy	Satomi (English language version)
Mansai Nomura	Caproni (Japanese language version)
Stanley Tucci	Caproni (English language version)
Keiko Takeshita	Jirô's Mother (Japanese language version)
Ronan Farrow	Mitsubishi Employee (English language version)
Zach Callison	Young Jirô (English language version)
Madeleine Rose Yen	Young Nahoko (English language version)

Technical Credits

Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki	Director,Original Story,Screenwriter
Holly Dorff	Casting
Joe Hisaishi	Score Composer
Koji Kasamatsu	Sound/Sound Designer
Takeshi Seyama	Editor
Toshio Suzuki	Producer
Yoji Takeshige	Art Director

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- The Wind Rises
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26

Menu

Disc #1 -- The Wind Rises
   Play
   Chapters
   Setup
      English
      Japanese
      English Subtitles For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing: On
      English Subtitles For Original Language Version: On
      Français Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off
   Bonus
      Behind The Microphone
      Original Trailers & TV Spots
      Film Completion Press Conference

Editorial Reviews

Inspiration can be a difficult thing to depict on film. Not just because of its ethereal nature, but because it comes to every individual in a totally unique way. In Hayao Miyazaki's fictionalized biography The Wind Rises, we follow Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi as he achieves his childhood goal of creating flying machines and meets love of his life. It's a gorgeous, imaginative testament to the power of dreams (both literally and figuratively), as well as a thematically rich meditation on the internal conflict an artist experiences when a beautiful creation is used for something other than what it was intended for. Inspired by both the classic Japanese novel Kaze Tachinu and the life of Mitsubishi A5M Zero designer Jiro Horikoshi, The Wind Rises introduces us to Jiro (voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in his formative years as his lifelong love affair with airplanes is beginning to blossom. While learning English so he can read all of the latest aviation journals, Jiro starts having dreams in which his hero, Italian aeronautical genius Giovanni Battista Caproni, encourages him to pursue his passion. Later, the young engineer leaves home to study in Tokyo, though the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 devastates central Honshu one day as he's returning to the city by train. It's during that fateful ride that Jiro meets Naoko (Emily Blunt), a young woman who breaks her leg in the crash that results from the quake. After helping her reach her family, Jiro hastily races back to the university and tries to save the library collection from going up in flames. Some time later, Jiro is hired to help design a fighter plane for a prominent airplane manufacturer. But the project fails, and the engineer is sent to Germany to study the sturdy, all-metal designs of Hugo Junkers. When a subsequent promotion leads to another disheartening failure, Jiro retreats to a summer resort in Nagano, where he once again crosses paths with Naoko. The pair soon decide to marry, though Naoko is stricken with tuberculosis -- the same affliction that claimed her mother. As Jiro goes to work designing a plane for a Navy competition, Naoko attempts to recover in a secluded sanatorium; however, she is unable to remain separated from her love for long, and quickly returns to Jiro. Despite her rapidly deteriorating health, Naoko inspires her loving husband as he strives to complete his work on the A5M. Prior to the release of The Wind Rises, many Miyazaki fans were disheartened to hear him announce that the picture would be his last as a director. Others, convinced that the celebrated filmmaker has become something of a serial retiree since making the same announcement with the release of 1997's Princess Mononoke, remain less convinced. Whatever the case may be, if The Wind Rises is indeed Miyazaki's cinematic send-off, it would be both a fitting and respectable one. The virtual antithesis of Miyazaki's last directorial effort -- 2008's delightful yet uncharacteristically simple Ponyo -- this beautifully detailed biography is a mature drama that deals with subject matter that, were it not for the dazzling traditional animation, would put most viewers under 12 to sleep. Even then, the prevailing themes of love and loss, as well as the historical nature of the movie, may prove tedious for younger fans, yet others who have grown with the director's work over the years will likely find it as affecting as anything in Miyazaki's consistently strong filmography. And though even the most dedicated of Miyazaki fans may have initially lamented his decision to turn away from fantasy in what might be his final feature, the director still manages to inject the fantastical into the story courtesy of the dreams in which Jiro calls on the wisdom of his spiritual mentor Caproni. These scenes, with their philosophical approach to the nature of creation and inspiration, aren't merely window dressing: They drive the story as much as they reveal Jiro's true character. An engineer with the soul of an artist, his gentle benevolence stands in stark (yet not ironic) contrast to the fact that his beautiful designs would ultimately be used for something as terrible as the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Likewise, the love affair between Jiro and Naoko earns our sympathy not just due to its melodramatic nature, but because our understanding of the history between these two people makes us want to see them together. Supporting characters, such as Jiro's best friend Honjo (John Krasinski), their temperamental yet kindhearted boss Kurokawa (Martin Short), Caproni (Stanley Tucci), Jiro's younger sister Kayo (Mae Whitman), and mysterious German Castorp (Werner Herzog), also serve the story well, and once again offer testament to the strengths of scrupulous dubbing. In an early dream sequence, the Italian master Caproni confides in his young admirer Jiro that any great artist only has ten years of creativity. If that is indeed true, then Miyazaki is something more than a great artist since he's given us more than three decades of magic and wonder. Later, Caproni exclaims that, "Airplanes are beautiful dreams, and engineers turn dreams into reality!" Miyazaki no doubt knows a thing or two about that magical process, and, if we're really lucky, maybe he'll keep sharing his dreams with us.

All Movie Guide - Jason Buchanan