Castle in the sky

I eagerly awaited the American home release of Castle in the Sky when it was first announced in 1998. Sadly, it took five years for me to see the movie, but it has become my favorite Ghibli film. And I fell in love with the redone soundtrack. It has taken a ridiculous amount of time for me to get a copy, but it was worth it. My only complaint is that the music for the siege on Tidus Fort with the robot soldier has been trimmed for some reason. As much as I like the original version of the OST, this rendition is a must have for Joe Hisaishi fans.

When Disney acquired the U.S. rights to Hayao Miyazaki's LAPUTA (retitled CASTLE IN THE SKY in the U.S. since "laputa" is a nasty word in Spanish), they commissioned composer Joe Hisaishi to extend and rearrange his masterful score for a performance by a symphony orchestra. There were a number of naysayers who opposed this major revamp from the beginning and to this day some are still resentful. However, Miyazaki applauded the results, and there are those who echo his compliments, myself included. The compositions are identical to the original--the only difference here is that they are performed by a full orchestra; this provides for an arguably superior quality and gives the score a more "fresh" feel. There are even some new pieces that are equally beautiful and boisterously exciting, especially the tracks toward the end. All in all, this is a much underrated rearrangement that deserves a second chance; it not only makes the new dub worth watching, but on album it is especially enjoyable. And while the arguments over whether it does justice to the movie or not will last for eternity, what matters in the end is that this is still Joe Hisaishi's work through and through.