Howl's Moving Castle

[This review written by this user's son, the music lunatic of the family.] If you enjoy any Hisaishi at all, this is a very safe buy. Everyone else has already hit on the points - a beautiful orchestral score, a repeating theme that gives you chills ("The Merry-go-round of Life"), and overall a beautiful work of art. I'm easily entertained, but I'm not the only one who doesn't tire of that same "Merry-go-round of Life" theme even after listening to it a thousand times. It's that beautiful. This score came off very nicely, in my mind; though I loved "Spirited Away," I found it a bit skimpy in terms of thematic material - leaning towards minimalism, if you know what I mean. It evoked raw emotions, but it wasn't overflowing with musical merit in some pieces. This CD, compared to "Spirited Away," is probably easier on most casual listeners, in my opinion (though not to badmouth "Spirited Away," though, which is amazing in its own right) because it's simply easier to keep up with, music-wise. Listener be warned, though - some tracks are very short - like a minute or less in length. That means you will have some breaks more often than usual, but it doesn't detract from the CD by much, if at all. Beautiful music, through and through, which gives it a rating of five stars. [Formal review ends here - in short, I endorse this CD wholeheartedly. You won't regret buying it. What follows is a fanboy rant for the fanatics like me.] And yes, the way Hisaishi incorporates that same theme over and over and over again is simply mind-blowing - it pops up in "The Promise of the World" (before the actually "The Merry-go-round of Life" part of the track) in a brief piano interlude that makes you stop and think for a second - is it the theme or is it not? Similarly, the ghost of the theme can be heard in "The Boy Who Drank Stars" (or "Cave of Mind" or whatever it's called, that penultimate track) in a BEAUTIFUL variation wherein the trumpet settles for playing counterpoint - it's a stroke of musical genius that still has me raving, even now. For those who are curious, the theme "The Merry-go-round of Life" goes something like: [ascending]D - G - Bb - D, C - Bb - A - Bb, G - Bb - D - G, G - F - Eb - F, blah blah blah. You'll know it when you hear maybe twice. It appears in most of the tracks; it's almost a scavenger hunt when you listen through, looking for it. I can't talk enough about this. Suffice to say, this CD is so very buy-worthy, in case you missed my "in short" statement up there in brackets.

First, the movie: The first time I saw the movie I was deeply moved by the BEAUTIFUL landscapes, unlike anything I've ever seen in a cartoon. The story line was a bit complicated, but the music and the beauty of the movie were so mesmerizing that I and my family watched in over and over again. Each time we watch it, we learn something more. The story, like the music, is multi-layered. Now the music: What can I say? The music carries you away by its beauty and intricacies. It is haunting and happy and grand. My ten-year-old son is the one who continued to beg me to buy the music, he and the rest of my family love it so much. Unfortunately, the price is so high that it is almost out of reach. $49 for an album? The price is a real setback, I almost decided not to buy it. But then I thought of all the enjoyment we will have as a family listening to this music on cold winter days. I've decided to buy it as a Christmas present for the family. If the price wasn't so high, I would also buy the soundtrack for Spirited Away. Since the price is so high, I would advise NOT buying the album unless you and your family truly love the music and would enjoy it for years to come. Watch the movie and listen to the music first, to see if this is something that you would be willing to pay such a high price for. That's what we did. The DVD is at my local library, I'll bet that you can find it in one of your state's libaries as well. I hope this helps.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Howl’s Moving Castle and the music from this CD is relaxing and beautiful. The only complaint is that it would have been better if the song titles were notated in English as well as Japanese.

My intention was always to upload this to my computer, and when I did, it magically had English titles! That had been my only worry ordering this, so iTunes really did the job there (if I could've bought this on iTunes, I wouldn't be here). I love the movie and its beautiful soundtrack, but I'm giving this four stars because of the price. Way too much, especially considering the age of the movie itself. Brand new soundtracks cost less.

It's your typical good orchestration mixed in with other styles. I don't recall the movie too much, unlike Miyazaki's other offerings, this film is decent enough, but it doesn't stick in my memory like some of his other offerings. Even so the score is pretty decent, and not really narrative as such. It's pretty decent stuff to have on in the background, and really doesn't bring images of the film to mind. The music can stand on its own. If you're a Miyazaki fan, then check out this disk.

Listening to this music is both calming and exciting…wonderful.

We have loved the movie for years and hum the songs all the time. We have the soundtracks for some other Miyazaki movies and my 15-year-old son asked me if there was one for this movie. I know Spirited Away had a wide release due to their Oscar win, but Howl's Moving Castle did not and you have to buy the import. Other than not being able to read any of the tracks in Japanese, it plays beautifully. My son listens to it on the laptop while he programs. It keeps his brain happy. I enjoy it, too, as I sit at another computer keeping up with the world. Joe Hisaishi composes the most beautiful music for most of the films Miyazaki has made. It is truly "moving."

Hisaishi unleashes pure noe-classical / romantic themes which perfectly suit the emotions of this film. From sparse, hopeless texture, to enchanted, to wicked, to deeply intimate, this soundtrack is one I'd buy again and again.

Sin duda, uno de las cumbres en la colaboración Hisaishi- Miyazaki. Una banda sonora barroca, tétrica en ocasiones, irresistiblemente luminosa en otras, como la película a la que acompaña y que contiene innumerables momentazos para el recuerdo, como 'Moving' o 'The Boy Who Drank Stars'. De compra obligada a pesar de su precio desorbitado, pues se trata de una edición japonesa, a la que solo puedo criticar por lo parco de su contenido gráfico.

Great cd! Came in a timely fashion.

Super

Llegó en excelentes condiciones y es muy bonito, fue un regalo excepcional.

Vorab: diese Rezi bezieht sich auf Japanische Original-Ausgabe des Soundtracks. Joe Hisaishi`s Score zu „Howls Moving Castle“ zählt zu einem meiner Lieblingswerke des Altmeisters. Es stimmt zwar dass das Main Theme extrem dominiert und dem einen oder anderen eventuell zu kitschig werden könnte- aber mir persönlich macht dies weit weniger aus. Ich liebe das Main Theme des Films. Es ist eine träumerisch-schwelgerische, leichtherzige, manchmal aber auch bittersüsse und vor allem romantische Nummer. Meist als Walzer aufgezogen, geht diese Melodie schnell ins Ohr und verharrt dort für eine ganze Weile. Es gehört neben Ashitaka`s (Mononoke Hime) und Ni no Kuni`s Theme zu meinen absoluten Favoriten unter den Ghibli-Scores. Diese Nummer ist eben darauf ausgelegt… well, romantisch zu klingen. Der Streifen ist ja auch eher ein Liebesfilm. Daher habe ich damit weniger Probleme. Auch über die überdosierte Verwendung nicht. Zumal es auch noch andere Motive gibt, wie das Stück um Hauro`s Fluch, der Hexe aus dem Niemandsland, oder Sulliman. Gerade Hauro`s Motiv ist recht düster und melancholisch gehalten. Schade finde ich hingegen nur dass das Main Theme selten voll ausgespielt wird. Glänzen tut es vor allem in „Sky Stroll“, dem wunderschönen „The Flower-Garden“ und den End-Credits. Der einzige Track der mich ein wenig nervt ist der Schlusssong, welcher in die Credits überleitet: „Sekai no Yakusoku“. Diesen finde selbst ich eine Spur zu kitschig. Dieser wird von Chieko Baisho gesungen, welche im O-Ton der Protagonistin Sophie ihre Stimme leiht. Wie meistens bei den Ghibli-Scores üblich, wurde auch hier der komplette Score auf die Scheibe gepackt (26 Tracks mit einer Laufzeit von ca. 68 Minuten). Schöne Sache also. Das Booklet der CD ist relativ unspektakulär. Neben den (vermutlichen) Liner-Notes, den Credits und der Track-Auflistung finden sich ein paar Hintergrundbilder des Films. Fazit: Wenn ich sage dass sich der Score zu „Howl`s Moving Castle“ typisch Hisaishi-like anhört, so soll dies keinesfalls negativ aufgefasst werden. Er komponiert eben in seinem Stil (sowie man John Williams oder Danny Elfman oder James Horner aus ihren jeweiligen Arbeiten heraushören kann). Ich liebe den Score. Ich finde ihn deutlich besser als Hisaishi`s Musik zu „Spirited Away“. Natürlich ist dies alles Ansichtssache. Für mich ist der Score aber mit ein Grund warum mir der Film so gut gefällt. Von mir daher eine volle Empfehlung!