Monthly Archives: August 2019

My Thoughts on: Castle in the Sky (1986)

The 1986 film Castle in the Sky (Tenkū no Shiro Rapyuta) holds a very special place in my heart. Not only is it the very first Studio Ghibli film, it is also, so far as I can remember, the very first film by Hayao Miyazaki that I ever saw. I saw it on TV in the early 2000s (2003 I think), and it was played up as a really big deal. I remember being spellbound then, and ever since I’ve been in love with this story.

Like all of Miyazaki’s films that I’ve seen, Castle in the Sky takes place in a world not unlike our own, but with one major difference. In this world, there’s a huge floating city named Laputa that lies hidden somewhere up in the sky. Long ago, Laputa was the center of an incredibly advanced civilization, but hundreds of years ago…it vanished. The story centers around several groups and individuals who are all searching for Laputa, each with their own motives for doing so.

Pazu, a young orphan boy, is searching for Laputa to prove to his fellow townspeople that the floating city isn’t a myth.
Sheeta, a young orphan girl, ends up searching for the city because she wants to learn what happened to make everyone abandon it.
The Dola Gang, a roguish-yet-lovable band of pirates are looking to plunder Laputa’s worldly treasures and make themselves filthy rich.
And Muska (voiced in the English dub by Mark Hamill), seeks Laputa for the power he believes it can give him.

Castle in the Sky is an interesting study on the best and worst aspects of humanity. On the one hand, we have Pazu and Sheeta, who only want to explore Laputa, and don’t really want to “do” anything with it. The Dola Gang are something of a middle ground, in that robbing the city of its treasures isn’t really the right thing to do, but then again they’re just doing what pirates do (and it’s implied that they’ll retire from their thieving ways if they succeed).

And then there’s Muska, who represents the very worst of humanity. Muska, who like Sheeta is descended from Laputa’s long-lost royal line, is obsessed with getting to the floating city and turning it into his own personal kingdom and weapon of war. He believes that since Laputa once dominated the world, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t do so again, with himself as its king. Of all the characters who make it to Laputa, I think Muska is the only one who bothers with its technological secrets, most of which have been nearly buried underneath a forest of roots and plant life in the centuries since the residents returned to Earth. In fact, Muska is so obsessed with wielding advanced technological power and being king that he completely misses the point of why the city was abandoned in the first place. Sheeta tries to explain it to him: the city was abandoned because its residents realized that humanity doesn’t belong in the sky. All the advanced power in the world doesn’t mean a thing if you aren’t connected to the world, to which all things belong.

Speaking of Laputa, the city is one of my favorite parts of the film. It’s so well drawn that, even though most of it has long since fallen into ruin, you can still conceive of how it must have looked in its prime. I also like the idea that the floating city is home to wildlife that you wouldn’t find on Earth (at least I think that’s what those creatures are meant to be). It’s literally like a whole different world up there.

If you haven’t seen Castle in the Sky yet, I highly recommend it, it’s a classic story that doesn’t show its age in the slightest.

Let me know what you think about Castle in the Sky in the comments below and have a great day!

The Twilight Zone S1 E28: A Nice Place to Visit

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When it comes to the original run of The Twilight Zone, I have many episodes that I consider to be my favorites. But if I had to pick just one episode to go back and watch for the first time all over again, it would have to be the season 1 episode “A Nice Place to Visit.” Not only is it a well done episode, I also feel like it has the most memorable “wham” line in the entire series (feel free to correct me if you feel otherwise). But I suppose I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s take a look at the episode.

“A Nice Place to Visit” is notable for starting off with a bang, literally, as the lead character, a hardened thief named Rocky Valentine gets shot and killed while fleeing a robbery. Soon after, Rocky meets Pip (Sebastian Cabot), who introduces himself as Rocky’s “guide” to this strange, new world he finds himself in. Larry Blyden is quite convincing as the hardened-beyond-redemption Rocky, playing the character in just such a way that you can’t feel any sympathy for him.

And where exactly is Rocky? Well, it takes the gangster some time to work it out, but he eventually does realize he’s not on Earth anymore (though you’d think being accompanied by a mysterious figure dressed in white would’ve been a big clue, but then again Rocky’s not that smart). Rocky then decides that since he’s dead and not burning up in flames, well then he must be in Heaven! You really can’t blame Rocky for jumping to this conclusion, as the gangster has found himself in very plush surroundings: he’s in the penthouse of a posh hotel and casino, he has beautiful girls waiting on him hand and foot, a brand new car to drive whenever he wants, and he always has the best luck at the gaming tables. It’s an absolute Paradise for someone like Rocky…or is it?

See, if you pay attention, there are clues seeded from the beginning that indicate Rocky isn’t where he thinks he is. For example, observe how Pip interacts with Rocky, particularly when he’s trying on his new clothes. While his “guide” is full of flattery, he’s not exactly sincere in his compliments. And then there’s the fact that no one else is in “Heaven” with Rocky. You don’t need a Masters in Theology to know that Heaven isn’t meant to be an empty place. There’s also the telling look at Rocky’s “file” in the Hall of Records (during the gangster’s brief doubts that he’s ended up in the correct place), where it’s revealed that Rocky had quite the sinful life, with no redeeming moments whatsoever. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how wonderful Sebastian Cabot is in his role as Pip throughout the episode. The way he plays the character, you can tell he’s more than happy to guide Rocky throughout his “domain” but he’s also visibly holding quite a deal back (as we’ll see shortly).

The biggest clue of all to what’s going on can be found in Rocky’s unnatural luck. What seemed to be a heavenly blessing is actually a curse, because try as he might Rocky can’t stop winning, no matter what game he plays! That might not sound so bad, but think about it: imagine you’re playing a game and all you do is win, time after time for DAYS at a time. That would get boring wouldn’t it? Well, after a month in “Heaven” that’s exactly what happens to Rocky; the gangster is bored out of his skull because he’s getting everything he ever wanted with absolutely no risk involved, an intolerable situation for someone like Rocky, who’s thrived on risk his whole life. Rocky can’t stand being in a place, no matter how nice, where there isn’t any risk to him.

As a result of this boredom, while Rocky still believes he’s in Heaven, he finally decides he’s in the wrong place after all, and asks to go to “the other place (Hell).” And that’s when it happens, that’s when Pip delivers the immortal line that turns everything you thought you knew about this story on its head:

“Heaven? Whatever gave you the idea you were in Heaven, Mr. Valentine? This is the other place!“

How I wish I could go back and relive the first time I heard that line over again, because it really is a game changer. The idea that such a nice place could really be “the other place,” it really blew my mind. I think of all the series’ twists, this is the one that hides itself the best, right until the end anyway. Of course, in hindsight, given The Twilight Zone’s known history of unexpected twists, maybe a lot of people saw it coming after all. Regardless of whether you expected it or not, Rocky’s reaction to finding out where he’s been all this time is priceless. It’s amazing how quickly you want to leave when you find out your “Paradise” is actually a gilded cage in the middle of Hell itself.

Let me know what you think of “A Nice Place to Visit” in the comments below and have a great day!

The Twilight Zone S5 E25: The Masks

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The Twilight Zone is noted for telling stories about a wide variety of characters, many of whom end up suffering a twisted punishment through bizarre means. “The Masks,” another 5th season episode, is an exemplar of this particular story-type. The story is set in New Orleans in the home of Jason Foster, a ridiculously wealthy, and notably blunt old man who is also dying. In any other story, you might think Jason was the one fixing to get what’s coming to him, but that thought disappears the moment you meet his relatives, who are all the very definition of “pieces of work.”

Let’s see now, there’s Emily, Jason’s daughter, who is an eternal hypochondriac (and unwitting hypocrite), always believing she is on death’s door suffering from some malady. There’s Wilfred, Emily’s husband, who only cares about money. And next to those two are the grown children Wilfred Jr., who apparently used to like torturing small animals if Jason is to be believed, and then there’s Paula. Paula is an interesting case because at first her only “sin” appears to be that she’s obsessed with her own appearance. Don’t let her fool you; later in the story she goes into a tirade about the miserable time she’s having waiting for her grandfather to die. In short, there’s little to no redeeming value in any of Jason’s kin, and the dying millionaire knows it.

Instead of simply cutting them out of the will, however, Jason decides to inflict his own punishment, perfect for the Twilight Zone. Since it is the night of Mardi Gras, everyone in the family must wear masks. But these aren’t any ordinary party masks. These are grotesque, disturbing things to look at. I often find myself wondering what color those masks were (since the episode was filmed in black and white it’s impossible to say for certain), since the colors might have added to their disturbing nature. But I digress…

You’ll also note Jason says they were made “by an old Cajun” which should be a big clue to the audience that something supernatural will happen eventually if you put them on. But Jason includes a fool-proof catch: if anyone in the family refuses to wear the masks, then all any of them will get from his estate is train fare back home. Jason knows full well his relatives are far too greedy to pass up on his fortune. So they all put the masks on (even Jason, he wears a death’s head), and they wait for midnight, when Jason says the masks can come off.

This next part is, for me, the saddest part of the episode, because as midnight approaches all of Jason’s family beg him to let them take the masks off, saying how stupid this is and how they can’t bear it. Jason then turns to them all and says:

“Have you all had your say?….is there nothing else you have to say to me?”

Having read between the lines, I’m convinced that Jason is giving his family one final chance to show him that they have at least one redeeming quality about them. If just one of them had shown some spark of caring, I really think Jason would have called it all off and let them take the masks off. But the chance is wasted on these people, and as midnight strikes, Jason finally passes away. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence he died at the stroke of midnight either. Earlier in the episode, Jason mentions that there’s a “ritual” to the wearing of the masks. While he describes it in some detail, I think he leaves a crucial detail out. I suspect, that for the ritual to take full effect, someone has to wear the death’s head and sacrifice their life at midnight. It makes sense if you think about it, most stories involving magic will tell you that powerful magic requires some form of sacrifice. And since Jason was dying anyway, it follows that he would choose a relatively quick death over suffering who knows how much longer. And if he can punish his relatives at the same time…so much the better.

And what a punishment! The reveal of what the masks have done make this one of my favorite episodes to this very day. And to those who might say “Well can’t they just get plastic surgery to fix their faces?” That’s just it, they can’t! You see, going for surgery would mean revealing their problems and flaws for all the world to see. And you saw how they all act, they’d never be able to do that. So they’re stuck with their punishment for the rest of their lives.

Let me know what you think about “The Masks” in the comments below and have a great day!