I read several reviews of Grave of the Fireflies, and while it's considered a beautifully crafted film, I could also tell from the synopses that it wasn't something I would voluntarily sit through.

I felt so unbelievably petty when I watched that film. It was beautiful and moving and it made me weepy, but OH MY GOD, the voice of the little girl made me want to drive nails into my eardrums.

I watched The Testament of Dr. Mabuse this weekend. We got it from Netflix to watch around Halloween, but we've been too busy to catch up on movies recently. Anyway, for those who haven't seen it, Mabuse is classic noir (and I don't throw that word around lightly in this place). It's a Fritz Lang joint, full of dramatic, carefully crafted sets and stark black-and-white. The story is basically a police procedural (one the first ever filmed, perhaps?), but the POV of the criminal mastermind is deeply unsettling in the best way. Highly recommended.

I watched Spirited Away yesterday. I've had it from Netflix for awhile and finally watched it. It was excellent. I loved the visuals and all the various creatures. I really liked the main character, she seemed to be very much like a real kid -- scared but being brave, not like some movies where the kids act too much in an adult manner.

I did watch the movie with subtitles and not dubbing, because that's how I watch all foreign films. But at one point I switched over to the dubbing to see what the voices were like and I left on the subtitles and it was weird because what the dubbing said was really different than what the subtitles said so I switched back to subtitles.

I haven't seen Howl's Moving Castle yet and I may bump it up to the top of my queue.

Have you seen any other Miyazaki movies? I liked Howl a lot, but his fans are fairly divided in opinion. I've watched a handful of Miyazaki movies both with and without the subtitles, and the story is ALWAYS better in the original Japanese, but the Japanese voice artists sometimes bug me.

Anyway, skipping the Lupin III movie, which I didn't care much about, and Sherlock Hound, which I haven't seen, I'd rank his movies thus:

1. Spirited Away
2. My Neighbor Totoro
3. Princess Mononoke
4. Howl's Moving Castle
5. Nausicaa
6. Porco Rosso
7. Castle in the Sky
8. Kiki's Delivery Service

Of the movies he worked on but didn't direct, I really like Pom Poko, thought Whisper of the Heart was ok, and never saw The Cat Returns.

So, for someone that wants to fill this egregious gap in her film education, which ones would the Buffistas recommend I start with?

Okay, ranking Howl above Nausicaa I can understand, because for some reason there are plenty of otherwise right-thinking people who don't care for that one. But ranking Howl above Porco Rosso? That's just crazyness!

I could lend you my grey-market boxed set, megan.

Eh, Porco Rosso was alright, but I didn't think there was much there there. I liked Howl's story more.

Megan, I'd start with Spirited Away or Totoro. That said, the first one I saw was Mononoke, which was also fantastic.

which ones would the Buffistas recommend I start with?

I've seen only three of the the films listed about, but I'd say, go with Spirited Away. I found the environmental messages in Princess Mononoke way too heavy-handed for my liking -- something SA does with a lot more subtlety. SA also has a great balance of humour and wonder.

I've seen only three of the the films listed about, but I'd say, go with Spirited Away. I found the environmental messages in Princess Mononoke way too heavy-handed for my liking -- something SA does with a lot more subtlety. SA also has a great balance of humour and wonder.

I've only seen Mononoke and Spirited Away, but unlike most of the world, I liked Mononoke better. I don't think I really got Spirited Away. Whereas Mononoke had a pretty clear plot with giant wolves and shit. I watched the American dubbing, for the record, though I think I did watch SA subtitled. Maybe. If it got an American dubbing, then that's what would have been on the DVD.

That's all the Miyazaki I've seen, though I should see more, especially since the creators of Avatar note him as an obvious influence.