MovieChat Forums > Mononoke-hime (1997) Discussion > For all of you Miyazaki buffs...

For all of you Miyazaki buffs...


What would you say are his top 5 films?

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IMO
1. Princess Mononoke
2. Laputa, Castle in the Sky
3. Spirited Away
4. Howl's Moving Castle
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

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It's very difficult to say "his top films", because he has many that are great.
It will always end up being very subjective.

Personally, I would say:
01.Howl's Moving Castle
02.Princess Mononoke
03.Spirited Away
04.Kiki's Delivery Service
05.Nausicaa

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Very well said. It's so hard to pick a top film or top five with Miyazaki because his genius abounds in all his movies. There are some I like better than others, of course, and a couple I think are a little worse. But a "worse" Miyazaki movie strides head and shoulders above the average.

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Spirited Away - it has shades of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz, but with its own, unique vibe. It's a faerie story that is breathtaking and meaningful.
Princess Mononoke - Miyazaki is always speaking to the conflict of man and nature, as well as crying out against war and violence. Mononoke displays this at its finest, in my opinion. Ashitaka is a little too perfect as a protagonist, but the demon arm thing is cool, and the leading ladies are as much (or more) the main focus of the narrative, so it's all groovy.
Howl's Moving Castle - the book is great, but this is a rare film that rises above the literature. It combines Japanese storytelling with European storytelling. The "old" protagonist is fresh air, too.
My Neighbour Totoro - simple and charming; it captures childhood fantasy in a gentle, but wonderful way.
Porco Rosso - I dig it's nods to noir and that 1920s adventure serial vibe. I love that it's gutsy enough to go, "You know what? He's cursed and we're not explaining it."

But all of his films are very, very special in their own way. I am ever-awed by Miyazaki's genius. Had I been asked on a different day, I might have put Kiki's Delivery Service or The Wind Rises into that fifth slot.

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