Customer Reviews

Laputa: Castle in the Sky Soundtrack

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I am a big fan of Joe Hisaishi's work and have followed his career diligently. What first turned my attention to his music was the opening score to the film Laputa.

Firstly, there are two scores to the film. This CD is the original 1986 score recorded for the debut theatrical release in Japan. There is another score re-written for the official American release of the film (it was reported that the additional length of the American score was due to the fact that American audiences would feel uncomfortable during long silences).

This version, that is the Japanese version of the score, is my hands-down favourite. The American score was written without synthesizers, possibly due to current film composing trends, and as a result I feel is lacking in the original magic and nostalgia of the original, whereas this version uses a very affective blend of both acoustic orchestrations and electronic programming.

A good example where the synthesizers work better in this version than the American is the track that accompanies the girl falling from the sky using the levitation stone, which is conveyed using some beautiful electronic arpeggios that evoke a very eldritch feel. Another scene where Pazu is being shown the energy crystals in the cave with the old man also complements the synthesizer timbres well. Both pieces lose this sense of magic I feel when written solely for orchestra.

This piece can indeed be listened to without the visual accompaniment, and stands as an extremely beautiful and very nostalgic score. It is evident that Hisaishi loves this score too as he has rearranged and performed it several times for both orchestra and solo piano.

If you love this score then I also recommend the Laputa symphonic suite, which contains some extended arrangements of the pieces performed live with a symphonic orchestra.

All in all a achingly beautiful score and well worth the purchase.

This album is magnificent. The music is beautiful. If you have enjoyed other work Hisaishi has done for Miyazaki films, more than likely this will be no different. It's peaceful and melodic; then suddenly, it attacks with dazzling turbulence. I very rarely write reviews but the only other one did not do justice to this work and may have turned you away from something so marvelous.

As others have written, this soundtrack is absolutely beautiful. The recurring themes are so special. I'd recommend this to any lover of Miyazki's films or great music.

I've grown up with the movie Laputa, and only recently did I buy this CD. Do not walk away from this page second guessing yourself - the prices vary but there are great deals out there. I know I waited too long and you shouldn't have to hold back from this masterpiece. It's not exactly a full-blown orchestra like Spirited Away's soundtrack, but there's just some magic in the synthesizers and instrumental combination in this CD that gets you every time. Many people regard this soundtrack as Joe Hisaishi's best work, and I agree, it is perfect, unless you hate synthesizers. You could listen to this on the way to work each morning, which would brighten your day like it does for me.

Here's a reccomendation of what Hisaishi CD to buy, in order of my personal favorite.

1. Castle in the Sky (Laputa)
2. Kiki's Delivery Service (Beautiful Italian Cafe feel)
3. Princess Mononoke (The Demon God is disturbingly epic)
4. Spirited Away (Reprise still makes me melt)
5. Nausicaa (Synthesizers may be overpowering, but if you love that common theme, then who could resist?)

I love Castle in the Sky's music, love it to death, but I just can't listen to a lot of it without the movie. The music compliments the movie in a way few soundtracks do, setting the mood and creating wonder from its viewers. Unfortunately when you take the visuals of the movie out of the equation and are left with just the music, it doesn't work too well. Some of the songs are still great, like the opening The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, and the closing song, but other than that the CD is filled with clunky music that repeats itself and doesn't ever seem to break out and amaze like the Hayao Miyazaki Box: Princess Mononoke/Spirited Away soundtracks did.

Although I love the music when combined with the movie, having one without the other doesn't do any good in this case. This music needs the movie, just like the movie needs the music. Its not like Howl's Moving Castle where the music stands alone, more like Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind Soundtrack where you need the movie to truly appreciate the quality. Too bad. If you read this review, please leave a comment.

Replay value; low.