Product description

The Place Promised In Our Early Days [2004]

Price: £12.59
RRP: £19.99
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 0702727153020
Label : Adv Films
Manufacturer : Adv Films
Publisher : Adv Films
Release date : 2006-10-16
Title : The Place Promised In Our Early Days [2004]
Audience rating : Suitable for 12 years and over
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 2004-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 95
Studio : Adv Films
Theatrical releaseDate : 2004

Customer reviews

review by: zoidstar date: 2008-06-07 rating:

Saccharin Introverted Pubescent Drivel with Pictures
Ok lets list some anime conventions; insipid male leads with about as much personality as a bowl of rice, all the female characters are snivelling drips, banal supporting cast, glorious childhood memories, some promise or other that needs fulfilment and dialogue that would make a Furby wince etc etc. Behold "The Place Promised in our Early Days" delivering each in spades. The animation is very well done but is "over done" with every scene seeped in sepias, moonlight etc which I found soon got tiresome. The sci-fi plot is a strange mix of quantum mechanical dream state mumbo jumbo and parallel universes; which while rather silly (sorry all you parapsychologists) is at least quasi-interesting. The musak is dreadful fluffy garbage. I think this would have made a good silent animated short. If you want to watch a five star anime rent "Night on the Galactic Railroad".

review by: date: 2008-05-11 rating:

Awesome!

Absolutely awesome! This is the only way I can describe "The Place Promised in Our Early Days". It is rare for me to gush so much about a film, but this is one of those masterpieces that will leave you in stunned silence long after watching it. The animation is flawless, the backgrounds beautifully painted, the special effects amazing, the dialogue rich, the characters well rounded, the story emotionally charged.

But it doesn't end there... the DVD itself is perhaps one of the best I have seen in recent years. The cast and director interviews are brilliant, with unusually good questions and responses. I would also like to complement ADV Films for their subtitling on this disc. Not only are the songs titled with English and Japanese (romaji) so you can sing along to them, but they have even gone to the effort of un-obtrusively placing subs below all important signage in the film. Some people may consider this excessive, but for the discerning viewer, it is an essential part of the whole that would otherwise be lost.

If you buy just one animated film this year, even if a science-fiction set-piece isn't your thing, this film has to be it.

review by: date: 2007-11-29 rating:

Slow moving and boring
Shinkai's first effort, 'Voices of a distant star' was hailed as a triumph by many critics and anime fans. It was a film with many qualities, and made all the more remarkable for having been produced single-handed by Shinkai.

'The Place Promised In Our Early Days' was produced with the help of a production team, but a similar style and feel is achieved to Shinkai's first film.

There are a couple of things about Shinkai's style which irritate me.

1. He makes heavy use of background music. Throughout this film, he uses the sort of background music you find in every other family drama on the Hallmark channel. String sections with a piano gently playing over the top. You know the sort of thing. It leaves you feeling everything is going to be alright! Unfortunately it spoils the feel of this film. It takes away any tension or drama that the story has created.

2. The viewer is allowed to hear the inner voices of the main characters. Again, this totally spoils the viewing experience. It ends up feeling like an episode of `The Wonder Years'. And their inner dialogues consist of adolescent nonsense such as "On that distant day, we made a promise that we couldn't keep". It really lacks depth and intelligence.

Shinkai's first movie was only 30 mins long, so these issues don't seem so pronounced. But `The Place Promised....' is about 90 mins long, so by the end you are really sick of it. Admittedly, this is a matter of personal taste. And I'm sure if you totally loved Shinkai's first film, you will also adore this. But I think a lot of viewers will find this hard to stay interested in all the way through.

My own opinion is that Shinkai substitutes style for substance.

review by: cresshead date: 2006-12-04 rating:

great anime film
i was looking forward to seeing this film as it's the followup to his first film voices from a distant star which was a great anime film...this film is similar in that the visuals are amazing and the story is well written though there's less of a sci-fi theme in this one...a great dvd though and one that sits well in my collection of top anime films.

review by: date: 2006-11-14 rating:

Heartwarming and breathtaking tale about dreams of human heart!!
Makoto Shinkai's second film "The place promised in our early days" tells a beautiful, touching and complex tale of three school friends who share a secret and take a vow to unravel the secrets of the mysterious tower in a war torn land, in Japan but things go haywire as one of them falls into coma. Will the promise be kept? Well, that's what shapes the rest of the film in a visually stunning and unusual way.

From the very beginning the movie draws you in with the way it unfolds. The breathtaking scenery and the mesmerising background score leaves you speechless. Fans of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli films will undoubtedly love this movie since it almost has the same beauty and depth as their films. The dreamlike scenery, open spaces, lush backgrounds of the film transports the viewer to the alternate universe which the film talks about. The artwork of the film is absolutely stunning, one of the best I've ever seen. The story becomes more and more complex as things unfold hence a second viewing may be in store. But trust me, its so much worth it!

"The place promised in our early days" is a must have dvd and not to be missed film, not just for any anime fan but for anyone interested in beautiful and meaningful cinema. Trust me, that's a promise!!

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