The Wind Rises

The films of Hayao Miyazaki, legendary anime house Studio Ghibli's most prolific creator, have often been described as the work of an environmentalist, or of a pacifist. In truth, Miyazaki's films are much more dialectic, and morally conflicted: The tear between city and nature in "Totoro," between cooperation and independence in "Kiki," between the modern and the sacred in "Nausicaa," "Mononoke," and "Spirited Away."

But surely none of his films have ever presented a quandry as divisive as does "The Wind Rises": Here, with lush, watercolor-esque brushstrokes, Miyazaki dramatizes the plight of a fellow artist, Jiro, a man who helped to create the most deadly fighter planes employed by the Japanese during World War II. The film is ostensibly based on a historical figure, but Miyazaki bends the truth to his will, introducing a second tragic endeavor into the narrative: Jiro's wife is diagnosed with tubercolosis, and he's forced to spend her last months working, even when at her bedside. What begins as wartime drama evolves into a Mizoguchian melodrama, a study of the intersection between work and love.

There are a few extras on the disc: A ten-minute featurette profiling the voice cast of the English dub (including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, William H. Macy, and Emily Blunt,) an "announcement of the film's completion" (which is actually an almost-90-minute press conference full of production details and other tidbits,) and many trailers and TV spots. The disc wraps up with the storyboard version of the film: The entire movie presented in outline, rather than in full animation. As opposed to the other Studio Ghibli releases - most of which ported over numerous features from early-2000s era special editions - the Blu-ray release of "The Wind Rises" brings with it just a few extra bits. But they're all in-depth, and worth your time.

"The Wind Rises"
Blu-ray/DVD Combo
Disney.com
$36.99