Lupin the 3rd: Alcatraz Connection

This movie was done a year before that hideous "Twilight Gemini" and this one is pretty good. Our boys start out with Lupin stealing some monkey statue. It turns out that it along with two other statues are the keys to the Harimao's Treasure.I won't go into the story except to say that it flows fairly nicely. My girl Fujiko is the smart, sexy, and not to be trusted girl from the original TV series and "Castle of Cagliostro". Excellent! She's not the ignorant slut of "Gemini". The only character who suffers is Goemon. For some reason, he needs a job and the money and so he's been hired to help Lupin and company. Why? He was always part of the gang before. I haven't watched the Japanese version yet, so I don't know what liberties have been taken. However, as I looked this episode up on the net, it seems that Goemon is on the road to enlightenment and needs cash! OK, I'll bite.About 1/3 of the way through the film, Goemon disappears and suddenly you think, "Where's Goemon?!" He's gone so suddenly and with no explaination that when you notice it, you wonder if you missed something! But never fear, he'll return, this time hired by Fujiko.Jigen's character is done OK. Nothing great, but his skills are used and he's where he should be -- watching Lupin's back!As for inspector Zenigata, he's mostly a waste here except to pass a nearly endless supply of Japanese ramen noodle (bowls included) jokes. But then getting him into every episode has to be pretty hard since he is never the bad guy.Speaking of jokes, there are some good laughs here. I won't give them away, but I will say to be on the lookout for Lupin's unique parachute storage area! *lol* Classic.As to the DVD itself, we have the English dub which is pretty good. As of this writing, I haven't compared it to the original Japanese so I don't know how many liberties they took with the translations. However, FUNimation will soften some jokes and statements in the name of political correctness. In addition to the English dub, there is the original Japanese version with or without subtitles. Otherwise, that's about it for extras.Bottom line: I enjoyed this movie a lot. There is some brief animated nudity when Lupin gives away some Japanese porn, but that was the end of it. The humor is good, the story is pretty good, and the characters are treated well. Lupin fans: GET THIS DVD! Anime fans: I think you will enjoy this movie.

I was so happy that Eastern Star jumped straight from ‘From Siberia With Love’ to ‘Alcatraz Connection’ and skipped the eight films in between which had already been released in western countries. I assume Eastern Star will be skipping over Episode 0: First Contact and go straight to Operation: Return the Treasure. We’re still 15 years behind Japan but since Eastern Star has been releasing multiple movies a year theoretically we should eventually catch up. We’ve even gotten a few more recent films such as Lupin III vs Detective Conan and Jigen’s Gravestone so it’s a good time to be a Lupin the 3rd fan.Alcatraz Connection takes place entirely in and around San Francisco. Inspector Zenigata has an American partner who is established early on as a bit shady. The treasure this time is millions in gold that sank in San Francisco Bay laying 6000m under water. The makers of the film were a little lapse in their research considering the maximum depth in the bay is 113m. Opposing Lupin and his gang are the American mafia or in this case the ancestors of many of America’s most famous gangsters. Their main enforces are the Secret Seven, a group of seven assassins, each with a unique talent.Alcatraz Connection is one of the better Lupin movies but it still has the feel of something made for TV. The animation is inconsistent, sometimes very impressive and other times quite average. I particularly enjoyed the opening sequence which included a very catchy theme song even if the lyrics were pretty horrid. The plot is interesting but it gets bogged down at around the two thirds mark with all sorts of messiness involving the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy and a secret mob paradise under Alcatraz. I think the conspiracies could have worked but everything is over explained. I’m going to watch the movie again and see if I feel the same way about the plot on second viewing.Overall it’s a fun movie even if later revelations cause earlier events to make no sense. I think the writer may have let the plot get a bit out of control. This one has some good music and all the characters are handled well. Not as good as the recent Jigen’s Gravestone but a nice addition to my Lupin library.

Eurotunnel linking Britain and France has been destroyed by terrorists and retired British spy Sir Archer is about to be financially ruined. As underwriter for the Lords of London insurance policy on the Eurotunnel, Sir Archer is now responsible for paying the cost of the damage. With the help of Lupin III, Sir Archer embarks on `The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure' in order to raise the capital to pay the policy and remain disgustingly wealthy. Standing in his way are a group of Neo-Nazi's led by the bizarre Herr Maforditte. Can anyone guess what HER secret might be?Sir Archer is a pretty blatant homage to James Bond. Although he doesn't resemble Bond they make direct references to films `Goldfinger' and `From Russia With Love'. He even uses a Walther PPK.`The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure' is one of the better Lupin III movies. The animation is well done and the scripting is great. One of my favorite parts was when Fujiko was trying to sell Goemon's services to Herr Maforditte and the stoic Goemon starts coughing out `more, more' in order to urge up his hourly wage. This kind of subtle humor is what makes the series and clearly the writers of Harimao `get it'. I really don't have any complaints with the movie and highly recommend it for Lupin fans and Anime fans in general.

Typical goofy Lupin III fun, far from the top tier of the franchise but still entertaining and engaging. A word of warning, as long-time fans already know, whenever Lupin introduces historical elements (usually the "lost treasure" of so-and-so), don't expect any kind of accuracy, but expect the history books to go through a wood chipper.

I really enjoyed this Lupin special. Had a really good historical twist at the end and was an overall awesome watch.Also came in great condition.

Listing is incorrect, there is no english dubbing.

Japan's most favorite thief is at it again. This time on a mission to find (another) lost treasure, that can only be found using three small statuettes.He searches for these in the most exotic and beautiful places in the world, joined by all his usual friends, the beautiful and sexy Fujiko, crack shot Jigen, master samurai Goemon and the hilarious police officer Zenigata.Their foes: a former birtish spy, sir Archer and his lovely granddaughter Diana (with whom Lupin falls instantly in love) and an evil neonazi army.Anime comedy at its best, with hilarious gags at teh most unexpected moments.A gripping story that keeps you locked to your screen during the entire film, laden with everything from thrilling chases to devious double crossing.I cannot find anything negative to write about this film, it's just great fun to watch. If you're interested in seeing Lupin at his best, you either get this or Caslte of Cagliostro.Both of which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!As for the DVD extra's, i can't really say much effort has been put into them. A character profile that explains the histories of the main characters ( which you can pretty much guess asyou see the film) otherwise, nothing special.But i can assure you the film is all the reason you need to buy this dvd.

It’s good that I could find the import region 1 DVD via UK Amazon, but I wish I had noticed this was the English Dubbed only edition ( Funimation also made a dual Japanese/English with subtitles using the same cover) so I’ll still be looking for the better version or more recent discotek release.

Another and better "Lupin The 3Rd " movie to add to your dvd collection.....

great film packed with ton's of action ,comedy, gismosit's about lupin and his gang finding the 3 animal statutes and some billionaire spy who life inspired the 007/Bond series and his grand daughter plus some evil Nazi cult who whats harimao's treasure.the DVD I Got WAS English Dub only and the description on page lied as I what'd the Original Japanese dub as well.