The Cinematheque

One of the ten greatest Japanese animated films (#8)

Kinema Junpo

The early works of Studio Ghibli co-founder Takahata Isao—comprising numerous TV episodes and three feature films—are often underrated in his career. For this month’s Film Club, we’re presenting the first of those features, an adventure tale that displays Takahata’s talent as a director of flowing action and precise psychology. Young hero Horus, fearsome villain Grunwald, and gifted, troubled Hilda all converge on a rural, self-sustaining village. Takahata was apparently inspired by the grand scale of Eisenstein’s Alexander Nevsky, as well as the film he’d apprenticed on five years prior, The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon. That film provided a mythic template; but the ambitious balance between human conflict and the indifferent beauty of the natural world sets Takahata’s debut apart. Takahata and Miyazaki Hayao crossed paths as animators for the first time in production on Horus.

“A turning point in Japanese animation.” Ruth Richards, Senses of Cinema

“A dazzling Iron Age saga … Takahata’s film features screen-filling battles and mind-bending feats of wizardry.” Academy Film Museum

Advisory: Horus, Prince of the Sun features a sequence with flashing lights that may affect those who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or have other photosensitivities.

The June 18 screening of Horus, Prince of the Sun will be preceded by Chimera, a short film created by Maria, Miele, Rory, and Sofia during the Learning & Outreach 2016 Indie Filmmakers Lab summer filmmaking camp for youth aged 14–19.

Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the June 17 screening of Horus, Prince of the Sun is rescheduled to Sunday, July 2 at 4 pm. Current ticket holders will be contacted directly by The Cinematheque.