A little seen Studio Ghibli gem is returning to… | Little White Lies

Incoming

A lit­tle seen Stu­dio Ghi­b­li gem is return­ing to cinemas

15 Dec 2016

Words by Tom Williams

Circular black and white eye icon with radiating lines.
Circular black and white eye icon with radiating lines.
A new 4K restora­tion of Tomo­mi Mochizuki‘s 1993 film Ocean Waves is arriv­ing in 2017.

Stu­dio Ghi­b­li may have ceased film pro­duc­tion, but it’s not all doom and gloom for fans of the fet­ed Japan­ese ani­ma­tion house. This year saw the re-release of Isao Takahata’s 1991 fea­ture Only Yes­ter­day, and now the stu­dio has unearthed anoth­er lit­tle seen clas­sic from their archives. Tomo­mi Mochizuki’s Ocean Waves from 1993 is com­ing to US the­atres in 2017 in its new­ly restored 4K glory.

The actu­al process of restora­tion entails the trans­fer of movies from cel­lu­loid to 4K dig­i­tal, which allows for each frame to be dig­i­tal­ly pol­ished as a way of remov­ing any scratch­es or noise. With more vibrant colours and greater detail, it’s a way of recre­at­ing the orig­i­nal vision and allows for the studio’s trade­mark ani­ma­tion to be even more beau­ti­ful. The recut trail­er for Ocean Waves is at once del­i­cate and enchant­i­ng, as we see two friend’s rela­tion­ship test­ed as a new woman comes into their lives.

Get more Lit­tle White Lies

It is unclear whether Ocean Waves will get a UK cin­e­ma run, but it will most like­ly be made avail­able on home video at some point in the near future. In the mean­time, here’s a glo­ri­ous poster to whet your appetite. Also, look out for Stu­dio Ghibli’s The Red Tur­tle in cin­e­mas next year.

Dramatic cloudy sky, traditional Japanese architecture, beach scene with people, interior shots, harbour with boats - images from the Studio Ghibli film "Ocean Waves".
Two illustrated book covers depicting a smiling Black man wearing a hat and tie, with a city skyline in the background

LWLies 107: The Sin­ners issue – Out now!

You might like

Two men performing on stage, one holding a microphone and the other playing a keyboard. The image uses a blue and white tone.
Incoming

The great biopic brain drain

by Callie Petch

In an age of Walk Hard knock-offs, why are the biopics that con­tin­ue to play it safe the biggest suc­cess stories?
Collage of scenes from various films and media, including characters, settings, and visual elements. Diverse mix of human figures, creatures, and abstract shapes in a variety of colours and compositions.
Incoming

100 films to look forward to in 2025 – part two

by Little White Lies

Here’s the sec­ond half of our annu­al pre­view, fea­tur­ing upcom­ing films from Lynne Ram­say, Bong Joon-ho and many more.
Collage of scenes from various films and TV shows featuring diverse characters and settings.
Incoming

100 films to look forward to in 2025 – part one

by Little White Lies

We’ve put togeth­er our annu­al pre­view of some excit­ing films to look out for in the next year.
A woman with dark hair in a side bun wearing a dark jacket, with a surprised expression on her face.
Incoming

Fancy winning a neon sign used in The Souvenir Part 2?

by Little White Lies

Cin­e­ma for Gaza is host­ing a char­i­ty auc­tion rais­ing funds for Med­ical Aid for Pales­tini­ans (MAP) with incred­i­ble prizes donat­ed by the likes of Til­da Swin­ton, Josh O’Con­nor, Har­ris Dick­in­son, Annie Lennox, Mike Leigh and many, many more.
Collage of scenes from various films, featuring a range of characters, settings, and visual elements.
Incoming

100 films to look forward to in 2024 – part two

by Little White Lies

In the sec­ond half of our pre­view look­ing ahead to 2024’s upcom­ing releas­es, we look at work from David Low­ery, Lynne Ram­say, Mati Diop and many more.
Collage of diverse film stills featuring people in various settings and poses, with a range of colours, moods, and visual styles.
Incoming

100 films to look forward to in 2024 – part one

by Hannah Strong, Charles Bramesco and David Jenkins

New year, new movies! We look ahead to the films com­ing our way in 2024 – includ­ing new projects from Bong Joon-ho, George Miller, Rose Glass and many more.