Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus

This is one of my third favorite Lupin the 3rd Movie. While Castle of Cagliostro is #1 and Dead or Alive is #2.

There's so much happening in this movie. It has allot to do with this Religious Cult called the "Nostradamus Sect". Which is an actual religion founded by a man named Micheal Nostradamus who lived in the 16th century.

And there's also this Giant Skyscrapper called the "Douglas Media Skyscrapper" who is own by the Billionaire Douglas who is trying to win the Presidentical Election.

I won't give away too much on what happens in the movie. But this movie has allot of good parts, explosives, action, and danger.

It's worth buying on DVD. A must have for any die-hard Lupin fan.

Easily one of the best of over a dozen feature-length Lupin III animated features and TV specials made between 1979 and 2000, DIE, NOSTRADAMUS! is a 1995 film (98 min.) that showcases all of the Lupin series' regular characters to great effect, but also unleashes a formidable stable of new villains and some interesting supporting characters, including Julia, the fearless, precocious child who's heir to one of the world's largest fortunes, and Douglas, her blindly ambitious father whose U.S. presidential campaign is derailed by her kidnapping. For those new to the Japanese animated Lupin III phenomenon (introduced on TV in Japan in 1971), the regular characters are as follows: Lupin the 3rd, famous jewel thief and grandson of famous French literary character Arsene Lupin; Fujiko, Lupin's gorgeous, buxom and duplicitous sometime partner; Jigen, Lupin's fedora-wearing, gun-toting sidekick; sword master Goemon; and the gang's ever-persistent nemesis, Inspector Zenigata.

The action in the film is fast and furious and moves from Brazil to an unnamed city in the U.S. (the site of Douglas's 200-story skyscraper HQ, the tallest building in the world) to a Devil's Island-type penal colony to the interior of the Amazon jungle and back to the U.S. Several different parties are all after an original, complete copy of Nostradamus' predictions that Douglas keeps in a vault in his skyscraper. One of these parties is the cult leader of the Church of Nostradamus who needs the book to bolster his own power. The Brazilian soccer team gets involved at one or more points in the story.

The big action climax occurs in the giant Douglas skyscraper as all parties converge in a race against time to get the book before the bombs planted by one of the competing factions go off. There's quite a lot of genuine suspense and destructive spectacle in this section of the film, which will no doubt please fans of the series but may help to explain why, at least in the last three years, this film has not been picked up for distribution in the U.S. Some of the action here simply hits a little too close to home after 9/11.

While Lupin and Fujiko maintain their sense of humor throughout the film and even get romantic during one unusual interlude (with the appropriate-and expected--clothes-shedding), the overall tone is more serious and straightforward than most Lupin features. Things don't get too ridiculous or outlandish as they do in, say, LEGEND OF THE GOLD OF BABYLON (1985) and PURSUIT OF HARIMAO'S TREASURE (1995) to name two Lupin features that are available in the U.S. I would rank NOSTRADAMUS with Hayao Miyazaki's CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (1979) as the two best Lupin animated features. Others I would recommend include THE FUMA CONSPIRACY (1987) which, like CAGLIOSTRO, is available in the U.S., BURNING ZANTETSUKEN (1994), DEAD OR ALIVE (1996), and WALTHER P38 (1997, also reviewed on this site).

'Farewell to Nostradamus' is the fifth Lupin film and to me it's one of the best. My second favourite in fact behind 'The Castle of Cagliostro' (a personal favourite animated film of mine, as a fan of animation and anime). Also the boldest Lupin film since his first film 'The Secret of Mamo' with its surprising sexual content and the most entertaining since 'The Castle of Cagliostro'.

There is very little to complain about with 'Farewell to Nostradamus'. Occasionally it's a little rushed, the slightly too short length plays a part in this somewhat, and the character designs occasionally lack finesse (though nowhere near as underwhelming as those in 'Gold of Babylon', the weakest of the Lupin films). Otherwise, 'Farewell to Nostradamus' is great and a must watch for fans of Lupin.

Visually, along with the previous film 'The Fuma Conspiracy', 'Farewell to Nostradamus' is one of the better looking and more polished Lupin films. It's great here, with the attention to detail in the chase sequences and backgrounds being particularly impressive. The action is truly exciting with a healthy dose of both suspense and humour.

Its tense climax is one of the better ones of the films, closer to the great ones of 'The Fuma Conspiracy' and 'The Castle of Cagliostro' than the weird, underwhelming ones of 'The Secret of Mamo' and especially 'Gold of Babylon'. The music is an improvement here, being more dynamic and fitting, not discordant.

Writing is humorous (the humour is especially good, a lot of it being hilarious), thought-provoking and taut (every bit as successful with the suspense), with a little pathos in the mix. The story is gripping and a lot happens that ensures that the film is never dull and the tension and fun never slipping, not feeling over-stuffed either despite the large amount going on, or overly convoluted despite it being suitably complicated at times.

Characterisation-wise, 'Farewell to Nostradamus' is one of the better Lupin films. Lupin is a fun, charismatic lead, while the villains are suitably sinister and the supporting characters are more than up to his level particularly Zenigata and Fujiko. The voice acting is quite good, the dub being much better than in the previous film.

All in all, terrific. 8.5/10 Bethany Cox

OK, so the plot of this movie includes a plane hijacking and a tall New York building exploding. Also, there is this billionaire named Douglas who is running for U. S. President. For as much credit as "The Simpsons" gets for predicting the future, Lupin sure is surprisingly topical all these years later.

I am going to say that this is Lupin funniest adventure. I don't mean to say that it is his goofiest adventure, it is just had me laughing more often than any other movie or special. Most of that I credit to the dialogue writing and the voice actor's delivery.

The adventure goes all over the place, and some of the scenes transitioning from one plot point to the next seem to be missing. One second Lupin will be falling into a swimming pool, the next scene he is trying to break someone out of Execution Island.

The story goes from plane hijacking, breaking into a vault, presidential campaigns, mind control, cults, prison breaks and kidnapping. This scatter gun approach to the story makes the story seem disjointed, but it does help lead to a really exciting climax.

This time around Fujiko is tutoring a young girl named Julia. Yes, typically adding in a kid character can kill the momentum of any action movie. But truth be told, I thought this character was a lot of fun, and she had an amusing running joke with Lupin.

This is an exciting and funny Lupin adventure that ratchets up the action and throws a lot of good twists and turns throughout the adventure.

But here is a free tip to all diamond smugglers, stop using dolls as a way to hide your loot. They did it in "The Chipmunk Adventure", Miyazaki did it in "Sherlock Hound" and this one tires it as well. Just pick anything else instead.

Only recently have I stumbled across the Lupin III series, and they have found a way to tag along at the end of my daily routines. Distinct characters, interesting plots, and an unusual sense of anxiety on what could happen next. The first few I had seen were intriguing none the less, but it wasn't until I had seen Farewell to Nostradamus that I had truly been engulfed by this world that Monkey Punch had created.

These movies are usually very fast paced and chaotic. Farewell to Nostradamus handles this well and succeeds where a lot of the Lupin III spawns blunder, at creating a smooth and climactic story line. There is never a point where the viewer is overloaded with plot material, all while building up to a tense and very satisfying ending.

Quick synopsis: Lupin III is a sly, suave, and slick international thief. He is accompanied by; Jigens (a nicotine addicted gun slinger), Goemon (a patient samurai), and Fujiko (a heart and neck breaker).

After a successful diamond theft, the team quickly turns their attention towards a high paying job. To find the lost pages of prophet, Nostradamus. Soon they are stuck in the middle of a presidential election, a kidnapping, and the eerily accurate predictions of a modern day doomsday cult. All while being chased by INTERPOL's leading investigator, Zenigata.