is a 1995 Japanese animated historical film based on Anne Frank's 1942–1944 The Diary of a Young Girl. It is a feature film by Madhouse, was directed by Akinori Nagaoka and released on August 19, 1995.
Voice cast Character Voice actor Japanese English French Anne Frank Reina Takahashi Marissa Davison Noémie Orphelin Margot Frank Seiko Tano Vanessa Ackerman Edith Frank Fumie Kashiyama Béla Gruschka Christine Paris Otto Frank Gō Katō Allan Wenger Jean-Pol Brissart Jopie (Lies) Naomi Sekida Estelle Heinaux Solange Boulanger Monsieur Van Daan Jirō Sakagami Jimmy Shuman Olivier Proust Madame Van Daan Tetsuko Kuroyanagi Patricia Kessler Françoise Rigal Peter Van Daan Tsuyoshi Kusanagi Jacques Saint Just Maël Davan-Soulas Miep Gies Yoshie Taira Sharon Mann Laurence Dourlens Docteur Dussel Yūsuke Takita Jean Fontaine Paul Borne Koophuis Takurō Nakayoshi Steve Gadler Professor Kepler Gō Endō Bertie Cortez German soldiers Hiroyuki KawadaRiki Kagami Peter WollaschJimmy ShumanSteve GadlerAllan Wenger Additional radio voice Keishi Kawaguchi Leslie Clack
Production Nagaoka's film features new character designs by Katsuyuki Kubo and features a score composed by Michael Nyman, including two songs, "If" (which incorporates "Time Lapse" from A Zed & Two Noughts) and "Why," which have become concert works. The former also appeared in an altered form in the film, The Libertine. The singer is contralto Hilary Summers. "Candlefire" as well as piano-only versions of "If" and Why" appear on Nyman's 2005 release, The Piano Sings.
Release The Nagaoka film was released with an English language adaptation, via a DVD release in French (as Le Journal d'Anne Frank) with English subtitles. A release in North America was set for 2015, but went unreleased for several years. The English version was finally released for free on the official YouTube channel on May 3, 2020. The English version is currently under Creative Commons Attribution License on YouTube. The French and English language versions replaced the Michael Nyman score with a new one by Carine H.D. Gutlerner. The international version was shortened to 87 minutes.
Soundtrack
"If" and "Why" have become staples of Michael Nyman's concerts and were rerecorded as piano solos on The Piano Sings.
Track listing Amsterdam Dawn Anne's Birthday The Schoolroom Letter From Germany Goodbye Moortje Candlefire Renewal Light Of Love Chatterbox Waltz Hanukah Spring Freedom Concentration Camp If First Kiss D-Day The Diary Of Hope Silent Separation Lament For Lost Youth Why
Reception Anime News Network's Justin Sevakis said that "even a story as powerful as Anne Frank's cannot overcome truly odious filmmaking and weird directorial choices that just don't work" and that he couldn't "think of a worse way to experience the story than watching this film".
References
The Anime Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy (revised and expanded edition), "Diary of Anne Frank," p. 144
External links (Madhouse)