View Larger Image |
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Director: Hayao Miyazaki Number of Items: 2 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Color, Widescreen, Animated Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 118 minutes Studio: Buena Vista Home Vid Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-02-22 Buy from Amazon |
 "You know why I watch/read almost only anime/manga?"BECAUSE JAPANESE MAKE BETTER STUFF THAN MOST OF OTHER GUYS! Ok, I admit...I am from Europe and like French, Italian, Greek , Russian, Argentinian and Japanese cinematography much more than majority of Hollywood production. Whether you decide to watch 2 hour manga movie or 20 minutes series, you will hardly be dissapointed by likes of .hack , Cowboy Bebop, Robotech, Appleseed, Ranma, Akira, Ghost in the Shell I and II, Neon Genesis and so on. Since some japanime has lotsa brutality or bizzare stuff(Neon Genesis), stick to Hayao Miyazaki. He also puts some scary/gross stuff/monsters in the movies, but all the films I have seen have really sweet main characters, mainly positive atmosphere and often glorify humanity, nobility and sacrifice for good of others. The story itself is very deep, maybe a little too complicated for kids, but it makes you ponder. It is about nature vs high tech civilisation... Of all the characters in movies by Miyazaki , Nausicaa is my favorite character. She is so compassionate and emotional and yet resourceful and courageous, much more than your average boy-main-character. She is anything but two dimensional. If you dislike huge insects a la Desert Worm from Herbert's Dina Sci Fi series, ok, pass this one, I'll forgive you. If you are moderately squeamish, this movie will pass and I think you will enjoy it! "Awesome"I first saw this movie back in 1994 or so and I've loved it ever since. It has an amazing storyline, characters, animation and music. This one is an older movie done by Miyazaki done in the late 80's (I believe), however it is still of utmost quality as any Studo Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki production is. One thing I found a little disappointing is that Disney seemed to opt for "Dubtitles" here. When I was watching this with my friend, we had the subtitles on..since I am fluent in the language I found that many of the subtitles being displayed on-screen were not quite what was being said. I noticed this in the other two releases of late (Porco Rosso and the Cat Returns). I think the subtitles were based on the re-written dub. However, despite that it's still a great release. It looks and sounds great. I'm very happy to see this movie finally released properly (Despite the little subtitle issue). Anyone remember "Warriors of the Wind"? *Shudder* Also I must recommend you to the manga (released in 4 parts by VIZ in North America) which was penned by Hayao Miyazaki himself and he spent the good part of 13 years creating it. It is a lot more involved and descriptive than the movie is..it will fill in a *lot* of the story that the movie skipped over. Reading the manga after watching the movie will make you appreciate the movie that much more. "Very happy to see it......but confused."Not being an expert critique of this producers works like so many others, I originally purchased the VHS copy of this movie ("Warriors Of The Wind") for my son when he was small and we watched it many times together and enjoyed it. A short time ago I introduced this same video tape to his son, my grandson and was able to also enjoy it again thru his eyes. I was unaware that it was being re-released on DVD under the name "Nausicaa Of The Vally Of The Wind" until I saw it for sale and then I was confused as to whether or not it was the original we had loved or a sequel to that story due to the re-naming. For those apparent few, like ourselves, whom knew no better and still loved the story in it's original release form; this remake will be a miracle and a minefield. It is extremely well done and I definitely recommend it's purchase - but the dialogue is drastically different from the original. Not bad, definitely not worse; but VERY different from what we veterans of only the VHS release expect based on that original release. The hardest thing for my grandson to accept is that it is the same film, and yet so very many things are now called something different and (especially) that the name of the princess/heroine is different - he is not happy with my explanations that Princess Zandra is now Princess Nausicaa. In looking over the existing reviews for this release, I don't see that this small fact has been mentioned before. So for anybody else out there that is wondering like I did; the video and audio are done extremely well - but the movie will be jarringly different simply because of all the additional video "bits & pieces" that have been restored and because the dialogue is so completely re-written. You will love it - but it will take a bit of getting used to if you, like us, are expecting what you watched before to be unchanged. "First-class treatment of Miyazaki's revered masterpiece."Before I start my review, let me state that I did manage to see this film subtitled at an art museum in New York. For me, it was a very interesting experience to discover Miyazaki in his youngest days. While some may find the quality of this film to be a bit dated upon initial glance, it is important to remember that NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND was made back in 1984, so the animation, likewise, does not have as much polish as Miyazaki's later work displays. But this is not to say that NAUSICAA is unwatchable because of that. This is a deeply complex, imaginative tale set in a post-apocalyptic world that will remind many of PRINCESS MONONOKE, only the protagonist is a girl. Nausicaa is a compassionate princess who prefers to solve problems with peace, not vengeance. Her struggle to resolve a bitter conflict between two warring kingdoms and prevent them from reaching her home valley is not a good vs. evil tale. The characters are all flawed, believable people with their own agendas and redeeming qualities. In a testament to Miyazaki's admiration of nature, the film offers a sub-plot involving a supposedly poisonous jungle. The product of a terrible global war, this thick, lush forest not only showcases Miyazaki's imagination (those insects sure are creepy-looking!) but also emphasizes the dangers of world pollution. While NAUSICAA is an older movie from Miyazaki, it manages to hold surprisingly well--most classics have such staying power. Its long journey to America is a story in and of itself. In 1985 (a year after the film broke records in Japan), NAUSICAA debuted in America--renamed WARRIORS OF THE WIND, drastically altered, and cut by a quarter of its two-hour running time, much to the outrage of Miyazaki and his colleagues. Since that time, Miyazaki declared that any adaptations of his films for American release must be done under the supervision of his company, Studio Ghibli. As much as some folks love to hate Disney these days, one can credit them for taking the time to strike a deal with Miyazaki to distribute his films globally. While the Mouse House has made their share of marketing mistakes with his films, the dubs they've produced thus far--KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, PRINCESS MONONOKE, SPIRITED AWAY, and CASTLE IN THE SKY--all have maintained a quality of excellence and strong performances from a solid cast of well-known actors and actresses. This brand new English version of NAUSICAA is no exception. As the title character, Alison Lohman provides commendable sincerity, compassion, and vulnerability, and is amply supported by a grand cast of side characters, which include Uma Thurman (the embittered empress Kushana); Chris Sarandon (the sneaky, smarmy Kurotowa); Edward James Olmos (feisty, loyal Mito); and unexpected appearances by veteran character stalwarts Tress MacNeille, Jeff Bennett, Tony Jay (who does a brief opening voiceover), and the Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson. Shia LaBeouf's Asbel sounds a bit rocky at first, but he grew on me. Mark Hamill, fresh from his outstanding turn as the evil Muska on the brilliant yet underappreciated (on some places anyway) CASTLE IN THE SKY dub, plays a small role as the Mayor of Pejite. He only appears in two scenes, and consequently, his performance here isn't as remarkable as his work in CASTLE IN THE SKY, but it's nonetheless great to hear his golden voice in another Miyazaki dub. Arguably the highlight of this dub is Patrick Stewart as Nausicaa's mentor, Lord Yupa. He speaks with strong Shakespearian diction and carries the dub as a whole through his subtle, charismatic rendition of this skilled swordsman. Miyazaki declared that any new adaptation of his masterpiece should be nothing but a straight translation and no cuts. English dub scriptwriters Donald H. Hewitt and Cindy Davis Hewitt (who worked on Spirited Away) honor his wishes through their adaptation, remaining faithful to the story while tweaking a bit of terminology for comprehension purposes. As with Miyazaki's other works, Joe Hisaishi provides the music score. Compared to the more lush soundtracks he composed for Miyazaki's later films, his score for NAUSICAA, while undeniably beautiful, occasionally comes off as a tad primitive, notably when it breaks into sometimes jarring techno-synth jingles. For better or worse, his score remains intact in the new cut of NAUSICAA, which will no doubt please purists. I was a bit disappointed, however--especially when his ambitious reworking of the CASTLE IN THE SKY score (composed exclusively for that dub) turned out so well IMO. A film like this deserves a 5.1 remix! Nonetheless, it's my one quibble of this otherwise top-notch English track of Miyazaki's most revered masterpiece. The DVD sports a near flawless visual transfer and a humble serving of extras--which include the typical English voice talent featurette we saw on Disney's previous wave of Miyazaki's films, trailers and TV spots, and a second disc devoted entirely to storyboards. The most noteworthy feature on this disk is a 30-minute long documentary, "The Birth of Studio Ghibli", which is undistractingly dubbed into English. For fans that are curious about the upbringing of this animation studio and wondering which of their films have yet to be released, this is a must-see. As someone who has been very pleased with Disney's releases of Miyazaki's works so far, I am delighted to say that they have done yet another bang-up job on polishing this legendary classic for new generations to cherish. Don't be fooled by its primitive looks; NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND's status as a masterpiece resonates from the first minute to the last. "Thank You Disney"First off, credit must be given to Walt Disney Studios for allowing us to finally get a chance to see this amazing work of animated art. Also, I give a nod to Pixar here because many executives at Pixar encouraged Disney to pick up the rights to Miyazaki's films. Thanks go to both of these great family oriented entertainment giants. "Nausicaa" is the first real effort of the animator called Hayao Miyazaki. It is an amazing and detailed work of animated art that can be enjoyed by the whole family. This film established all of the familiar themes of Miyazaki, which are : 1. Anti-War : Miyazaki dislikes violence and shows war as a destroyer of not only people, but also a destroyer of society and the planet itself. 2. Everyday Life : There is a constant theme of simply enjoying everyday life, the normal work, toil and rest of an ordinary day. 3. Showing the feminine (chan) as an integral part of creation : the Miyazaki film always shows feminine figures as something other than shallow fashionistas and/or weak victims. Usually, the main protagonist is a heroine who saves her society (and/or her friends) in some way. However, there is usually a "evil" woman somewhere in the film who is a foil to the heroine (in Nausicaa it is the brutal woman who seeks to destroy nature to ensure Human survival). Please give this film a rental and see what you think. If you enjoy this, please consider Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Thanks for taking the time to read this! |
