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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 |
 "Finally, it's here"Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is probably one of my favourite movies of all time and I am incredibly delighted that it has finally seen the light of day uncut in North America. The horribly altered Warriors of the Wind (an early dub of the film back in the '80's) had rekindled an interest in Japanese animation in me that picked up where Battle of the Planets left off and I have been a fan of director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's output ever since. Miyazaki's later films (all of which are great)certainly look better than Nausicaa (such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away) and there's no debating that, but considering this was only his second job as director for a theatrical film and it was made in something like 3 months (his later films have taken more than a year) it still holds up pretty well. It is starting to show its age of course, 20 years after it was originally released, but Miyazaki's story telling still stands tall. I have mixed feelings about the new dub, which to my ears is the worst sounding of the Disney releases of Miyazaki's films. It is an improvement over the Warriors of the Wind dub where Nausicaa sounded like Rocky the Squirrel (and it is an urban myth that it was the same voice actor as Rocky), but it does suffer from a lot of Explaino (a comic book method of explaining the plot details to viewers things that would be immediately obvious to the characters themselves). However, a lot of that is present in the Japanese script, so it can't be solely blamed on Disney. Most of the actors are fine in their roles (where else can you get the Captain of the Enterprise and the (new) Cmdr. Adama together in one sci-fi related film?). However, Alison Lohman has a tough job in trying to convey the intricacies to Nausicaa'a character and while it's not bad, just doesn't convey it as well as her Japanese counterpart. Commenting on some of the other reviews I have read for this film, there seems to be a lot misinformation out there. The music in Nausicaa is unchanged - it's exactly the same as the original Japanese release (the CD is available on Tokuma 35ATC-3 and is great as well). The script is faithful to the original and for the most part is the same as most fan translations I've seen and my limited Japanese language ability can tell. The complaints about the slow pacing in parts are valid, but this type of introspection is common in most Japanese cinema, from the classics of Kurosawa and Ozu, to even other weel known animations such as Ghost in the Shell. It's a cultural quirk that makes Japanese movies unique from their US counterparts and I for one don't have a problem with it. A lot of these scenes were cut in Warriors in the Wind, and while it made for a tighter, action packed film, it removed a lot of details in what motivates Nausicaa to do what she does. Without character, there's no heart. Also, there are a lot of people who compare the film to the manga (comic) version by Miyazaki. The film was created about 10 years before the serialization of the manga was completed, so obviously there are going to be huge differences between the two. Only about 2 volumes of the 7-volume work were completed at that time. Comparing the two is like apples and oranges. The scope of the film is by necessity limited, but that doesn't make the end result better (or worse) than its source material. The manga is a sprawling epic and is much darker and mature than the film would lead one to believe however. It's well worth checking out as well. It's highly unlikely that the entire story will ever be animated and with Princess Mononoke more or less a sequel in spirit (since it touches on the same themes as Nausicaa -- the film and manga) I think Miyazaki may have said all that he wants about the subject.  "The movie is 5 stars, but the DVD gets 4. "A technical complaint first, and then the real review. :-) I'm not sure what it is about Disney's DVDs, but the "widescreen" format never quite works correctly on my system. I have to play with the zoom setting to see the whole picture, but by then it's much smaller than the screen on ALL sides; playing it without the zoom cuts off the sides and it looks like any old FULLscreen cut. EVERY Disney DVD that I own does this and it's quite annoying, as the rest of my widescreen DVD's work just fine from any other studio. It's a real headscratcher. Aside from that complaint, the film itself is beyond perfection! Gorgeous animation, strong characters, amazing story, BRILLIANT film score, wonderful voice cast for the English track. Just to have the entire movie, and not the horrid U.S. edit (Warriors of the Wind), is a wonderful WONDERFUL thing. I had no idea this was coming out, so my surprise at seeing this on the shelf in the video store was such that I had a few tears welling up in my eyes and I bought it immediately. I'm so happy Miyazaki's films are getting a well deserved release here in the US! ^ . ^ Also, Joe Hisaishi is one of the most brilliant film composers of all time; every film I watch with a Hisiashi score, it's the music that I remember the most; it is so touching and beautiful, and affects me in powerful ways - as GOOD music should. "I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!"OMG. I have loved this movie ever since I was like 5 years old!! My aunt got me the Japanese version and when I was little I used to watch it every day. The music and drawings are soo awesome. ^_^ Even now as a 15 year old I still LOVE it. It still hasn't lost its magical touch. "Another great one from Miyazaki"I admit, I came late to Miyazaki's work. I first saw things like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, and now I'm working my way down the list of his older movies. Nausicaä is a welcome addition to that list. It has the Miyazaki trademarks of a strong young girl as the lead character, and a fascination with flight. This time, the girl (she's Nausicaä) is princess of a small band of people. The live on the edge of the Toxic Forest, a lethal piece of ecological wreckage from some hinted-at catastrophe a thousand years before. Nausicaä has a unique affinity for the beings in that forest, including the Ohmu who guard it. The forest and village come under attack, and she discovers just how her people depend on that forest despite its hazards. This movie is a very likeable and reasonably kid-safe, despite some monsters, fighting, and mildly graphic injury. It's also clear that this is one of Miyazaki's earlier works, a step on the way to his current greatness. A lot of the plot, especially early on, is driven by a "talking to myself" mechanism instead of real visual storytelling. The Nausicaä character is closer to the long-legged, micro-skirted anime standard than his later characters, and the animation lacks the fluency of his later work. These are minor problems, though, and it's interesting to see how Miyazaki outgrew them. This is another enjoyable film from Miyazaki. I fault it only for not meeting the standards that Miyazaki set in his later work, but it's still miles ahead of most other animation. //wiredweird "My 20 year wait is over!"I first saw the badly dubbed US version of this film, Warriors of the Wind, when I was 13, but still fell madly in love with it. Since then, a love of anime and Miyazaki films has blossomed. Anyone open to Miyazaki's films will not be disappointed. And while I had been skeptical of Disney's hand in these films since I heard about it (and the poor dub of Kiki's Delivery Service not withstanding), the voice acting here is very good. The entire cast give this film the professional care and polish it deserves. I am very happy! |
