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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 |
 "Read the Book."I have to admit, this one was a bit of a disappointment. After having read the manga, and watched a few of Miyazaki's other films, I was expecting a lot more. I thought that my disappointment was caused solely by expecting it to be like the book, but even my sister, who never read the manga, said that she was disappointed. Please, do not judge Miyazaki by this film. It is not his usual quality of work.  "good movie"It was a great movie about a girl that has a weired power to clam down the insects in this movie and she ends up saving the vally of the wind from the olm  "A real disappointment!"I rented this movie. Thank God I didn't buy it. The story sounded like it was written by an eight year old. It was long and boring at times. If you would like to see a better one I would suggest my neighbor totoro, spirited away, kiki's delivery service, and the cat returns. These are far better graphics, and great story plots. If you want to waste your time and money then watch it! "Best Movie Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Hayao Miyazaki has directed many great films this one though I must say, (because I've watched it a total of 11 times-in the past 4 days,) that this is the best in the world, a great story from beginning to end, it was great. To tell you the truth, "great" is just not good enough for it. In fact I looked it up in a thesaurus. "Excellent, Splendid, Swell, Grand, Top-notch, Favorable, Noble, Superior, Fit for a King" all this and more. I bet I could watch this over and over without getting bored. In this movie Hayao Miyazaki included it all, action and drama, magic and war, peace and understanding. "He surely got it all and stuffed it in one darn wonderful story", as one of my best friends would say. For all you people who haven't seen it, I'll try not to spoil it for you. In this movie "A courageous princess leads her people in the struggle against a powerful insect race determined to take over their land." -the back of the Blockbuster case. At the beginning of the film this line is said by Patrick Stewart-"A thousand years have passed since the collapse of industrialized civilization, a toxic jungle now spreads threatening the last of the human race." (So many big words) In my words, "Princess Nausicaä must defend her people from giant bugs trying to destroy everything."-Me, Katy It's just easier that way, you see. If you are like me and like action and drama, war, guns and tanks and all that stuff you should see this movie. The first time I saw it (I was 11) I even cried! If you like Howls Moving Castle, you will love Nausicaä. If you are also like magic and peace, love and all that mushy crap, you should see this movie. (Even if you have to close your eyes and plug you ears during the tragic parts) (That was not me closing and plugging, it was my seven-year-old sister) So without further ado, THE END (Of this review that is) "Miyazaki at his freshest"In this epic anime, director Hayao Miyazaki champions ecological idealism and humility before the forces of nature. But his ideal of childlike purity and righteousness, in the figure of Nausicaa, is anything but sheltered. He rejects the polarizing either/or dichotomy of cynicism vs. naivete. Why not be pure of heart AND worldly? Nausicaa demands to know: "Why do people destroy and hate? Why do they not love and show affection?" (These are lines from the original Japanese film trailers, which can be found as part of the DVD bonus material. There is also an excellent documentary on Studio Ghibli, including interviews with producer Toshio Suzuki, that's a bonus must-see.) Nausicaa is a teenage princess who wears mod futurist-medieval dresses and calf boots. She twirls around and gives people hugs. She befriends and protects the giant insects that roam her toxic, post-apocalyptic planet. She pilots eco-friendly gliders. And she's a warrior princess. When enraged, she can draw a sword and slash through a pack of murderous invaders. Later, she will weep bitterly over the power of her own destructive impulses. Her adorable pet fox-squirrel will lick her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. All of this is possible, none of it is contradiction. The cute coexists with the monstrous; the ten thousand things and Nausicaa are one. On Nausicaa's earth, the cities have been destroyed by war and the soil has been ravaged by pollution to the point of instant poison. The animated landscape is bewildering and at times starkly beautiful; the look is reminiscent of both Rene Laloux's _The Fantastic Planet_ and the uncanny assemblages of Henry Darger. (In fact, the tiny humanoid creatures in _The Fantastic Planet_ are called "Oms," while the giant, many-eyed insects of Nausicaa are known as the "Ohmu" -- comparison test, anyone?) Thematically, Nausicaa presages the eco-politics of Kurosawa's _Dreams_. Can Nausicaa divert the stampeding Ohmu from her valley and stop mankind from scorching the earth once again with its horrible machines? She will fly into the sky with ferocious determination, but when she lands, and approaches the gnashing insects of the forest, she'll carry far softer weapons, the softest message and intent. |
