Nausicaä de la vallée du vent

Now that everyone knows Miyazaki is a great talent and he has been doing many great stuff, his earlier works are internationally popular. After Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, Miyazaki's well deserved fame got huge. Since his fame increased, his older works has been taken from the drawers to upper shelves and this is leading to discussions of which of his works are better than which. Kaze no tani no Naushika has been compared many times with his Mononoke - hime, however regarding how Naushika formed a perfect background for the further works of Miyazaki, this comparison is not very fair. Kaze no tani no Naushika is the basis of Miyazaki's charming mastery which becomes more and more apparent in 1990s. It features one of the greatest heroines in anime history in an unusual sci-fi environment. The story of the film shows us how resourceful human imagination can be. What makes Naushika a cornerstone is not only this efficient story telling but also the visual fiesta that it has been presented in. So lose no time in comparing this film to another, instead savor it again and again.

Princess Nausicaa has to convince her people to rise up, and defend their world a destructive force, that threatens to strip their planet of its natural resources.

There is a charm about this film that just resonates, I first saw this in a history class, a teacher that always loved to put on Japanese films, I have fond memories of this one, and whilst I don't think it's quite as good as the incredible Princess Mononoke that would come years later, it's still a fine film.

Somehow my eyes are telling me that it's a film from the 1980's, but my brain is telling me that it's a film that's just been made, how much more of a relevance does this film have in 2023 than it did back in 1984, to think of the damage that man has done to the planet, it's just extraordinary.

I tried watching it with English dubbing, I couldn't, fortunately though it is on Netflix in its original form, well worth seeing in its original Japanese.

The animation holds up quite well, I thought those opening snow covered scenes looked very beautiful, the following crafts, action scenes and characters also looked very nice.

Powerful.

8/10.

First off, let me state emphatically that I'm referring to the REAL version of the film, not the pathetic crippled creature distributed as "Warriors of the Wind" on video. Although I must admit that I first fell in love with the movie in that form, I have now seen the full subtitled version, and I place a hideous curse on those who hacked over 20 minutes from its running time.

Although the incredible "Princess Mononoke" later upstaged this early work in terms of art and detail, in many ways I still prefer "Nausicaa". Its imaginitive and well-conceived world puts me in mind of Dune with its feuding factions, its giant creatures, and its strong ecological message. Even with a rather long running time, the story moves very briskly (boiled down as it was from a very lengthy manga series). The music deserves special mention, as well, as it is a large step up from the electronic pop stylings of most anime.

If you can get your hands on a copy of the original version, you'll find it more than worth the effort.

... and it's only got angrier since this epic critique of the damage and destruction the human race affects against the flora and fauna of the place we call home, as well as upon itself. Visionary, prophetic, disturbing and heartbreaking, often concurrently, a testament to future generations that we were fully aware of our impact and neglect, that we chose to do very little about it and that what we did do was long after the horse, the fish, the insects (especially the bees) had bolted.

Brilliant, captivating, and sometimes just plain awesome are some of things that come to mind while watching yet another one of Miyazaki's epic tales: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds. Deliberately slow-moving at points, yet undeniably exciting in and out of it's action sequences, and a fantastic introduction to anime itself.

Without revealing too much of the plot, it takes us through the life of Nausicaa, a princess of a small village, and her struggles to stop warring nations from destroying an important source that can save the planet. The planet has already gone through a major destruction that nearly wiped out humanity, and their are large insects called ohmu, that guard the source that is spreading through the world.

Miyazaki introduces an empowerment of female characters in his animes, such as Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, and his most recent, Howl's Moving Castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro). The characters are done with style and care, and, in Nausicaa, there is no exception.

It amazes me that this film created some controversy when released, being banned in Poland because of it's depiction of an ecological disaster. Though the movie is obviously fantasy, it turns out that some may consider it a touchy subject. I didn't find any offense whatsoever with anything the movie showed, just a futuristic disaster no doubt caused by man.

Combining fantasy and science-fiction, Nausicaa is nice to look at. It certainly shows it's age when compared to some newer animes, not having the help from high-end computers. Considering it was done in the 80's, Miyazaki's production team did a great job. Little details, backgrounds, gadgets, & animals are drawn slightly better then some Japanese animes from that time.

Keep in mind that my review is based on the Disney release (Feb 2005). It's cleaned up, unedited, with new voices from well known actors that sound great (but I still prefer subtitles). Keep far away from the old version 'Warriors of the Wind', which chops off more then half-hour from the movie.

9 out of 10