Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Bluray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

First of all the movie is great and the quality holds up well for it's age. The movie it self is a 5 out of 5 and the reviews here on the film express it well, this review is really more about the special features for the bluray. These are the Bluray special features: * Behind The Studio: Discover the film's fantastic origins in this fascinating documentary, including an interview with Hayao Miyazaki! This is a cool featurette about 20 minutes long about the movie and a little with Miyazaki on his inspiration for the film. It goes into detail about how some of the themes in nausicaa later become signatures of his work. * Enter the Lands: Explore the many worlds of Studio Ghibli through this interactive map! This feature has a really cool map of all of Miyazaki's biggest films and you can click on them and it will give a brief description of the movie and all of the characters. Looks great in HD but all though it has animations on the map of all his movies you can only look at Nausicaa, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Tortoro, castle in the sky, and Ponyo (Porco Rosso, Howls moving castles, spirited awake and princess mononoke are on there but there aren't interactive parts) * Studio Ghibli Trivia Challenge: You're your Knowledge On the "Enter the Lands" map when you click nausicaa instead of seeing its story and characters description it pulls up this quiz. * Original Japanese storyboards great stills of a lot of the art work used to make the movie These are all the features on the bluray side, the Behind the Microphone: With A-List Voice Talent, The Birth Story Of Studio Ghibli Featurette, and Original TV trailers are all on the dvd so you will have to switch to watch those features. Overall great and worth owning but if you all ready own the two disc dvd than i would just keep it and not bother upgrading to bluray. the movie looks clear on bluray but since it is over 25 years old even in high def it doesn't look any better than the bluray does quality wise. the new bluray features are cool but not worth rebuying if you all ready own it. if you don't have a copy of this movie all ready definitely but this bluray since the dvd version will run you roughly the same price.

A good anime I can recommend this one it's not bad I've seen it and I can recommend it to others if you're looking for a good anime and are in doubt then this one is also okay not the wild action but okay anyway and it arrived completely undamaged on time without any scratches really well packaged

AUDIO: English (American English), Japanese (日本人), French (français) SUBTITLES: English for English Language, English for Japanese Language, French, (no Japanese subtitles) — PRODUCT REVIEW: I am writing this review as someone who had been looking to own a great version of Miyazaki films for a while. GKIDS has produced the best version of Studio Ghibli films in my opinion. The movie is set up automatically in English but if you go to the Set Up screen in the menu and select the Language as Japanese, you will get the original Japanese version. The movie title sequence will also be different language wise according to which language you select. I speak Japanese & English and grew up watching Nausicaä in Japanese in my childhood and this movie holds up to those memories. The English subtitles for the Japanese version translate very well (I hear it’s not as great with the Disney version). There is also a packet inside about the movie that also has some movie stills. Hope the pictures I took help. I am super happy about this product. I can’t think of any negatives. — MOVIE REVIEW: This was my favorite Miyazaki film as a little girl! As an adult now I truly appreciate having Nausicaä as a role model. Her courageous and adventurous qualities are to be envied, but I always aspired to be her level of caring and kind as well. It’s a beautiful story and one I cherish 20 years later. [updated Dec 2020 with audio languages]

Working my way through the Ghibli and adjacent Miyazaki films, there are a few that are truly outstanding in conceptual maturity, texture, and execution. I was initiated into Ghibli with Spirited Away, and it remains high on my list. I basically could not do anything productive for a couple hours after finishing Grave of the Fireflies because it was so powerful. Nausicaä, however, is the first Ghibli film I actively sought to get on something with higher fidelity than the bargain-bundle DVD set. It's fanciful yet relevant, not pointedly about any single culture or event or mythos and yet resonant with elements of western and eastern perspective, "about" children and yet not childish (indeed I'd be proud if any child of mine took Princess Nausicaä as a role model; something I can't as readily say about even the more modern, progressive Disney princesses). And when you watch the backstory interviews and learn that this was basically Miyazaki's personal making-ends-meet nights-and-weekends manga project from the early '80s, not intended for video, but adapted as such by request well BEFORE Studio Ghibli was founded, it is truly phenomenal to think that he went this far out on a limb, and got it so right, so early, that some of the studio's subsequent works pale in comparison. Nausicaä is not perhaps the _pinnacle_ of Miyazaki's work, but I would definitely include it at the front of any Ghibli essential-viewing list.

One of the best animated movies. I could review almost any Studio Ghibli film the same way, but this one is definitely in the top tier.

This 1st Hayao Miyazaki - Ghibli Study movie is a classic. Even after so long time, everybody can relate to Nausicaa and cheer for her. Nausica is the princess of Valley of the Wind. But unlike the princesses one is used to, she is like the kings of the old, when kings would fight alongside its folk. She even do repairs in machinery in her kingdom. But she unlike princess Kushana, Nausicaa does not crave for war. Her fight is for life, and not for death. The world they live is trying to purge away all poison that humankind poured upon Earth. It is pictured by Sea of Decay, a deadly ocean of death, where nobody - humans, convencional animals and plants - can live. There are few no-poisoned lands. And in there, humans fight agains each other, as well fight against Sea of Decay. Nausicaa in the other hand is not a fighter. She is most likely a scientist, as she loves even that mortal ecosystem. She does not hates even if that world have sickened her father, she tries to understand in order to find a cure for him. And like scientists, her fight is even harder than anybody else, because she fights with no weapons. Only knowledge and love. I known no person who can not be moved to tears at the final scenes, in her struggle to save her people, to save Nature, and even save her enemies. The beauty of her heart, and the beauty of the songs - unlike disney princesses, she will not sing for you - are overhelming and powerful. Just check at youtube any Joe Hisaishi 25 years concert in Budokan and say if you can stay with no goosebumps.

A crowning achievement of human talent..... this is 80's animation and I personally find it better than anything being done today. This is hand sketched, frame by frame animation... and it's insane that such precision is achieved. There are so many details to be found on every scene, that you will be amazed at the subtlety of some things. It's just a constant flow of life on the screen at all times, whether it's background characters moving a certain way while having a conversation with another, or the incredible background of the nature of the world... it's just insanity. I used to think Japanese stories were super cheesy and made too much effort to sound philosophical but the more and more japanese exposure that I get, the more amazing I think it is. Unlike american film that tries to cater to the ADD community, Miyazaki likes to take his time to characterize everything and doesn't assume the audience is retarded, like most of american film does. This is a very smart story with an incredible and beautiful message for people of any age... just the perfect family film basically. I would also like to add that watching this made me realize that James Cameron copied this and Princess Mononoke, another Miyazaki masterpiece and pasted most of the story elements into Avatar... and the deadly plant spores were also used in the game The Last of Us. Genius is often imitated and copied I guess.

Taking place more than a thousand years in the future, the environment in many parts of the Earth has been destroyed by the past actions of mankind. A massive toxic jungle covers much of the land, but it is too poisonous for humans and is infested with giant insects. Nausicaä (Alison Lohman) is the princess of the Valley of the Wind, an area where the air is clean and human life is possible. Nausicaä laments what humans have previously done to the environment and lives in peace with the toxic jungle. However, she gets involved in a conflict between two warring factions, the Pejites and the Tolmekians, and must take action to do what she sees is right. This is the movie that would lead to the creation of the famed Studio Ghibli and it has much in common with their films. I found the animation to be well done in this movie with some interestingly designed creatures and great action sequences. The music is also top notch. The main theme of the movie, the importance of environmentalism, is also handled well and is told through an engaging story. This Blu-ray/DVD set contains as bonus features the original Japanese soundtrack, storyboards, and a short documentary on the early history of Studio Ghibli. This is good movie to check out for fans of animation and the works of Ghibli.