Search - Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG Content Advisory: Mild Violence Movie Release: 1984 DVD Release: 02/22/2005 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, Japanese Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 1 hrs 57 mins Studio: Walt Disney Video Members Wishing: 82 Genres: Fantasy, Coming-of-Age, Anime

This impressive work from acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki represents a significant departure from traditional anime. Foregoing the gritty storylines, extreme violence, and adult content found throughout many anime, Miyazaki's works borrow as much from fairy tales as they do from science fiction. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is no exception. Centuries after war has devastated the earth, Princess Nausicaa leads the people of the Valley of the Wind. Feuding clans fight with planes and tanks as well as swords in a world that is both primitive and futuristic. In addition to her people's conflicts with other factions, Nausicaa must also contend with the insects of the jungle including the Ohmu, a race of giant, intelligent bugs that poisons the surrounding atmosphere - and is spreading rapidly. The setting of this 1984 animation owes much to the post-apocalypse genre spawned by Mad Max and other films, and the political subplot is often compared to Frank Herbert's Dune. However, the heroine here has more in common with the female protagonists of the Disney musicals such as Pocohantas and Mulan; Nausicaa is more concerned with harmony and communication than with conquest and revenge. Sympathetic to the Ohmu, she learns she must approach them with understanding to achieve peace and restore the dying world. This film is beautifully animated and written, and the moral to this ecological fable is difficult to miss. The film was dubbed into English in the mid-2000s, hence the presence of such actors as Shia LeBoeuf, who wasn't born yet when the film was originally made. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide

Alison Lohman - Nausicaä (English)
Patrick Stewart - Lord Yupa (English)
Shia LaBeouf - Asbel (English)
Uma Thurman - Kushana (English)
Edward James Olmos - Mito (English)

This impressive work from acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki represents a significant departure from traditional anime. Foregoing the gritty storylines, extreme violence, and adult content found throughout many anime, Miyazaki's works borrow as much from fairy tales as they do from science fiction. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is no exception. Centuries after nuclear war has devastated the earth, Princess Nausicaa leads the people of the Valley of the Wind. Feuding clans fight with planes and tanks as well as swords in a world that is both primitive and futuristic. In addition to her people's conflicts with other factions, Nausicaa must also contend with the Ohmu, a race of giant, intelligent insects living in a forest overrun by a glowing mutant fungus that poisons the atmosphere. This two disc special edition is rendered in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is playable in English or in Japanese with optional English subtitles with audio tracks that are THX-Certified, including THX Optimizer. This release also comes with complete storyboards, original Japanese trailers, a featurette on Studio Ghibli, and a behind-the-scenes segment on voice acting with Alison Lohman, Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, and Wdward James Olmos from the English voice cast. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide