"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) - Sam Gall's Movie Review Issue #24 Gem Mint 10.0

"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Based on the manga of the same name by Hayao Miyazaki

"Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet."

You might like this if you like: Obviously Hayao Miyazaki films, Anime, Science Fiction, Fantasy, "Lord of the Rings" or other Tolkien literature, "Star Wars", "Mad Max", Japanese cinema, steampunk, adventure films, Pixar in a strange way perhaps, "Akira" (1988)

"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) is a timeless film for me. I feel like it will be forever relevant and a reminder of our true mother; earth. This was one of the earliest Hayao Miyazaki films I saw along with "Princess Mononoke" (1997). "Spirited Away" (2001) was the first of his I got to see in theaters.

Fan art of Hayao Miyazaki and his library of work

"Princess Mononoke" (1997) was my forever favorite ever since I saw it but when seeing "Nausicaä" again I felt a stronger connection than I had ever before. Then I watched it again a month later with my fiance. Maybe it's age or taste changes but I knew for sure this was my new all-time Miyazaki favorite.

When I was younger and rented this at a video store (Ojai people, what was that video rental store across from Seafresh/next to where the skate park is today?), probably on VHS, the english language version. Blew me away. That's how I watched all my anime growing up. English dubbed. Why? I didn't know there was an option when I was a kid. An option for the original, intended language. If I had known, I would've picked that. Well, now in the age of DVDs, Blu-Ray and VOD I can. And I have. It's only made my love for Miyazaki's work grow stronger. Now to be fair, Miyazaki's english dubbed films, in my opinion, are the greatest english dubbed films you could possible hear. They are very good. For being english dubbed. I just prefer original language with subtitles. Especially with live action (I think it's AT LEAST HALF the actor's performance is how the dialogue is delivered).

"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984)

I think the time we're living in made the film stand out to me so much more. That this story felt so NEEDED... STILL... 36 years later? 38 actually since the manga came out then! I know that saving the earth is an age old story but clearly they still need to be told. SADLY they still need to be told despite how entertaining, despite how many, despite the genre etc... We need to take better care of our planet.

"Nausicaä" was a female action film before that genre was even being asked for. Nausicaä's a female hero but more than that she's a hero. The love, beauty and strength in the character shines in every moment. It's an incredible science fiction epic that inspires, excites and takes you into a world that very well may be our own. It's relevance to today breathes throughout every facet of this movie. I can only fantasize what it would've been like if this film premiered now. Not in a re-release sort of way but like no-one-had-ever-seen-this-film-until-today kind of way. I could only hope it would do as well as I imagine.

"Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984)

I know there's already plenty of love out there for Hayao Miyazaki but within that love I don't feel I see enough for "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) and even "Princess Mononoke" (1997). Two insane masterpieces. Miyazaki is a creator like no other.

Written by Sam Gall on 07/14/29

CGC Grading: Gem Mint 10.0

Trailer for "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (not my favorite trailer but was kinda really all I could find):

Buy Japanese (Original Language) version for $16.99:

Buy English (Dubbed Language) version for $16.99:

Check out the original manga as well:

How could I forget? The music still hums in my head to this day. Check out this awesome live "Nausicaä" concert by Joe Hisaishi (composer of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind"):

#nausicaaofthevalleyofthewind #nausicaa #hayaomiyazaki #miyazaki #princessmononoke #spiritedaway #umathurman