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Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind [Blu-ray]
 
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Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind [Blu-ray]

Sumi Shimamoto , Mahito Tsujimura , Hayao Miyazaki    Parental Guidance   Blu-ray
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
Price: £12.89 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind [Blu-ray] + Whisper Of The Heart [Blu-ray] + Arrietty Deluxe Collector's Edition - Double Play (Blu-ray + DVD)
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Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 44 people found the following review helpful
By TheFridgeOfConstantEmptiness TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
First, the bad news. Yes, you are going to need to upgrade your Studio Ghibli DVD collection. I played Optimum's new Blu-ray alongside the same company's 2005 DVD release and the differences left my mind recovering from a heavy session of boggling. Maybe I'm speaking in hyperbole (I don't think I am) but the Blu-ray brings the artwork of Miyazaki's masterpiece to life with sharp edges and dazzling colours on top of details hidden from DVD viewers. Even when upscaled through my Blu-ray player, the DVD now looks like a VHS copy by comparison.

As is often the case, the audio isn't such a headline grabber, but the lossless LPCM 2.0 stereo does offer a degree of improvement in clarity nonetheless. Subtitles are given the usual extra sharp definition from 1080p. As before, the English dub is a highly commendable effort with star turns from Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman and Mark 'Yes, as in Luke Skywalker' Hamill.

Optimum has fleshed out the bonus section of its DVD release to include a feature on the recording of the English dub as well as the feature commentary from Hideaki Anno and Kazuyoshi Katayama from the recent Japanese release. As far as the latter goes, while they're amiable enough hosts, reading the subtitles for a Japanese commentary while watching a Japanese film is something for the hardcore, truth be told. It's not something to buy this release for, put it that way.

Disney handled Nausicaa's native Japanese release and it should come as no surprise that the packaging for that version is far more stylish and desirable than what Optimum has come up with. Indeed, this Blu-ray packaging is nothing more than a re-sized replica of the five-year-old DVD release. Regardless, Optimum has delivered where it matters most and Nausicaa has to be considered an essential addition to your Blu-ray collection if you've made it this far into my review.

As for the film itself, 26 years and several Miyazaki classics later and its majesty remains undiminished. Like all the Ghibli greats it treats children like adults and adults to a second childhood. And thanks to this latest release, home viewings just got a bit more special. You may have thought there wasn't much that Blu-ray could do for a film like Nausicaa but that's because you've never seen Nausicaa on Blu-ray before.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic in HD. 7 Nov 2010
By Bertie Buggerington TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Blu-ray
At last, Optimum Asia are following up with UK releases after Ghibli release them one at a time in Japan. Although Ponyo is already available on Blu-ray here, this is the first of the older Ghibli archive films to arrive on the superior HD format.

At first I had no intentions of upgrading my Ghibli DVD's as I believed that 2D animation couldn't benefit all that much from HD. Well after buying Ponyo on double play Blu-ray/DVD and watching in HD, I realised how wrong I was. I now had both formats to compare side by side. Oh what a revelation that was.

So after seeing Ponyo in HD, and seeing that Optimum had released Nausicaa on Blu-Ray, it was a natural decision to purchase this. And I'm pleased to report that this disc also shows the same leap in quality over its DVD counterpart.

Apart from the obvious leaps in detail over DVD, there are no visible compression artefacts whatsoever. The film's very subtle grain structure has been lessened somewhat, so DNR was obviously used for the UK print - but in animation I don't believe this to be a bad thing. In live action films, grain is a part of the experience, but to get to something closer to the original Ghibli drawings, I can see they'd have to apply DNR. Colour and contrast levels are fine, although there is a very subtle warm hue, similar to what was reported on the Japanese Nausicaa Blu-ray. This is less like a "red tint", as some were saying about the Japanese transfer, and is more like a slightly warm tone. This slight warm tone is nothing near as bad as the transfer of Spirited Away on DVD, for example, which was plagued with a VERY strong, totally unnatural red tint. So nothing to worry too much about about in my eyes. Also, I found setting my TV's picture settings to the pre-set named 'Cool' went some way to correct it, and brought more natural skin tones back to the characters. In comparison to the Japanese Blu-ray, I guess it's a case of horses for courses. If you want grain in your animation, pay £50+ and import the Japanese disc. If you want a very clean, vibrant print that looks far more modern, get this UK one. I won't tell you which is right or wrong as there simply ISN'T a right or wrong decision to be made. It's whatever you prefer. All I can say is that I myself prefer the clean, vibrant look of the UK Blu-ray. Which also suits my pocket a LOT more, as luck would have it.

The only real downer is that they have not remastered the audio in surround sound. So only Lossless PCM 2.0 here (in both Japanese and English, amongst others)...which, although it sounds FAR better to the DVD 2.0 track, was a let-down. However, it wasn't Ghibli's fault. Apparently they DID attempt to get a decent surround field from the master but failed, so rather than offer us a gimicky 'All New Surround Sound' selling point that sounded awful, they instead gave us the best quality lossless version of the original audio track. I find this a very respectful treatment to a much loved film and appreciate their reasons. Apparently Miyazaki himself was not at all big on messing around with it too much, or so I have read on the forums discussing the HD mastering.

Optimum have thankfully expanded upon the DVD's minimal extras, so now the special features are as follows:

Storyboards.
Audio commentary with Key Animation consultant and Assistant Director.
Interview with Toshio Suzuki & Anno Hideaki (44mins).
The birth of Studio Ghibli (27mins).
Behind the microphone (7mins).
Original Japanese theatrical trailers.
Studio Ghibli collection trailers.

All in all a HUGE improvement over the DVD release and a no brainer for Ghibli fans with a Blu-Ray player or PS3 and a HDTV. I can't wait for the rest of the Ghibli catalogue to be released. I'm simply salivating at the prospect of Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke in particular. My pocket is also grateful that these will come to us one at a time, as it makes the upgrade from DVD that much more manageable financially. I have heard that Laputa Castle in the Sky will be next on Blu-ray, and judging from the release date Amazon Japan have for the Japanese version, we should get it some time in the spring (going off the time between the Japanese and UK versions of Nausicaa.) Following those, Whisper of the Heart and My Neighbours the Yamadas are said to be next. It's a totally bizarre and haphazard release strategy that makes very little sense to me (doesn't follow any rational chronology), but I'll take them any way I can get them.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By bl
Format:Blu-ray
This Optimum blu-ray edition of Miyazaki's masterpiece movie offers the very best you could wish for. The films looks mesmerizingly beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes of the screen for the entire time I was watching. I am convinced it never looked better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
another butchered uk release
this movie is a timeless classic, but optimum print is a total disaster you should avoid. get japanese version at all costs
Published 1 month ago by drnknmstr
Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli has some great titles. This is no exception. Recommend to any anime fan. Great move and drawing stile.
Published 9 months ago by A. Kaczorowski
Captivating for all ages
Reviewing the Blu-Ray version
There are two easy menu selections for "English Dubbed" and "Japanese with English Subtitles" although other options may be available. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bill
Fantastic
My absoultely favorite Studio Ghibli ever. My kids have watched the DVD version over and over again and it is now damaged so I thought I'd buy the blue ray instead. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Cartoon Fan
Charismatic
I read the manga sequence first and came to the DVD later. I think this was the wrong way round in light of the difference in the story told in each medium. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Bebop 49
Image is perfect, the artwork shines through
The blu ray is a huge upgrade from the DVD. No scaler would make the DVD look this good. Technical note: This blu ray is region locked to B and will not play on region A devices... Read more
Published 18 months ago by L. Miller
Fabulous!
It's been a few years since I had seen this film, and to be fair while I loved it the first time round I probably didn't understand all the ongoing themes in the storyline (being... Read more
Published 18 months ago by KnightOfNi
No subs for English
Unfortunately this movie doesn't have correct English subs. They are made for the Japanese language. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Andreas1701
Oh my, what a fantastic addition to my Studio Ghibli Collection!
When I saw that Nausicaä was available on Blu-ray I really couldn't of clicked that "Add to Basket" button any faster. Read more
Published 19 months ago by MyKeyReviews
A miracle - and easily available right now from amazon japan
At last ... the first movie from the Ghibli ouvre, released in Blu-Ray. It is a miracle.

Everything you could hope for -- the scanning is state of the art. Read more
Published 21 months ago by John Paul May
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Nausicaä UK Bluray - Languages 2 4 Feb 2012
Region Free? 2 8 Mar 2011
Is this the original or the new Wickerman? 7 7 Jan 2011
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