He is one of the top ten filmmakers of all time–Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, known for Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and much more, but Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is his masterwork. It is a grand artwork that the film medium is not yet advanced enough to transform into live action—a devastated world destroyed by atmospheric poisons, and barraged by gigantic insect beasts, sweeping cinematography, and a post-apocalyptic world layers and layers deep. And from this arises a young woman named Nausicaä, princess of the Valley of the Wind. Innocent and driven, can she piece back together what divides man and nature?
Frequently ranked as one of the greatest animated films of all time, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is being presented by Fathom Events in the States as part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2023. Check out my review from its previous release in theaters here.
It’s a story of dangers and sacrifices, of epic scope, feuds between warring clans, a dying planet, and the forging of a new heroine. A sci-fi adventure fantasy first released in Japan in 1984, Nausicaä’s story of protecting nature is a timeless tale. Miyazaki adapted his own 1982 manga story for the screen, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year with so many other great science fiction works internationally. The film stars the voice talents of Sumi Shimamoto, Goro Naya, Yoji Matsuda, Yoshiko Sakakibara, and Iemasa Kayumi in this month’s subtitled screenings, with English voice actors including Alison Lohman, Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, Mark Hamill, Edward James Olmos, Shia LaBeouf, and Chris Sarandon in the dubbed screenings.
Tickets are available now here at the Fathom Events website.
Think fast, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon players–where can you find the lead actors of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica all in one film? Where else can you find genre mega-stars Hamill, Stewart, and Olmos in one setting, and a science fiction setting at that?
This year it’s dubbed in English, screening Sunday, July 9, and shown with subtitles Tuesday, July 11. Check the Fathom Events link above for local theaters and showtimes. Note: These screenings do not follow the standard 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. time slots of some past Fathom Events.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
