Customer Reviews

Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here's a translation of the titles, for those who'd like to know: 01. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind 02. Stampede of the Ohmu 03. The Valley of Wind 04. A Princess Who Loves Insects 05. Kushana's Invasion 06. Battle 07. Interchange with the Ohmu 08. In the Polluted Sea 09. Annihilation of Pejitei 10. Battle Between Moewe and Corvette 11. Resurrecting the Giant God Soldier 12. Nausicaa Requiem 13. Bird Person

I love the soundtrack to this movie... it's amazing music!

Unfortunately the music from the opening credits which is the best piece of music from this film is not on this version.

I bought it second hand fortunatly but I would've been sorely disappointed had I ordered it online and been expecting that piece of music.

Just thought I'd let anyone who intends on buying this know.

There is something in this soundtrack that goes beyond the movie... a feeling that cannot be properly expressed in words. It's as if you're souring with the birds above the Valley of the Wind, reaching a previously unattainable dream. The hauntingly beautiful Nausicaa soundtrack is unforgettable, and you will want to listen to it again and again. I highly recommend this CD.

This album has several very nice tracks, there is a haunting solo-piano opening theme (the theme played while the film credits roll), the cacophonous music accompanying an insect stampede, the martial theme (accompanying scenes of an invasion), and a delightful ``turkish march'' theme with child-vocalist accompaniment.

I have seen the film, but I think much of this music stands on its own and can be listened to by itself.

Now that he's gotten more exposure from the _Princess Mononoke_ soundtrack, I expect Joe Hisaishi will become quite well known.

Of course, my judgement was probably affected because I love Miyazaki's films, especially Nausicaa, which I've seen atleast a couple million times, and I'm also a fan of the guy who wrote the music.

The film is set in the distant future, in an world so very different yet remarkably similar to ours at the same time, which I thought echoed wonderfully in the music. A nuclear war had occured, all familiar animal species have died out. Humans are struggling to live, faced with the 'fukai,' a forest made of plants and fungus that are beautiful but full of deadly radiation, with giant insects and creatures that live in it, which grows and spreads and swallows 'untainted land' and villages even as they speak. The remaining humans have banded together in communities big and small, thriving in their own way. The film tells of struggle and confict, giving the question of whether evil is always just that, and with a spectacular ending, an epic story that has the music to fit it. The melodies portrays despair and sorrow but also of hope and of the future to come. To me, the soundtrack not only weaves together with the film, but also creates it's own beauty.

I recommend seeing the film Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa, or Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, if planning to hear the CD, but please, make it the original, subbed, or the one that's going to be dubbed (if not already) by Disney or whoever. No offense meant, but even Disney is going to do a better job traslating Nausicaa than, "Warriors of the Wind" which apparently stinks. (Big part of the film and undoubtedly the music was cut out, a factor bound to mess things up one way or another.)

My favorite is the main melody, or atleast what I call played mainly in the first and last track. Also track 10, "The battle between Me-vue and Kolubet," real adventure music, when Nausicaa is flying on her Me-vue[pronounced Meh-vueh] and nearly being killed by the pursuing airship, really fits. At one point, from a different angle, part of a song sounds like porno music I guess. I hadn't exactly...heard it that way, being that I associated the wierd alien music with the wierd alien world... Also track 7, when there's a slight flashback to Nausicaa's early days, has a part where a little kid is singing, which I'm not sure what to say, except that's it's oddly interesting in it's own way.

This album is a diamond in the rough. A piano starts off the theme song with a lonely yet poignant voice swelling to an emotional apex. I don't know how Mr. Hisaishi does it but his music tells a story just as much as the film that it accompanies. While the theme is beautiful and complex it's mixed in with some tracks that sound like early video game music (circa 1980's) complete with bleeps and bloops. But the symphonic pieces soar and they are worth giving it a 5 (for diehard fans) . For the less devoted or unapprenticed - a 4.

First off, do not buy this soundtrack unless you have seen and appreciate Kaze no Tani no Naushika. If you are a fan of the anime or manga then you will truly love this CD and probably do not need to read a review to already know just how good it is. Yes, this is one of his earlier works compared to the soundtrack for Mononoke Hime but it is much better in my opinion. For people who have never seen the anime or read the manga the music in this CD can seem “actually quite strange, and not quite like anything I've heard before.” So, I guess my final point is DO NOT buy this CD unless you appreciate Kaze no Tani no Naushika or you will not understand the music. Also, the soundtrack to Laputa is very good and very much in the same style as Naushika..I would recommend it over the Mononoke Hime soundtrack any day =P.

- Hayao Miyazaki is a genius-

As with many people, my first exposure to the music of Joe Hisaishi was from the music to Princess Mononoke, which as you may know I really really love. Later, I decided to expand my Hisaishi catalog, and was recommended this, the soundtrack to a much earlier anime film he scored called Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind.

As this was one of Hisaishi's earlier compositions, and Studio Ghilbi's first movie, there's a certain rawness to the music. Not only is there a lot of synth instruments, but much of the music itself is actually quite strange, and not quite like anything I've heard before. This is noticable right off the bat in the first track, where there is a very minimalist organ figure, almost Philip Glass-like. After a little bit of this, it fades out and an amazingly beautiful piano melody starts playing. Then the organ thing starts back up.

Throughout the rest of the soundtrack there are more strange bits (the weird organ thing shows up again in track 8), as well as some traditional music as well. Some later parts are wonderful, especially track 4, which is a beautiful lush string piece, and tracks 6 and 10, which are wonderful battle tracks. Track 7 contains a really wierd child "la la" song. And finnally, the end of the album contains more wonderful melodic material.

Overall, this is a decent CD. It's brought down by a couple really weird sounding tracks, but the good tracks are good enough to balance it out. It's also only about 40 minutes long, which makes it not as good a prospect as some others. Is it worth the money for the import? If you like Hisaishi, and regularly import CDs at this kind of price, than yes it's worth it. However, there are much better anime CDs out there, and this is definatly not the best place to start for importing newbies.

In case you are uncertain, this is the Soundtrack for 'Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind' (original release) and 'Warriors of the Wind' (English release).

Some of the selections on the soundtrack are pretty bad, sounding something like a cheap porn flick, but there are a few good ones too. The two sequences from the film that I wanted to have on CD were on this soundtrack, so the risk of buying it without being certain of the CD's contents was worth it.

I assume that if you are looking at this soundtrack then you have seen the movie (either version). Let your ear be your guide then - if you liked what heard when you saw the movie then you will probably like the CD. If you haven't seen the movie, see it first before buying.