Just reread some parts of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind today, and it’s hella good.
Just needed to say that.
Yeah. It is.
Glad to hear it has some other fans here! Pretty much the best comic book ever written, as far as I’m concerned.
Whole-heartedly agree. Decided to re-read it on a trip and there are parts that just tear me apart.
I have to see the movie.
Your story ain’t no slouch either, for that matter, Lutes. Picked that one up a month or so ago. Very well done, and I look forward to vol. 2 (which will show up, I hope).
Whole-heartedly agree. Decided to re-read it on a trip and there are parts that just tear me apart.
I have to see the movie.
Your story ain’t no slouch either, for that matter, Lutes. Picked that one up a month or so ago. Very well done, and I look forward to vol. 2 (which will show up, I hope).[/quote]
Hey thanks, Anders, I appreciate that. Volume two will probably take me another year and a half to complete, alas.
The film version of Nausicaä is definitely worth seeing, but it just covers a fraction of the book’s story. Mainly I like it for the way it puts Miyazaki’s subtle and dramatic kinetic sense – brilliantly captured on the page – into actual motion.
I felt volume 4 feels a little rushed, but it’s a beautiful work.
I own the boxed set, and it makes me smile when I look at it.
I also finally got Giant Robo on DVD, and I feel pretty much the same way about that.
Anders, if you want the film, I’ll put it up on WASTE for you. You’ll have to fuck around with the subtitles, which are awful, but you can grab it from me.
PS: Ahem, anyone know where I might be able to find this online? I’ve asked for the box set for my birthday, and will likely get it, but that’s a month from now and I’m getting antsy.
You can order it directly from Viz:
http://store.viz.com/browse/NAUSICAA/s.AByOk17W
Hey John–is that DVD that you have called “Warriors of the Wind?” Because as far as I know, the only English version of the Nausicaa movie was an unauthorized release that severely edited the film and changed the entire story. Or do you have a Japanese bootleg? Either way, the Buena Vista version is supposed to come out… well, sometime… and will probably be much better.
Ben, no, it is the Japanese cut with fan subtitles. I’m sure the authentic one will be better, and I will buy the dubbed version when it comes out, but for now this is pretty good. Thanks for the link though, although I was looking for perhaps an e-book version or something to tide me over until my birthday swings around. I hate reading comics on a computer, but I’d put up with it to finally check this out a few weeks earlier.
Oh, I getcha. I thought you were looking to order it online. I don’t know of any ebook version off-hand.
Yeah, a fansub version is definitely going to be better than the Warriors of the Wind version. Even if the translation is poor, at least you get the entire, unaltered movie.
Hey, quality takes time. By the way, have any book recommendations if I want to read about Germany during that time period?
There’s an official Japanese release of Nausicaa on DVD now - I got it a few months ago. It has English subtitles. If you have a multi-region DVD player or the like you can order it from http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/
Matthew, is this it?
How is the picture quality? Do you know if its anamorphic widescreen?
If its anamorphic with good picture I think I’ll go ahead and pick this up instead of waiting for the still unannounced US edition. I’ve been meaning to buy their versio of Manhunter anyway…
Yeah, that’s it, and yes, it is anamorphic. I’m not a total videophile or anything, but the picture quality looks very good to me, basically on par with any of the other japanese releases of miyazaki movies, except Spirited Away (which has an annoying red tint) and Laputa, which I don’t think was mastered in progressive scan. I get weird little blurs between frames on that one. Luckily those 2 are available in good region 1 releases.
Thanks, Matthew. I’ll order it today.
Ironically, I don’t read German, so if you do there may be some great books out there that I cannot recommend.
As far as English-language sources go, a good starting point would be Before the Deluge, by Otto Friedrich. It gives an overview of the years between the wars, arranged chronologically and by theme. It’s not very in-depth, but paints a wide-ranging and colorful picture.
The best collection of writing from the time that I’ve been able to find is The Weimar Republic Sourcebook (eds. Kaes, Jay, and Dimendberg), which excerpts essays and speeches by people from every strata of society. It’s a fascinating read, and was invaluable to me when I was trying to write the speech that Goebbels gives in chapter 8.
In terms of fiction, there’s really nothing better than Berlin Alexanderplatz, by Alfred Döblin – a kaleidoscopic modernist epic extraordinarily rich in detail and broad in scope.
There’s a start for you, anyway…
Hardly, my 3 and a bit years of not paying attention in German class didn’t really do me much good.
Thanks a lot for the recommendations, already ordered.