20 Post-Apocalyptic Movies You Must See Before You Die

9. Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind (1984)

The first masterpiece from Japanese animation genius Hayao Miyazaki, it might shock a few people to find Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind on a list of essential post-apocalyptic movies. And yet Miyazaki's 1984 adaptation of his own manga is set 1000 years after an huge war destroyed civilisation and left it swarming with giant insects, meaning that the world the characters inhabit for the length of the movie is, indeed, a post-apocalyptic one. The plot, dense and complicated, follows a young princess, Nausicaä, who sets out to prevent a powerful kingdom from destroying a jungle of gigantic insects. Everything that would go on to define Miyazaki as a filmmaker in his later years can be glimpsed in this thrilling and beautiful picture: the environmental and anti-war themes, the vast and detailed world-building, the musical cues from Joe Hisaishi. And despite its premise, this is a post-apocalyptic outing that also manages to be uplifting.