SciFi Japan

    Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones. Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures. © 2008 Lucasfilm Ltd.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Paramount Home Entertainment and Click Communications Official Website: Indiana Jones Special Thanks to Scott Neumyer From Paramount Home Entertainment... On October 14th, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Paramount Home Entertainment will release the worldwide box office blockbuster INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL on DVD and Blu-ray! One of cinema`s greatest adventure heroes is back in this latest chapter of the immensely popular INDIANA JONES franchise! Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Frank Marshall, with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy as executive producers, the smash hit stars Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone and John Hurt, all following Indy on a perilous adventure to find the coveted Crystal Skull of Akator. Utterly packed with exciting bonus features, this may just be the biggest DVD and Blu-ray release of the year! Put on your fedora and grab your handy whip

    Filmmaker Minoru Kawasaki at Nippon 2007.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Synapse Films Presents Three Serious Satires from Japan`s Top Cult Comedy Director Source: Synapse Films, Twitch Special Thanks to Marc Walkow and Donald May, Jr. In November, Synapse Films will release DVDs of three movies by cult filmmaker Minoru Kawasaki, the director of the internationally acclaimed comedy THE CALAMARI WRESTLER (Ika Resura, 2004) and the recent kaiju film MONSTER X STRIKES BACK/ ATTACK THE G8 SUMMIT! (Girara no Gyakushu / Samitto Kiki Ippatsu!, 2008). Minoru Kawasaki was born in Tokyo in 1958. He grew up on a steady diet of Toho monster movies, comedies like the CRAZY CATS series, and Tsuburaya Productions` ULTRAMAN and ULTRA SEVEN. After graduating from Meiji University, he directed and produced a number of independent films. He was also a disciple of famed ULTRAMAN director Akio Jissoji, who acted as an executive producer for two of Kawasaki`s films— THE CALAMARI WRESTLER and

    Front and back outer packaging art for the IRON MAN: 2-DISC ULTIMATE EDITION DVD; front cover for the Blu-ray edition. Photo courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. IRON MAN, the Movie © 2008 MVL Film Finance LLC. Iron Man, the Character: TM & © 2008 Marvel Entertainment

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Paramount Home Entertainment and Click Communications Official Website: Iron Man Movie Special Thanks to Scott Neumyer From Paramount Home Entertainment... On September 30th, Paramount Home Entertainment will release the critically acclaimed box office smash IRON MAN: 2-DISC ULTIMATE EDITION on DVD and Blu-ray! What more can be said about this enormous blockbuster hit Super Hero film? IRON MAN is easily one of the year`s most exciting, inventive, and entertaining cinematic thrill rides. Directed by Jon Favreau (Elf) and boasting an all-star cast full of Academy Award nominees Robert Downey Jr. (Zodiac, Chaplin), Jeff Bridges (The Contender) and Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow) and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare In Love). With several hours of exciting bonus features, this is easily a "can`t miss" release! Get ready as IRON MAN: 2-DISC ULTIMATE EDITION blasts off on DVD and Blu-ray September 30th!! $315 Million

    The cast of PRIMEVAL. Left to right: Abby Maitland (Hannah Spearritt), Connor Temple (Andrew Lee Potts), Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall), Claudia Brown (Lucy Brown), Stephen Hart (James Murray), and Captain Tom Ryan (Mark Wakeling). Photo courtesy of BBC America. © 2007 ITV Plc/Impossible Pictures 2007

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Hit Show Premieres on BBC America in August, Region 1 DVD from Warner Bros. in November Source: Warner Bros. Home Video, BBC America Official Sites: Primeval, ITV Primeval View the DVD Trailer The past and present collide in the energetic new sci-fi thriller PRIMEVAL. When evolutionary zoologist Nick Cutter (Douglas Henshall – THE STRANGE CASE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, FRANCES TUESDAY, ANNA KARENINA, IT`S ALL ABOUT LOVE) discovers prehistoric creatures alive and well in the present day, the natural world is turned on its head and humanity faces a threat to its very existence. PRIMEVAL is a science fiction series produced by London-based Impossible Pictures, the award winning team behind WALKING WITH DINOSAURS. The show premiered on the British network ITV on February 10, 2007. A second season followed on January 12, 2008, and a third is now in production

    Region 1 DVD cover art for Shusuke Kaneko`s DEATH NOTE. Photo courtesy of VIZ Media. © 2006 [Death Note] Film Partners

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Press Kit and DVD Info for the Hit Japanese Film Source: VIZ Media Official Movie Site (Japan): Death-Note-Movie Official Movie Site (US): Death Note Films The first live action DEATH NOTE movie will be released on Region 1 DVD by VIZ Pictures on Sept. 16, 2008. The DVD will include the uncut 126 minute-long film in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the original Japanese audio track, a brand-new English language dub, and removable English subtitles. Bonus features include an interview with director Shusuke Kaneko, Making of the Movie featurette, Japanese trailers, DEATH NOTE anime trailer, and Death Note manga sneak peek - Chapter 1. The suggested retail price is $24.98. DEATH NOTE Press Notes Directed by SHUSUKE KANEKO Based on the Bestselling Japanese Comic by TSUGUMI OOBA and TAKESHI OBATA Starring: TATSUYA FUJIWARA as “LIGHT” KENICHI MATSUYAMA as “L

    Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment. © 2008 Warner Bros. Ent.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Warner Bros. Home Video Official Site: Speed Racer The Movie View the Theatrical Trailer ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For more information on both the original SPEED RACER and the new Warner Brothers` motion picture please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan: Here He Comes! Here Comes SPEED RACER! Part 1: Go Speed Go! A Series Overview Part 2: Racers Start Your Engines! How it All Began Part 3: Speed Racer is Born! MACH GO GO GO Comes to the U.S. SPEED RACER Production Notes SPEED RACER: Interview with Rain First 7 Minutes of SPEED RACER Part 4: The Aftermath of Speed: Remakes and Sequels Part 5: Speed Racer Now! RETROSPECTIVE AND REVIEW: SPEED METAL SPEED RACER Coming to Blu-ray and DVD

    First look at the final packaging art design and back cover for Classic Media`s upcoming DVD collection of RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS. Photo courtesy of Classic Media. © 2008 Classic Media, Inc./© 1956, 1966 Toho Co., Ltd.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Classic Media, Inc. Official site: Godzilla on DVD Special Thanks to Lisa Bull, Maria Lago, and Emily Schwab A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE In 2006 and 2007 Classic Media released seven early Godzilla films on DVD. The company now completes their "Toho Master Collection" with a 2-disc set of RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, featuring the American and Japanese versions of both films. As an added bonus, the RODAN DVD also includes the brand-new feature length documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. RODAN: A small village is besieged by deadly man-sized insects. Shigeru (Kenji Sahara) descends deep into a mine shaft to exterminate the monsters, but a landslide traps him in a cavern where he makes an even more horrifying discovery: Rodan, the flying monster! Two giant pterodactyls emerge from their mountain hiding place and terrorize Japan, soaring through the skies

    Toho actor Yoshio Tsuchiya (THE HUMAN VAPOR, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS) and FX director Teuyoshi Nakano discuss the life and career of Eiji Tsuburaya in the new documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE. © 2008 Toho Co., Ltd./Classic Media, Inc.

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    Part 2: PRODUCTION NOTES and PERSONNEL FILE Author: George Lawrence Official site: Godzilla on DVD A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE The original documentary BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE: The Art of Japanese Special Effects will be included as a bonus feature with WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966, dir. Ishiro Honda) and RODAN (1956, dir. Ishiro Honda). The three films will be released in a DVD set by Classic Media on September 9, 2008. Available at retailers everywhere. SciFi Japan continues our coverage with a look at the making of the film and the people behind the production. PRODUCTION NOTES From the outset, the creative team behind BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE was not content to simply string together a series of movie clips and re-hash the story of Godzilla’s five-decades-long career. "We wanted to explore what makes Japanese science fiction and

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Part 1: SYNOPSIS Author: George Lawrence Official site: Godzilla on DVD A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE Last week, SciFi Japan reported that BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE: The Art of Japanese Special Effects will have a premiere screening (along with WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS and MOTHRA) at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on August 3. BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE is an original documentary produced by Classic Media, the company responsible for the recent "Toho Master Collection" Godzilla DVDs in the United States. The film will be included as a bonus feature with Classic Media`s DVD set of the Toho genre classics WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS and RODAN, which goes on sale across the country on September 9, 2008. We are now pleased to present an exclusive

    The Wachowski Brothers’ big screen adaptation of the anime series SPEED RACER is coming to DVD and Blu-ray. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment. © 2008 Warner Bros. Ent.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Warner Bros. Home Video Official Site: Speed Racer The Movie View the Theatrical Trailer Warner Bros. Home Video has announced that the Wachowski Brothers’ live-action SPEED RACER movie will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 16. Based on the popular 1967 Japanese animated series and budgeted at $120 million, SPEED RACER has been a huge commercial failure, taking in only $43 million to date in the US box office. Studio hopes for a successful theatrical release in Japan were also dashed when the film opened on July 5 and finished in 5th place at the Japanese box office. Reviewers savaged the movie with 36 top national critics giving SPEED RACER a paltry 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.com. The film fared much better with audiences, who gave it a 77% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B- average at Yahoo Movies. The positive opinions

    Screen shots from LONG DREAM, the J-Horror from the creator and director of UZUMAKI which is now available on DVD. © 2000

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    J-Horror from the Creator and Director of UZUMAKI Author: Keith Aiken Source: Tidepoint Pictures, Facets Video Dr. Kuroda (Masami Horiuchi) is perplexed by one of his patients, Tetsuro Mukouda (Shuuji Kashiwabara), who is terrified of going to sleep. It seems the young man`s dreams are spanning months and even years in a single night, and he can no longer tell what`s real life and what`s just a dream. As the dreams grow longer and longer, they begin taking as disturbing a toll on Mukouda`s body as they have on his mind. Overtaken by ambition, Kuroda begins to believe that the secret to human immortality can be found in the long dream. He experiments on Mukouda, then another patient, Mami Takeshima (Tsgumi), who believes she is being hunted by Death. Finally, Kuroda begins the long dream experiment on himself, hoping to be reunited with his long-lost love Kana

    Cover art for BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT Collector`s Edition. © 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Batman gets animated again as prelude to new film Author: Aaron Cooper I have to give Warner Bros. credit for interesting marketing ideas regarding the new and improved Batman film franchise. I personally have always enjoyed different anime anthologies, going as far back as ROBOT CARNIVAL to THE ANIMATRIX of a few years ago, and what better character to play with in terms of animated interpretations than Batman, a character that has endured various incarnations and versions throughout his 70 year history? BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT is an anthology of six animated shorts that occurs after the events of BATMAN BEGINS and acts as a prelude of sorts to the upcoming DARK KNIGHT film. Several Japanese directors and animation studios, as well as American comic creators worked under Executive Producer Bruce Timm to create several unique visions of the Dark Knight. Yet, while all the stories feature unique

    Cover art for SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Video. © 2007 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

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    Can the Man of Steel come back from the dead? Author: Aaron Cooper Prepare yourself for a look at some recent animated delving into the DC Universe. As the resident SciFi Japan comic book geek, I’ve been promising the staff to do these reviews for a while. It took me a while to sit and watch SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY. I’ll be the first to admit that the entire “Death and Return of Superman” storyline that permeated comics in the early 1990’s was far too excessive in hype, multiple covers, and bagged editions mixed with mediocre and melodramatic storytelling. Sure, it was exciting at the time…for about a month. It wasn’t necessarily something I wanted to revisit. Add to that, of all the DC Superheroes animation that Bruce Timm and Paul Dini had been producing for Warner Bros. for over a decade, the Superman series was the least interesting

    KILL BILL`s Chiaki Kuriyama stars in the J-Horror film HAIR EXTENSIONS. The movie opens today for a week long run at the ImaginAsian Theater in NYC. Photo courtesy of ImaginAsian Entertainment. © 2007 Toei Co.,Ltd

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    US Theatrical Release and DVD News Source: ImaginAsian Entertainment, Media Blasters, Inc. Official Movie Site: EXTE-Movie Special Thanks to Adriana da Rosa As if the start of the New York Asian FIlm Festival was not enough fun for the Big Apple, Media Blasters Releasing and Tokyo Shock have announced the exclusive New York City theatrical release of HAIR EXTENSIONS. The theatrical engagement begins today, Friday, June 20th and runs through Thursday, June 26th at The ImaginAsian Theater, 239 E. 59th Street in Manhattan. HAIR EXTENSIONS (Ekusute a.k.a. EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS, 2007) 35mm/108 min./Color/1:85.1 Flat/Japanese language, English subtitles/Unrated Japanese customs agents discover a huge amount of human hair along with the bald corpse of a young girl. The dead girl`s hair begins to grow, which arouses the curiosity of Yamazaki (Ren Osugi of AUDITION, CURE, and ZEBRAMAN), a mortuary employee with a hair fetish. Now a mad hair-peddler

    The Green Gargantua is back! 42 years after WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, Gaira returns in New Production: GO! GODMAN. Fuyuki Shinada and the suit staff put the finishing touches on the monster and prepare him for action. Photos by Ed Godziszewski. ©2008 Toho Co., Ltd

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    The Green Gargantua is back! 42 years after WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, Gaira returns in New Production: GO! GODMAN. Fuyuki Shinada and the suit staff put the finishing touches on the monster and prepare him for action. Photos by Ed Godziszewski. ©2008 Toho Co., Ltd SciFi Japan Presents an Exclusive Look at the New GODMAN DVD Special; Plus a Guide for the Original TV Series Authors: Ed Godziszewski and John Paul Cassidy Official Site: GODMAN & GREENMAN Additional Information and Translations by Oki Miyano and Tetsu Shiota, Anime Jungle Contents: ON THE SET OF NEW PRODUCTION: GO! GODMAN A BRIEF HISTORY OF GO! GODMAN GO! GODMAN EPISODE LIST RETURN OF THE GOOD MORNING HEROES: GO! GO! GODMAN & GREENMAN Box Set Specs In the early 1970s, the Nippon Television Network’s GOOD MORNING! KIDS SHOW

    ALL MONSTERS ATTACK and TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA are now available separately from retailers. © 2007 Classic Media, Inc./© 1969, 1975 Toho Co., Ltd.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Classic Media, Inc. Official site: Godzilla on DVD A quick reminder that Classic Media’s last two Godzilla DVDs— ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (aka GODZILLA’S REVENGE) and TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA— went on sale today. The discs were originally released last November as part of THE GODZILLA COLLECTION DVD box set but are now available separately for the first time from stores and online retailers. The ALL MONSTERS ATTACK DVD includes the 1969 Japanese version and the 1971 American release GODZILLA’S REVENGE, both in the original anamorphic widescreen theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The Japanese version was remastered from a 35mm low-contrast positive print from Toho Studios and comes with a 2 track mono mix plus newly translated removable English subtitles. Extra features include a feature length audio commentary by Cult Movies and SciFi Japan contributor Richard Pusateri, the “Ishiro Honda: The Soul of Godzilla” featurette, a poster gallery,

    Front and back packaging art for the ONE MISSED CALL DVD. Photos courtesy of Warner Home Video. © 2007 Warner Bros.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Warner Home Video Official website: One Missed Call Movie It happens to one. Then another. And another. College students discover eerie voicemail messages on their cell phones. Each call comes from the near future. Each call has the chilling voice of the student during his or her last moments alive. And each call comes true. Terror is ONE MISSED CALL away in this got-your-number shocker based on the hit Japanese thriller CHAKUSHIN ARI. Does the viral spree of calls have a single source? Is there something that links the victims? Psych student Beth Raymond (Shannyn Sossamon) and detective Jack Andrews (Ed Burns) scramble for answers. And they’re working fast. Because Beth just discovered an ominous message. For those who missed the American remake of ONE MISSED CALL during it`s theatrical release— and we`re guessing that would be most of you— the film

    Original lobby card for The Shaw Brothers` HEROES TWO. © 2007 Shaw Brothers

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    HEROES TWO Details Source: Richard York, Media Blasters Media Blasters has provided some information about their upcoming release of the Shaw Brothers/Chang Cheh classic, HEROES TWO, due out April 8th. Fang Shih Yu and Hung Hsi Kuan escape after the burning of the Shaolin Temple; but a case of mistaken identity causes Hung to be captured and marked for death. It`s now a race against time to free him and seek revenge for the burning of the temple, before the Manchus can amass their warriors for one final assault on the survivors of Shaolin. *Remastered Anamorphic 2.35:1 Feature from HD master *Languages: *Mandarin Mono with English Subtitles *English Mono *English 5.1 *Audio Commentary by Asian Film Historian Linn Haynes (please see statement below) *Remastered "Three Styles of Hung Fist" available as an intro option for the first time on DVD (Mandarin with English titles only) *Original Mandarin

    Frankentein and Baragon ©1965 Toho Co., Ltd

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Double Disc Dose of FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD Author: Bob Johnson Source: Media Blasters Special Thanks to Richard York, Clay Holden and Loren Portillo Mysteries Revealed! A Look Back at FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD How King Kong and Frankenstein Came to Japan Before his death, stop motion wizard Willis O’Brien penned a story called "King Kong vs. Frankenstein". The story ended up going through a number of hands, and a number of changes, before coming to rest at Toho in Japan, which was responsible for the final incarnation that became KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (King Kong tai Gojira – 1962). Kong would go on to star in another Toho film KING KONG ESCAPES in 1967. Toho did not let the Frankenstein legend rest for long however, and in 1965 produced the first of two films that

    Godman ©1972 Toho Co., Ltd

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Godzilla director helms new GODMAN project Author: James M. Ballard Sources: HMV Details of an otherwise unassuming DVD compilation make a surprising revelation. The new 3-disc DVD box set RETURN OF THE GOOD MORNING HEROES: GO! GO! GODMAN & GREENMAN (Kaetekita Ohayou Hiiroo: Yuke! Yuke! Goddoman & Guriinman), due for release on May 23rd in Japan, will compile a carefully selected choice of popular episodes from the Toho TV series GO! GODMAN (Ike! Goddoman, 1972) and GO! GREENMAN (Yuke! Guriinman, 1973). But along with the set will come a special bonus disc featuring the tentatively-titled NEW GODMAN PRODUCTION (Shinsaku Godadoman). Attached to the new project is director Masaaki Tezuka, best known for his work on the recent Godzilla productions GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS (Gojira tai Megagirasu G Shoumetsu Sakusen, 2000), GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (Gojira tai Mekagojira, 2002) and GODZILLA: TOKYO SOS (Gojira Mosura Mekagojira Tokyo SOS, 2003), as

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