SciFi Japan
    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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 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

    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,

    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

    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

    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

    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

    The Korean monster film on DVD in its native country Author: Kim Song-ho (Loomis) Source: KD Media Following the U.S DVD debut on January 8, DRAGON WARS (a.k.a. D-WAR) finally reaches its native country... again. On February 1(*), a South Korean company called KD Media will release DRAGON WARS in two separate Region 3 DVD versions – the Limited Editon Special Pack, limited to 5,000 sets, and a Standard Edition. The difference between the two versions are not that remarkable. The former will have two storyboard books and five postcards with never-before-seen poster artworks in the package. The latter will have only a booklet. Both versions are 2-disc sets with disc 1 includes the feature in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, original English Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0 and Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. Added are English and Korean subtitles. Supplements will be featured on disc 2. Among them are

    New Info, Cover Art, and Release Dates for Asian DVDs on the `Tokyo Shock` and `Exploitation Digital` Labels Source: Media Blasters, Inc. Special Thanks to Richard York Media Blasters has provided new cover art and information on their upcoming Tokyo Shock and Exploitation Digital releases. Look for the following Region 1 DVDs in the first quarter of 2008. January 15, 2008: RED EYE (Redeu-ai, 2005) It`s Mi-sun`s first day as a railroad attendant. Her first assignment is an overnight trip through Korea and she`s understandably nervous. But it`s not the motley group of passengers that has her feeling uneasy. It`s the train itself. It turns out that some of the cars on the train were involved in a devastating crash 16 years earlier in which 100 people died. Rumor has it those cars are haunted and it`s not long before Mi-sun starts to experience eerie visions. The

    Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Official Site: DRAGON WARS.com Meet Buraki, the vicious, 200-meter long Imoogi serpent from ancient Korea. His army includes giant lizards with missile launchers, flying dragons, soldiers bred for evil and mega-intelligent dinosaurs. Together, they will destroy Los Angeles and possibly the world unless reincarnated warriors Ethan and Sarah can outrun them and resurrect the Good Imoogi, Buraki’s ancient nemesis. DRAGON WARS reveals every last detail of Earth’s greatest battle – a war you’ll only believe when you see it for yourself. On January 8, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the action-adventure film DRAGON WARS on DVD, Blu-ray Hi-Def and PSP. Directed and written by popular Korean filmmaker Hyung Rae Shim, DRAGON WARS has taken in more $65 million combined at the US and Korean box office. The film has a run time of approximately 90 minutes and

    Theatrical Premiere in December, Region 1 DVDs Scheduled for March Source: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., Jules Verne Adventure Films Festival Official US Site: Appleseed Ex Machina DVD Official Japanese Site: APPLESEED SAGA: EX MACHINA In 2004, director Shinji Aramaki and the production company Digital Frontiers Inc. created APPLESEED (Appurushido), a CG animated feature film based on the popular manga of the same name by reknowned creator Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell). APPLESEED was a box office success in Japan, and a top-selling DVD in the US the following year. Now Shinji Aramaki and Digital Frontiers have reunited with Micott & Basara, Lion Rock Production and Axis Entertainment for the sequel APPLESEED: EX MACHINA (Appurushido Ex Machina). The new film is produced by the legendary Hong Kong film director John Woo (HARD BOILED, THE KILLER), who also supervised the story and action sequences. APPLESEED: EX MACHINA is being distributed in

    Images from the THE GODZILLA COLLECTION and the next two Godzilla DVDs Author: Keith Aiken Source: Classic Media, Inc. Official site: Godzilla on DVD Next Tuesday, November 20th, Classic Media will release THE GODZILLA COLLECTION— a DVD box set with 8 classic Godzilla movies. The collection features over 20 hours of content remastered direct from the Toho vaults, including the original Japanese version of GOJIRA (1954). The box set features all of the Godzilla DVDs in Classic Media’s “Toho Master Collection”, individually shrinkwrapped in their original cases: • GOJIRA (winner of “Best DVD Classic Film Release”, 2007 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films “Saturn Awards”) • GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS (the edited US version of GOJIRA starring Raymond Burr) • GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (Japanese and US versions) • MOTHRA VS GODZILLA (Japanese version plus US version known as GODZILLA VS

    Direct-to-DVD digests of the Heisei Ultraman series Author: James Ballard Beginning next month in Japan, Tsuburaya Productions and Bandai Visual will be releasing re-edited, direct-to-DVD episodes of the Heisei Ultraman TV series; ULTRAMAN TIGA (Urutoraman Tiga, 1996), ULTRAMAN DYNA (Urutoraman Daina, 1997), ULTRAMAN GAIA (Urutoraman Gaia, 1998), ULTRAMAN COSMOS (Urutoraman Kosumosu, 2001), ULTRAMAN NEXUS (Urutoraman Nekusasu, 2004), ULTRAMAN MAX (Urutoraman Makkusu, 2005) and ULTRAMAN MEBIUS (Urutoraman Mebiusu, 2006). Being released under the banner of "Climax Stories", these one-hour specials re-tell the highlights of each series, each carefully guided by veteran Ultraman directors. While the Climax Stories will contain no new footage, the intent is to introduce new fans to each series, showing the first and last appearance of the Ultra heroes, and all their adventures along the way. As the initial description for the ULTRAMAN MEBIUS release reads, "even for beginners, if you see this you will

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