Tokyo Shock Releases Classic Toho Sci-Fi
Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 2:11 am
Fans of Toho kaiju and sci-fi movies have for the most part been frustrated by the inaccessibility of most of the catalog on good Region 1 DVD releases. In recent months, some of this has been rectified to a small degree with Sony releasing some of the lesser Godzilla films in beautiful transfers with both Japanese and English tracks (though the English track used in always the bad one recorded in Tokyo and not the specially done US recordings most of us grew up with that used professional actors), but it's becoming clear that the Media Blasters "Tokyo Shock" label is emerging head and shoulders as the best outlet for good classic Toho sci-fi with their release of "The Mysterians", "Matango" (better known in the US as "Attack Of The Mushroom People") and the upcoming releases of "Varan The Unbelievable" and "Dagora The Space Monster".
"The Mysterians", made in 1957, was the first widescreen Toho movie, coming just after the original "Godzilla" and "Rodan" and is about a hostile invasion force that uses among other things a giant robot monster Mogera. The transfer used is stunning and gives us not only a crisp widescreen image with an English subtitled Japanese track, but also optional English and Spanish tracks (specially recorded for this edition). Even more impressively, a Japanese commentary track by a couple of Japanese FX directors has been ported over from the R2 DVD release and has subtitles to let the English listener follow what's being said (though truth be known the commentary is very boring and says little about the movie itself). Other extras that were part of the R2 release have made it over as well.
"Matango" is an even more impressive. Don't be put off by it's American title, or the fact that it's premise of a shipwrecked group of people on an island looks mighty similiar to "Gilligan's Island". This is a VERY scary, atmospheric movie that emerges and in an equally beautiful transfer in widescreen packs a wallop. A commentary track by the lead actor is also featured and subtitled.
The upcoming "Varan The Unbelievable" is the original Japanese cut of the movie and not the heavily re-edited US version that is generally disliked by all Toho kaiju fans.
Pick up these DVDs and get a chance to see how in their original state, these Toho movies had a lot going for them and still do!
"The Mysterians", made in 1957, was the first widescreen Toho movie, coming just after the original "Godzilla" and "Rodan" and is about a hostile invasion force that uses among other things a giant robot monster Mogera. The transfer used is stunning and gives us not only a crisp widescreen image with an English subtitled Japanese track, but also optional English and Spanish tracks (specially recorded for this edition). Even more impressively, a Japanese commentary track by a couple of Japanese FX directors has been ported over from the R2 DVD release and has subtitles to let the English listener follow what's being said (though truth be known the commentary is very boring and says little about the movie itself). Other extras that were part of the R2 release have made it over as well.
"Matango" is an even more impressive. Don't be put off by it's American title, or the fact that it's premise of a shipwrecked group of people on an island looks mighty similiar to "Gilligan's Island". This is a VERY scary, atmospheric movie that emerges and in an equally beautiful transfer in widescreen packs a wallop. A commentary track by the lead actor is also featured and subtitled.
The upcoming "Varan The Unbelievable" is the original Japanese cut of the movie and not the heavily re-edited US version that is generally disliked by all Toho kaiju fans.
Pick up these DVDs and get a chance to see how in their original state, these Toho movies had a lot going for them and still do!
