Atlanta, Georgia's own "Plaza Atlanta Theatre", which has been a safe heaven for people who fallow cult, grindhouse, and festival films, has shown that for July's "Silver Scream Spook Show" session (happening on the 31st), GODZILLA VS. GIGAN is being shown. Speculation has it that the legendary GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND Cinema Shares print is going to be shown considering the past two screenings which included a showing of an AIP varriation of DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. More images including the official flyer to come soon!
In his interview with the PodCast, "Japan on Fire", film historian August Ragone stated that back in the time period between "Terror Of Mechagodzilla" (1975) and "The Return of Godzilla" (1984), there was a want of many a Japanese film maker to make their own kaiju films. While it is a testament of how influential the Showa kaiju days were, back in that time frame the resources were just not there to make independently make kaiju films. A new generation is making their dreams come true now thanks to the digital revolution. Recently, we have had a good slew of kaiju films, most notably "Geharha: The Dark and Long Haired Monster" (2009), "Reigo" (2009), and "Negadon: Monster from Mars" (2005). With a new American Godzilla film just beyond the horizon now, this fairly young age of Neo-Millennium series independent films are coming to an end. One of these films is the newly animated "Dai Supeesu Kaiju Darkmatton" (Great Space Monster Darkmatton) (2010).
. "Darkmatton" is directed by Yohei Miyawaki. A 23-year-old student at Tokyo’s Tama Art University, Miyawaki made the film just like those before him like Shinpei Hayashida or Shusuke Kaneko - he has a love for the genre. The film is a piece of total animation. Though low budget, it gets the job done and the way it is filmed is quite extraordinary, especially with the third act of the film being in black and white, therefore making a possible reference to the original "Gojira" (1954).
. Here is a synopsis according to "Undead Backbrain": "An orbiting international space station is mysteriously destroyed. The army asks Dr Kawanaka, an expert in astronomy, to undertake an investigation to ascertain the cause. The doctor tries to find the cause, under the scrutiny of the army. Suddenly a black globe appears in the sky over Tokyo and Dr Kawanaka recognizes it as the cause of the ISS’s destruction. "That is Great Space Monster Darkmatton!" he declares. Military action proves futile. The doctor develops the ultimate weapon — the end result of his previous own research — uses it to confront the monster. The future of humanity hangs in the balance!"
. Almost sounds like Negadon. And it kind of is. As you can see, this film was not meant to be a project like "G" or "Geharha". However, it is still a nicely animated film with humor. And it is nice to see the director voice act the elder professor with the white beard. Fans can see some of the influences. Such as the aforementioned "Gojira"-like ending, the use of a newly created Toho Co. Ltd, and a fairly Markelite-like weapon (though we find out it is an electricity conducting orb, the 2D animation makes it look like a miniature Markelite). Emblem at the front of each third of the film, and many more. For a total of 13 minutes, the film does have a sort of message. The kaiju Darkmatton could be an allegory for the darkness within the hearts of men. Then the act of him evolving as weapons are used on him could be a metaphor for war - the more you shoot, the more the problem gets bigger - something of a scare back in the ole Cold War days of old.
. The Backbrain reports that the director has no current plans for a home video release, though an international variation with English subtitles is in the works. Stand by. The film itself though, I suggest that fans watch it. If you aren’t that big of a fan, then I do not think it will appeal to you. Interested fans though who have a well rooted love for tokusatsu eiga would like to see this. I give it a 3.5/5. It’s a nice little film.
Michiru Oshima returns for her second score in the Godzilla series, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (or GXMG), which is contained on the third disc of the sixth Godzilla Perfect Collection box. The end result is a brilliant piece of work from the composer.
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There’s just no doubt about it. GXMG is Oshima’s best score in the series by far. A lot of the credit for that goes to the fact that the score was actually recorded outside Japan with a bigger orchestra in Moscow. As a result, the music sounds richer and more powerful than any of the other scores in the Godzilla series, with probably one exception being The Return of Godzilla, which also had a symphonic sound. Just about every track on this soundtrack is excellent and very memorable. Oshima’s Godzilla theme from Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is back and sounds better than ever. Of course, there are many new themes here. The biggest highlight of the score is arguably the theme of Kiryu (Mechagodzilla). It sounds really majestic and stands as a good contender for the best theme composed for the character. The Kiryu Squadron has its own excellent march, which is heard in tracks like “Intensive Training” and “Mobilization”. Akane Yashiro, thefilm’s main human character played by Yumiko Shaku, is given a very heroic theme in “Akane’s Great Effort” and “Akane’s Resilience”, as well as a more soothing theme, heard for example in “Sara’s Shorea Plant”, which is one of the best tracks of this score. There’s also a nice battle theme in the two “Intense Fighting” tracks. Another cue worth mentioning is “Leaving School”, which sounds quite reminiscent of John Williams’ work in the Harry Potter series.
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As for the extra content, there’s nothing overly exciting. The first bonus track is an edited version of “Akane’s Great Effort~Kiryu’s Construction” with a slightly different beginning as heard in the movie. The rest of the bonus tracks are outtakes of selected cues that don’t yet have the grand symphonic sound as the finished score. Still, they’re interesting to listen to just to compare them with the versions utilized in the movie. Of course, this disc doesn’t contain the sound effects that were included on the previous CD, but they can be found elsewhere, so it’s not a huge loss.
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The booklet has a really nice picture of Godzilla on the front cover and images of Yumiko Shaku and Kumi Mizuno on the back. Aside from the usual track notes and other stuff, there’s a profile of Michiru Oshima, as well as an interview with the composer.
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All in all, the soundtrack of GXMG is just fantastic from start to finish, and it’s given a great presentation on this CD release. Anyone who doesn’t have this soundtrack yet should definitely consider getting the sixth Godzilla soundtrack box set.
A fairly recent photo of Ikeda, taken by inerviewer Aaron Yamasato.
August Ragone asked for people to spread the word, so I am going to post this onto my blog. Actor Shunsuke Ikeda passed away June 11, 2010. The cause of death was related to his long struggle with diabetes. Saddly, he left behind a wife and daughter. Ikeda was best known for playing roles in KIKAIDA 01 (circa 1973) and THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN (circa 1971). Shunsuke was 68 years old. Here is a short biography written by tokusatsu historian and project trailblazer August Ragone.
The actor's memorial serive is taking place today, June 16 (this is Japan time, they are a day ahead of us) in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. That's 10pm today. Take a moment of silence and even say a prayer. Tokusatsu eiga lost one of it's heroes.
With a street date of July 27, 2010, you can now own the 2010 blockbuster remake of "Clash of the Titans". With a SRP of $28.98 for the DVD and $35 for the two disc blu-ray, you can now watch the film in your own home. Extra feature for the DVD includes additional scenes. Extra features for the two disc blu-ray release includes: "Sam Worthington: An Action Hero For The Ages: A Dedicated Actor Morphs Into A Lean Fighting Machine For A Mythic Movie", "Harnessing the Gods: Maximum Movie Mode", and "Alternate Ending: Perseus Confronts Zeus On Mount Olympus". Really makes you (for those who are fans) wish you recorded the special features that came on Cinemax, TV Guide, and G4, doesn't it? The discs come complete with English, French, and Spainish subtitles. However, keep alive since the blu-ray will have a sneak preview of The GREEN LANTERN film. No word of Best Buy/Wal Mart exlcusives yet.
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In Clash of the Titans, the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.
I need your help...Here's the situation: my friend Gordon helped me with my YouTube video on my "Mushroom Clouds" book, and we kinda made a deal where every 100 views I'd take him out to breakfast at Coco's. Trouble is, we've been holding in the 270s for weeks now, so I thought that out of the kindness of your hearts, some ...of you might take a look at it (just Part I, you don't need to watch Part II unless you can't sleep) and thus take it over the 300 mark. What can I say, it'll make him happy.
Many thanks! -Peter H. Brothers" *quote taken from PHB's Facebook message
Thanks to site such as Twitter or Facebook, fans can often times find some people they are fans of and conversate with their idols. Thanks to sites such as youtube though, we can see more of our idols than what we thought. This post is going to surround itself with two people who are quite known with on the kaiju otaku front: Mark Nagata - vinyl culture figure and kaiju toy maker and Shelley Sweeney, actress who is most notable as one of the Mechagodzilla pilots in the 1993 film, GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA. .
First, let’s take a look at Mark Nagata’s youtube page, Max Toy Co., named after the toy company he founded which creates toys of kaiju not from the films but from the creative minds of Max Toy Co.’s employees. Heading the company is Mark Nagata, who is a major collector of kaiju vinyl, particularly Ultraman. The videos this youtube channel exhibits include videos which offers insights on the kaiju toy making process, from pouring vinyl into a cast to the lengthy process of painting the figure. It should truly give you a deeper appreciation for the art.
Next is the youtube channel of Shelley Sweeney. Sweeney, while most notably in GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA (1993), she has been in accouple of other Godzilla films. However, out of the kaiju scene, Shelley still lives in Japan and can be seen as a reporter on CNNJ (Japanese version of CNN, go check out the photo of her on Facebook), doing promotion for the "Bourn" films, and appearing in ads at the Narita International Airport. On youtube, Shelly is joined by Jack, which together they go from talking about Sakura Hanami and wine in a bag to have a meal in a Mayan restaurant. Very interesting stuff. Sure to make a good watch!
Monsters invade the Morikami Museum this summer as vintage toys from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, inspired by Japanese tokusatsu films and TV shows go on display in the exhibition, Kaiju! Monster Invasion! Classic Japanese tokusatsu eiga, or special effects films, typically utilized an fx technique called sutsumeishon (suitmation) in which monsters of colossal size, termed Kaiju, were portrayed by stuntmen in rubber suits moving about on sets of miniatures. Beginning with the release of the film Gojira (Godzilla) in 1954, kaiju of all types have captured the imagination of legions of fans worldwide and have spawned a lucrative toy industry that endures to this day. The Morikami’s exhibition displays over 100 figures from an extensive private collection. Some kaiju are dinosaurian in appearance; others are based vaguely on insects, sea creatures, or plants; still others combine characteristics of all of these and more. All are included in the exhibition, seeming to give form to humankind’s deepest anxieties in an age dominated by nuclear, biological, and environmental peril.
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The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults (18 – 64), $11 for seniors (65+), $7 for children and college students with identification. The Morikami is located at 4000 Morikami Park Road in Delray Beach, Florida. For more information about the Morikami, its exhibitions, programs and events, visit http://www.morikami.org/ or call 561-495-0233.
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Above paragraph is from "wonderingeducators.com". It opens June 1st.
Last time I decided to write about a samurai film, it was Kinji Fukasaku’s SATOMI HAKKEN DEN. Now, I come to you with a much more forgotten film (here in America at least , a film which though forgotten has yet to loose it’s beauty and such. That film is TEN TO CHI TO, better known by it’s international title, HEAVEN AND EARTH (1990). This is another film which I love very much, both for the visuals and the feeling you get while watching the film.
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HEAVEN AND EARTH is a film which is about something that is very popular subject matter in Japan (popular enough that it is also the subject matter of Akira Kurosawa’s 1980 venture, KAGEMUSHA), the Sengoku period of Japanese history with the battles of it’s two most popular rivals - Kagetora and Takeda. However, unlike KAGEMUSHA, the central plot isn’t about Takeda’s need for a double. It is rather Kagetora’s corruption and love life.
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Distributed by Kadokawa, the film was written and directed by Haruki Kadokawa. With his direction, it is obvious that he is well versed in the Shinto ways (Haruki was known to have his own Shinto shrine where he would conduct his own ceremonies). With this, the art direction and look of the film is very beautiful. Many scenes seem to associate the feeling of the scene with the element most shown in the scene. Rain, fog, cherry blossom petals, and waterfalls are all keys to this. Even parts showing the seasons changing (for the purpose of acknowledging the change) help this. Not to mention photography of the actors against mountains. Great cinematography. The secret is in the establishing shots.
The film’s main plot revolves around Kagetora's corruption and love life. Many old expressive nuances are used in the film, like the use of the device known as the moustache that grows over the course of the film to comment on his acts of cruelty - some which get to the viewer. Such an act is when he (though he hesistates) kills a traitor's wife and son. Though it should be noted that a revelation of the difference between American and Japanese cinematic techniques comes out. During the scene, Kagetora shows restraint on his face with his college asking him why he hesitates. While an American director would close in on the respective character’s faces, Kadokawa decides to do things the Kurosawa way and keep the shot so that not only is the camera still, but we have both Kagetora and his college in the same frame. Really takes a keen eye to notice not only the difference in the filming techniques, but to also notice the respective actor’s performances in scenes shot such as this.
Like some of the Kadokawa company’s other films, Haruki decided to push the limits of his productions. So, at the time, HEAVEN AND EARTH became the most expensive Japanese film, budgeted at five billion yen ($50,000,000 in today’s US dollars). The film would be shot in two places: Japan for the drama scenes (filming in Hokkaido, Nara, and Tokyo) and Canada for the recreation of battle scenes. Originally, award winning actor Ken Watanabe (to later gain popularity with another landmark samurai film - THE LAST SAMURAI) was to play Kagetora, who would be ultimately played by Takaaki Enoki. The reason for this was because of Watanabe’s last minute acute myelocytic leukemia.
In Canada (more specifically, in and around Alberta), the full crew included 80 wranglers, 95 Assistant Directors, seven full camera crews (two Japanese; five American), 40 tons of wardrobe, 3000 extras, and 800 horses with riders. This was not without it’s setbacks. Canada’s Ministry of Transportation had rules regarding the use of the Trans Canada Highways. So, the total of 115 buses that would transport the cast and crew would time the buss’ departure from Calgary, Canada for every 90 seconds at different points to help avoid a crowing problem on the highway. The only real accident which would happen on set would be the loss of a thumb belonging to a Japanese wrangler who loss it due to rope attached to a horse. The thumb was saved though.
Once on the plains, it took on average 25-30 minutes to get the 3000 extras into their costume for the film. The costume for the film would be cause for many a complaint for historical accuracy enthusiasts. Such is the use of Mempo Masks - used to hide the faces of the large amount of Caucasian Canadian extras playing samurai and the use of armored sleeves on only the right arm which was done to help with the use of the Japanese long bow, which was asymmetrical. The horses that the riders would ride though were not professionally trained horses. Instead, they bought regular horses to train, which helped save money after the feed budget for the horses started going over the $1,000,000 mark. Rather, they were trained for four months. Afterwards, the horses were auctioned off, making back more money than what the horses were bought for originally.
When it came to the distribution of the film, Kadokawa had again returned to one of the most common (at the time) methods for assured profit for a film: the use of advanced tickets. Due to a previous film that Kadokawa had part in, THE INUGAMI FAIMLY, he was by contract obligated to Toho to sell the large amount of 50,000 advanced tickets. Some people have noted their shock at the audacity at this move. This is because some of what Kadokawa was doing came fairly close from breaking fair trade laws. A member of Kadokawa published has gone on record mentioning, "workers were simply given books of tickets and the cost deducted from their pay - all without their consent." The film would go on to be (as of 2009) Japan’s 31st highest grossing film of all time, grossing 9.1 billion yen. The film was even more popular once future Japanese pop music legend Tetsuya Komuro composed the soundtrack and theme song for the film (aptly titled "Heaven and Earth", some of the music from the single would be used in Takeda and Kagetora’s final battle, minus the lyrics or main chorus section). Since then, it has been released on DVD in two forms: theatrical and a director’s cut which restores over 20 minutes of footage.
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In America, the film was released in the usual art house circuit. The American version would have subtitles printed into the film itself with a little intro. To give the film an English speaking voice, character actor Stuart Whitman narrated the film. The film would go on to make $307,775 at the box office. A VHS costing $80 initially would be released by Live Video, who would also retain the television rights, showing the film on the Shotime channels on a regular basis some time ago. It would be host to some high quality boot leg variations that could be found over ebay.
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HEAVEN AND EARTH has become one of the legends of Nippon Eiga history. Being somewhat of a success story when it comes to the film as a product, the film as a film is though simplistic is beautifully shot with a nice love story sub-plot and the exhibiting of Kagetora’s downfall into darkness to achieve his goal of protecting Echigo during the warring states period. A beautiful film indeed. Recommended, and it is also recommended to watch the version that occasionally comes on Shotime rather than buy the VHS tape for sake of picture quality.
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COMPARISON TO KAGEMUSHA
There is a need to compare this film with Akira Kurosawa’s KAGEMUSHA - just for the study of the activity in which both films are based on. The biggest difference when approaching the films as large scale recreations of the event, we notice that unlike Kadokawa - who kept his armies color coded to blacks and reds - Kurosawa decidedly used more color variety with his soldiers, to make what one author referred to as, "oil paints running together". However, the battles themselves in their content are also different. Kurosawa does allow bloodshed in his film making some to claim that his film is more honest when it comes to depicting war, Kadokawa’s film is almost gore-less.
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LYRICS TO TETSYA KOMURO'S MV
"Sound of water flowing into the river flows forever
echoing across a thousand days in the ear
you are far away fog closed spring
it is my dream from this River ritai
you belive in love, beloved
surely meet daily over past
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every man is a repeat of today's date color color
look inside yourself if you stay with
the evening even belive in love
vanishes life over to meet someday
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Chorus (sung in english)
there will be always
heaven and earth forever
there will be always
heaven and earth forever
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Black hair swaying in the wind in your memories float
until then surely meet reborn
you belive in love, beloved
surely meet daily over past
Evan Brehany is an life long kaiju eiga fan. He currently resides in Georgia. Evan has contributed to Tohokingdom, G-Fan Magazine, and the Godzilla 2012 blog. He is also an administrator at the Monsterland and Kaiju Galaxy message boards.
JournalismG2KM is one of the three parts of the Kaiju Galaxy & Monsterland Forums community. Present on the blog is a wide range of articles reguarding news, reviews, and retrospects on different aspects of Japanese cinema, particularly kaiju eiga. Our staff is of four people, Evan Brehany, Kuroneko-Sama, Donny Winter, Logan Bombard, and Matti Keskiivari. Special thanks to Lee Merritt for the creation of the site banner at the bottom.
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