Rodan/War of the GargantuasDirected by Ishirô Honda
Average customer review:
Product Description
RODAN: Rodan, originally released in Japan in 1956 involves a giant monster being awoken from an ancient hibernation by human beings. In Rodan, miners digging far into the earth stumble across a clutch of giant, prehistoric insects which viciously attack several of the miners and prompt a government investigation into the matter. The giant bugs turn out to be little more than food for two gigantic flying beasts called Rodans, who hatch from giant eggs and proceed to terrorize the entire world. WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS: War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan in 1966 as "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda versus Gaira" and a semi-sequel to Frankenstein Conquers The World. It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's Monster from the previous film and are described as brothers. The Green Gargantua is violent and savage, preying upon human beings; as he lives in sea water, he is given the name Gaira for "stranger." The Brown Gargantua had been raised in captivity, and is docile and gentle; because he resides in the Japan Alps, he is called Sanda for "mountain". The film follows the investigation and military engagements of these creatures until their climatic confrontation in Tokyo.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #243 in DVD
- Released on: 2008-09-09
- Rating: G (General Audience)
- Formats: Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
- Original language: Japanese
- Number of discs: 2
Widescreen?
The product description states 'fullscreen'. These films were shot in panoramic widescreen or 'Tohoscope' in Japan. If this release is indeed fullscreen, then I don't know why they bothered. Those who already their copies have made no mention of it. Anyone up with this info?
WHAT A SHAME.....
Im VERY Disapointed in this release. 2 words tells you why: NO COMMENTARIES. I have loved the commentaries on all the other classic media japanese Monster films, they are interesting and informative, and you got to learn a bit about what was going on behind the scenes when the films were made. The other commentaries are like audio documentaries about the films that you listen to while you watch the movie.
I had been looking forward to this release, to see these great movies on DVD, and finally seeing the japanese version of Rodan. Other than the first godzilla movie, Rodan was always my favorite japanese monster movie. I was looking forward to a great commentary on rodan. Now, I'm just not looking forward to this release as much as I once was.
I'll still buy it, I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but not as much as I would have with the commentaries on it. So here's my 1 star ranking as a protest. Classic media, you me down on this one, and others I'm sure.
I mean you put a commentary track on godzilla's revenge/all monsters attack, the worst godzilla movie ever made, but not these films? You've got to be kidding me.
what a shame.
Another Excellent Set from Classic Media
I pre-ordered this dvd and received it today! I was so happy to get it one month before it comes out!
Anyway, The picture and audio quality for the Japanese versions of the films are excellent, featuring very little grain. Rodan only contains a small number of scratches. I was suprised for a movie that is 53 years old. War of the Gargantuas also features a great video presentation.
The US versions of the films don't look as good, though. The US version of Rodan has pretty bad quality video presentation. The US version of War of the Gargantuas looks pretty good, though.
The DVD set features a documentary called "Bringing Godzilla Down To Size: The Art of Special Effects. The documentary is very entertaining and has many new interviews with the stars and filmakers of the 50s, 60s, and 70s as well as interviews with filmakers of the Heisei and Millenium series' of Godzilla films.
Overall, this is another excellent DVD from Classic Media. It is just as good as their Godzilla DVDs. Any fans of Toho or Godzilla films wait to pick this dvd up.
