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Welcome! This site is dedicated to bringing you reviews of daikaiju eiga (giant monster movies) released on DVD. This is my personal favorite film genre, and I created this site to spread the news about how these films are represented on the best home video format, DVD. My goal is to collect and review every edition of every eastern kaiju film that has been released on DVD with either an English language soundtrack or English subtitles. I will also strive to present reviews of every western giant monster film widely available on region 1 DVD. From time to time, I will also post reviews of DVDs which may not be kaiju eiga per se, but which may have some interest for other fans of the genre. However, the heart and soul of this site will always be the most complete and comprehensive collection of eastern kaiju DVD reviews published anywhere. (Click here to read more about the site.)
June 28: The Giant Claw (1957) and Creature with the Atom Brain (1955). Two from producer Sam Katzman.
>>> THIS WEEK >>> July 5: The Deadly Mantis (1957) and The Monolith Monsters (1957). Special appearance by local late-night horror host Wolfman Mac!
July 12: Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and It Came from Outer Space (1953). Both shown in 3-D (glasses provided)!
July 19: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). Great stop-motion FX from Ray Harryhausen!
All showings start at 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. Tickets can be ordered in advance and picked up at the box office. Go to the Detroit Film Theater website for more information on tickets, location, and parking. See you there!
BROWSE DVD REVIEWS:
- Eastern Kaiju:
Godzilla & Other
Toho Kaiju
Gamera & Other Daiei Kaiju
Other Eastern
Kaiju
- Western Kaiju:
Ray Harryhausen
Other Western
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Monday, June 16: Some Very Sad News. Special effects master Stan Winston passed away Sunday evening, June 15, at the age of 62 due to cancer. Mr. Winston created some of the greatest FX in film history in The Terminator, Aliens, Predator, Jurassic Park, and dozens of other popular films, most recently the blockbuster Iron Man. He was also slated to work on Sony's American Godzilla film for director Jan DeBont, before that project was taken over by Centropolis. Needless to say, when it comes to modern special effects wizardry, Stan will always be The Man and he will most certainly be missed. Here is a story on his passing from Yahoo! News, and here is his filmography from the IMDb. (This news first appeared on Ain't it Cool News.) UPDATE 6/23: Here is a Yahoo! News story on his memorial service, with comments from directors Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.
Thursday, June 5: A Gargantuan Double Feature. On September 9, Classic Media will finally unleash two more Toho monster classics...together in one set! Rodan and War of the Gargantuas are coming out in a 2-disc set as part of CM's excellent Toho Master Collection. Not all of the details are known yet (and the misspelled cover art will surely change), but it will include a 60-minute documentary, Bringing Godzilla Down to Size. Hopefully, it will follow in Godzilla's Master Collection footsteps and include both the Japanese subtitled and U.S. versions of the films, and some additional extra goodies. MSRP is $19.99. (Source: HK Flix pre-order product page.) UPDATE 6/10: Both the Japanese and U.S. versions of each film will be included. The 68-minute documentary is written by Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle, directed by Norman England, and narrated by Alex Cox, with music by Ko Otani. It will feature appearances by Akira Takarada, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Shogo Tomiyama, Haruo Nakajima, Ken Satsuma, Tsutomu Kitagawa, Shusuke Kaneko, Teruyoshi Nakano, Akira Tsuburaya, Shinichi Wakasa, Shiro Sano, and more. WOW! (Source: August Ragone, as posted on several online forums.)
Friday, February 15: The Asylum Strikes Again. On March 11, the inmates at The Asylum will break out another kaiju-themed mockbuster, this time to cash in on the upcoming release of Roland (Godzilla 1998) Emmerich's 10,000 BC. They're turning the clock back even further to 100 Million BC for the story of a giant dinosaur brought forward through time to a modern city. It stars Michael Gross, who is well-known to monster fans from the Tremors series. Here is The Asylum's product page. UPDATE 3/5: 100 Million BC is going to premiere on the Sci-Fi Channel sometime this summer. Therefore, the DVD release has been rescheduled for July 29. UPDATE 6/16: The Sci-Fi Channel premiere is this Sunday, June 22, at 9:00 pm EST. Click here for the schedule. (Thanks to Mike D. for the tip.)
Friday, February 8: Titans HD. The Digital Bits is reporting that Warner Home Entertainment, in celebration of the studio's 85th anniversary, has big plans for fully restoring many of their catalog titles this year for HD release on the Blu-ray Disc format. One of the titles mentioned is Ray Harryhausen's final fantasy, Clash of the Titans. More info will be posted here when available.
Thursday, January 10: Zilla HD. At the 2008 CES (Consumer Electronics Show), one of the titles promoted by Sony as an upcoming HD release on the Blu-ray Disc format was their 1998 version of Godzilla. More info will be posted here when available. (Source: The Digital Bits.) UPDATE 2/15: Blu-ray and DVD Special Editions of Godzilla '98 were apparently scheduled to hit store shelves on March 28, but have now been "indefinitely postponed" by Sony. Stay tuned! (Source: DVD File.)
Thursday, July 19: More Toku From BCI! BCI Eclipse (under their Ronin Entertainment label) will follow up their release of the original Ultraman with three more tokusatsu series. First up on November 6 is Iron King (1972, 26 episodes). This will be followed by The Super Robot Red Baron (1973, 39 episodes), tentatively scheduled for January 8, 2008. Both will be released in complete series box sets, uncut, in the original Japanese with English subtitles. August Ragone, author of the upcoming book Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters, will be providing written supplementary materials and editing the subtitles. The third series has yet to be announced. (Source: Toho Kingdom.) UPDATE 12/17: The third series is Silver Mask (1971, 26 episodes). According to Amazon.com, the release date for The Super Robot Red Baron: The Complete Series is now April 8.
***** Older news can be found in the News Archive. *****
(Click on select titles to pre-order from an Amazon affiliate.)
- September 9: Rodan / War of the Gargantuas Double Feature (Classic Media). First up, it's Toho's first color sci-fi film, starring a pair of giant flying reptiles. Then, monster brothers fight it out in the pseudo-sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World. Part of the Toho Master Collection. 2-disc set, includes both uncut Japanese and U.S. versions, and a 60-minute documentary. MSRP $19.99. Cover art.
- September 16: Death Note (Viz Media). Live-action adaptation of the popular manga and anime. Directed by Shusuke Kaneko (Heisei Gamera Trilogy, GMK). MSRP $24.98. Cover art.
- Undated 2008: Clash of the Titans (Warner Home Entertainment). The last of Ray Harryhausen's great stop-motion animated fantasies. Restored and presented in HD on Blu-ray Disc.
- Undated 2008: Destroy All Planets Special Edition (Retromedia Entertainment). The fourth Gamera movie, aka Gamera vs. Viras. Includes audio commentary with star Carl Craig, G-Fan writer Brett Homenick, and Oriental Cinema editor Damon Foster.
- Undated 2008: Gamera the Brave (Media Blasters / Tokyo Shock). A new Gamera rises to protect humanity from a carnivorous monster in this well-made adventure. The first Gamera movie of the millennium!
- Undated 2008: Godzilla (1998) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment). The mutant lizard Zilla nests in NYC in this poorly-received U.S. version. Presented in HD on Blu-ray Disc.
- Undated 2008: Silver Mask: The Complete Series (BCI Eclipse / Ronin Entertainment). All 26 episodes of the 1971 series, in the original Japanese language, with English subtitles. Written supplements by August Ragone (author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters).
***** All release dates and disc specs should be considered tentative and subject to change. *****
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