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Rodan/War of the Gargantuas | |||||||||||||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Studio: RODAN/WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (DVD MOVIE) Catalog: DVD Release date: 2008-09-09 Media: DVD released in theatres: 1956 DVD aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC DVD Region code: 1 released in theatres: 1956 Ean: 0796019815154 Upc: 796019815154  Tip: compare prices with similar DVDsDirector:
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| 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. |
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Written on September 13, 2008 Summary: Rodan audio poorly transfered... otherwise wonderful release for rodan fans I'm so pleased to see Rodan finally released remastered with the uncut japanese version included. I just wish the soundtrack for the japanese version was given a little more attention remaster wise. There are faint snaps and pops throughout the film. Maybe it was unavoidable but idi (i doubt it). Probably one of Akira Ifukube's greatest scores for a monster film. It was great to see War Of The Gargantuas finally released as well.  Written on September 13, 2008 Summary: Great Daikaiju DVD Set! This is the first time the Japanese version of RODAN and THE WOTG(Japanese and American version) have been available for the American audience. The price is a steal! and to make things better, Classic Media has made a brand new Godzilla Documentary, with some of the most iconic people ever involved in the franchise, including my idol, HARUO NAKAJIMA, who portrayed Godzilla and many more monsters in the Showa era. Great job CM, 5 stars! Written on September 12, 2008 Summary: Flawed But Still A Must-Have RODAN and THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS are two of Toho's best giant monster films, and both were subjected to awkward and unnecessary Americanization jobs. With this welcome release, USA fans can now easily and cheaply make their comparisons, as Japanese and USA versions of both films are generously included. GARGANTUAS is especially long-awaited, but, sadly, Classic Media's transfer of the Toho version is a letdown. Toho's print has always been darker, with less-saturated color than the UPA (not AIP!) print. This transfer, however, is WAY too dark, and not terribly sharp; in the scenes with Gailah vs. the military, he often looks like little more than a shadow...just awful! No, my TV settings are not to blame- this transfer is plain inferior to Toho's Laserdisc and DVD releases, which is odd when you consider how many nice DVDs of the Godzilla titles have been released by Classic Media. All the more unfortunate is that the Japanese version of GARGANTUAS works much better as a movie than the English-dubbed one. That version LOOKS much better on this DVD, but its problems are well-known and numerous. Said problems are probably the fault of the late and notoriously clueless producer, Henry Saperstein...I can just envision him looking at the rushes, smoking a huge cigar, and saying, "Don't look like no Frankenstein to me!". So, the Frankenstein references are gone, along with much of the integrity of the screenplay. Gone, also, is much of Ifukube's fine score. (replaced by stupid library music, and even by Ifukube music from previous films: why?) Add to this some ill-advised editing, and Russ Tamblyn instead of Nick Adams...Tamblyn is clearly about half past give-a-damn throughout, though his presence may not be all UPA's fault. Bottom line: this kaiju classic was nearly ruined by gaijin interference. Still, this is the version that most USA fans fondly remember, and the monster mayhem and great Toho cast make GARGANTUAS pretty tough to dislike, so it's good to finally have it. Both versions of RODAN are fine, and the Japanese print looks great. The USA version has been released before, has many of the same issues as GARGANTUAS, but isn't nearly as painful to watch, apart from the absurd stock footage and narration. I've always been fond of RODAN. No trailers, galleries or commentaries are included here, which doesn't bother me that much. What is included is the outstanding documentary, BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE...no, it doesn't sing the praises of GODZILLA VS. MEGALON and the like, and that clearly irks some fans, but it does pay attention to several lesser-known (but still significant) Toho FX craftsmen. I thoroughly enjoyed it. All things considered, a flawed but still worthwhile release for Kaiju fans, especially at this bargain price. Written on September 11, 2008 Summary: long awaited kaiju film release.but some picture problems..good but incomplete documentary It's a great time to be a kaiju fan, and the release of RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS give us even more reason to cheer. Both films are prized for their sequences of wholesale city smashing, as well as being great examples of what a kaiju film is all about. Monsters attack, the military is unable to deal with the threat, and science tries to figure out just what the new menace really is. The FX work is vintage TOHO and Tsuburaya, colorful, well photographed, not "realistic" in a western sense, but amazingly vibrant and a joy to see. GARGANTUAS is released in a 16x9 anamorphic print, finally putting an end to the horrible pan and scan approach that robbed the films of almost half their image. The film is available in a subtitled version (which I prefer) as well as the original AIP English dub, which does have a strong nostalgic appeal. Picture wise...the surprise here is how much better the English dubbed print looks over its subtitled cut. The picture is brighter...cleaner...and much more detailed, where the subtitled original Japanese version is too dark...and worst of all....grainy and suffering compression artifacts galore. How Classic Media screwed this up so much is beyond me. I own the imported region 2 DVD from Japan and the quality is far superior...dark...but not over dark, and well detailed. To me it looks like a very poorly authored DVD...there is really no excuse for such shoddy work. RODAN, the first TOHO kaiju film to be shot in color is also available Subtitled and dubbed, but stay with the subtitled print, which is superior in picture and sound. Rodan was shot in academy ratio...no wide screen here, but the subtitled print is a wonderful presentation, with bold colors and great detail. So much detail as a matter of fact that wires that were invisible in older prints are clearly visible in quite a number of shots. It would have been nice to have included a commentary track on these films, especially a subtitled version of the commentary from the original Japanese DVD. The bonus feature is on the RODAN DVD. Titles BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE, and nicely narrated by filmmaker Alex Cox, it is a nostalgic trip thru SOME of Godzilla's history, and focuses on some of the unheralded talents behind the Godzilla films. Written by 3 of the better known Godzilla historians, Norman England, Steve Ryfle and Ed Godzeweski, the film is a nostalgic trip thru the Godzilla series....well...Some of the series. It would be impossible to argue about their combined knowledge of these films, but they seem to feel that Godzilla Films ended around 1969 with DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. Having read quite a bit written by these 3 on Godzilla history, it was always clear that they have little use for the films made after the 70s...often lobbing attacks on the films while seeing the original films thru very nostalgic rose colored glasses. The series from 1985 thru 2005 (7 Heisie films and 6 Millennium films) are only casually mentioned, with only Godzilla actor Satsuma and GMK director Shusuke Kaneko given anything to say. To overlook such excellent Godzilla films as GMK, BIOLLANTE and DESTROYER, films that restored the Godzilla series to a dignified status after so many dreadful productions, is a huge failing. These are the films that rescued Godzilla from being a punch line, and the people involved showed that using mostly traditional Tokuatsu techniques, amazing images could still be created. Not to mention that with GODZILLA vs MOTHRA (1992) Godzilla became, for the first and only time, the top grossing Domestic Japanese film. So, to quote Arthur Miller's brilliant play DEATH OF A SALESMAN....."ATTENTION MUST BE PAID!" In spite of this kind of OTAKU approach, the documentary is enjoyable. If only it were more complete and less of a love letter to their youth But back to the films. Any kaiju fan should love this set, and it's an amazing bargain, with 2 films, and 4 versions for one great price. So do not miss out, and hope we see more kaiju madness on DVD soon! Written on September 3, 2008 Summary: 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? |
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| Our price | $14.99 | $16.99 | $14.99 | $14.99 | $14.99 | $16.99 |
| List price | $19.95 | $24.96 | $19.95 | $34.99 | $19.98 | $24.96 |
| Lowest used price | $12.59 | $19.16 | $13.59 | $7.76 | $13.50 | $19.16 |
| Lowest new price | $12.53 | $15.89 | $12.47 | $12.95 | $10.75 | $16.99 |
| Collectible price | - | $24.96 | $34.75 | $34.99 | - | - |
| Catalog | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| Release date | 2008-09-09 | 2008-10-14 | 2007-06-26 | 2008-09-30 | 2008-09-09 | 2008-08-26 |
| Media | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| released in theatres | 1956 | - | 1966-07-08 | 2008 | - | - |
| Running time in minutes | - | 324 | 94 | 126 | 232 | 90 |
| DVD aspect ratio | 1.33:1 | 1.66:1 | 2.35:1 | 2.35:1 | 1.33:1 | 1.33:1 |
| Audience Rating | NR (Not Rated) | Unrated | Unrated | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | NR (Not Rated) | NR (Not Rated) |
| Format | Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC | Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC | Anamorphic, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen | AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | Box set, Color, DVD-Video, Restored, NTSC | Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Widescreen, NTSC |
| DVD Region code | 1 | 99 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 99 |
| Ean | 0796019815154 | 0043396271074 | 0631595071184 | 0097363506546 | 0024543532057 | 0043396263826 |
| Upc | 796019815154 | 043396271074 | 631595071184 | 097363506546 | 024543532057 | 043396263826 |
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