SciFi Japan

    Tetsujin 28, before the custom paint job, appears to save Tokyo! ©2005 Shochiku Film Co.

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    Author: Aaron Cooper Source: Geneon Video Special Thanks to Bob Johnson It looks like Japan is on the same bandwagon as the United States in remaking, re-imagining and re-tooling older properties for the next generation. Unfortunately, with this comes the same pitfalls and lack of imagination Hollywood suffers from in this era of remakes if not done correctly. TETSUJIN-28, known as Gigantor in the States, is no exception. The 2005 production of TETSUJIN-28 has a promising premise. A fatherless boy, talented yet misunderstood and bullied by his peers, comes to find out his father had been working on a top-secret giant robot project before he was killed. When a former colleague of Dad’s starts attacking Tokyo with his own giant robot known as the Black Ox, it’s up to young Shotaro to grasp the radio control of destiny and command Tetsujin-28 to stand up for right

    Cover art for THE DAY TOTO BECAME GAMERA, the new promotional DVD for the film GAMERA THE BRAVE. © 2006 Chiisaki Yusha-tachi Gamera/Kadokawa Pictures, Inc

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    Author: Robert Saint John Source: Kadokawa Entertainment DVD Region 2 (Japan) Release date: April 21, 2006 Price: 1575 Yen (approx $13.50 US) Official Japanese Site: Gamera.jp In the wake of the popularity of "Making of" DVDs such as 2001`s THE MATRIX REVISITED and promotional items such as 2004`s GODZILLA BATTLE HISTORY, the Japanese market for such releases seems to have taken off in the past year. While the U.S. market sees very few such releases (2005`s KING KONG: PETER JACKSON’S PRODUCTION DIARIES, for example), it has become increasingly standard in Japan to produce these relatively short, inexpensive "preview" or "making of" DVDs and release them just prior to the opening of the actual feature. This seems especially true of big budget, effects heavy extravaganzas such as SUNSET ON THE THIRD STREET (Always- Sanchome no Yumi), THE LAST LOVE SONG ON THIS LITTLE PLANET

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Author: Keith Aiken Source: Central Park Media, CoMix Wave Official US Site: Negadon Attacks Official Japanese Site (in English): Wakusei Daikaiju Negadon Central Park Media has revealed full details for their DVD of NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS. The disc will be released on July 11, retails for $19.95, and comes with a wealth of extra features. Press release NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS will be shown this summer at selected theaters in the United States. The film has already had a pair of theatrical screenings, and will next play at the ImaginAsian Theater in New York City: Additional information and photos, as well as details on the upcoming screenings can also be found in the earlier NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS coverage here on SciFi Japan.

    The space monster Negadon faces off with the Miroku 2nd Prototype Robot in the heart of Tokyo. Photo courtesy of Central Park Media. © 2005 Jun Awazu/CoMix Wave

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    Source: Central Park Media, CoMix Wave Official US Site: Negadon Attacks Official Japanese Site (in English): Wakusei Daikaiju Negadon Next month, Central Park Media begins their US theatrical run of NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS. Written and directed by Jun Awazu, NEGADON is the world’s first completely computer generated kaiju movie -- a 26-minute long tribute to the classic Japanese monster movies of the 1950s and 60s. Full details are available from the latest press release from CPM. For more information and photos for NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan.  

    DVD cover art for the first two volumes of GODZILLA: THE ORIGINAL ANIMATED SERIES. Photo courtesy of Classic Media. © 1978 Toho Co., Ltd./2006 Classic Media, Inc.

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    The Original Cartoon Show Goes on Sale This June Author: Keith Aiken Source: Classic Media “Spine-tingling adventure and fun with an all-time monster favorite and his comical, cowardly cousin Godzilla! Everyone’s favorite prehistoric monster is now in a new animated series adventure with an added touch of comedy. The comedian is Godzooky, Godzilla’s lovable cousin. He’s too young to belch fire or match wits with other monsters. Frankly, he is a chicken in monster clothes. Godzilla places him with a research ship, the Calico, as its mascot. Captain Majors is the ship’s captain and also father figure to young Brock and Pete. Dr Quinn Darian is the attractive lady scientist. When trouble threatens, the crew uses a special handheld device to call Godzilla from the ocean. As Godzilla races to the aid of his friends, Godzooky dives for cover until his

    Godzilla goes for some extra contamination by leaping into the Hudson River in Sony`s big-budget remake of GODZILLA. © 1998 Toho Co., Ltd./TriStar Pictures, Inc.

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    The American Godzilla Is Featured On Three New DVDs Author: Keith Aiken Source: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment On November 3, 1998, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich’s American remake of GODZILLA was first released on DVD. Next Tuesday, in an effort to capitalize on the expected “monster enthusiasm” for Universal’s DVD of the Peter Jackson KING KONG, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release a new version of their GODZILLA disc entitled GODZILLA: MONSTER EDITION. Also coming to DVD are the second and third volumes of the animated television spin-off, GODZILLA: THE SERIES. The new DVD cover art features a nice shot of the maquette sculpted by creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos for the initial GODZILLA pitch presentation to Toho. As for the disc itself, the big improvement this time around is a new HD, 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of the movie. The film looks great…but

    NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS launches its all-out assault on Tokyo. Although an all-CG film, the techniques of director Jun Awazu create a look and feel reminiscent of the finest miniature SFX of the Showa-era kaiju films. Photo courtesy of Central Park Media. © 2005 Jun Awazu/CoMix Wave

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    Author: Keith Aiken Central Park Media brings the award-winning film to North America Additional Material: Robert Saint John Source: Central Park Media, CoMix Wave Official US Site: Negadon Attacks Official Japanese Site (in English): Wakusei Daikaiju Negadon Last October, writer/director Jun Awazu unveiled the world’s first completely computer generated kaiju movie at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Entitled NEGADON: THE MONSTER FROM MARS (Wakusei Daikaiju Negadon), the 26-minute long film is an affectionate homage to the classic Japanese monster movies of the 1950s and 60s. The story takes place in the year 2025. The Earth’s population has swelled beyond 10 billion people, and the planet’s resources are nearly exhausted. The nations of the world have united to form the IMDO (International Mars Development Organization) to execute the Mars Terraforming Project in the hopes of making the red planet a habitable world. Dr

    Classic Media will release both the original Japanese GODZILLA and the Americanized GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS on DVD this September. ©1954/1956 Toho Co., Ltd.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Source: Classic Media Official site: Godzilla on DVD Classic Media has revealed plans to release a 2 disc DVD featuring both the original Japanese version of GODZILLA (Gojira, 1954) and the Americanized GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS! (1956) starring Raymond Burr. This marks the first ever US home video release of the Japanese GODZILLA. Toho has screened the film at a handful of festivals, but most fans` first opportunity to see it came with the 2004-2005 50th anniversary theatrical release from Rialto Pictures. GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS! has been a home video staple in the US for decades, having been issued several times on VHS, DVD, and laserdisc. Both films have been remastered and will be released in high definition. Official Press Release: The initial press release claimed that the GODZILLA 2-pack will be in widescreen, but Classic Media has

    Cover art for THE DAY TOTO BECAME GAMERA, the new promotional DVD for the film GAMERA THE BRAVE. © 2006 Chiisaki Yusha-tachi Gamera/Kadokawa Pictures, Inc

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Author: Robert Saint John THE DAY TOTO BECAME GAMERA Kadokawa Entertainment DVD Region 2 (Japan) Release date: April 21, 2006 Price: 1575 Yen (approx $13.50 US) In connection with the latest Gamera movie, GAMERA THE BRAVE, Kadokawa Entertainment is releasing a new DVD devoted to the giant flying turtle. This 40 minute disc will cover the history of the Gamera series in the Showa and Heisei eras, and introduce the new film. THE DAY TOTO BECAME GAMERA will include trailers for GAMERA THE BRAVE, a “Making of” special, Gamera wallpapers, and a still image gallery with added narration and music. SciFi Japan will have more information as it becomes available.

    The British Film Institute follows up last October’s UK theatrical release of GODZILLA and THE MYSTERIANS with new DVDs of the two Toho classics. Photos courtesy of the British Film Institute. ©1954/1957 Toho Co., Ltd.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Author: Aaron Cooper Source:British Film Institute Special Thanks to Keith Aiken and Robert St. John The British Film Institute has asserted itself in the United Kingdom as a force to be reckoned with in terms of film preservation and appreciation, much like Criterion or the American Film Institute. Now with the BFI Video imprint, Japanese science fiction and fantasy fans can appreciate two classic films on DVD with lots of special edition bells and whistles. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ GODZILLA Hitting its golden years but still going strong Official Site: British Film Institute’s GODZILLA page The original version of the 1954 GODZILLA (Gojira) finally gets the DVD treatment it deserves for an English speaking audience from the British Film Institute on Region 2 PAL DVD. This forum will not be used for a story synopsis of this fine film. Chances are if you are

    Keith Aiken, Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski provide audio commentary for BFI`s GODZILLA 54 DVD. Photo courtesy of Caroline Millar.

    DVD Blu-ray Digital

    Author: Ed Godziszewski A SciFi JAPAN EXCLUSIVE I would always joke with my friends about how great it would be to have a job like a sportscaster or someone doing film analysis—to just talk about the subjects which you enjoy so much and get paid for it. But never would I have imagined that I would ever have the opportunity to do that very thing, especially when it came to a professionally produced product involving Godzilla, one of my passions. Being neither a professional nor a particularly accomplished public speaker, I figured my chances of ever contributing commentary to a DVD release were next to none. And Toho video releases outside of Japan have always been bare bones, whether it be due to Toho’s instructions or lack of interest on the part of releasing countries. So how in the world did the original GODZILLA ever

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