CRITERION #90: KOBAYASHI'S UNCUT "KWAIDAN" Coming to DVD & Blu-ray on October 20, 2015!

小林正樹のノカット版『怪談』はBlu-ray とDVDに米国に来ます！


New cover art for KWAIDAN designed by Sean Freeman.

For the first time, the uncut, original three-hour version of Masaki Kobayashi's haunting anthology, KWAIDAN (1964), will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States this October 20, 2015 by Janus Films and the Criterion Collection!

From the Criterion press release: After more than a decade of sober political dramas and social-minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi shifted gears dramatically for this rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories. Featuring colorfully surreal sets and luminous cinematography, these haunting tales of demonic comeuppance and spiritual trials, adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore, are existentially frightening and meticulously crafted.

This all-new home video release of KWAIDAN will include:

• New 2K digital restoration of director Kobayashi’s original cut
• Uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary by film historian Stephen Prince
• 1993 Kobayashi interview by director Masahiro Shinoda
• New interview with assistant director Kiyoshi Ogasawara
• New piece about author Lafcadio Hearn
• Trailers
• New English subtitle translation
• An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien

Japan
1964
181 minutes
Color
2.35:1
Japanese

The Criterion Collection's page for KWAIDAN

GOKE, GUILALA, & LIVING SKELETONS, OH MY! Criterion Unleashes the "Shockiku Horror" Box

出た！「松竹SF／ホラー」DVDボックスはアメリカに来る！



Finally, after years of waiting — far too long — a four odd-ball genre films made by Shochiku Studios in the late 1960s, are finally seeing the light of day on home video in North America! And I'm glad it's Criterion! For over a decade, Janus Films/Criterion has held the rights to a large number of obscure, weird, and unknown Japanese films in it's coffers, and only recently began making some of them available on DVD through it's Eclipse budget label, but also for view on their Criterion Collection page hosted over the streaming video service, Hulu. And now, at last, all four are coming to DVD! On November 20th, Eclipse Series 37: "When Horror Came to Shochiku", will hit store shelves — a set containing all four of the studio's gritty, crazed, and disparate science fiction, horror, and fantasy films from the late 1960s: THE X FROM OUTER SPACE, GOKE, BODYSNATCHER FROM HELL, THE LIVING SKELETON, and GENOCIDE — with excellent liner notes by the redoubtable Chuck Stephens — this is an epic box set that cannot be missed!



Shochiku threw its hat into the genre film ring during a pop cultural convergence in Japan that the media branded, “The Monster Boom” of 1966 — kicked off by Tsuburaya Productions' hit television series, ULTRA Q. Every movie studio and television network was rushing to get a piece of the Monster Boom pie, and more monsters began filling the screens of Japanese cinemas nationwide, with films such as Shigeo Tanaka’s GAMERA VS. BARUGON (Gamera tai Barugon), Hajime Sato’s TERROR BENEATH THE SEA (Kaitei Daisenso), Ishiro Honda’s THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (Sanda tai Gaira), Jun Fukuda’s GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER (Nankai-no Daiketto), THE MAGIC SERPENT, and all three DAIMAJIN films — it seemed that all of Japan was deep in Monster Mania. ULTRAMAN premiered on July 17, 1966, and dominated the airwaves along with P-Productions' THE SPACE GIANTS (Maguma Taishi), and Toei TV Productions’ LIL’DEVIL (Akuma-kun). Before this, it was Toho Studio's territory — now, the flood gates were opened.



With the dawn of New Year’s 1967, the Monster Boom of the previous year had not yet shown any signs of slowing: ULTRAMAN’s ratings were still skyrocketing, and Godzilla, Gamera, Gappa, Guilala, and others, smashed their way across cinema screens, while television networks rushed to have their own small screen versions, followed by publishers and toy makers who jumped happily into ground zero. Everywhere you looked there were monsters, monsters, and more monsters — while children, and adults alike, couldn’t get enough. Daiei Studios saw the lighted fuse first, and started ahead of the game with Noriaki Yuasa's GAMERA (Daikaiju Gamera, 1965), which launched not only a series starring the colossal chelonian, but two trilogies about stone idols coming to life, and the shenanigans of native goblins or Yokai. Daiei also had a long history of Kaidan or Ghost Story films, even though most studios made Kaidan, a traditional genre, they weren't necessarily considered fantasy films. Nikkatsu Studios, mostly known for it's modern action films, produced Haruyasu Noguchi's GAPPA, THE TRIPHIBIAN MONSTER (Daikyoju Gappa); released directly to the airwaves by American International Television as "Monster from a Prehistoric Planet".



Shochiku couldn't pass up the Monster Boom and went, head-first, into a series of wild and delirious films — some of which are quite unfamiliar to those outside of Japan, simply because they received spotty releases, or none at all. The best known of these films, Kazui Nihonmatsu's THE X FROM OUTER SPACE (Uchu Daikaiju Girara, 1967), was released directly to television by AIP-TV, where it melted the brains of young Japanese Monster freaks for nearly two decades. The film follows the familiar pattern of the giant monster movie — an interplanetary spacecraft on a routine mission, unwittingly brings back a spore to the Earth, which grows into a titanic, radiation-absorbing beastie, who goes on a path of destruction to feed its insatiable appetite for atomic materials. The resultant daikaiju is a sight to behold — best described as a cross between Godzilla and a plucked chicken — "Guilala" (christened in a naming contest run in a children's magazine), steals the show. Most viewers find the creature's design ludicrous, but I personally find him sublime. Add a teenaged American model-cum-actress, Peggy Neal, as an Astrophysicist (!), and Eiji Okada, star of Alain Resnais's HIROSHIMA MON AMOR (1959), and you have a real wackadoo of picture — and I'm not kidding, it's pure joy!



What can I say about Hajime Sato's GOKE, BODYSNATCHER FROM HELL (Kyuketsu Gokemidoro, 1968)? Well, if you thought THE X FROM OUTER SPACE was crazy — wait until you see this picture (which was visually referenced by Quentin Tarantino in KILL BILL VOL. 1)! A rash of flying saucer sightings portend impending doom for our world. An airliner is forced to crash-land in a remote area, after colliding with a massive flock of birds, and soon its passengers find themselves face-to-face with an alien being that desires to possess their bodies and souls — and perhaps take over the entire human race. Criterion heralds, "Filled with creatively repulsive make-up effects — including a very invasive bloblike life-form — GOKE, BODYSNATCHER FROM HELL is a pulpy, apocalyptic gross-out." Each of the passengers carries their own baggage — the corrupt politician, the desperate criminal, a twisted psychiatrist, a woman on the verge, etc. — playing out like Sato's condemnation of mankind, as each of them fall victim to the extraterrestrial menace. This is really outre filmmaking that is 1/4 ZERO HOUR (1957) + 1/4 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) + 1/4 MATANGO (1963) + 1/4 INVADERS FROM MARS (1953), all adding up to make GOKE a truly bizarre and otherworldly viewing experience — trust me.



Oh, GENOCIDE (Konchu Daisenso, 1968)... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Kazuhi Nihomatsu returns after THE X FROM OUTER SPACE with a deliriously sleazy and nihilistic science fiction-horror-doomsday thriller, starring the respected Yusuke Kawazu (CRUEL STORY OF YOUTH). En route to a mission over Vietnam, a nuclear-armed US Bomber is mysteriously downed over a small Japanese island. When a small American search party arrives to retrieve the bomb, they come face-to-face with a plot to destroy all of mankind — employing mutant, killer insects! The extent of their mutation, and who created them, would spoil the fun of the "I-didn't-see-that-one-coming" revelation! With a climax that is, by any definition, big and terrible, GENOCIDE (aka WAR OF THE INSECTS) is resplendent with throughly unlikeable characters; everyone one of them is either mad, twisted, perverse, or throughly disgusting — my kind of picture! As the search for the ticking bomb (I did mention that, didn't I?) presses on, the claustrophobic atmosphere of this humid and oppressive island, is all the more suffocating, in sweaty, and over-saturated Eastmancolor. If I say any more (and I know you can easily look up spoiler-filled reviews), it would simply ruin experiencing the lurid, trashy wonders of GENOCIDE for yourself. And then there's Chico Roland. Yes, it's that good.



Now, we come to the real jewel among the gems of this set, an atmospheric tale of supernatural revenge from briny deep, Norio Matsuo's THE LIVING SKELETON (Kyuketsu Dokoro-sen, 1968)! As a kid in the '70s, I read about this film in the pages of Greg Shoemaker's Japanese Fantasy Film Journal and Dennis Gifford's book, A Pictorial History Of Horror Movies, but I had to wait until the film surfaced on Laserdisc in the early '90s (properly letterboxed to highlight Masayuki Kato's effective black-and-white cinematography). And, I was not disappointed — and neither should you. The Ryu-Oh Maru, a freighter carrying a valuable cache of gold is raided, and vanishes without a trace. Three years later, the sister of one of the victims, now bereft of family, is living under the care of the kindly Catholic Priest, in a quiet seaside church. Not far away, five of the murderous pirates are living their lives with the ill-gotten gains, until one day, when a fog-enshrouded Ryu-Oh Maru drifts into view... Soon, everyone's lives begin to unravel, as the ship beckons for its pound of flesh. Starring the haunting Kikko Matsuoka (BUSHIDO: CRUEL CODE OF THE SAMURAI), THE LIVING SKELETON draws from numerous sources, from Euro Horror to Kaidan Eiga, and just a dash of Krimi, topped with an impressive ending that is far more devastating than the previous outtings. In the words of the late, great Bob Wilkins, "I think you're going to like it."



This essential, must-have DVD Box Set, Eclipse Series 37: "When Horror Came to Shochiku" (there is no Blu-ray release scheduled), will contain each film on individual discs with it own case (as previous Eclipse releases), and is retailing for $59.95 — or only $47.96 from the online Criterion Store. While there are no special features to speak of, aside from Chuck Stephen's liner notes booklet, there is also no word at press time whether the THE X FROM OUTER SPACE, GOKE, or GENOCIDE will feature their respective English Dubbed tracks (it's unclear if LIVING SKELETON was ever dubbed). All four films are expected to be presented in their original Japanese language with English Subtitles. Hey, after all this time, I'm just glad that we're going to be exposed to these truly unique and insane genre entries — hammering home that there's far more to the Japanese Fantasy Film than Godzilla. Really, there is.

Special thanks to Chuck Stephens

CRITERION FINDS US VERSION OF GODZILLA! 35mm Fine-Grain of GKOTM Discovered

"More Fantastic Than Any Written By Jules Verne?"


Incredible news! But, is it too early to celebrate? ©1954 Toho

Yesterday, I posted the fantastic news that the Criterion Collection had slyly announced, with a simple photo, that they will be prepping a DVD/BD release of the original Japanese version of GODZILLA aka GOJIRA (1954) — see previous blog post — and while, it seems, that Honda's seminal film will be getting a much-needed restoration, some have been asking if the corresponding US version helmed by Terry O. Morse, GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS! (1956), starring Raymond Burr, will be included in this release.

Previous home video releases of this film — and all versions screened on television, cable, and online in the last 30 years — have been culled from the same, edited telecine transfer of a 35mm master, prepared in the early 1980s by Henry G. Saperstein's UPA (United Productions of America). Unfortunately, Toho has nothing for the US version (barring the cropped "cinemascope" version released in Japan in the late 1950s), and since there was nothing else readily available, Classic Media used this very same three decade-old transfer for their 2006 release.

What was deleted? UPA's transfer is missing the original "A Transworld Release" logo at the top of the film (printed over Toho's sunburst logo), seen in early television versions (before UPA's acquisition), a starring and directed by card after the opening title, and the original — and full — ending credits sequence, which appeared between the fade out and "The End" title card. While Classic Media's release, reinstates the original ending credits sequence (taken from a 16mm print owned by a private collector), it was placed after the "The End" title card. But, the other two deletions remained absent.

While several fans have 16mm prints of the initial television transfer of GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS! (from a Reduction Negative) — some complete, others not — the search for original 35mm negative elements, or at the very least, an uncut 35mm theatrical print, had proved to be elusive. While there are several private (and notable) collectors who do have 35mm prints of this film, most of them wish to remain nameless, out of fear that these prints will be confiscated (which has indeed happened to collectors in the past).

So, Criterion put the call out to film collectors, everywhere, to help locate 35mm elements for GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS! Startlingly, within 24 hours, through the auspices of several fans — working together and respecting the anonymity of the source — according to "insiders", a veritable Rosetta Stone, something far better than a 35mm print has been located: A 35mm Fine-Grain Print! "So, what does that mean?", you might ask. It's actually quite big deal, really. Why? The following explanation is from the article, "Duped Negatives" and "Lavender Prints": Understanding Film Restoration from The Picture Show Man:

Sometimes called a "fine-grain sub-master", or "protection print", or "lavender print", or "purple print" (because the fine-grains of the film have a slightly purple color to them). These are positive prints, made from either camera negatives or dupe (duplicate) negatives, using film that has a low contrast, extremely fine-grained emulsion. They are made expressly and exclusively for the purpose of making another dupe negative, and are not meant to be shown. (In fact, the projected image quality of these prints is poor compared to a timed projection print, and the perforations have a slightly different shape than projection prints.)

In plain English, this means that the next best thing to finding an original Interpositive (the first "positive print" made from the Camera Negative) — a first-generation print! So, while celebrating this early may be premature, I'm going to start popping the Champagne (or maybe some Champipple) — because a transfer from this Fine-Grain should prove to be stunning in comparison to what has been previously available to us, especially once such a transfer gets a Criterion Touch digital restoration!

Many of you out there may not quite grasp the monumental thing that has happened here. This is an earth-shaking, screen-shattering thrill! This is big news, towering and tremendous — akin to the discovery of a Missing Link — and is more fantastic than I ever thought possible, to paraphrase Burr's character in GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS!

In the meantime, while the pieces fall into place, let's just keep our fingers crossed for Criterion, but not hold our collective breath (we don't want to jinx this, do we?). But still, so far, this really has been a "tale to stun the mind!"

Stay tuned for more updates as they become available!

CRITERION PREPPING "GODZILLA" (1954)! DVD & BD Release Coming Soon?

Cryptic photo posted August 22, 2011 on Criteron's Facebook page...

"You may wish to deny it; but your eyes tell you it's true!"

Thanks to several insiders associated with the Criterion Collection, I was notified several months ago that Janus Films had acquired the rights to the original GODZILLA (1954), for a possible — and proper — DVD & BD release in the near future. More tell-tale signs that this was indeed a strong possibility, appeared on Criterion's Hulu page earlier this summer, which began offering free viewings of the Americanized version of the original, GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS! (1956), starring Raymond Burr. This was shortly, and unceremoniously, joined by the original, uncut Japanese version with English Subtitles (both were available for free viewing without a subscription to Hulu Plus). Perhaps this was a teaser of something in the works? Could it be a dream coming true after 20 years: A deluxe, Criterion Collection Edition of GODZILLA, Spine #600?

"He must've had too much Sake."

Fans began speculation, in which some self-procalimed "authorities" doubted this possibility (citing Classic Media's licenses to both versions) or speculated/proclaimed that Criterion would only be able to gain access to Toho's recent HD Broadcast masters (used for their domestic BD releases, which still falls short of a very much needed complete restoration), fundamentally underestimating the core of what makes Criterion/Janus Films tick. Then, without warning, both films were pulled from Criterion's Hulu page as rumors (from insider sources) mounted that Criterion was indeed plotting to unleash both films on Home Video. Then, this afternoon, Criterion posted a cryptic photo of a film can — emblazoned in Japanese writing — on their Official Facebook page, which received over a hundred "likes", and numerous comments, all within two hours. Few could read the label on the film can — which translates: "Dupe Posi(tive): GODZILLA. Reel 2 of 10 Reels. Toho Company, Ltd."!

"You have your fear, which might become reality; and you have Godzilla, which is reality."

This immediately washes away any concerns over such a forthcoming release being a shovelware port of the Japanese BD or an upgrade from the aforementioned HD Broadcast Master from Toho — it would appear that Criterion is going to master this from the Interpositive elements! Such a move bodes well for a long overdue and desperately needed restoration for a film that suffers from a number of physical blemishes and damage, beyond the insulting "spackling" done with DVNR (digital video noise reduction) filtering — hardly addressing the real issues the original negative suffers from. If Criterion can conjure the same painstaking and meticulous alchemy bestowed upon their release of Kurosawa's timeless masterpiece, SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), which also suffered from many of the same ills as GODZILLA, then both cinephiles and genre fans, alike, will have a much justified reason to celebrate: A proper presentation to honor the legacies of Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya — at long last.

Disclaimer: For those unable to parse between my above speculation (based on available facts) and an official statement or press release (which has yet to be issued) — sorry, I'm not responsible for your inability to grasp such basic concepts.