"HEISEI GAMERA" 4K DIGITAL RESTORATION BOX Ultimate Blu-ray Package Dropping July 22nd!

平成ガメラ4Kデジタル復元版 BLU-RAY BOXが7月22日に発売される。


Jacket design for "Heisei Gamera 4k Digital Restoration Blu-ray Box"!

Hitting Japanese shelves this July 22nd will be a special six-disc Blu-ray box set containing the ultimate 4k restorations of all four of the Heisei Gamera films, including Shusuke Kaneko's 1990s trilogy and Ryuta Tasaki's GAMERA THE BRAVE (2006), the latter film in its first domestic BD release. For fans of the 1990s trilogy, at the very least, this set boasts the ultimate restorations of the films ever issued on any home video format.


The guts of this ultimate Blu-ray box are spilled for the first time!

The first disc of special features includes the 30-second teaser for the proposed new, upcoming film, director Kaneko's on-stage talk show from the March 20, 2016 4k screening of his trilogy, as well as Chukyo TV's 1996 documentary aired during the release of GAMERA 2: ASSAULT OF LEGION (apparently, Kadokawa's new English-language title for the film). But, wait! That's not all...


One of the 750 unpublished photos included in the special book!

Rounding out the first special features disc are original series director Noriaki Yuasa's "Gamera Special" Volumes 1 & 2 (issued on VHS in the early '90s), as well as the entirety of special features created for the original "Ultimate Box" Laserdisc set, which is pretty intensive. While the second special features disc contains an astounding 380-minutes (that's six-and-a-half hours) of interviews with 95 staff members who worked on the films! Hold on! There's more...


Three-sixth view of the soon-to-be-released Blu-ray box set!

Also contained in this ultimate digipak box set are two booklets; one not being a "booklet" at all: "G I-III Sfx & Art: Photographs" features 200 pages of 750 unpublished photographs of artwork and props from the '90s Trilogy. While the "G I-IV Complement Books (sic)" is 32-pages of interviews on the 4k restoration, updated and revised materials from the original Laserdisc booklets, and Shinji Higuchi's LD jacket designs for those releases. MSRP: ¥38000 ($349.00 USD).

To trumpet this release, these 4k restorations of Kaneko's Trilogy will be screened for three weeks, starting June 22nd through July 2nd, at United Cinemas Toyosu in Tokyo. Schedule and further details will be announced on June 1st via the theater's official website (Japanese only). While the new-old Gamera is back, can we still look forward to a new-new Gamera to love in the future? Stay tuned...

"GAMERA" IS BOWLING OVER THE CRITICS! Unanimous Praise For Shout!'s New Release

米国版『大怪獣ガメラ』のDVDは、批評家から賞賛です!


©Kadokawa Pictures

With the impending May 18th release of Shout! Factory's Special Edition DVD of GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER (1965), the first of the original eight films to be released by the Santa Monica-based label, the reviews are coming in — and the early reports are stellar! While I have already received advance copies of the DVD, it would not be fair for me to review this disc myself (obviously). So, l will let the objective (and unapologetic) critics speak in their own words:

Kevin Pyrtle of WTF-Film.com: "First things first – the packaging on this release is exceptional all around... Opening the package one finds well designed disc art as well as a 12-page booklet, featuring a 2001 essay by director Noriaki Yuasa, character bios, [and] a neat anatomical rendering of Gamera himself... New in the supplemental department is a feature commentary by August Ragone... this is a fine track, offering insight into the Cold War setting of the film and a wealth of back info for the production and biographical information on the cast and crew... the well-translated subtitles [are the most literate] I’ve seen for a Japanese genre release... the work [Ragone] put into [the subtitles] shows. [Gamera] is a winner all around, and it’s wonderful to see another fan favorite getting its long-due respect... a must buy!"

Joe Cascio of DVD Drive-In: "Shout! Factory must be commended for such an excellent DVD presentation, giving this film the dignity and respect it deserves... The 2.35:1 black and white image is impeccably clean and transferred from an all new High Definition master created by vault elements... an excellent and very informative commentary by August Ragone... sheds new light on all of the film's key players like the late Noriaki Yuasa... as well as thorough biographies on all the leading actors and the genesis of what would eventually become Gamera... [his] playful comments about his distaste for the child character of Toshio Sakurai are also amusing... the dedicated fans at Shout! Factory... have obviously poured their heart and love into giving the genre fans the original GAMERA the way Noriaki Yuasa intended it to be seen."

Ian Jane of DVD Maniacs: "The best of the extra features on this disc is a commentary track from August Ragone... who quite obviously knows his stuff... [he] provides a lot of context... discussing how the Cuban Missile Crisis and other nuclear incidents set the stage for the film... If you've ever wanted to know more about the politics behind a film like Gamera, this is a pretty interesting way to learn about them, but we're also given a wealth of information about who worked on this picture, what else they may have done, how Japanese mythology is reflected in Kaiju films, and how the visual effects were done... Ragone keeps the facts coming quickly in this track, barely taking time to breath, and is never at a loss for words... The transfer is great and the extras are great. Shout! Factory has done an excellent job all around on this release and should be commended for their efforts..."

Stay tuned for more reviews as they come in...

BANDAI's GIANT MONSTER APPAREL! Designer Daikaiju from Yoshihito Sugahara

バンダイの大怪獣 Tシャツ!


Sugahara breaths new life into the original! ©1954 Toho Co., Ltd.


A dynamic design of the golden triple-threat! ©1964 Toho Co., Ltd.


The original flying terrapin of terror! ©1965 Kadokawa Pictures


Guilala from THE X FROM OUTER SPACE! ©1967 Shochiku

These amazing high-end t-shirts, designed and executed by noted artist Yoshihito Sugahara, have been commissioned by Bandai's apparel division, and are available online and through various brick-and-mortar outlets in Japan only. Sugahara has designed a number of shirt for Bandai; everything from Ultraman through Toei Heroes, and are pretty damned impressive. While they may be well-worth tracking down for the hardcore fan, be forewarned: they range in price from $30-$39 USD.

I'll be also be featuring more samples of Bandai and Sugahara's tokusatsu t-shirt designs in future posts — stay tuned!