THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 8 Santo Contra Las Momias (1972)

Original Spanish poster for LAS MOMIAS DE GUANAJUATO (1972).

On the eighth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, eight Mummies Crumbling, seven Vampires Preying, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 7 Young Hannah, Queen of the Vampires (1972)

Alternate version of Julio Salvador's CRYPT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

On the seventh day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, seven Vampires Preying, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

"MAZINGER Z" & "CUTEY HONEY" ON U.S. DVD! Go Nagai's Classic Anime Series from Discotek

『マジンガーZ』と『キューティーハニー』は米国DVDがもうすぐ！

Japanese DVD release package art for MAZINGER Z! ©Toei Video

Hell has officially frozen over. I thought this would never happen...

Discotek Media, which had specialized in a number of Asian film releases on DVD for the US market, including several significant releases of Japanese live action and anime titles, such as Jun Fukuda's THE WAR IN SPACE (1977) and Rin Taro's GALAXY EXPRESS 999 (1979), recently announced that they had signed a deal with Toei Animation to issue the original 1978 anime series, SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK. And before we knew it, they actually released a complete box set for the Hayao Miyazaki/Yasuo Otsuka-helmed LUPIN THE 3RD series from 1971 (my personal favorite of the long-running franchise). Then, their balls got a whole lot bigger.

Japanese DVD release package art for CUTEY HONEY! ©Toei Video

This past Saturday, Discotek dropped a proverbial Photon Bomb when it was announced that they had secured the rights to not one, but two, classic anime titles created by the manga bad boy himself, Go Nagai: MAZINGER Z and CUTEY HONEY! The epoch-making series that launched the Super Robot genre, MAZINGER Z (1972-74), became a legend around the world (localized for the US market as "Tranzor Z" in the 1980s), and now all 92 episodes are to be issued in two box sets! Meanwhile, all 25 episodes of the original CUTEY HONEY (1973-74) will be issued in a single complete series box set. Both titles, in Japanese with English Subtitles, will drop in 2013.

With all of the other upcoming DVD/Blu-rays of Japanese genre titles which have recently hit the North American market, and those still to come in 2013, it looks like a banner year for U.S. fans, and Discotek isn't pulling any Rocket Punches, either. What's next? GETTER ROBO? GREAT MAZINGER? JEEG OF STEEL? UFO ROBO: GRENDIZER? As a hardcore Old Skool and Go Nagai fan, I can't wait — bring it on, Discotek Media, you magnificent bastards!

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 6 The Creatures (1974)

Alternate US release poster for FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1974).

On the sixth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, six Creatures S'laying, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 5 Zacherley For President (1960)

Cover of the Cool Ghoul's infamous (and rare) 1960 Campaign Book!

On the fifth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, five Ghoulish Things, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

"ULTRAMAN SAGA" GOES HAWAIIAN! 3D Film Makes 2D US Debut at the 32nd HIFF

Original Japanese promotional handbill for ULTRAMAN SAGA (2012)

The most recent feature film in the Ultra Series franchise, Hideki Oka's ULTRAMAN SAGA, the first to be shot in 3D, hit Japanese Cinemas this past March 24th (in both 3D and 2D versions). Usually, Stateside fans must wait for a DVD or Blu-ray release, or the rare screening at industry events — or film festivals such as FanTasia.

But, this year, Ultraman was suspiciously absent from the world-famous Montreal-based film festival, and so the 32nd Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) is picking up the slack — it's no surprise that the Honolulu-based event would include a heavy dose of Japanese Cinema, but hosting ULTRAMAN SAGA was a definite surprise.

An English Subtitled, 2D version of ULTRAMAN SAGA. will be screened only once during this year's HIFF, at the Royal Dole Cannery Stadium 18 Theaters & IMAX, in Dole Cannery C, Saturday, October 13th at 11:30 am. The 32nd TIFF runs from October 11-21, and is also screening the tokusatsu-themed feature, Yuihiko Tsutsumi's EIGHT RANGERS (2012).

From the HIFF's Program Guide: ULTRAMAN SAGA opens with a powerful apocalyptic vision of Tokyo, buildings destroyed and the city seemingly devoid of life. We are soon introduced to the Earth Defense Force (EDF), Team U, played by members of the female idol group AKB48. They and a group of young children are the last survivors on planet Earth.

In another universe, Ultraman Zero receives a distress call and proceeds toward the Earth in aid. From yet another universe, a young defense team pilot named Taiga is trapped in the ship of an invading alien force, who quickly disappear to another dimension.

Taiga soon finds himself in the apocalyptic version of Tokyo, as Ultraman Zero battles a huge fleet of alien spaceships. As Taiga notices a crashing ship heading straight towards a young boy, he pilots his ship directly into its path in an act of self-sacrifice. Witnessing his brave actions, Ultraman Zero rescues Taiga and joins with him.

Taiga soon encounters Ultraman Cosmos and his human host Musashi, along with Team U and the children. It is now up to Taiga and Musashi to protect the survivors. However, Taiga is not so happy to be joined with Ultraman Zero, and has no intention of fighting…

For more information, please visit the official Hawaii International Film Festival website.

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 4 Asylum (1972)

Original poster for Amicus Productions' memorable Horror Anthology

On the fourth day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, four Severed Limbs, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 3 Shrunken Heads (1994)

Tongue-in-cheek advertising for this forgotten horror-comedy.

On the third day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, three Shrunken Heads, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney.

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 2 The Devil Bat (1940)

"Well, I do dream — dreams that you would never guess."

"On the second day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, two Devil Bats, and a Senior Lon Chaney!"

THE 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: DAY 1 London After Midnight (1927)

The immortal Lon Chaney Sr. as "The Vampire"!

"On the first day of Halloween, my true blood gave to me, a Senior Lon Chaney!"

"ULTRA SEVEN" COMPLETE SERIES DVD BOX SET! Shout! Factory's 45th Anniversary Release!

デュア!『ウルトラセブン』DVDボックス米国で11月12日発売 !



On the eve of it's 45th Anniversary, the original 1967 teleseries, ULTRA SEVEN, the direct answer to Tsuburaya Productions' ULTRAMAN (1966), Shout! Factory will be issuing the "Complete Series" box set on DVD to North America! I was originally scheduled to make an official announcement on this release at this year's G-Fest convention in Chicago this past July, but I wasn't able to attend, so it was just decided to wait for the listing on Amazon to go up before shouting about it.

At this time, all I can say about the contents is that the set will contain the 48 available episodes of ULTRA SEVEN, not counting the "banned" Episode 12 ("From Another Planet With Love"), while the episodes themselves will be presented in Japanese with English Subtitles. The English Dubs were not considered, as the Hawaiian Dub (produced in 1975) is lost, and the Cinar Dub (produced in the mid-1980s) were prone to heavy editing, and somewhere along the way, three episodes turned up missing.

Uncut and presented in Japanese with English Subtitles, this box set will include a 24-page booklet on the making of ULTRA SEVEN, penned by Yours Truly (I also provided the package copy as well), and another special premium, but we'll save that as a surprise for later... Stay tuned for more details on the ULTRA SEVEN Complete Series DVD Box Set, as they are made available by Shout! Factory!

YET ANOTHER 15 MINUTES OF "MST3K" FAME Vol. XXIV: Fugitive Aliens & Mighty Jacks

Last April, while my cohorts and I were handling Haruo Nakajima's appearance at the Monsterpalooza convention in beautiful downtown Burbank, I was tapped by Shout! Factory to shoot an interview for their MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 box set containing, arguably, the best (and most infamous) episodes of the seires: Gamera. After we finished the coverage for Vol. XXI, Special Features Producer Jordan Fields revealed that they had cleared the rights for Sandy Frank's TIME OF THE APES, MIGHTY JACK, FUGITIVE ALIEN, and STAR FORCE ("Fugitive Alien II"), based on the respective television series from Tsuburaya Producitons, and asked if I had anything to say about them. Well, since I love this stuff, I did.

Released December 6, 2011, MST3K: Vol. XXII contained TIME OF THE APES, MIGHTY JACK, THE VIOLENT YEARS, and THE BRUTE MAN. I provided on-screen introductions for TIME OF THE APES and MIGHTY JACK. The former was a 26-episode take on the popular PLANET OF THE APES film series, ARMY OF THE APES (1974), and the latter was an hour-long, 13-episode science fiction-tinged espionage drama, MIGHTY JACK (1968). Of course, the condensation of 26-episodes into a 97-minute film, would make even this juvenile adventure series even more confounding — especially with Sandy Frank's excruciating dubbing — while MIGHTY JACK comes across as a poor man's WHAT'S UP TIGER LILY?, making it prime MST3K fodder.

The latest, MST3K Vol. XXIV, released July 31, 2012, features the two Sandy Frank films culled from the 24-episode series, STAR WOLF (1979), based on Edmund Hamilton's pulp sci-fi adventure, produced in the wake of STAR WARS: FUGITIVE ALIEN and STAR FORCE. Also included in this set are THE SWORD AND THE DRAGON and SAMSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN. For FUGITIVE ALIEN, I provide the on-screen introduction to kick off the extras for this set, which includes three "MST Hour Wraps" with Mike Nelson as Jack Perkins, "You Asked For It: Sandy Frank Speaks!", two shorts ("Snow Thrills" and "A Date With Your Family"), "Lucha Gringo: K. Gordon Murray Meets Santo", a TV Spot for SAMSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, and "Life After "MST3K": Frank Conniff".

It was a fun morning providing some background on these television series, to put them into context for the legion of MSTies and the uninitiated, and it was an honor to be involved with Shout! Factory's continuing stellar presentations of MST3K. It would be a pleasure to do it again if they eventually clear the rights to release Toei's PRINCE OF SPACE, INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN, and LEGEND OF THE DINOSAURS. I'd love to talk about the Phantom of Krankor, if you're reading this, Jordan...

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 Chapter 3 New Trailer, Isao Sasaki Returns, and More!

懐かしい！ささきいさおの『宇宙戦艦ヤマト2199第3章PV』



The official website, Yamato Crew, has just been updated with a cornucopia of news on the ongoing SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 series, including the brand-new trailer for Chapter 3, opening in Japanese cinemas on October 13th (click here for a higher-res version hosted on Yamato Crew). While it is no news that the original vocalist, Isao Sasaki, returned to the studio to record fresh arrangements of the late Hiroshi Miyagawa's theme song, and the original ending theme song, "The Scarlet Scarf" (under the baton of the composer's son, Akira), it is news that the classic romantic tune will now be the official Ending Theme for Chapter 3 (episodes 7-10)!

Previously, it was stated that this new recording would only be used as an "Insert Song" (perhaps heard in a few episodes, either vocal or instrumental), so this is great news for long-time Yamato fans. The new version of "The Scarlet Scarf" can be heard in the brilliant trailer for Chapter 3 (posted and linked above, features an actual ending, as the original simply faded out), which carries the preview solely with Sasaki's signature crooner — with full emotional punch for those of us who grew up with Yamato!

Speaking of Yamato music, an epic concert has been announced for this coming November 10th, entitled "Yamato Symphonic Band: Great Ceremony of 2012". Akira Miyagawa, at the baton, will. conduct the Osaka Municipal Symphonic Band, and the Toke Civic Wind Orchestra, for two full performances featuring the music of YAMATO: 2199. Vocalists will include the aforementioned Isao Sasaki, Aira Yuki, and Aki Misato, singing their respective songs for YAMATO: 2199. According to the press release:

This music, referred to by fans as the "Miyagawa Sound", should be handed down from generation to generation. And now, the son of Miyagawa, Akira Miyagawa, has inherited this sound from the past, and will be sitting at the piano, accompanied by his "Yamato Symphonic Band". Now, leading the past into the present with "emotion" and "music", this new Miyagawa Sound will resound the name "Yamato" throughout the galaxy!

In addition to the full performance, audiences will be treated to a special bonus: a world-premiere screening of Episode 11 of YAMATO: 2199! Produced by Bandai-Namco Live Creative and Voyager Entertainment, the "Yamato Symphonic Band: Great Ceremony of 2012" will be held at the amazing Maihama Amphitheatre, located near the Tokyo Disney Resort.

In even more music news, the first full Original Soundtrack album for YAMATO: 2199 has been announced for release this coming November 7th, featuring Akira Miyagawa's re-recordings of his father's original score, plus his new cues, all heard in the new series. While there are no other details at press time, the CD will retail for ¥3,000, and will be the first in a series from Lantis and Bandai Visual. Speaking of Yamato soundtracks, a two-CD set of music from the Director's Cut of SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: RESURRECTION, featuring previously-released tracks, as heard in the re-release of the 2009 feature film (soon to be issued on DVD and BD in the US from Funimation) is now available from Columbia Records (formerly Nippon Columbia), featuring 47 tracks, ¥3,360.

Of course, all of this is in addition to the current pair of CD singles for the songs of YAMATO: 2199 from Lantis, retailing for ¥1,200 each, and the 24bit 96kHz, Blu-spec CD reissue series of the 30 original Yamato soundtrack albums, "Yamato Almanac", which just launched this past July, to be released over a two-year period, and will retail for ¥2,625 each.

With the premiere of Chapter 3: "The Endless Voyage", the film will be playing in two additional cinemas to meet with the demand for YAMATO: 2199, thus bringing the total number of nationwide theaters up to twelve: MOVIX Kameari in Tokyo and the Osaka Station City Cinema in Osaka. Meanwhile, on Opening Day, the Shinjuku Piccadilly Theater will be hosting their third "Yamatalk Night", with a "Gamilas Invasion": On hand will be voice actors Koichi Yamadera (Lord Aberto Dessler) and Yosuke Akimoto (Vice Commander Redoff Hiss). Yamadera has an extensive resume, and is perhaps most well-known as "Spike Spiegel" from COWBOY BEBOP (1998) and "Ryoji Kaji" in NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (1995).

Veteran Akimoto has enjoyed a long and esteemed career with roles such as Siegel Clyne in MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM SEED (2003) and Lord Alberto in GIANT ROBO: THE ANIMATION (1993). Before his Anime  career, Akimoto was an on-screen actor, who was featured in several tokusatsu series: The Dark Scientist who creates Hakaida in Episodes 36 & 38 of KIKAIDA (1972), Genshiro Shiranui in Episodes 1, 2 & 4 of IRON KING (1972), Dr. Iwamura in Episodes 33 & 34 of SUPER ROBOT: RED BARON (1973), and many more. The two VAs will be joined on stage by Supervising Director Yutaka Izubuchi. Times for this live talk before the screening of Chapter 3, are to be announced.

Stay tuned to this blog and the official Star Blazers website for more news and information on SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO: 2199 as they develop — and soon, we'll be off to outer space, like we never have before! Again.

PREVIEW: "SPACE SHERIFF GAVAN: THE MOVIE"! Toei Studios Unveils First Full-Length Trailer

映画『宇宙刑事ギャバン THE MOVIE』予告編



As I reported in my August 14th update, SPACE SHERIFF GAVAN: THE MOVIE: There's a New Sheriff in Town on October 20th, hot on the heels of the success of GOKAIGER VS. GAVAN, which opened this past January, Toei is producing a follow-up feature film to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the "Space Sheriff" series: GAVAN, SHARIVAN, and SHAIDER (which became popular throughout the world, and are still beloved today). This is the first full-length trailer, featuring a decidedly more straight-jawed style, compared to those of the current — and more light-hearted — Super Sentai and Kamen Rider films and television shows. The trailer also reveals the characters, villains, and the return of Gavan's compatriots, Sharivan and Shaider (now played by younger actors). The Osamu Kaneda-directed film will open in Japanese cinemas on October 20th.



"Goodbye tears, hello courage! Space Sheriff Gavan!"