|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
8
|
|
 |
|
8 |
|
10
= Highest Rating |
|
Guest
Review by Troy
Guinn
|
Page 1,
2 |
Secondly,
the monsters themselves are unique in being humanoid, thus not
weighed down or inhibited in their movements by long tails,
giant wings, or multiple spines and fins. The actors playing
the monsters (Gaira is performed by none other than Haruo Nakajima,
the most famous "Godzilla actor") have free range to perform
much more acrobatic moves and to exhibit a real ferocity in
their battle. In fact, the duels between Sanda and Gaira have
the most purely 'animal' savagery of any kaiju battle
since Godzilla and Anguiras first mixed it up in Godzilla
Raids Again.
This is also one of
the most gorgeous and atmospheric of Toho's monster mashes.
Much of the action takes place at night (a la Gojira),
allowing an even better blending of the miniatures and backdrops.
The daylight scenes, particularly in the mountain settings,
are full of eerie mists and lush green and blue hues. While
I can't reveal the ultimate deus ex machina that wraps up War
of the Gargantuas,
let's just say that, as unlikely as it is convenient, it's still
a beautifully filmed spectacle. Finally, the familiar cast of
Toho actors is solid as usual, though Russ Tamblyn fairly walks
through his role. It's telling that in the Japanese dub, as
incongruous as it may be for a Japanese voice to come from Tamblyn's
mouth, the actor doing the looping puts more emotion into the
performance than Tamblyn does!
Judging from the finale,
and from the idea that any number of Franken-clones can be generated,
it seems likely that Toho was envisioning a possible franchise
for the giant Frankenstein character. If this series had indeed
continued, the monster might have grown to such an extent that
we might have eventually seen Godzilla
vs. Frankenstein! Sadly, such a film was not to be. (Yes,
I'm a man in his 40s who's still bitter about the monster battles
he never got to see. Should I mention that in my eHarmony profile?)
|
|
|
Classic
Media has released War of the Gargantuas
on a double-disk set with Rodan (1956).
An earlier DVD release
of Rodan is reviewed elsewhere on
this site, but it's a safe bet that this new disc presents a much-improved
print over that previous version. As for Gargantuas,
both the Japanese-language print and the English-dubbed U.S. release
print are widescreen and in lovely condition, although the U.S.
print is noticeably brighter. I assume that the darker Japanese
print is correct, and it's certainly the one I prefer.
Other
than trailers for both films, the only extra included in the set
is an excellent 70-minute documentary on the history of Japanese
special effects. Going by the title Bringing Godzilla Down
to Size, this feature should be mandatory viewing for any
highbrow film critic who has ever sneered at Japanese giant monsters
for being "just men in rubber suits". This respectful
doc shows that, while time and budget and available technology
may have spurred the initial choice to use "suitmation"
instead of stop-motion animation, the Toho method is no less demanding,
nor the artistic skill no less crucial, than what is required
by either stop-motion or modern CGI.
The documentary is so
well done, that it's a shame to have to put forth a complaint
about this DVD set, but I'm afraid I must. It's the first in Classic
Media's line of Toho DVDs to not feature an audio commentary on
either film. Why have commentaries on the prior seven releases
and not on the Rodan/Gargantuas
set? I can only assume that Classic Media decided that since neither
of these films feature Godzilla, the interest level would not
be sufficient to warrant full-length commentaries. If so, then
it's a sad miscalculation on their part. All of the Godzilla films
have been written about and discussed in great detail, and will
continue to be. It's precisely these lesser-known films that are
long overdue for serious examination, and I have to think that
the Godzilla experts who have contributed such great commentaries
to the prior releases would have been salivating over the chance
to do the same for the two films contained in this set. Still,
we can really only be grateful to Classic Media for this terrific
series of DVDs, and for presenting War of
the Gargantuas
in a manner that should do much to increase its reputation as
one of the most entertaining of all Japanese fantasy films. 4/19/09 |
| Return to
Page 1 of this Review... |
|
|
HOME
| REVIEWS
| TOP
|
