Post by August on Apr 18, 2010 11:08:07 GMT -8
Late last summer, I was tapped as the Special Features Producer by Cliff MacMillan at Shout! Factory as they were negotiating with Kadokawa Pictures for the North American DVD rights to the original eight Gamera films. I had previously worked with Cliff over at BCI on the R1 DVD releases of the classic tokusatsu series IRON KING (1972) and SUPER ROBOT: RED BARON (1973). This first disc also sports a 1991 documentary on the original Gamera series featuring interviews with the late director Noriaki Yuasa and all of the principals who brought Gamera to life! It's with great confidence that I say that these will be DVDs that any self-respecting kaiju eiga fan shouldn't pass up!
Here's a snippet from Shout!'s press release: From Japan, the country that brought us such mythical movie monsters as Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra, storms Gamera, the titanic terrapin feared by adults and loved by children. On May 18, 2010, Shout! Factory will unleash GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER Special Edition on DVD for the first time in its unedited, original version, with English subtitles (authored by myself) — in anamorphic widescreen from an all-new HD master. The DVD includes a 12-page booklet with an essay by the late director Noriaki Yuasa, a photo gallery, trailers, and more. The collectible GAMERA, THE GIANT MONSTER Special Edition DVD is priced to own at $19.93.
For Shout's Gamera releases, I've assembled an international rag-tag unit of die-hard fans, known as the "Z Plan Team", who have been working overtime in gathering as much information and materials on the original films as possible for the on-disc Special Features supplements (as well as the corresponding printed booklets), and we have uncovered tons of fascinating facts and trivia about the production of Daiei's beloved series. The Special Features will also include Audio Commentaries, with the first recorded by none other than Yours Truly. I hope that it will be entertaining and informative for new and old fans, alike!
Read the early reviews, here:
augustragone.blogspot.com/2010/04/gamera-is-bowling-over-critics.html
Pre-order from Amazon, here (for $11.99):
www.amazon.com/Gamera-Giant-Monster-Eiji-Funakoshi/dp/B0035CVB30