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Post by stareater on Feb 20, 2005 8:24:22 GMT -8
I know these were discussed on the old board, but I figured I'd throw it out there since I've watched the entire trilogy again over the past week. I didn't appreciate these much as a youngster (much like a lack of appreciation for Vincent Price's work, silly child I was!), but I find them to be fantastic films now. Wrath of Daimajin was the best of the three, in my opinion. I enjoyed the storyline, and the "trampling of the evil bad guys" was great in this one, punctuated by the Charlton Heston Moment where Majin rose from the lake and parted it in his Moses impression. Daimajin follows next, with another enjoyable storyline and great destruction sequence under an angry, blood-red sky. The face-changing with the wave of a giant hand was always something that stuck with me from childhood, as was his destroying of the village. Return of Daimajin was the least of the three, I thought. The journey of the children through Majin Mountain was cool, but nothing much happened along the way for entirely too long. It's worth the wait (or just going to scene selection) to get to the destruction sequence in the blizzard this time. It was also cool to see him skewer Mr. Bad Feudal Lord with his sword. I felt the special effects were very well done in these films. The only bungled things were some missing thunderous footsteps in the first film, and the fingers on Majin's hand being a little too rubbery & flexible in some close-up grabbing scenes. Otherwise, these films were a nice deaprture from the standard atomic-borne reptiles that seemed to stomp every city or village in sight. It was nice to see fleshed-out storylines along with a monster crushing a village. Interestingly, I read in a review that Kevin Costner was considering doing an American remake of one or possibly all of the films. Some of the best things to happen are things that don't happen!  |
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Feb 20, 2005 10:09:55 GMT -8
i've heard ADV is re-releasing these discs in a slightly upgraded condition, causing many spoiled fanboys to give them even more money.
i like all three movies about the same. it's too bad there was never an opposing Majin for him to battle in one, since the stories are pretty interchangable.
i too, hope there is never a remake.
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Post by amphiboid on Feb 20, 2005 11:42:46 GMT -8
Kevin Costner???!!!  Noooo, that's just wrong. I saw two of these on TV as a kid, and last year rented all the discs and gave 'em a good widescreen view. Great stuff. |
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Post by stareater on Feb 21, 2005 6:35:56 GMT -8
Yes, ADV has already re-released Daimajin individually, this "enhanced" version going for an MSRP of $19.95 and selling for anywhere between $10-$16 on various sites. As far as I see it, the prints on the trilogy set were fine, and actually seemed to get better with each disc. It's not like the prints were the quality of Alpha's War of the Monsters disc; I thought they were perfectly fine for the price tag of $15 for all three films.
Oh well, you're right; there are the fanboys who will buy every "enhanced" or "super-duper collector's editon" disc that they throw out there. I only buy a better edition of something I already own if the sound or print is unbearable, and I think I've only done so two or three times out of about 200 DVDs. I do have friends who must buy every version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy they put out there. Crazy, but it's their money.
Having another Majin to fight is a great point, and would've been a cool addition to the series. I think they didn't because the villains' disbelief in the god and their desecration of the stone idol was a key plot device in each film. I intended to mention the more or less identical plotlines in each film as well, just forgot halfway through. Still, the films were done well enough (between good drama and excellent sfx) that rehashing the same plot for two sequels didn't really detract from the films themselves.
On more Kevin Costner bashing, there was an episode of Family Guy where either Peter or Brian were talking about films that make you scratch your head or something along those lines, and then they cut to a scene of Peter or Brian walking out of a Kevin Costner moving scratching their head and saying, "I just don't understand it. How does Kevin Costner keep getting work?" ;D
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Feb 21, 2005 10:28:58 GMT -8
Costner is good in SILVERADO, anyway!
i'm very happy with this Majin trilogy set- ten years ago no one thought something like that would happen on VHS, let alone DVD. all i could ask for is the wonderful AIP dubbing back for the first two movies.
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Post by stareater on Feb 23, 2005 14:17:58 GMT -8
Actually, it was Chris who said it in the episode To Love and Die in Dixie, the second Costner bashing I've caught in the series so far. ;D
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Post by Zone Fighter on Feb 23, 2005 15:17:25 GMT -8
What's Costner going to do, have the presidents come off Mt. Rushmore?
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Post by stareater on Feb 23, 2005 19:04:14 GMT -8
Kevin Costner must be stopped! He can't be reasoned with, he can't be contained, he can't speak in anything other than monotone!
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Post by stareater on Feb 28, 2005 7:38:01 GMT -8
On further thought, I guess the fact that there never was another monster for Daimajin to fight is what sets it apart from the other Kaiju films at the time. If they made the movies into another all-out multiple giant monster battle, it probably would've taken something away from the series.
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Feb 28, 2005 9:44:47 GMT -8
i dunno, the third movie could have had one, then they all wouldn't be exactly the same story wise. still, it's a plus that they hold up fine without needing that.
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Post by Giganfan on Mar 20, 2005 16:56:07 GMT -8
I revisited the Daimajin trilogy for the first time this week in what has been quite a long time. Actually, I haven't watched any of them since I first saw them about 6-7 years ago! I liked them then as I do now. Personally, I'm a fan of RETURN OF DAIMAJIN. I enjoy that one the most. The first movie is just as good too. WRATH is good too, but it really isn't as fun as the other two (WRATH was the second movie in the trilogy, right?). It's nice to see some familiar faces such as Kojiro Hongo and the guy who played Onodera in WAR OF THE MONSTERS. And they all feature some of Akira Ifukube's best music of his illustrious career. And of course, the Majin is friggin' awesome! All three movies are great entertainers.
Could somebody post all of the different titles that these movies have gone under? I only know them according to the ADV tapes/DVDs, and I haven't looked in any of my books in awhile (they're kinda piled away). Particularly the AIP and the original Japanese titles. I'd be much obliged.
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Mar 20, 2005 18:32:22 GMT -8
DAIMAJIN= Majin, Monster of Terror (AIP TV), Majin, the Hideous Idol (possible theatrical release)
RETURN OF MAJIN = Return of the Giant Majin (AIP TV, this is the second movie)
WRATH OF MAJIN = Majin Strikes Back (alledgedly the TV title no one i know has ever seen an AIP print of this)
does that help?
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Post by Zone Fighter on Mar 20, 2005 20:37:40 GMT -8
According to Internet Movie database:
Daimajin
Daimajin gyakushu aka Return of Daimajin
Daimajin ikaru aka Wrath of Daimajin
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Post by WaverBoy on Mar 23, 2005 11:41:52 GMT -8
According to a review of the new DAIMAJIN disc at Tokyo Monsters, it's supposed to be quite a bit better than the old one. Anamorphic, no artifacting, PLUS the original Japanese opening credits instead of the forced English overlay. www.tokyomonsters.com/dvdreview-R1-adv-daimajin.phpNow if only ADV would give us a decent DVD of DESTROY ALL MONSTERS...one with a completely letterboxed version of the film, anamorphically enhanced, better compressed, no artifacting, with original Japanese language track and English subtitles, original trailer, and...oh yeah, a menu and chapter stops would be nice too.  |
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Mar 23, 2005 12:42:06 GMT -8
don't forget the AIP dub and trailer! that would make it almost perfect (adding the 8mm condensed print would make it perfect).
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Post by WaverBoy on Mar 23, 2005 12:49:16 GMT -8
don't forget the AIP dub and trailer! that would make it almost perfect (adding the 8mm condensed print would make it perfect). Absolutely, although the reason I didn't mention the AIP dub is that I just figured there's no way they could get it. The other requests are perfectly reasonable. But dare I hope for the impossible...? I'd LOVE to have that dub included. |
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Post by hman on Jul 29, 2005 12:45:18 GMT -8
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Jul 29, 2005 14:56:36 GMT -8
excellent review. who knew we would get any of these movies letterboxed and subtitled- ever? not me, that's for sure.
David
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Post by The Lost Spider on Aug 2, 2005 14:28:26 GMT -8
don't forget the AIP dub and trailer! that would make it almost perfect (adding the 8mm condensed print would make it perfect). How could there be a trailer if these films (like almost all the Gamera movies of the Showa era) went striaght to TV here via AIP? And AIP never released the third film here right? I know they announced it as MAJIN STRIKES AGAIN but it never happened right? They just stopped after MAJIN MONSTER OF TERROR and THE RETURN OF THE GIANT MAJIN. |
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Noooo, that's just wrong.
