6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
A series of mysterious catastrophes sweep the globe, causing world's scientists to conclude that beings from another planet are attacking earth. Two earth space ships damage attackers, giving the world time to prepare for gigantic battle in outer space.
Starring: Ryô Ikebe, Minoru Takada, Koreya Senda, Hisaya Itô, Yoshio TsuchiyaForeign | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 6% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The 1950s were particularly good to the Sci-Fi genre, producing several classics amidst a mass of makeshift and lower budget titles just hoping to capitalize on the craze. The decade's best, and even its more modestly successful and even bad ventures, certainly set the stage for some of the giants to follow in the 1960s and 1970s, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Battle in Outer Space released at the tail-end of the decade to modest critical acclaim. Director Ishirō Honda's film is a simple, budget-minded story of aliens planning on destroying Earth and man's fight to stop them. Minimal characterization, charmingly spartan sets and costumes, and straightforward plot lines and action shape the movie, which yields a fun escape but little of value or note within the genre-at-large.
Battle in Outer Space's 1080p image generally looks fine, with the caveat that print damage is commonplace, with pops and scratches evident in practically every shot. The flip side is that the image otherwise impresses. It's naturally filmic, grain is retained evenly and attractively, and textures benefit from a natural, largely untampered presentation. The 1080p clarity allows for the flimsy costumes and models to reveal their fragility and seams. Wires holding up ships are plainly visible. Essential human skin and clothing details fare well. Outer space blacks are a little faded, but colors hold solidly otherwise, including skin tones. The palette doesn't burst off the screen with any intensity, but shades enjoy a satisfying neutrality and enough saturation and nuance to please. The image is very dated but holds up well enough on Blu-ray if one can look beyond the print damage, which in this case gives the image a bit of vintage character, anyway.
The included DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 soundtracks, one each in original Japanese and dubbed English, sound essentially identical beyond exchanged dialogue. Either track struggles to find precise musical reproduction, favoring more of a chunky, muddled sound than a more fluid, lifelike clarity, which is to be expected of a modestly budgeted film that is nearly six decades old. Likewise, effects are shaky, whether a rumbling train, laser blasts, or various battles and moments of destruction. Many effects favor a shrieking, shrilly sensation. Dialogue is clear enough in both languages and does well enough to image towards the middle portion of the listening area.
Battle in Outer Space contains one extra, an audio commentary track with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski. The pair cover the film's place along history's timeline, story structure, narrative themes, cast and crew details, production values, and much more. The pair have plenty of interesting details to share, but delivery is stale and clearly presented verbatim from prepared notes.
Battle in Outer Space hasn't aged particularly well next to some of the giants of its decade (War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still) but it's a charming little venture that's straightforward, setting aside real character development in favor of building action and alien invasion danger. Miniatures, matte paintings, and manpower make the movie, and it's a welcome escape from today's big budget digital constructs. Sony's Blu-ray delivers solid, though certainly imperfect, video. Audio is decent enough and a commentary track is included. Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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