6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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 | 10% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English: LPCM 2.0 Mono
Music: LPCM 2.0 Mono
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: This version of this film is available as part of Eureka! Entertainment's Ishirō Honda Double Feature: The H-Man + Battle in Outer
Space.
Ishirō Honda lived a long and eventful life that saw him forge a really remarkable career in the Japanese film industry. Though being at least
intermittently associated with such legends as Akira Kurosawa, Honda may forever be best remembered for his relationship with another “legend”
of
sorts: Gojira (note that the link points to a long ago release,
because
that’s one I personally reviewed). Honda was instrumental in developing what a lot of folks think of as the “modern” kaiju film, having
not
just helmed the first (and several subsequent) Godzilla outings, but also Rodan and the recently reviewed
Mothra. While all of those kaiju entries probably at least flirted with a science fiction ambience, Honda also made films
which
were inarguably firmly within a sci-fi idiom, including The Mysterians,
as
well as both of the films Eureka! Entertainment’s Masters of Cinema series has aggregated together here in this release. This collection in fact
mirrors
the Mill Creek
Entertainment The H-Man / Battle in
Outer
Space release put out for the North American market last year, at least in terms of the content of the features included.
Battle in Outer Space is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka! Entertainment's Masters of Cinema imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. While I'm scoring this at the same 3.5 level that Marty did for his review of the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray's video quality, in doing a cursory comparison of screenshots (which obviously has built in risks), to my eyes this presentation looks better, with less of a yellowish tint and improved brightness and clarity. There may be some slight fading on display again, as with The H-Man, but primaries tend to emerge largely intact and things look well suffused most of the time. The film has its fair share of opticals as well as old style composited effects, and so grain can get rather gritty at times, but I noticed no compression issues of any note.
Battle in Outer Space features LPCM 2.0 Mono tracks in Japanese and English. Marty wasn't especially thrilled with the audio presentation on the Sony Blu-ray, but I found the audio here to be very much in line with The H-Man. It's shallow and narrow, to be sure, and some of the effects in the mid- to low range aren't especially reverberant, but overall dialogue, score and effects are presented reasonably well, without any major problems. Optional English subtitles are available.
Battle in Outer Space will probably strike younger viewers in particular as potentially silly, especially with regard to its use of miniatures and other now outdated special effects. This is nonetheless going to be of interest for Honda fans in general and those who love The Mysterians in particular. Technical merits are generally solid, and the David Kalat commentary very interesting, for those who are considering a purchase.
(Still not reliable for this title)
美女と液体人間 / Bijo to ekitai ningen | Masters of Cinema
1958
怪獣総進撃 / Kaijû sôshingeki
1968
怪獣大戦争 / Kaijû daisensô / Godzilla vs. Monster Zero
1965
Na srebrnym globie / Masters of Cinema
1988
地球攻撃命令 ゴジラ対ガイガン / Chikyû kogeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan / Godzilla on Monster Island
1972
メカゴジラの逆襲 / Mekagojira no gyakushu
1975
Gamera tai daiakuju Giron
1969
Gamera tai uchu kaijû Bairasu / Destroy All Planets
1968
宇宙人東京に現わる / Uchūjin Tokyo ni arawaru
1956
Voyage to the End of the Universe / Icarus XB 1
1963
1970-1971
1962
ゴジラ対メガロ / Gojira tai Megaro
1973
ゴジラ対メカゴジラ / Gojira tai Mekagojira
1974
Gamera tai Shinkai kaijû Jigura
1971
Uchu kaijû Gamera
1980
大怪獣ガメラ / Daikaijū Gamera
1965
더 문 / Deo mun
2023
ゴジラ対ヘドラ / Gojira tai Hedora / Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster
1971
俺にさわると危ないぜ / Ore ni sawaru to abunaize | Limited Edition
1966