Guyver
4K
(1991/Unearthed 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray + CD*)/Red
Line 7000
(1965/Paramount/Arrow Blu-ray*)/Sabotage
(1996/Blu-ray/*all MVD)/Ultraman
Battle Kaiju Series 3: Ultraman Vs. Gomora
(1966 - 2019/Mill Creek Blu-ray Set)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B/B/B/B+ Sound: B+/C+/B/B+
Extras: B+/B/C/C+ Main Programs: B/B-/C/B
Now
for some wild action from the past to visit, or revisit.....
Guyver
4K
(1991) has been long overdue for a 4K restoration. Loosely based on
the manga series of the same name, this wacky 1991 superhero film is
a must see for genre fans, but not like most superhero movies you
have seen in the past 20 years, even if its plot seems pretty
familiar.
A
researcher for the corporation known as Cronos is killed by a gang of
ruthless alien criminals attempting to apprehend a device known as
The Guyver. When the gang go after the deceased scientist's
daughter, her boyfriend reluctantly bonds with the device, which
attaches itself to him and can transform at will into a superhuman
deadly weapon. (Very similar to Blue Beetle.) As the boy becomes
The Guyver, he must face off against the ruthless Cronos corporation
and the twisted gang which will stop at nothing to get the device
back and use it for harm.
The
film stars Jack Armstrong, Mark Hamill, David Gale, Greg Joung Paik,
Jimmie Walker, Peter Spellos, Michael Berryman, Vivian Wu, Jeffrey
Combs, Linnea Quigley, and Spice Williams-Crosby.
Grotesque
and full of really masterful prosthetics, costumes, and special
effects, The
Guyver
is more akin to the work of Empire Pictures, which was an exceptional
genre film company that gave birth to Full Moon Pictures with films
like Ghoulies,
Re-Animator,
From
Beyond,
and other less known gems such as Cellar
Dweller,
Robot
Jox,
and Arena.
Speaking
of Arena,
Guyver
is co-directed by Screaming Mad George, who is really one of the best
there ever was in the special effects business. Steve Wang who is a
legendary Hollywood Creature Creator also co-directed this film and
collaborated and so it has a very special artistry to it having these
two highly trained special effects artists calling the shots.
The
Guyver
is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with HDR10, an HEVC / H.265
codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and an audio track in
lossless (48kHz, 24-bit) English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo mixes.
Also
included is a 1080p Blu-ray disc with a more compressed image and the
same audio mixes as the Blu-ray. This is a pretty impressive
restoration when compared to previous releases of the film with a
much higher fidelity image and nice even color tones throughout. You
can really see textures and details of the costumes effectively with
the HDR feature that really enriches the work done by the filmmakers.
Special
Features include:
Feature
Length Audio Commentary with co-directors Screaming Mad George and
Steve Wang, moderated by Dom O'Brien, the author of Budget
Biomorphs: The Making of The Guyver Films
Interview
with producer Brian Yuzna
Interview
with co-director Screaming Mad George
Suit
Tests with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve
Wang
Outtakes
with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang
Gag
Roll with commentary by co-directors Screaming Mad George and Steve
Wang
Production
& Artwork Gallery
Alternate
Title Sequence
Trailers
and
The
Guyver Soundtrack
composed by Matthew Morse placed on a separate CD disc
The
R-rated version of The
Guyver
is gory and intense with some pretty bizarre moments that are a mix
of sci-fi, comedy, and action. Fans can finally enjoy the 4K
restoration of the original R-rated cut from the original camera
negative on 4K UHD from Unearthed Films in a stacked release that
delivers the goods. I really hope to see The
Guyver 2
get this kind of 4K UHD treatment as well.
Since
silent films arrived, car racing was a subject that was popular and
as soon as sound followed, sometimes with a known lead actor and
sometimes just a cast of unknowns or such a cast with a few
recognizable faces. Comedy, drama or unintentional comedy resulted
and by the 1950s & 1960s, a cycle of B-movies on the subject
surfaced as indies, beach movie comedies or bobby-soxer romps. As
film stocks became more (relatively) more light sensitive, color,
widescreen images and even stereo arrived, these films showed how the
new technologies were taken advantage of.
Out
of this, when Hollywood would try to do larger productions on racing
with a big lead actor, the films were all duds at the box office as
if it were a curse or formula for box office poison, even when they
were good. This was most noticeable by the 1960s with the dramatic
likes of The
Racers
(1953) with Kirk Douglas, Frankenheimer's 70mm Grand
Prix
(1965) with James Garner, Winning
(1969) with Paul Newman, Le
Mans
(1971, started in the late 1960s, with Steve McQueen) and later
followed by Bobby
Deerfield
(1977) with Al Pacino, Days
Of Thunder
(1990) with Tom Cruise, Driven
(2001) with Sylvester Stallone (clobbered by the no-name cast first
Fast &
Furious
film before that got so extremely obnoxious) and even Howard Hawks'
Red
Line 7000
(1965) with future legend James Caan, which is a transitional film in
the semi-genre.
Not
as lavish as Grand
Prix
or as obsessive as Le
Mans
turned out to be, Hawks gets down and dirty cutting out the comedy
and cases of cutesys the musical, retro racing films set in the past
and teen comedy variants offered, also able to go more than a few
rounds with the rawest B-movie entries in the genre. Caan and
Anthony Rogers play the two main racers for their NASCAR boss (the
great Norman Alden) when things do not go as planned and Mike (Caan)
has to take over as the main driver. Girlfriends start to enter the
picture more as disasters increase. What craziness will happen next?
Common
for the time, much of the racing is dirtier and less defined stock
footage, to save money or just because they felt that would do, but
Frankenheimer was shooting his racing in 65mm negative at the same
time, so this was rare indeed. No matter how its aged, its realism
and dark nature help it hold up well, especially versus the many
sillier cars movies that followed.
It
was a much different NASCAR then, so expect a much rougher scene and
story, plus you get a solid supporting cast that also includes Laura
Devon, Charlene Holt, Gail Hire, Marianna Hill, John Robert Crawford,
James Ward (aka Skip Ward of RoadRacers
(1959) who even did a little stunt work on occasion,) George Takei
just before the launch of Star
Trek
and an uncredited Teri Garr, once again a go-go dancer.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer can show the
age of the materials used in stock footage and a few other shots, but
this looks really good otherwise and was issued in 35mm three-strip,
dye-transfer Technicolor prints. That superior lab work really helps
this one hold up even more and Director of Photography Milton S.
Krasner, A.S.C., was a major veteran by this point. His other key
works include All
About Eve,
Deadline
- U.S.A.,
Scarlet
Street,
The
Seven Year Itch,
Bus
Stop,
Fate
Is The Hunter,
Beneath
The Planet Of The Apes
and he was in prime form when he lensed this one.
The
PCM 1.0 Mono lossless
mix is
not bad, but shows its age in editing, canned sound effects at times
and some post-production dubbing, though cheers to Nelson Riddle for
scoring a drama well enough. I think a 2.0 Mono lossless track would
have been a better idea, but that would not change the flaws of
course.
Extras
include another outstanding feature length audio commentary track by
Julie Kirgo (daughter of the writer of the film) and the late, great
Nick Redman
Gas,
Gears, Girls, Guys & Death,
a new visual essay on the film by filmmaker and critic Howard S.
Berger
Sabotage
(1996) has been remastered to 1080p Blu-ray from MVD and stars Mark
Dacascos (John
Wick 3),
Tony Todd (Candyman),
and Carrie-Anne Moss (only three years before her breakout role in
The
Matrix.)
These three talented stars make Sabotage a fun watch even if it is
your run of the mill action movie. The film also stars Graham Greene
and John Neville.
The
film stars off with a black ops mission gone wrong when Michael
Bishop (Dacascos) is betrayed by a fellow Op (Todd) and left for
dead. Years later, he becomes a bodyguard who is thwarted by the
same man who betrayed him years before. Bishop must back to his
roots and attempt to break down the conspiracy that resulted in this
betrayal.
Sabotage
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, its original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a
lossless English LPCM 2.0 Stereo mix. The film looks pretty good
overall considering when it was made, but a few issues are apparent.
Low lit scenes seem a little rough looking at times and often grain
heavy.
Special
Features:
New
Interview with actor Mark Dacascos
New
Interview with Actor Tony Todd
Mark
Dacascos trailer reel
Double-sided
artwork
Collectible
Mini-Poster
Limited
Edition Slipcover (First pressing only)
Sabotage
has some familiar faces and some cool action sequences, but all in
all feels a bit forgettable.
Ultraman
Battle Kaiju Series 3: Ultraman Vs. Gomora
(1966 - 2019) has arrived as the latest Blu-ray set from Mill Creek.
We have covered other installments in the the series, franchise and
Ultraman Battle Kaiju series elsewhere on this site.
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16303/Shin+Ultraman+(2022/Cleopatra/*both+MVD+Blu-
This
third release from Mill Creek in the Ultraman Battle Kaiju collection
sees the classic Japanese superhero Ultraman fighting the deadly
kaiju Gomora. This two-disc set features highlights from 1966 - 2019
highlighting these two classic characters in heavy combat. It's
interesting to see all of the different iterations of the characters
over the years and how they evolved through character design and
execution.
For
those new to the franchise, this collection is a great introduction
into learning more about Ultraman and some of his most iconic
battles.
This
special collection includes 16 episodes from 11 different Ultraman
series highlighting the very best appearances of one of the
franchise's most fearsome kaiju! Introduced in Episodes 26 and 27 of
the original color ULTRAMAN
series from 1966, Gomora has the distinction of starring in the first
two-part story in the franchise and being the first kaiju to defeat
an Ultraman in one-on-one combat.
Ultraman
Battle Kaiju Series 3
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, aspect ratios in both 1.78:1 and 1.33:1 depending on which
episode you are watching and lossless Japanese DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) 2.0 Mono (then later shows in Stereo) with English subtitles
across the board as standard.
Most
of the episodes are in 1080p 1.33 X 1 digital High Definition image
transfer and can show the age of the materials used, from analog
black and white videotape, low definition video, HD video, analog
color videotape and the second-ever series on color film.
Non-filmed, low-def shows are upscaled, so quality varies, though the
first color show looks as good as any of them and this will be the
first time anyone has seen these shows in HD.
This
presentation of the material is an upgrade for fans who no longer
have to rely on seeing these episodes streaming or on a standard
definition version or otherwise. Some fans are complaining that
there aren't English dubs on this version, but personally I prefer
the original language tracks with subtitles. While we aren't getting
these in 2160p resolution as of the time of this writing these will
suffice for now.
This
Blu-ray collection is modestly priced and a nice addition to any
kaiju fan's collection. The cover art on the disc is very nicely
done as well as the booklet that is also included.
Special
Features:
Bonus
Movie: Mega
Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy The Movie
and
an exclusive 11 page guide booklet.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Red
Line 2000)
and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
