Ultraman – Series One, Volume One
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Episodes: B
One of
the most important live-action series of the 1960s is one of the most
influential of all time, but has not been seen often since its late 1970s
syndication in the U.S. despite its importance.
A combination of the best the British TV producer Gerry Anderson was
doing with his SuperMarionation shows like Thunderbirds
and the immensely successful Japanese giant monster cycle spearheaded by the
phenomenal success of Godzilla, the
original Ultraman is a show with a
much larger following in the U.S. alone than anyone realizes.
The story
follows The Science Patrol, an important Japanese institution on the frontline
of discovering the latest breakthroughs and threats to the country. One day, when a mysterious space ship is
traveling the land. The particularly
alert and ambitious Hayata tails the ship, which leads to an accident that kills
him. However, the ship from Nebula M-78
contains a superior alien force who accepts full responsibility for the
accident to the extent that he sacrifices his life to Hayata so he can
live. Furthermore, when the threat
becomes too deadly and dangerous he will be able to turn himself into this
noble alien and become known as the powerful, skillful, kinetic fighter
Ultraman.
He does
this by pressing a giant space capsule (looking like a large fountain pen, sort
of) to transform and his ability to use or not use it adds to some scenes of
suspense. When full size, the only catch
is that Ultraman gets his power from the sun (like Superman) but runs out of
strength quickly in earth’s atmosphere, so an alarm goes off in his chest (like
Iron Man) and he needs to break free and reenergize to defeat any alien or
prehistoric threat he takes on. The show
has one of Godzilla’s producers to the point the original Godzilla costume (not
so cleverly disguised with a gill of some sort) even takes on the hero in an
episode. The result was the first
Japanese export to be a big international hit and a series that became the
foundation for Japanese action TV and Animé as we know it. Often imitated and even revived, it has never
been topped, though the remarkable Shaw Brothers Super Inframan (reviewed elsewhere on this site) was the ultimate
response to the show and giant monster mania a few years after the wild Destroy All Monsters.
BCI
Eclipse has issued the first 20 shows (first half of the series) on three DVDs
in convenient slender cases, but to have the show finally arrive on DVD is one
of the big pop culture events of the year that is guaranteed to only pick up in
sales, discussion and set off a new series of fans to join the ones who miss
the show badly. Like the giant monster
films that inspired it, the costumes and fake cities are as gloriously phony
and fun as ever, but take on a new fun and greatness in the face of the deluge
of terrible-upon-arrival digital video effects just about everyone is sick and
tired of. The show has a real energy and
joy to it that the best such shows have and to say it also emulated some of the
original Avengers series in its
style (and not just the 1960s in general) is valid. This is the show’s 40th
Anniversary and it is nice to see a somewhat lost classic finally getting its
due.
The 1.33
X 1 image is a mixed bag of good color, classic giant rubber suits, interesting
color and prints that lack some detail variously throughout. I had hoped for a bit more detail than we got
here, but these are still very watchable and these should do fine until HD
versions arrive. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Mono comes for the first time here with the original Japanese audio and the
classic, beloved original English dub with the same voice cast that dubbed the
original (and only) animated Speed Racer. The combination is fine for its age, but BCI
Eclipse is doing HD-DVD and this series should be one of its top candidates. Also be sure to catch the optional English
subtitles, since they are different from the English dub and very, very
interesting alternatives to the dialogue.
Extras
include a nice full color, illustrated booklet with excellent essay and episode
guide for this set, stills section explaining all the monsters, the shorter and
quicker U.S. opening credits which make for an interesting comparison to the
longer Japanese ones and a great interview piece with voice actors Peter
Fernandez, Corrine Orr (Trixie from Speed
Racer, she is charming and is also heard in the U.S. theme song from the
series) and the late Earl Hammond. They
talk about Speed Racer and this
series, which will make fans of both very happy. Even the box is nicely designed, so overall,
BCI Eclipse can cal this one another winner.
For fans of the series, especially those who have not seen the show in
the 1970s (unless they got the VHS and more recently overpaid for the few
copies that got made), Ultraman
could not return fast enough. We look
forward to the concluding set for the original series soon, but pick this one
up ASAP!
- Nicholas Sheffo
