Toho was the sign of quality for a nine-year-old boy. This wasn’t any movie studio. This had to be the largest movie studio in the world because their major star was Godzilla. Their soundstages had to be huge to accommodate the atomic lizard and his giant mutant foes for legendary city smashing battles. Toho made more than Godzilla versus flicks. They were the home of Akira Kurosawa, but what nine-year-old cares for that bit of trivia? They would care to know of the other monsters Toho had ready to stomp Tokyo. Three of these non-Godzilla features are brought together on Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection. Squeezed inside the dvd box is The H-Man, Battle In Outer Space and the long awaited Mothra. There will be no argument between the foreign film purists and the viewers who want to see the American dubbed and edited version since both cuts are included.
The H-Man (1958 – 87 minutes Japanese/79 minutes American) is the most subtle of the trio here. There’s no giant monsters destroying buildings. During a narcotics bust in a rainstorm, the suspects vanish leaving their clothes, jewelry and drugs on the street. The cops are stymied. A mad scientist suggests that what’s happened is the crooks were victims of H-Men. The story goes that sailors were exposed to the hydrogen bomb. The blast transformed them into beings that dissolve people into their food source. The H-Men attack and vaporize cops and mobsters. The mad scientist and the police detective realize the only way they can stop these semi-slime creatures is to burn them away. This leads to plenty of burning footage in the finale. This is a sophisticated story for a Toho film. It also helps that everyone is well dressed as this was the Tokyo version of Mad Men.
Battle in Outer Space (1959 – 93 minutes Japanese/90 minutes American) has invaders from outer space destroying our major landmarks. There’s not much real plot besides a crew of humans launching into the beyond to take the battle to the aliens. It’s a rousing blow up. Their moon buggies look like the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The best destruction moment involves the Golden Gate Bridge getting shredded. The carnage is performed on large scale models so it’s not the antiseptic CGI work that has come dominate 21st century filmmaking. There’s real demolition taking place on these sets and not merely a few geeks coding a crunch.
Mothra (1961 – 101 minutes Japanese/88 minutes American) should have been a joke film. Why would you have to fear a giant moth attacking unless your city was knitted out of yarn? But there is plenty of nastiness that can come from Mothra when the creature is pissed off. What gets his dander up is corporate creeps exploring Infant Island and kidnapping his two tiny guardians (Yumi & Emi Ito). The diminutive pair were popular as the singing duo The Peanuts. The scientists decide to drag them back to Tokyo and put them on the stage. They are a major sensation like Celine Dion. However Mothra wants them back. The creature heads toward Japan in the shape of a larva. It hits the model landscape like a freight train. It wraps a cocoon of horror around the Tokyo Tower. Even with the threat of worst to come, the evil concert promoter refuses to release the Peanuts from their engagement. Can Tokyo survive when the winged Mothra emerges? The catastrophe is legendary. The Japanese version includes an additional Peanut’s on stage performance.
Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection is a must have for the children that grew up on a steady diet of Creature Double Feature action. This is a studio that understood what a teen boy wanted to see in a monster movie. Big creatures causing big wrecks. The trio of films remind us that Toho could create big sci-fi epics without relying completely on Godzilla. They weren’t a one atomic lizard operation.
The video is the pure TohoScope 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfers look good, but the sharpness of the image allows you to see imperfections caused by the optical effects. Nothing too distracting appears on the screen. Both versions of each movie have similar quality. This isn’t a case of the English being the battered pan and scan that had been used on TV over the decades. The audio is Dolby Digital mono. The levels are right enough to enjoy the destructive moments without drowning out the tiny voices of The Peanuts. There are English subtitles which come in handy when watching the Japanese versions.
Audio Commentaries from Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski provide commentaries on Battle In Outer Space and Mothra. They know their Toho and give all the details with gusto. On Battle, they supplement their talk with a phone interview with actress Elise Richter. Sony’s Mike Friend discusses what was done to restore these three titles.
Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection is essential viewing for folks who made appointment viewing for TNT’s MonsterVision or their local Creature Feature. Getting both versions of each film will please the purist and the nostalgic. Mothra is the star of the set. His winged vengeance has no equal in colorful destruction. The Peanuts were the original Olsen twins.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents Icons of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection. Starring: Kyoko Kagawa, Ryo Ikebe, Kyoko Anzai and Yumi & Emi Ito. Directed by: Ishiro Honda. Boxset Contents: 3 Movies on 3 DVDs. Released on DVD: August 18, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
