Daimajin / Return of Daimajin / Daimajin Strikes Again
(1966)
Daimajin / Return of Daimajin / Daimajin Strikes Again Blu-ray delivers great video and poor audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Set during Japan’s "Warring States" era, the Daimajin movies told the story of Majin, a giant statue of an angry god that would come to life in times of desperation to punish evildoers. But when Majin’s rage was unleashed, it could be directed at both the wicked and innocent, alike.
For more about Daimajin / Return of Daimajin / Daimajin Strikes Again and the Daimajin / Return of Daimajin / Daimajin Strikes Again Blu-ray release, see the Daimajin / Return of Daimajin / Daimajin Strikes Again Blu-ray Review published by Martin Liebman on October 21, 2012 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.5 out of 5.
This Blu-ray release includes the following titles, see individual titles for specs and details:
Who is big and turns green when he's angry? Well, yes, The Hulk is one correct answer, but the other is Majin, a Japanese movie god
who doesn't take kindly to those who enslave villagers or do harm to the innocent and those who worship his name. The 1966 trilogy tells three
similar tales of people wronged by others and the god taking vengeance on the wrongdoers. The movies are well made even in the repetitiveness. The
characters are nicely developed and the special effects quite good for the era. Mill Creek's triple feature contains all three films on two discs, presented
with quality high definition transfers and lackluster audio. Several fascinating bonus interviews are included on disc two.
Don't make him angry.
Daimajin
Rating: 4.0/5
In Feudal Japan, the land violently shakes. Residents of a small village believe the shaking signifies the imminent return of Majin, a buried spirit
struggling to free itself from its rocky captivity. Unfortunately, the frightening event leads to tragedy, but not from Majin. Samanosuke (Yutaro
Gomi) makes use of the moment by staging a rebellion and seizing control of the village. He kills Lord Hanabasa but not before the warrior Kogenta
(Jun Fujimaki) can rescue Hanabasa's children and guide them to safety. A decade passes. The children have matured into young adults but the
village remains under Samanosuke's control. He works the people hard and with no promise of freedom or reward. When Samanosuke is
warned about the threat Majin poses to his rule, he sends his men to destroy the god, a move which could have serious repercussions for his
dynasty.
Daimajin is a simple yet incredibly effective picture that quickly and efficiently builds its story but takes its time in the approach towards its
climax, finding plenty of
time to build characters and set various scenes. It's a striking example of finely-tuned cinema, home to a robust story, good characters,
great cinematography, simple but visually appealing art direction, and well-crafted action. The film builds on elements of myth and religion and, at
its core, the contrast between good and evil, particularly good's faith in something better to come and evil's arrogance in power. The movie is
beautifully photographed and expertly acted; it plays naturally and effortlessly draws viewers into its tale by establishing a densely-developed world
and making even the most far-fetched aspects wholly believable. In fact, even the end special effects impress with their simplicity and authenticity.
The embodiment of the title character is menacing and understandably robotic but also provided a soul that a lifelessly animated character could not
portray. This is a superb movie that all lovers of fine cinema, and not only genre aficionados, need to see.
Return of Daimajin
Rating: 3.0/5
The slaves of Mikoshiba are fleeing their homeland. The live in a mountains region that lacks the propensity and fortuitous layout of the nearby
Nagoshi and Chigusa villages, both situated on lakeshore land and both coexisting in harmony. Both Nagoshi and Chigusa are happy to take on the
steady stream of refugees. One day, when the Nagoshi residents pray to the Majin statue, they witness a prophecy come to life: the statue's
stony face turns red, portending the destruction of their homeland. Indeed, the rulers of Mikoshiba are plotting an attack on Chigusa and Nagoshi,
scheduled to take place during a peaceful ceremony. After the attack, the invaders are warned that the god Majin will protect the innocent. The
attackers scoff at the idea and proceed to demolish the statue, sending its head plummeting into the water. Little do they know that various
warning signs all point to an angry god, no longer decapitated, planning revenge against its attackers.
Return of Diamjin has the feel of a video game repurposed for the obligatory sequel, keeping the formula completely intact, adding nothing
to it, and only making the effort to provide a superficial once-over to proclaim it "new." To be sure, there's nothing at all new here beyond setting
and characters. The
basic story is the same: bad guys attack good guys, bad guys attack the Majin statue, bad guys find themselves in a world of hurt when the
statue springs to life to get them. It's not necessarily a bad thing; it's a successful formula but the movie does come across as rather stale. There
are some fine character and dramatic moments in a fairly slow middle stretch, and it takes a good hour before Majin gets going with his attack.
The movie is entertaining but audiences expecting something different will be disappointed to find what is little more than a remake/re-imagining of
the original.
Daimajin Strikes Again
Rating: 3.5/5
Peasants believe a rash of avalanches, earthquakes, and floods are the result of a thrashing Damiajin, the mountain god. The peasants are working
frantically to get their tasks finished before winter and so they may celebrate the new year with rest and relaxation. When a villager suddenly
returns wounded and exhausted, he
shares a harrowing story of escape from Hell's Valley and the evil Lord Arwaka who has enslaved other villagers for the purpose of mining materials
and creating gunpowder. The village's own Lord Koyama refuses to send in a rescue party; the approaching winter means his men could be caught
in the snow and die. The only possible avenue of rescue means crossing Majin's Mountain, home of the god and surely a death sentence for all who
traverse it. The only villagers brave enough to challenge the mountain are four young children who set out on a daring and courageous journey to
rescue their fathers, with, maybe, a little help from a certain angry and vengeful god.
It's an apt title if there ever was one. Daimajin Strikes Again follows the same basic formula of trouble for a village and a big green hulking
god leaving its stone form and thrashing wrongdoers at the end. While the general elements remain the same, the movie does shift away from the
first
two by embracing a childlike sense of adventure through, indeed, the eyes of children. The movie builds an imaginative and oftentimes captivating
tale of young children, perhaps a little naive but showing reverence to their god as needed, setting out on a daring and commendable but perhaps
foolhardy quest to save their parents, local lore and dangers be damned. The movie finds a good rhythm and paints the children as likable and
sincere. The combination of their physical efforts, emotional wherewithal, and mental stability build a core that's contrasted but augmented by
Majin's wrath. The end of the movie is definitely more of the same -- any of the three film's final minutes could easily be interchanged -- but the
buildup makes Daimajin Strikes Again a solid movie and one that should appeal to a wider audience, including series newcomers, veteran
fans, and younger
viewers looking for adventure down at their own size.
Mill Creek's Daimajin shares a disc with Return of Daimajin but nevertheless fares quite well. The movie doesn't exactly leap off the
screen with dazzling colors and eye-catching details, but this is a well-rounded, film-like presentation. Light grain remains, and the transfer presents
facial
and garment textures with crisp definition, particularly in brighter scenes. Likewise, colors are even and stand out nicely from what are often fairly
dark
backgrounds; red and peach-colored garb seen on one character appears naturally shaded. Some of the darker scenes go a bit soft and blacks can
appear
a touch bright. A few random speckles appear over what is an otherwise clean print.
Return of Daimajin
Rating: 4.0/5
Much as the movie is largely identical to its predecessor, so too is Return of Daimajin's Blu-ray transfer. It's a fair image, yielding adequate
clothing and facial detail, occasionally good definition on foliage, and only a slightly soft appearance. Colors are rather dim and a touch washed out,
but baseline
effective in the delivery of natural greens, earthen shades, flesh tones, and blacks. The image retains a very light grain structure and offers no major
speckling, banding, blocking, or other negative elements. It's stable but not all that vibrant. It looks fairly good for a smaller and older catalogue title,
but reference material it is not.
Daimajin Strikes Again
Rating: 4.0/5
There's little evident difference between Daimajin Strikes Again and the other films in this collection. The image is slightly soft. Light grain
remains and the print is very clean. Details are fair, revealing adequate textures in clothes and skin, not to mention Majin's rock and living forms
both. Colors range from dim to brilliant; brighter outdoor scenes offer great natural greens and snowy whites, but darker earthen tones are rather
bland. Black levels are fair and flesh tones accurate. No banding, blocking, or other negatives are visible. Overall, all three films look rather good on
Blu-ray.
Daimajin's soundtrack struggles out of the gate and never finds much in the way of sonic clarity. Neither the English nor Japanese language
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtracks impress, though both presentations are baseline efficient in supporting the film. The elements can be a
bit
scratchy, and the Japanese track features an audible hiss underneath the primary elements. Clarity and presence both are lacking in either track.
Booms of thunder early on or heavy footfalls and crumbling structures at the end both fail to find much robustness or energy. The English track is a
bit quieter and enjoys slightly more raw clarity and sound separation. The Japanese track offers a fuller sound but at the expense of sonic
definition; some effects run together, such as music and a waterfall in chapter four. Dialogue comes through clearly in both tracks, however, and
remains grounded in the usual front-center portion of the soundstage.
Return of Daimajin
Rating: 2.0/5
There's an obvious distinction between the Japanese and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks, but neither is really all that good. The English track
is puny, to be kind. It's
often muffled, hollow, and lacks body, volume, and range. This holds true under every circumstance, be it music, dialogue (which rarely matches up
with the subtitles, and the differences are often not even close), or action scenes. On the other hand, the Japanese track offers significantly more
heft, better clarity, and a more obvious body to dialogue, music, and action. It's still rather cramped and confined and clarity is only adequate, but the
jump in feel is significant. In short, original=better.
Daimajin Strikes Again
Rating: 2.5/5
Daimajin Strikes Again's pair of DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtracks offer a slight improvement. While still underwhelming, the
Japanese and English
presentations both share a fair amount of heft and body. Details are often crunchy and mushy and absent legitimate clarity, but heavy footsteps,
raging
waters, and other aggressive sound elements aren't too drastically different under either track. Gunshots are a bit louder in English, however, but
music isn't distanced by much difference between the two. The Japanese dialogue is a little quieter, the dubbed English track louder. There's not
much difference, but
consdiering the generally awful English dub, the original track is the way to go.
Each film in the Daimajin trilogy contains a behind-the-scenes feature with Cinematographer Fujio Morita and a trailer.
Daimajin Behind the Scenes (HD, 28:13): A detailed chat with Daimajin Cameraman Fujio Morita of Daiei Kyoto Film
Company. He shapes his background before going in-depth into Daimajin, speaking on its visual effects, filmmaking techniques, shooting
locales, and much more. In Japanese with
English subtitles. The written information is difficult to read when the white Japanese text fills the blackened screen, and white English text overlays
the Japanese text.
Daimajin Trailer (HD, 2:31).
Return of Daimajin Behind the Scenes (HD, 31:04): Another piece with Fujio Morita in which he fills in more pieces of his
background and his techniques. There's some fascinating film school-level insight here that gets into some detail on the processes of the art of
moviemaking. He
also shares secrets of the shoot and discusses in detail the process of making Return of Daimajin.
Return of Daimajin Trailer (HD, 1:53).
Daimajin Strikes Again Behind the Scenes (HD, 28:21): This piece, again with Fujio Morita, begins with a discussion on
VistaVision and implementing
new techniques into his filmmaking repertoire. Again, the piece contains highly detailed and infinitely fascinating discussions on filmmaking
techniques, styles, and details. The supplement moves on to cover Daimajin Strikes Again in detail.
Mill Creek's Daimajin trilogy should delight fans in search of high quality home video presentations. The films are lovingly presented on Blu-ray,
each one featuring slightly soft but authentic film-like video transfers. The audio tracks fall behind, but the inclusion of both native Japanese and
English dubbed presentations should please purists and casual audiences alike. Several high quality interviews are included. This is a rather great
package of three good
movies at an affordable price. Recommended.
Mill Creek Entertainment have officially announced that they will release on Blu-ray Daimajin - Triple Feature Collector's Edition. Arriving for the first time ever on Blu-ray, the trilogy boasts a newly produced English dub for Daimajin Strikes Again, and brand-new ...
Daimajin / Return of Daimajin / Daimajin Strikes Again Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
