The Daimajin Trilogy (Arrow Video) - July 27, 2021

[MifuneFan]

Pre-order at:

Amazon
Diabolik DVD

The Daimajin Trilogy saw Daiei's Kyoto studios bringing its own iconic movie monster to life in a unique but short-lived series that transplants the Golem legend to Japan's Warring States period of the late-16th century. In Daimajin, directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda (Yokai Monsters, Zatoichi on the Road), the young son and daughter of the benevolent feudal lord Hanabusa flee to the mountains when their parents are slain by the treacherous usurper Odate. Ten years later, when the elderly priestess who has harbored them is also murdered, the rage of the slumbering ancient god that lies beneath the crumbling giant stone idol hidden deep in the forests in the mountains is invoked. In Return of Daimajin, Kenji Misumi (Tale of Zatoichi, Lone Wolf and Cub) brings his usual stylistic flourish, as the wrathful deity is roused from his new home on an island in the middle of a lake by the violent incursions of a vicious warlord. In the final film, Wrath of Daimajin, by veteran jidaigeki director Kazuo Mori, four young boys make a perilous trip to elicit the help of the ancient mountain god in freeing their family members who have been enslaved by a tyrannical lord. Remarkably overlooked in the West, these three thrilling tales of feudal oppression and divine retribution meted out by the iconic stone warrior of the title combine lavish period detail with jaw-dropping special effects.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

– High Definition Blu-rayTM (1080p) presentation of the three Daimajin films

– Lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio for all films

– Optional English subtitles

– Illustrated collector’s 100 page book featuring new essays by Jonathan Clements, Keith Aiken, Ed Godziszewski, Raffael Coronelli, Erik Homenick, Robin Gatto and Kevin Derendorf

– Postcards featuring the original Japanese artwork for all three films

– Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matt Frank

DISC ONE – DAIMAJIN

– Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film expert Stuart Galbraith IV

– Newly filmed introduction by critic Kim Newman

– Bringing the Avenging God to Life, a brand new exclusive video essay about the special effects of the Daimajin films by Japanese film historian Ed Godziszewski

– Alternate opening credits for the US release as Majin – The Monster of Terror

– Trailers for the original Japanese and US releases

– Image gallery

DISC TWO – RETURN OF DAIMAJIN

– Brand new audio commentary by Japanese film experts Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp

– My Summer Holidays with Daimajin, a newly filmed interview with Professor Yoneo Ota, director of the Toy Film Museum, Kyoto Film Art Culture Research Institute, about the production of the Daimajin films at Daiei Kyoto

– From Storyboard to Screen: Bringing Return of Daimajin to Life, a comparison of several key scenes in Return of Daimajin with the original storyboards

– Alternate opening credits for the US release as Return of the Giant Majin

– Trailers for the original Japanese and US releases

– Image gallery

DISC THREE – WRATH OF DAIMAJIN

– Brand new audio commentary by Asian historian Jonathan Clements

– Interview with cinematographer Fujio Morita discussing his career at Daiei and his work on the Daimajin Trilogy

– Trailers for the original Japanese release

– Image Gallery

Arrow Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HII2...ature=youtu.be

[Jessie]

YES!!! Day one!! and pre-ordered!

[SlimerJoel]

As always with boutique label kaiju films, day one.

[tatterdemalion]

Hooray! Time to start saving money and waiting for an importcds.com listing. I purchase through them for price and, especially, the quick shipping to Hawai'i. It's the only place I can get my product within a week of ordering with the cheapest shipping option.

[playsignal1976]

I am so excited to see more Japanese films coming out from Arrow. Their sets have been amazing with Ringu and Bloodthirsty Trilogy being my favorites. This set looks incredible!

[starsteam]

So that's Gamera, Warning from Space, Invisible Man Appears, Daimajin, and soon Yokai Monsters.

There's still several more tokusatsu films in Kadokawa's library but I'm not sure what the demand is for them. I'd love to see Whale God and the new Nezura film though.

[Monterey Jack]

Better sell my Mill Creek set...

[fred25_Ca]

Originally Posted by starsteam

So that's Gamera, Warning from Space, Invisible Man Appears, Daimajin, and soon Yokai Monsters.

There's still several more tokusatsu films in Kadokawa's library but I'm not sure what the demand is for them. I'd love to see Whale God and the new Nezura film though.

Whale God would be awesome, i've always wanted to see that one. It's so obscure I doubt it'll ever come out but here's hoping!

[Dragon78]

Interesting.

[movieben1138]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Better sell my Mill Creek set...

Oh, wow...I didn't realize that had gone out of print. To list or not to list...?

[zoomddy]

[zoomddy]

Originally Posted by movieben1138

Oh, wow...I didn't realize that had gone out of print. To list or not to list...?

I never sell my Kaiju titles. It's an obsession. I have every copy of VHS, DVD, and Blu I have ever bought.

Doubles of some . . .

I'm not a well man.

[starsteam]

I will frame my Mill Creek copy to remind me of a time where it was all I had.

By frame I mean keep it on the shelf as always for archival purposes.

I still keep a lot of DVDs just because of their unique menu screens.

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Better sell my Mill Creek set...

Mill Creek's Daimajin set was barebones (and I think 1080i for some of the movies). Arrow's will surely be a noticeable improvement in A/V, but having the English TV version openings in HD (probably scanned from 16/35mm elements like Arrow did for some of the Gamera openings) is the biggest selling point.

[fred25_Ca]

The mill creek set had pretty good a/v and a good selection of special features, actually...
I mean, i'm beyond happy about what Arrow are doing (and to justify the high price i'm selling my Mill Creek set) but let's be honest here, Mill Creek did a pretty good job back in the day. I'd take them over Criterion any day for these kind of movies. But yay for Arrow haha, they are on another level from most other boutique labels, that's for sure.

[AMenard]

Preorder done!
Also, I want to thank the OP for making me discover a new online store for my movie fix.

[Zillamon51]

I was hoping Arrow would come through with these (and Yokai), and it seems that they have. Instant pre-order!

[starsteam]

Originally Posted by fred25_Ca

Whale God would be awesome, i've always wanted to see that one. It's so obscure I doubt it'll ever come out but here's hoping!

I was thinking how they did their 'Vengeance Trails' set, and that maybe they could do a tokusatsu themed set to include some of these more obscure films that might not sell that well on their own. Just as people would buy box sets of obscure westers and giallo, there's plenty of fans that would eat up a box of unseen toku films.

A Kadokawa licensed set could include Whale God, The Demon of Mount Oe , Claws of Iron, The Snow Woman, and The Snake Girl and the Silver Haired Witch for example.
Of course, that would all depend on licensing costs and if there even is suitable material to release. I know little about these films besides their titles and a few posters/photographs.

[DukeTogo84]

While I own the Mill Creek release and think that release is actually pretty fantastic to be honest, I still pre-ordered this sucker. It just look too amazing to pass up.

[A Tortured Duckling]

Can't wait to get this. The artwork alone has me freaking out, and I have never seen any of these.