Customer Reviews

War in Space

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We found a problem with the War in Space video encode and it happened to late to solve the problem before some of them were shipped out. Unfortunately this initial batch of War in Space discs with video encoding problems were released into the marketplace. If you encounter a disc with video problems please return your defective disc only, (please do not return the case or cover) to this address:

Discotek Media
War in Space Replacement
522 Hunt Club Blvd. PMB 338
Apopka, FL 32703

Please include your name and address with your return. We will ship you a fully working replacement ASAP. We are very sorry for the inconvenience.

From director Jun Fukuda and special effects wiz Nakano Teruyoshi, the creators of several Seventies' Godzilla epics, comes Toho Studios' 1977 interstellar adventure, WAR IN SPACE (WAKUSEI DAISENSO).

Conceived by Toho Studios as a STAR WARS rip-off, the final film owes more to Gerry Anderson's British television shows UFO and SPACE: 1999 and the Japanese studios' own Sixties sci-fi thrillers like ATRAGON and BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE than to George Lucas' intergalactic epic.

In the (then-future) year of 1988, UFOs attack the Earth. While the invaders are devastating New York, Paris, Tokyo and the world's other major cities, a team of scientists race to complete a space battleship called Ghoten. Once launched, the ship and its crew head for Venus, to counterattack the aliens. Along the way, the only female crewmember (Yuko Asano) is kidnapped by the green-skinned, Roman-helmeted alien leader and his horned wookie, UFOs engage in high-speed dogfights with the Earth fighters above the barren Venusian landscape, and space ships explode impressively.

The old school, handcrafted special effects work - finely detailed miniatures on mostly-invisible wires - is expertly executed and effective. The spaceships, in a decidedly Asian conceit, resemble sea-faring vessels, and the alien flagship is specifically modeled on ancient Roman sailing ship designs. The Ghoten features a huge drill bit (shades of ATRAGON!) and cool, giant revolvers that fire missiles and are also used to launch sleek, one-man fighters. The UFOs are original and unique. Made on a fraction of STAR WARS' budget, WAR IN SPACE demonstrates that ingenuity and imagination can carry the day even when money's tight.

Discotek Media's DVD presents WAR IN SPACE for the first time on U.S. home video (I believe) with a brilliant 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, completely restored and remastered for this edition. Audio options include both the original Japanese language track and an English dub, presented in both the original mono and in a newly created 5.1 remix. The Japanese track is preferable, as it's stronger and more robust. Discotek has also included a bevy of cool bonus features, including a fascinating video interview with special effects director Nakano Teruyoshi, the original theatrical trailer, an extensive still gallery, and an informative booklet that includes poster art, spaceship design sketches and informative liner notes.

(NOTE: Some of the first batch of WAR IN SPACE discs released had an encoding problem causing playback issues. Discotek is aware of the problem, and if you get one of the defective DVDs, they'll replace it for you for free. Visit their website for more information.)

As a fan of outer space epics and Japanese fantasy films, I've been wanting to see this movie ever since I saw the poster art in a 1978 issue of Fantastic Films magazine. It took almost 30 years, but I wasn't disappointed. It's a terrific presentation of a great old-fashioned space opera, and I recommend it highly.

From Toho Studios comes War in Space (1977) aka Wakusei daisenso (the original Japanese title) aka The War in Space aka Battle in Outer Space 2 aka Great Planet War aka Planet Wars...call it what you will, but I call it just, plain fun. Directed by Jun Fukuda (Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Gigan), the film features Kensaku Morita (Topsy-Turvy Journey), Hiroshi Miyauchi (Secret Task Force Goranger), Ryo Ikebe (Gorath), Yűko Asano (Guillotine Island), and David Perin (Companions in Crime), as the token Caucasian character.

The year is 1988, autumn, to be precise, and there be some trouble at the UN Space Federation, Japanese Branch. Upon arriving home after spending a couple of years in the states, Miyoshi (Morita) learns that there's been a lot of strange space activity causing electrical interference preventing contact with Space Station Terra...oh yeah, he also finds out the girl he liked, named Jun (Asano), is engaged to his friend Morrei (Miyauchi). Anyway, the stuff soon hits the fan as orb-shaped UFOs begin appearing in the sky, attacking various miniature cities throughout the world. Not only that but Space Station Terra finds itself under attack by something described in the short and highly illuminating message as follows..."It's big! It's very big!"...all right, so Jun's father, Professor Takigawa (Ikebe), who also happens to be Miyoshi former teacher, is instructed to revive a defunct project known as `Gohten', as Earth's defenses are no match for the mysterious, alien ships, which have been wreaking havoc across the globe. What is Gohten? Well, if you've seen the film Atragon (1963), then you're probably familiar with it as it's the same ship used in that film, with a few extra modifications. While Professor Takigawa and his crew struggle to prepare the ship, there's lots of talk about a character named Jimmy (who now works at NASA), and the aliens, learning of Gohten's existence, begin blasting the hell out of the underground island base in the hopes of neutralizing the humanity's last chance for survival. Jimmy shows up (finally), and Gohten takes off just in time to beat the tar out of the alien forces (Hooray!) flying about Earth before heading into space, their destination...Venus! Seems the aliens have set up their base of operations on the Venusian surface and now it's time to take the fight to them...but wait! Some green-skinned goons crash the party, kidnap Jun, and make her wear a tiny leather S&M outfit...Hello Kitty! After some stuff we eventually learn the aliens, aboard a ginormous space galleon named the Daimaken (whose aerodynamics seem dubious at best), led by a tyrant named Commander Hell, who just happens to be emperor of the galaxy (obviously a self appointed title), have all kinds of plans for the Earth, but the one thing they didn't figure on was a bunch of plucky Japanese astronauts riding the pain train right to their doorstep...once Gohten reaches Venus you better believe it's on, as only one ship will be leaving that planet's surface...

From what I've read War is Space was Toho Studios answer to Star Wars (1977), but the two features share only a few, relatively minor commonalities. One obvious aspect was Commander Hell's alien henchman, who looked suspiciously wookie-like, except for large horns on his head and he wields a huge axe instead of a bowcaster. Also know Commander Hell, who's dressed like a Roman emperor (for some, unknown reason), doesn't have much on Darth Vader (Vader and his Imperial forces would have reduced Commander Hell and his fancy space galleon to a greasy, space smudge in about two nano seconds). One really funny aspect for me in terms of the galleon was how it actually had oars protruding from the side, but they weren't used in the traditional fashion as they were, in reality, weapons of mass destruction. Other than that the story seems very similar to that in the film Atragon, except here a good part of the fighting takes place on Venus rather than Earth. The Gohten is pretty cool, one of its main features being a rotation cartridge cylinder, much like that found on a revolver, that has dual use in that it launches fighter ships into space along with firing powerful laser blasts. The story, while hokey, was a lot of fun, but I could have done without the middling love triangle between Miyoshi, Jun, and Morrei. It wasn't played up too much, except for a couple of scenes where I was tempted to jam a couple of shrimp forks into my ocular orbs. In terms of the effects I wouldn't classify this as Toho's best work, but it was still pretty decent as I only saw hanging wires from the ships in a couple of scenes. Once things get rolling there's plenty of action, including a rather large battle between the ships near the end...one word of advice for the captain of the Gohten...now I'm no master strategist but I'd think it'd be wise, when doing battle in outer space (or anywhere for that matter), to not fly directly into your opponents line of fire. Perhaps it's tied to the `kamikaze' mentality witnessed during WWII, I don't know, but if so, it's not an advisable course of action given you're the only defense for Earth against a hostile, alien race intent subjugating the planet. I really liked the music throughout, and I also liked the fact the story had little problems in sacrificing the occasional main character or two, but I only wish they would have done so without the gooey sentimentality that followed. All in all this isn't a stellar Toho production but I found it entertaining and worth a look, especially if you're a fan of Japanese science fiction. One should know there are no gigantic monsters running around in this feature, and element found in many of Toho Studios more popular films often referred to as `kaiju', or giant monster features.

The picture quality, presented in widescreen anamorphic (2.35:1), on this Discotek Media DVD release, looks decent, although the colors seems dull and even brownish at times. Apparently, when the DVD was originally released, there were some quality issues with the encoding process causing the picture to go nutty about forty minutes in, but the copy I got, early in 2006, played just fine. For those who have issues, contact the company via their website and they'll fix you up with a replacement. As far as the audio there's the original 2.0 Japanese, a newly remixed 5.1 Japanese track, and a 2.0 English dub, along with option English subtitles. Extras include a theatrical trailer, a photo gallery, an interview with special effects director Nakano Teruyoshi, and a detailed insert booklet with historical information, poster art, and vehicle diagrams. Also included are trailers for Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (1974) and Mikadoroido: Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla (1991).

Cookieman108

A small percent of the first shipment of DVDs had a mastering error that caused the video to become interlaced later in the film. This was an error in the production of the disc itself.

If you have a problem with your DVD you can go to the publishers web site (Discotek Media) for instructions on getting it exchanged for a working version. All future shipments are the corrected version.

This movie has an alien invasion plot not unlike 1950's American science fiction. However there are peculiar Japanese elements, especially the debate about using what would now be called a weapon of mass destruction one time only, to save the earth. The special effects are surprisingly good.

I pretty much saw that this was the director of Godzilla vs Gigan and Godzilla vs Megalon and took the plunge. Lots of fun and rockin' music. I only wish there were a bit more a-battlin', but I can always watch it again. (so 4.5 stars) This must have been amazing in a theater... (as I presume most of these kaiju/model epics are...)

The second Toho DVD from Discotek definitely shows signs that Discotek could be another company to look out for, as they pack this disc with a lot of the content and transfers from the region 2 release while also providing subtitles and dub tracks. To that effect, the disc really excels across the board, boasting a good video and audio presentations while also featuring a great array of extras.Discotek does a fairly good job with this video presentation, which looks to be derived from Toho's region 2 release of the movie. Overall, it's a pretty good presentation, as the movie looks very sharp without signs of edge enhancement while there is a nice distinct color range, although it's it does suffer from a very slight yellow tint while the contrast could have stood to be raised just a tad. The print used in the transfer also appears to be in great shape, though, as there is very little grain and hardly any scratches to be seen. Digital inconsistencies are slightly present in the form of some light pixilation on some of the darker backgrounds, but it's nothing too noticeable.Unfortunately, there is a major problem with the video track in the initial run of this release that occurs around the 34 minute mark and stays for the duration of the feature. What happens at this point is that the video seems to slow down, like the number of frames being shown has been reduced. The ending result is a slightly jerky look to the film. Discotek has issued a warning on their site in regards to this "video encode" problem exists, and that they will issue replacements for those who send in their "defective" discs to them. It's a bit of a hassle, but worth it for those who might be unfortunate enough to get one of the first run DVDs.The War in Space is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, or Toho Scope, and is Anamorphic for widescreen TVs. Unfortunately, the image has been "windowboxed" as thick black borders appear to the left and right of the image when viewed on a DVD-Rom, although other setups will view the video without problem.Discotek presents the film with a pretty robust array of audio options that are sure to keep most happy. In total, there are three audio tracks present. The first is a very well done 5.1 surround remix of the movie in Japanese. In all honesty, it's hard to tell that this isn't the movie's original presentation format that it's done so well. Of course the speaker distinction isn't particularly impressive, but it does give the movie a little more depth that adds to the enjoyment.Next up is a 2.0 mono track of the movie in Japanese, which is the movie's original presentation format. Nothing really goes astray with this track, other than that the volume is low in comparssion to the surround one, as it's a faithful presentation of the movie's original format. Finally, the last audio track is a 2.0 mono presentation of the movie dubbed into English. This track is sadly a little lacking, as the volume level here is very low and the voices sound a little muffled, like it was a couple generation old copy of the audio. Still the track will probably be of interest to some and it's nice to see it's inclusion, even if the dubbing job is remarkably awful.The movie is accompanied by, removable, English subtitles that correspond to the Japanese or English tracks.After the disappointing run of extras on the company's Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy, it's nice to see them turn a new leaf here and pack this disc with a fairly good supply of supplemental material. The star attraction here is the 32 minute interview with special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano, which is complemented by production stills and conceptual art. This feature goes over nearly every ship in the film, discussing conceptual work along with how general special effects are achieved. The interview is fairly well done and very informative, even if his discussions of the importance of the movie to Japanese cinema seem very heavy handed. Anyone interested in the production, though, should make sure to check it out. The interview is conducted in Japanese, and complimented by removable English subtitles.Next up is a wide selection of production and publicity stills related to the film. Unfortunately, all of these are in black and white, but there is a good number of them to mill over and some nice shots in the collection. Also included with this release is a nice five page booklet on the film, which includes a two page "essay" on the production with numerous quotes from the staff (very nicely constructed, and it's a shame no author appears to be cited), concept art, making of shots and a collection of posters. To round out the extras, the disc also contains three trailers to other Toho features, which include the live-action Lupin film Lupin the 3rd: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy (1974), Mikadroid (1992) and the movie's own trailer. Sadly, compared to the region 2 release this disc is lacking the audio commentary done by Goro Mutsumi, the actor who plays the infamous "Hell Commander". Perhaps this was deemed as too much to subtitle, or too expensive to license from Toho, but hopefully these audio commentaries do appear on future titles from them as they really are a joy to listen through.On a final note, the menus here are also rather nice, particularly the main menu as the middle portion shows clips from the film while Hell Fighters strafe the screen ever so often. It's also a huge improvement over the rather mundane menus we have seen from Discotek in the past, and hopefully a sign of things to come.Bottom line, this is a really fantastic release from Discotek, who is showing promise as a company to definitely watch for quality releases of Toho titles.

Sitting down to watch THE WAR IN SPACE was actually kind of cool because, even after all these years, I had never made it through the entire picture before. Way back when, I'd started it a time or two, but in my impatient youth, I couldn't get through the first 15 minutes without either yawning or rolling my eyes. The movie is more or less a rehash of every other Toho alien invasion movie ever made, and borrows very heavily from 1963's ATRAGON--with a dash of Toei's SPACE CRUISER YAMATO for good measure. A few of the good ol' regular Toho cast members appear here to raise a smile, such as Ryo Ikebe (BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE, GORATH) as the stoic-to-the-point-of-sleepwalking captain of the spaceship Gohten; Akihiko Hirata, best known for his role as the tragic Dr. Serizawa in the original GODZILLA; and Goro Mutsumi, the alien leader in both GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA and TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, back in this one as...an alien leader, now dressed like a sparkly garbed gladiator. For the appreciation of heterosexual males, we have the very hot Yuko Asano, who doesn't do a whole lot but does appear in an appealing bondage scene that almost pushes the limits of a G-rating.

The direction by Jun Fukuda, who directed several of the later Showa-era Godzilla films, comes off as either breakneck or altogether stalled, which largely accounts for my past inability to sit through the movie. The hysterically bad English dubbing--typical of many 70s' Toho films--often has characters reiterating (at least once) the same lines that another character has just spoken. The real draw, though, the special effects--by Mr. Pyrotechnics himself, Teruyoshi Nakano--are a scream. High-tech the movie is not, certainly compared to STAR WARS, which was made the same year; bobbing miniatures, stock footage, and sparse sets abound, yet Mr. Nakano does provide a true extravaganza in the area where he always excels: big old fiery explosions. There are lots of them, and they never fail to impress. There's something about watching actual miniatures blow up into blazing fragments that the most sophisticated CGI in the world simply can't rival.

Whereas all this cheese once stoked my ire--you know, being a serious SPFX movie fan--I find that, in my old age, they come together in a mix that is really quite fun. It'll probably be a while before I sit down to watch THE WAR IN SPACE again, but by God, I did it. I finally, really did it.

to me there is nothing like sitting down to one of these 60's technicolor crazy sci fi movies...where they make no excuses for anything and just aim to entertain. The japanese are the masters of the evilest villains, the straightest good guys and helpless women who who are either extremely clumsy or outright evil...being in charge of armies of sunglass wearing thugs who look like they jumped right out of an italian spy flick. I loved the whole look of this film, from the bright blue orange and red of the walls to the giant bolts and control screens to the vivid colorful uniforms. the greatest is the enemy galleon in space with the rows of oars that shoot as well as row. And how about that lone white guy who I can never tell if he is speaking japanese or english ( I suppose I could watch the japanese language track..but why spoil the fun)
classic.

Not a bad japanese classic. But gave it 2 stars for to munch star wars like scenes. After seeing Toho's monster films, this one blows. But not bad to see it once, only once. Whats with the hairy alien with horns, stupid!