Did you notice the Villan
A point can be made that the first "turncoat" in the movie is the ambasador from Iran. mmmmm. Not a Soviet?
So who can we talk to to get this treasure put on DVD?
Maybe we should contact Media Blasters, who have been releasing a number of vintage Toho titles under their Tokyo Shock banner.
shareWon't happen. Sony has the rights to it.
shareThe folks in Sony Repertory have it for theatrical rental -- and they also have a print of the Japanese version in the vaults (with no subs). They want to produced a subbed version for theatrical rental, as they did with Honda's MOTHRA (1961), but allocating the $4000+ to strike a subtitled print is a bit of a challenge. They'd also like to do the same for THE H-MAN as well... Meanwhile, the folks Columbia/TriStar Home Video view these films as Grade-Z garbage, so talking to them about a DVD release is like talking to a wall. So, tell your local rep house that you'd like to see BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE.
shareIf they consider it as grade Z garbage then why don't they sell it to someone else that would like to release this "grade z garbage" like Tokyo Shock or even (to a much, much, much lesser extent) Alpha Video.
shareWell, things have changed since there have been some personnel changes at Sony/TriStar Home Video... We were treated to a wonderful Sam Katzman box set, containing some previously unreleased gems like THE WEREWOLF (and the not so shiny THE GIANT CLAW). Rumor has it that a possible "Toho Box Set" could be forthcoming, containing the Japanese and U.S. versions of THE H-MAN, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE and MOTHRA.
Cross your fingers, but don't hold your collective breath — we might have to wait a couple of years before this materializes.
Release of these three was confirmed in SyFy today.
shareI have a Japanese import (my DVD player is all region) and it is a beautiful transfer. Colors are bright and bold and the CinemaScope aspect ratio allows all the action to be seen. Granted the film has not aged well and the pace drags at times, but it is a treasured memory brought back to my big screen TV. Wonderful.
"It's just television, get over it!" - David Letterman
Two questions:
Does it have sub titles;
Does it keep Akira I f u k u b i's rousing original score?