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Released by: Discotek Media
Released on: 4/25/2006
Director: Jun Fukuda
Cast: Akihiko Hirata, Ryo Ikebe, Yuko Asano, Katsutoshi Atarashi, Kensaku Morita, Masaya Oki, Hideji Otaki, Hiroshi Miyauchi
Year: 1977
The Movie:
In the far off future of 1988(!) the Earth is attacked by aliens from Venus. They blast away at major metropolitan cities like New York, London, Paris and yes, even Tokyo and the only hope that the planet has of defending itself lies in the hands of a professor (Ryo Ikebe) who, after the urging of the United Nations Space Federation, completes construction on the massive Japanese space shop, Gohten.
After a few failed attempts by the Venusians to steal the plans for the ship and halt consturction, the ship blasts through its underground bunker and heads deep into the reaches of space to take the battle from Earth to Venus. Unfortunately for the crew of the ship, the professor's daughter is kidnapped and held hostage by the leader of the Venusians who keeps her chained to a giant Muppet in leather hotpants and a halter top.
With the daughter held hostage, her fiance and her ex-boyfriend, both of whom are part of the ship's crew, help bring the fight to Venus where they find a giant spaceship complete with hundreds of lasers that they'll have to get past in order to save the girl and the day. Will our heros rescue the damsel in distress before the Muppet has his way with her or will she and all of Earth perish under the hand of the Venusians and their sinister leader who perpetually scowls away under his faux-Roman gladiator helmet?
Though it takes a while to get going, once you hit the half hour mark this one more or less has it all - a cute girl in hot pants, a giant Muppet with a laser axe, a guy with face paint on and a gladiator helmet, guys floating around in space suits, and lasers, lasers, LASERS! Though Toho put this one out in theaters in 1977 in hopes of cashing in on the Star Wars craze that was, at the time, taking the world by storm this film really doesn't have all that much in common with Lucas' best known effort. At times it almost feels like an Italian science fiction film like the ones made by Antonio Margheriti or, in spots, like Mario Bava's Planet Of The Vampires what with all the primary colored lighting effects and smokey, atmospheric sets.
The plot is really nothing spectacular though parts of the film are a tad darker than expected and there is an unexpected death or two throughout the movie. The love triangle aspect is pretty predictable and you can see the resolution of that plot device coming from a mile away but the action and the visuals in this one are cool enough that it doesn't matter. Numerous space battles, laser gun fights, and cool U.F.O. attacks make this one plenty entertaining even if it isn't really a classic. It's an hour and a half of very pretty pop art eye candy, and you can do a lot worse than that for an evenings entertainment.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is on par with the Japanese R2 NTSC release that came out in Japan a couple of years ago and was subsequently bootlegged by a few grey market dealers, but seeing as this release is on a DVD-9 it doesn't look as compressed as those bootlegs did. Color reproduction is quite strong and black levels pretty solid and while some fine detail does look a little soft, this is a pretty nice image we've got on this disc. Edge enhancement is there but never overpowering and for a thirty year old low budget sci-fi movie, things look just fine.
Discotek has supplied Japanese language tracks in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and the original mono, as well as the film's English dub. Optional subtitles are available in English and you have the choice of activating the English slates option as well, which is a nice touch. The clarity is slightly sharper on the Japanese track than the English track but all three options sound pretty good, with the 5.1 track spacing out the effects during the space battles and making the shoot outs a little more fun.
The main supplement on this disc comes in the form of a thirty-two minute long video interview with Teriyoshi Nakano who handled some of the special effects and miniature work on the film. This is an interesting discussion, conducted in Japanese with English subtitles, that sheds some light on how some of the more impressive and unique set pieces that the film employs were created. It's an entertaining and interesting discussion that fans should appreciate.
Aside from that, there are trailers for War In Space, Lupin III - Strange Psychokinetic Strategy, and the Mikadroid, a still gallery, and a nice selection of liner notes and pre-production artwork inside a nice booklet in the keepcase.
The Final Word:
While the story is nothing to write home about, The War In Space has enough going on in the 'cool visuals' department that it's easy to overlook its shortcomings and just enjoy it for the eye candy that it is. Discotek's disc looks and sounds pretty good and contains a few choice supplements as well, making this one a whole lot of fun.
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