Rating: Summary: excellent set, great price Review: A nice letterboxed set of these classic movies. All 3 films DO contain English subtitles, despite the other review stating otherwise.
Rating: Summary: great stone fun Review: At well under [money] this is a great buy for three films. The Daimajim films are much more fun than either Godzilla or Gamera and the samurai setting really helps. No toy tanks or artillery here. All three films are basically alike but that doesn't hurt. The monster reminds one of Ray Harryhausen's Talos and, at times, is frightening. Buy and enjoy.
Rating: Summary: Highly Original Kaiju Review: I bought this DVD set on a whim after the interesting cover design caught my eye. My son is a big Godzilla fan, which makes me a big Godzilla fan, and I have always been a samurai movie addict, so the combination intrigued me. I was presently surprised by the quality of all three films. These are not the happy monster sock `em up that Godzilla had become in the same time period as these were made. These are intelligent, serious movies - which are quite impossible to describe without making them sound silly.Daimajin is this giant stone statue of some sort of warrior, which is protector of the feudal peasentry of its surrounding domain. It is described in the three movies as a kind of vengeful spirit trapped in stone, and as a god a la King Kong. Whichever incarnation is easiest to accept, I guess is left up to the viewer. The plot of all three movies moves in the same structure. There is trouble in paradise, someone warns the bad guys they are going to incur the anger of Daimajin, bad guys don't listen and do really bad things to the peasents, tearful peasent offers to sacrifice self to Daimajin if he will set things right, and finally, Daimajin awakes and stomps the baddies in a major way. However, each movie IS different. They are not traditional sequels of each other. If you can think of how the 60's Godzillas are not at all referred to by the 90's Godzillas, that's the way these go. Each one is a stand alone story. DAIMAJIN - Basically an intro to the saga, involving peasents slaving away at hard labor for a thankless daimyo (feudal lord). When a priestess warns them about Daimajin, the daimyo decides to set the peasents straight by chiselling away at the statue. BIG mistake. RETURN OF DAIMAJIN - My personal favorite -in this one, more slaving peasents, only a band of four boys decides to cross the forbidden Majin's mountain to rescue their relatives. This sounds like SON OF GODZILLA - but it couldn't be farther from it. This is a real life and death struggle for the children, and the story has a lot of humanity. Not at all what I expected. Plus Daimajin wields his sword for the only time. WRATH OF DAIMAJIN - The weakest of the three, almost a rehash of the original, though redeemed by better Majin effects. Bogged down a little by an intrigue plot that ends up the same way as the other two. All in all, Daimajin is recommendable for its high quality widescreen compositions (there are some shots of samurai cowering in terror on the gilded pagoda rooftops while Daimajin comes thundering over the mountains which are really well done), vibrant colors, great effects, and decent acting. These are not camp, but highly orginal works of fantasy, just a notch or two below Kwaidan and Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. Relentless Akira Ifukube (Godzilla) score, and some inspired sound design too (Daimajin's footsteps remind you of this huge stone heart beating). Check it out - you won't be disappointed. Its a steal at this price.
Rating: Summary: Good, but not that great! Review: I enjoyed the Daimajin movies alot, but if you're into just watching monsters trash cities this collection is not for you. The Daimajin movies are very story driven unlike most godzilla flicks.
Rating: Summary: It's about time... great DVD's Review: I just got this three disc set of DVD's and I must say that I am extremely impressed. The ADV transfers are sharp and clear with the sound quality being very good as well. The subtitles are also clear and easy to read. As for the movies, they are in my opinion the greatest Japanese monster films ever made. The storylines, while simple, are effective and well acted. The special effects are incredible, with most of them holding up to and surpassing today's standard SciFi fest. ADV has also put together an impressive package here, featuring 3 DVD's for less than the price of two of the VHS editions, removeable subtitles, chapter selections, and some of the most creative and effective cover art ever brought to a Japanese SciFi film release. Overall, wonderful films that are finally getting their due by being released to DVD.
Rating: Summary: Gret Kaiju Monster from my youth Review: I used to watch this on Saturday morning in Boston on the Creature Doubel Feature(channel 56). I couldnt remember the name of the movie until I came across it recently in a bootleg at a toy show. After that it was a quick matter to find the set and buy. Great memories and great movies all. 56 should bring back the creature double feature!
Rating: Summary: Daimajin Set Review: I was very unsure about purchasing this video since it was not dubbed in english and only had subtitles,I read the reviews and you were right on the ball the movies were very well made great storylines, nice footage and great sets. I had jsut finished the movie shogun, and wanted more. love the Japanese culture, DAIMAJIN IS AWESOME!!!
Rating: Summary: Gret Kaiju Monster from my youth Review: I watched this as a kid on TV in California a long time ago and It brought back a lot of good memories. The Majin monster(god) is an imbodiment of fictitious samurai ideals: detatched, fearless, conquirung evil etc.. A beatiful young maiden prays to the god for his help offering her own life for the life of the villagers. When the tears of her sorrow drop onto the majin's stone body, the rage of the god is awakened and his wrath unleased on the evil ones in true Japanese samurai fasion. Unlike a western superhero however, majin keeps on killing ,now the inocent as well as the guilty, until the girl pleads with him to stop and again her tears touch him. If you like samurai and Godzilla movies then this is a real must have.
Rating: Summary: Still Uplifting some 25 years later. Review: I watched this as a kid on TV in California a long time ago and It brought back a lot of good memories. The Majin monster(god) is an imbodiment of fictitious samurai ideals: detatched, fearless, conquirung evil etc.. A beatiful young maiden prays to the god for his help offering her own life for the life of the villagers. When the tears of her sorrow drop onto the majin's stone body, the rage of the god is awakened and his wrath unleased on the evil ones in true Japanese samurai fasion. Unlike a western superhero however, majin keeps on killing ,now the inocent as well as the guilty, until the girl pleads with him to stop and again her tears touch him. If you like samurai and Godzilla movies then this is a real must have.
Rating: Summary: A Rolling Stone (Avatar) Gathers No Moss Review: In 1966, Daiei was spending most of its time releasing Gamera films. Gamera, if you recall, is a massive, fire-farting turtle capable of flight. Of course, most people would be happy with one monster that cool. Not Daiei. Because later that year, they released Daimajin, a terminally awesome movie about a giant stone avatar who comes to life and starts kicking stuff over. They followed that up with two sequels about the same exact thing, only with Kennies. For some reason, those were sweet too. Now you can own own all three films together in a totally awesome set. So, what do you say? Join me or die! Can you do any less?
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