The Japanese kaiju film God Raiga vs. King Ohgawill come out on DVD May 25 from MVD Entertainment Group and SRS Cinema.
In this installment in the kaiju franchise, the giant monster Raiga returns, rising in Atami Harbor and attacking the city. A second kaiju, Ohga, soon joins the chaos, and the two monsters clash, destroying large sections of the city. Defense forces launch two new weapons, the giant tank Kamikaze and the drill tank Gokumei, to meet the monster invasion head on. But as the beasts work their way to Tokyo, will they be enough to stop the monsters from laying waste to the city?
The film, from writer-director Shinpei Hayashiya, follows Raiga: God of the Monsters and Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters and drafts off the recent American hit Godzilla vs. Kong.
Three “Gamera” kaiju film sets are coming to Blu-ray Jan. 26 from Arrow Video and MVD Entertainment Group.
The Gamera: The Showa Era set includes four discs with Gamera: The Giant Monster, Gamera vs. Barugon,Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, Gamera vs. Zigra and Gamera Super Monster. As giant monsters rampaged the Japanese cinematic landscape during the “kaiju boom” of the mid-1960s, Daiei Studios introduced a new character to the screen that would be embraced for generations: Gamera, the giant, flying, fire-breathing turtle, and friend of all children. Buried under the Arctic ice for several millennia, the colossal chelonian is unleashed upon Japan, leaving havoc in his wake. After becoming an unexpected box office sensation, Gamera returned several more times, leaping to the world’s defense against a motley assortment of evil creatures, from the death-ray-shooting flying terror Gyaos, to the knife-headed alien menace Guiron, to the underwater invader Zigra. The discs feature numerous extras, including commentaries, intros, making-of featurettes, galleries and more.
Gamera: The Heisei Era features four discs with the films Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris as well as a bonus disc with Gamera the Brave, a mix of family-friendly adventure and kaiju action that is the most recent Gamera film to date. After laying dormant for 15 years, Gamera was rebooted for the big screen in this trilogy masterminded by director Shusuke Kaneko (Necronomicon), writer Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell) and SFX director Shinji Higuchi (who went on to co-direct Shin Godzilla). Trading the campy kid-friendly surrealism of the earlier films for a darker, more realistic tone and innovative special effects, the films in the “Heisei trilogy” are still regarded as three of the best — if not the very best — kaiju films ever made. The discs feature numerous extras, including commentaries, intros, making-of featurettes, galleries and more.
A double feature of Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters and Raiga: God of the Monsters is available now on Blu-ray Disc from MVD Entertainment Group and SRS Cinema.
In Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters, the battleship Yamato, the largest and strongest of its time, is on patrol when a lookout spots a massive shape half-submerged in the distance. Believing it to be an enemy submarine, they fire and score a direct hit. But they are shocked when the object emits a strange cry as it sinks beneath the waves. Soon after, something much bigger arrives, the massive kaiju Reigo, seething with rage at the murder of its cub. The monster attacks the Combined Fleet. The naval forces are caught off guard, and Reigo is able to destroy the escort ships and damage the Yamato before returning to the ocean depths. The stage is set for a final battle to unfold between the world’s largest battleship and the mysterious dragon-like monster.
In Raiga: God of the Monsters, global warming leads to excessive melting of the southern polar ice cap, disrupting Earth’s ecosystem. The receding ice brings long dormant ancient sea creatures back to life, monsters that set their sights on Japan. Among the kaiju is an enormous sea beast the locals refer to as the legendary Raiga. The monster attacks the city of Asakusa, bringing death and destruction as he tramples building and lays waste to the military.
The Japanese monster flick Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters will make its North American debut on DVD Nov. 26 from MVD Entertainment Group.
In the film, the battleship Yamato, the largest and strongest of its time, is on patrol when a lookout spots a massive shape half-submerged in the distance. Believing it to be an enemy submarine, they fire and score a direct hit. They are shocked when the object emits a strange cry as it sinks beneath the waves. Soon after, something much bigger arrives, the massive kaiju Reigo, seething with rage at the murder of its cub. The monster attacks the fleet, and the naval forces are caught off guard. Reigo is able to destroy the escort ships and damage the Yamato before returning to the ocean depths, setting the stage for a final battle.
Special features include the original trailer, the U.S. trailer and a photo gallery.