Portfolio Under Review

Attack From Planet B #27 - Albert Pyun's Arcade (1993) 88 Films DVD

2014-06-19T23:22:00.000+01:00

Directed by Albert Pyun, and released in 1993, Arcade is a science fiction horror movie centred around a virtual reality arcade machine which challenges it’s players to win…or lose your own sense of reality!

Written by Charles Band and David S. Goyer, known later for the Blade series of Marvel Comics feature films, Arcade is an interesting movie that predates the much (much) larger budgeted Stephen King adaption The Lawnmower Man (1992).

Initially Full Moon Entertainment had intended to release Arcade in 1991 straight to video, but Albert Pyun and Charles Band were both unhappy with how the computer generated imagery turned out. The CGI was therefore re-produced, resulting in Arcade’s release being held back until 1993.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #26 - John Alan Schwartz's FACES OF DEATH (1978)

2014-04-27T17:17:00.000+01:00

aka The Original Faces of Death

Faces of Death contains real stock footage of accidents, suicides, autopsies, and executions. But, when the stock footage was unable to tell the entire story, the filmmakers created scenes of staged violence, editing it together to create a coherent narrative. It is a fascinating insight into the world of mondo filmmaking that began with Mondo Cane in 1962.

Released in 1878, Faces of Death was added to the DPP list of ‘video nasties’ in 1983 and prosecuted in the United Kingdom under the Obscene Publications Act. The film remained unavailable in the country until it finally saw a censored release in 2003. Faces of Death has yet to be released uncut in the United Kingdom at the time of writing.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #25 - Albert and Charles Band's DOCTOR MORDRID (1992) 88 Films DVD

2014-03-02T20:35:00.000+00:00

Directed by Albert and Charles Band, and released in 1992 by Full Moon Entertainment, Doctor Mordrid is a fantasy adventure set in New York city.

Charles Band had originally acquired an option to produce a live-action adaptation based on the Marvel Comics character of Doctor Strange. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character of Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, a former neurosurgeon and practising sorcerer, debuted in 1963. Unfortunately for Charles Band and Full Moon Entertainment, the option expired before production could begin. But rather than scrap any pre-production that was already completed on the project, Charles opted to rework the script, adding additional violence and nudity so that the newly titled Doctor Mordrid could compete in the home video market.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #24 - Sergio Martino’s THE MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978)

2014-02-26T23:48:00.000+00:00

aka Prisoner of the Cannibal God
aka Slave of the Cannibal God

In search of her missing anthropologist husband in the jungles of New Guinea, Susan Stevenson (Ursula Andress), and enlists the help of Professor Edward Foster (Stacy Keach), who believes that her husband might have headed for the mountain Ra Ra Me. Translated as Mountain of the Cannibal God, Ra Ra Me is located just off the coast on the island of Roka, believed to be cursed by the locals. A curse that takes on the psychical form of a savage and cannibalistic tribe.

The tension between the characters as they battle terrain, deadly animals and encounter odd superstitious customs is a testament to the acting prowess of both Ursula Andress and Stacy Keach.

Click here to read the full review.

NovaLogic's DELTA FORCE (1998) PC

2013-11-10T19:08:00.002+00:00

Steam / 1 Player Only (Local) / 2-32 Players (Online)

Developed and released in 1998 by NovaLogic, Delta Force is a tactical military shooter loosely based upon the Delta Force strike group. 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), more popularly know as Delta Force, is a U.S. Army component of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) formed in 1977 to combat terrorism.

Played primarily from a first-person perspective Delta Force features five single-player campaigns, each set in a different region of the world covering 40 missions in total; Peru, Chad, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Novaya Zemlya. Each of the five campaigns are accessible from the start, although only a few missions in each campaign are unlocked to begin with. Mission objectives vary between elimination, hostage rescue, destroying weapon or drug caches, intercepting convoys and package retrieval missions. The player also has a disposal of weapons that they can choose from before each mission; including five primary weapons, three secondary weapons and two firearms.

Delta Force also allows the player to switch between the first-person perspective to a third-person perspective in-game. The first-person perspective can then be reinstated using a picture-in-picture feature, allowing for both perspectives to be utilised at the same time. This feature is particularly useful for multiplayer via the hardened veterans of NovaWorld.

Each mission is also well designed, utilising topographical maps to render large voxel-based terrain, with seemingly limitless draw distances that were uncommon in most polygon rendered video games of the same era. The unaccelerated graphics of the Voxel Space 3 engine are functional, however pixelation can become an issue at any resolution below 800x600, losing much of the detail needed to identify distant targets.

Unfortunately, despite Delta Force being marketed as a realistic tactical shooter, mission waypoints are fixed and cannot be changed before insertion, whilst commands cannot be given to other squad members. This is unlike other tactical first-person shooters released during the same era; for example Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (1998) developed by Red Storm Entertainment. Advancing to each waypoint however is completely optional and can be ignored entirely as long as the mission objective is met. Thus Delta Force feels a lot more action originated and comparable to video games like id Software's Quake (1996) for example.

Delta Force also featured an online multiplayer component with various different game modes including Cooperative campaigns, Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Capture the Flag (CTF). Unfortunately I have been unable to access the NovaWorld servers at the time of writing, which suggests that the servers may have been shut down. Players can however set up and play multiplayer sessions locally via IPX-enabled connections.

Delta Force is an impressive game overall, with just enough variety to keep players involved throughout all five single-player campaigns. The incredible voxel-based terrain is limited only by the polygonal buildings that are rendered few and far between. Open terrain leaves very little cover from snipers, but this adds to the challenge presented in each mission, where one hit can translate into death. Delta Force may not have the strategic depth of other tactical shooters released in the 1990's, but it more than compensates with a draw distance that allows for immersive battles on a grander scale.

Kaiju Neutral Alignment: 59 Years of Godzilla

2013-11-03T23:54:00.000+00:00

Is the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films and its symbolism born from the fears of nuclear war?

PART I

INTRODUCTION:
Is Godzilla truly the King of the Monsters?

Kaiju
- A Japanese word often translated in English as “monster” that specifically refers to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment, usually live-action film. The word literally means “strange beast”.

Tokusatsu
- A Japanese term that applies to any live-action production that makes considerable use of special effects.

After World War II Japan's economy made one of the most remarkable recoveries in the history of the modern world.

Arguably one of their most vital post war recoveries was that of their film industry and by 1953, the industry had entered its Golden Age. Names like Ozu Yasujiro and Kurosawa Akira stood above all and their films from this period remain among the greatest films ever made. By 1954 Godzilla was released into the theatres by the Toho Company and has been followed by an outstanding amount of Japanese science fiction to this day.

During this Golden Age of Japanese cinema a lot of films produced symbolised the effects of the WWII on Japanese society. Godzilla itself was one of the most influential because it didn't directly use the subject matter, instead using the themes of war and indeed nuclear war as subtext.

This study of Japanese culture looks at the fascination Japanese audiences have for the symbolism found in these science fiction Kaiju movies. Are they just presented as brainless entertainment or are they born from an ingrained fear that their could perhaps be another disaster like the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the future?

To gain a much more informed understanding I have looked upon texts from an academic viewpoint and studied the general fandom of Godzilla, it's many sequels and their spin off's. I have made comparisons between the critical opinions of those interested in perhaps the Toho Company's most iconic film.

There is no doubt that the film has left a lasting impression upon those who have seen it, whether it's viewed in it's original release or the U.S. edited counterpart, but why have audiences embraced Godzilla and allowed the film to inspire it's own sub genre?

From both an eastern and western perspective I believe Godzilla is fear. It's a fear that has manifested itself into Godzilla by way of its symbolism.

The symbolism in Godzilla is both strong at times as it is subtle. I had picked up on certain signs and signifiers during my initial and subsequent viewing of Godzilla, whether they be intentional or accidental, and I wanted to explore those aspects further. But first I needed to know what the general opinion of the film was... Did anyone else pick up on Godzilla's strong symbolism? Did you either find the film itself to be nothing more than low budget science fiction B-Movie fare, or did you see it as a historical landmark in Japanese cinema?

During the 2004 North American re-release of Godzilla film critic Roger Ebert had wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times: "Godzilla at times looks uncannily like a man in a lizard suit, stomping on cardboard sets, as indeed he was, and did", but it's more than just a tale of science fiction... Godzilla is a byproduct of the atomic age and for all it's reptile slapping and city stomping ways the film does in fact have some kind of subtext that goes beyond the bad acting associated with the science fiction films of that era and if Godzilla was stripped of all it's flaws the film would be a complete image of the frame of mind Japan had taken on post WWII. A mind subconsciously full of fear.

“In the guise of a typical Hollywood style monster movie, they made Japan, and ultimately the world, experience the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki all over again.” (John Rocco Roberto, 1997)

During the first film in the series Godzilla was the ultimate threat to Japan, “a bipedal atomic warhead with a score to settle and not an iota of compassion or mercy”, but to fully understand Godzilla in this light you need to know the history behind the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI:
"This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth."

On July 26th 1945 a statement entitled the Potsdam Declaration was issued for the surrender of the Japanese Empire by United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill, United States President Harry S. Truman and the President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek. The terms agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference warned that if Japan did not surrender then it would face “prompt and utter destruction”.

Rather than surrender Japan had instead chose to treat the Potsdam Declaration with silent contempt...

By order of the U.S. President, the United States launched a nuclear attack on the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Known as “Little Boy” the nuclear weapon was dropped on the city of Hiroshima on August 6th followed by the dropping of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb over Nagasaki on August 9th.

On August 15th Japan announced it's surrender officially ending the Pacific War and World War II.

By the end of 1945 as many as 140,000 people had died in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki as a result of the atomic bombing. These to date have been the only attacks to use nuclear warfare in the history of humanity to such a extent. These bombings led post-war Japan to adopt Three Non-Nuclear Principles, forbidding the Japanese nation from nuclear armament.

GODZILLA:
An embodyment of the tokusatsu genre.

Gojira (or Godzilla) was directed and co-written by Ishiro Honda and produced and distributed by the Toho Company Ltd and sets a grim tone throughout it's 98 minute running time. Without a doubt the most important line in the film comes at the end as Dr. Yamane (portrayed by Takashi Shimura) ponders “If we keep on conducting nuclear tests, it's possible that Godzilla might appear somewhere in the world, again”.

Godzilla eventually found it's way into the hearts of the western world in 1956 when it was re-edited for American audiences by Jewell Enterprises under the new title Godzilla, King of the Monsters! This new edit of the film consisted of new scenes featuring Raymond Burr inserted into an edited version of the Japanese original. Careful attention was paid in the creation of the new scenes to match the visual tone of the original but while much of the plot and symbolism remained true to it's Japanese counterpart it seemed something was lost in the American adaptation. This is true of the new edit's closing line “The menace was gone, so was a great man. But the whole world could wake up and live again”.

GAMERA:
A giant, flying turtle...

Gamera is a 1965 daikaiju eiga about a giant turtle awakened by the accidental detonation of an atomic bomb and is similar in nature to the more popular Godzilla series. One notable difference however occurs during the film when Gamera saves a boy from death after destroying a lighthouse. From this the boy realises that Gamera is not really destructive, but is a misunderstood creature out of place in our world. This concept would eventually be repeated in many kaiju films (including Godzilla) in the years that followed. The film also received similar treatment to that of Godzilla when in 1966 it was heavily re-edited from it's original Japanese release for American audiences with the new title Gammera, The Invincible!

Gamera doesn't have the same underlying fears that Godzilla contained and although the film features the accidental detonation of an atomic bomb, no real connection is provided other than merely awakening the beast, leaving the film without the same impact that Godzilla had 11 years before.

PART II

FANDOM FROM AN ACADEMIC VIEWPOINT:
Subculture organised!

Fandom
- A term used to refer to a subculture composed of people who share a common interest.

William Tsutsui is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Kansas, an author of many books on Japanese history and a life-long fan of the mutant lizard having authored “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters” (First published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2004).

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Godzilla “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters” discusses how it grew into a global phenomenon thus exploring the monster’s lasting cultural impact on Japan, the United States and the rest of the world whilst a video entitled “Godzilla and Post-War Japan” uploaded onto the web for UCTV (University of California Television) presented Professor William Tsutsui arguing that the evolution of Godzilla, throughout it’s many films, reflects the social and political changes of post-war Japan and Godzilla’s lasting cultural impact on the world.

The video was presented by the Center for Japanese Studies, the Asia Institute and the UCLA International Institute displaying not only the passion Godzilla has had on Japanese, American and the worldwide public but also the negative attitude surrounding the film. At one point William states that “critics have judged the Godzilla films to be artistically lacking, intellectually unchallenging, and ideologically hollow”, an attitude shared by many unfortunately.

However it was “Mythologies”, a collection of short essays by Roland Barthes, that helped me to understand and demystify both the symbolism and mythology inherent within the subject of Godzilla. Although the book does not directly look at the tokusatsu genre Roland investigates popular culture, which he refers to as “petit-bourgeois culture,” unmasking and demystifying symbolism and messages from which western culture generally sells itself upon. In the final chapter entitled “Myth Today” Roland begins by asking this question:

“What is a myth, today? I shall give at the outset a first, very simple answer, which is perfectly consistent with etymology: myth is a type of speech.”

A system of communication… Let’s look upon Kaiju as an example of mythology, a fantasy with the presence of certain historical elements presented as a subtext. Godzilla does not expect you to turn to the skies and keep watch for the next mutated giant reptilian threat. Let’s remember that it is at it’s core a form of entertainment, but in the myth, the historical subtext suggests that we should never allow another nuclear disaster to occur again.

The article “Godzilla and the Second World War: A Study of the Allegorical Meaning in Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again” by John Rocco Roberto (originally published in KAIJU-FAN Issue #5 Spring 1995) discussed in detail how one could argue that the ideas behind the 1954 film were born not from Japan’s Toho Motion Picture Company, nor from Godzilla producer Tomoyuki Tanaka. Godzilla was born the day the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, August 6th 1945. The Japanese reaction to their defeat in WWII is evident in their present anti-nuclear policies, furthered by the adoption of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles in the late 1960′s, but their feelings have never really been understood. John believes however that at least a partial understanding can be achieved by studying Gojira and it’s first sequel Gojira no Gyakushu.

Unfortunately John almost implies that Godzilla was the only film to allow the west to experience a deeper understanding of Japan’s feelings towards the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and therefore John is undermining the work of other post-war Japanese films to deal with the issues. For example Black Rain, a 1989 film by director Shohei Imamura (based on the novel of the same name by Ibuse Masuji), is centered on the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima for a small Japanese family.

In “Struggling With Godzilla: Unravelling the Symbolism in Toho’s Sci/Fi Films” by Tom Miller (originally published in KAIJU-FAN Issue #10 Winter 1999), Tom agrees in general with John Rocco Roberto’s opinions but believes there is much more symbolic meaning to the Godzilla series than those addressed in the previous article. Tom believed Godzilla represented much more than the atomic bomb, promising that his article will examine the symbolic nature of not only Godzilla, but other kaiju as they have developed over time.

The representation of Japan’s relationship with the United States is featured heavily in Tom Miller’s article. For example at one point he describes the first Godzilla film as being a stark re-enactment of the Second World War, backing it up by using the connection that three of the men central to the films creation had each been involved in the war. Tom also points out a number of interesting shifts with Godzilla’s symbolic role as the monster himself begins to change over time, taking on a more heroic personality and representing much different perspectives which he would keep for the remainder of the series.

Tom also attempts to cover the symbolic meaning in films such as Mothra (1961) and King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963) but, although he does make a few coherent connections, I’ve found that a lot of his article is based on opinion and speculation. To quote from Tsutsui’s “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters”:

“In the first Godzilla film, I think Godzilla himself is used symbolically. He represents death. But in the Godzilla films that were produced in the 1960′s and certainly during the 1970′s, is there much you can read into that, is there some sort of subtext? No. Not at all.”

The same can be said of the majority of Kaiju science fiction films that followed. They were produced merely as entertainment and to follow up on the success of Godzilla. Even Godzilla itself was produced due to the sheer popularity of the American monster movies at that time. King Kong (1933) had just been re-released to even greater acclaim than it received during it’s initial run and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) success had opened the floodgates for an entire genre of ‘giant monster’ movies.

To conclude Tom Miller’s article touches on a lot of the strong concerns and fear found within the symbolism of kaiju eiga in a culture that produces these fascinating films. Films such as Godzilla are often ignored or ridiculed by critics for their B-Movie status and low production values however it is in these films that we can find significant cultural symbolism. Godzilla takes this fear and dissects it in front of the audience within it’s 96 minute running time. As Tom mentions: “No one in Japan was ever worried about an attack by a giant mutated Tyrannosaurus Rex, but the concerns about defeat in war and nuclear attack were all too real.”

“Understanding Media” by Marshall McLuhan (Published in a 2nd Edition by Routledge in 2001) introduced the world to the idea of Medium as a Message when first published in 1964. “In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message.” By thinking in terms in what way the medium itself, such as film, helps to get across the message it wants to convey we can look deeper into how the visual symbolism of Kaiju, most notably Godzilla, effects it’s audiences.

“If it is asked, ‘What is the content of speech?’, it is necessary to say, ‘It is an actual process of thought, which is in itself non-verbal.’” (McLuhan, 1964)

Why is it believed that Godzilla represents the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? At no point in the film does anyone verbally hint at the notion that this could be the true meaning of Godzilla. It’s only through subtext, semiology and the films strong visual message that allows the audience to come to their own shared conclusion to the true meaning of Godzilla. The medium is the message and it gives a strong insight into the minds of it’s creators.

I also briefly looked at “A Hundred Years of Japanese Films: A Concise History” by Donald Richie (Published in a revised and updated edition by Kodansha International Ltd in 2005). It is an in-depth look into Japanese cinema, but more importantly at every opportunity Donald talks a great deal about the Western perspective on the cinematic development in Japan. There is a chapter dedicated to Western influences in Japanese cinema, most of which developed during the Japanese post-war economic miracle, a name given to the period of Japan’s economic growth following World War II.

Other secondary source material included web articles on both the symbolism of Godzilla and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki including World War II reference material and a book entitled “Prompt and Utter Destruction: President Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker detailing why America used atomic bombs against Japan in 1945.

PART III

METHODOLOGY:
Looking upon an entire empire…

When writing this essay I needed to review what problems I would need to consider when tackling the subject at hand. A lot of what has been wrote based on the Godzilla series, and Kaiju in general, is very opinionated and although it’s all been based on well researched and documented facts, those facts tend to become hidden under the individuals love for their favourite Japanese mutant. So what approach would I need to use in conducting my research?

In this methodology I have attempted to provide a thorough description of what action I have taken to collect the necessary research, facts and opinions, and the analytical procedure I have taken to obtain the answers I’m looking for based on the information I have found. First I had to determine the question I was attempting to answer: Is the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films and its symbolism born from the fears of nuclear war? Next I needed to determine the problems that I would face in finding the answers I required.

Beginning with my initial research, right through to my investigation of the literature, I began to take away effective methods of research that authors, such as William Tsutsui, had displayed in their writing and adapt them efficiently for the focus of this study. The symbolism of Kaiju eiga, or more importantly Godzilla, has been interpreted differently by fans, critics and scholars throughout it’s 54 years in existence so I had to effectively locate the one opinion that is shared by the majority of Godzilla’s fans and/or detractors. To uncover the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films, the symbolism behind those films, and how I believe it could be the result of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

How can we understand Japan’s mindset after World War II? How did they really feel after the atomic bombings and their subsequent defeat? Was any blame placed upon a particular nation, including their own, for how the war ended? By utilising Ishirō Honda’s Godzilla as my main starting point and focus I broke down my research by asking sub-questions that related to this study:

• Is there a link between the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the film Godzilla?
• What symbolism is inherent in the first of the Godzilla series?
• Why had Godzilla continued to be so popular throughout the world?
• Has Japanese culture been affected by the success of Godzilla?

In answering these sub-questions I had gained a better understanding of the subject and could discuss my findings in relation to my main focus.

To conclude, this study followed analytical research methods. I had asked myself the questions and I had researched articles and books to gain the answers I required. My research findings, reported in the next chapter, are a result of that data analysis.

RESULTS:
“You have your fear, which might become reality; and you have Godzilla, which is reality!”

How did the Japanese nation really feel after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and their subsequent World War II defeat?

“The Second World War was less than ten years ended and the Japanese were still laboring under the consequences of their failure and defeat. America had influenced the rebuilding and restructuring of Japan, affecting everything from industry to the political structure. Around Japan the Cold War expanded and nuclear test[s] took place, adding to Japan’s fears for its people, country, and for the world.” (John Rocco Roberto, 1997)

Japan had suffered greatly both emotionally and economically after WWII. As many as 220,000 people were dead by 1945 as a consequence to the atomic bombing leaving Hiroshima and Nagasaki in devastation and the nation in shock. Thus began, what has been dubbed as, the Japanese post-war economic miracle. This historical record period of economic growth was aided partly by an investment from the United States but mainly by the Japanese government’s economic intervention. The United States occupation of Japan between 1945 and 1952 also resulted in the democratization of Japan. Today the economy of Japan is now the second largest in the world after the United States.

“Japanese nationalism and the closely intertwined issue of Japan’s relationship with the United States have been major themes in the Godzilla films, much discussed by fans, critics and scholars. Expressions of nationalism–and indeed, the very sentiment of patriotism–have been troubling, controversial and often stigmatized in post war Japan, which has struggled to address it’s history of expansionist ultranationalism and the complex domestic and international legacies of World War II.” (William Tsutsui, 2004)

Although the reaction Japan has displayed to the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not to mention their WWII defeat, is evident in their adoption of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and newly adopted anti-nuclear policies, their feelings as a nation are difficult to understand. As is their relationship with the United States. Only through memoirs, interviews, books and film can we even begin to realise the impact this has had on the Japanese public.

Is there a link between the atomic bombings of Japan and the films such as Godzilla?

“Takeo Murata and Ishiro Honda’s screenplay is a subtle retelling of the Second World War through the eyes of Japan.” (John Rocco Roberto, 1997)

As mentioned previously, one of Japan’s most vital industries during the Japanese post-war economic miracle was their film industry, strengthened by a number of major production companies, including Toho, responsible for the original Godzilla movie. These major studios had kept themselves sustained throughout WWII by producing a number of war propaganda films and by 1954 studios like the Toho company was thriving financially. With recent successes behind them Toho had given long time producer Tomoyuki Tanaka the budget for a war film. When the plans to create the conventional war film titled In The Shadow of Glory fell through Tomoyuki Tanaka needed to come up with a new idea fast or lose face in the eyes of the company. During this time Japan had suffered again at the hands of another nuclear disaster. In March of 1954 a fishing ship known as the Fukuryu Maru6 had accidentally sailed into an American nuclear testing site eventually contaminating the entire crew. Straight away the Japanese press pointed the finger towards the irresponsibility the United States had taken. It was however this situation that had inspired Tanaka’s idea to replace In The Shadow of Glory with “a monster that invades Tokyo the way King Kong attacked New York” and the same situation that had influenced Toho’s decision to make it’s first truly epic monster movie.

In Ian Friedman’s article “Symbolism in Gojira” he indicates that the symbolism used during the very first scene, after the credits have rolled, is Ishiro Honda’s way of bringing the film’s most prevalent theme, of radiation associated with nuclear weapons, to light. Ian mentions in his article that you don’t actually see Godzilla in this scene. If you didn’t know you were watching Godzilla you could be mistaken in thinking that the first of Godzilla’s attacks were the result of a nuclear explosion. Looking further into the symbolism he also mentions: “The analysis of the opening scene helps to display what I believe was Ishiro Honda using Godzilla as a visual metaphor to recreate the first two atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; he uses the two fishing boats as stand-ins for the cities and the people who lived there.”

Ian has made a very valid point but in my opinion I don’t think it was the filmmakers intention to use the two boats as a visual metaphor. That scene always reminded me of the Fukuryu Maru fishing ship that sailed unknowingly into contaminated water. Regardless of whether Godzilla may or may not directly be the link between the atomic bombings of Japan and Kaiju eiga, it is a film that was subconsciously made to explain why the nuclear disaster should never happen again to anyone. It’s also a film documenting Japan’s change in culture and social traditions at a time when they needed to rabidly move ahead to survive as a nation.

“Gojira also can be seen not as merely an anti-war or anti-atomic bomb film, but a film on the changing 1950s Japanese culture, right alongside the great later films of Yasujiro Ozu. In those films, as well as Gojira, there are always young Japanese challenging seemingly silly social traditions, such as Emiko daring to not marry her arranged husband, Serizawa.” (Dan Schneider, 2006)

Coherent fears and fantasies of mass destruction are found in all cultures…

“These primeval fears, multiplied million-fold by modern technology, have yielded new monsters, new mythical demons to take the place of the devils of old. These new creatures of death and darkness swarm not the uncharted oceans, but the uncharted subconscious of modern civilization.” (Jon Inouye, 1979)

Every culture has it’s fears… Godzilla itself is a creation born from the fears of another future nuclear disaster. Modern technology of the time created nuclear weapons and from these nuclear weapons came Godzilla! Tom Miller believes however that through the film’s inherent symbolism Godzilla represents more than just the atomic bombing of Japan. In his article “Struggling With Godzilla: Unraveling the Symbolism in Toho’s Sci/Fi Films” Tom states: “In the movie they made, Godzilla represents more than the A-Bomb; Godzilla is the United States itself”, but didn’t the United States have a motive for the atomic bombings? Godzilla needed no motive… Just the animalistic desire to survive.

“Gojira is explicitly anti-war and anti-atomic bomb, not anti-American. When speaking of nuclear technology and consequences, mankind is always referred to as the cause, in general, not any specific nation. This is a central point many critics have missed. Gojira, the monster, is also not so much a metaphor for the bomb, but a variant of it incarnate — thus, it lacks a motive, such as King Kong’s lust for human females or the Rhedosaurus' hunger.” (Dan Schneider, 2006)

PART IV

PUTTING KAIJU EIGA INTO PERSPECTIVE:
A personal Godzilla…

Throughout my research I had tried to look upon Godzilla, Kaiju eiga and the fears of nuclear attack through a Japanese perspective. Never would I have realised, no matter how unintentional, that an understanding of recent western fears, could be obtained from the same Kaiju eiga years later.

“As I watched the World Trade towers collapse on September 11, I felt guilty. The scene looked similar to those that had entertained me in many Godzilla… films. But it wasn’t a fantasy, the people were real, and their fear and suffering were heartbreaking.”

Was this the same reaction the Japanese had felt after watching Godzilla during it’s initial theatrical run?! Did Godzilla bring back memories of WWII and the devastation it left behind?

“For the first time in my life, Godzilla was the last thing I wanted to see… It’s no longer cool when the Kaiju topple those skyscrapers, and I can now appreciate the absolute terror of the screaming, fleeing crowds.”

Godzilla was always going to be a difficult film to categorize. Opinion on the subject is almost always divided between those who think the Godzilla movies are silly and juvenile, forgettable science fiction targeted towards children and those who believe that the first Godzilla is the most important film to deal with the post-war feelings of the Japanese nation. To quote from Tsutsui’s “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters”:

“The very fact that Godzilla defies easy categorization, that a man in a latex suit can simultaneously critique authority, stoke Japanese nationalism, be a therapeutic balm for tortured adolescents, and signify a wrestling, fire-belching phallus (Eeewww!), may just be the reason we can all love him so much.”

One thing we can all agree on however is that Godzilla and the Kaiju eiga it had spawned has made for great entertainment. That is the reason for it’s undying popularity. Whether you watch Godzilla for it’s inescapable subtext and its strong symbolism or for it’s unintentional humour derived from the dated special effects you will always walk away entertained. Godzilla is just as much educational as it is escapism. That’s why we love Godzilla!

“So what does Godzilla mean? He means everything and nothing, he means what you want him to and what I want him to, and oh, lest we forget in all this serious cogitating, Godzilla means fun.” (William Tsutsui, 1997)

DISCUSSION:
“Godzilla should not be destroyed… HE SHOULD BE STUDIED!”

Over the years Godzilla has changed roles significantly from once being the ultimate threat to Japan, to now being Japan’s protector. One could believe that this change was made to make the monster appeal to a broader audience resulting in much larger profits for the studio or perhaps it is the result of the fears Japan once had post-war becoming less and less significant?

“Kaiju eiga, like their giant monster brethren from Hollywood, reflected fears of technology out of control, of poorly understood science in an age of rapid change, of dehumanization in a managed, top-down society, of a rapidly escalating Cold War, of retribution—perhaps divine, perhaps monstrous—for humankind’s tampering with the forces of nature.” (William Tsutsui, 1997)

Science fiction Kaiju eiga may have been born from the fears of nuclear war but that did not mean that the films following Godzilla had to use the same theme or structure. One theme that has been constant throughout Kaiju eiga however is the theme of irresponsibility. Most of these mutations have been a result of humankind’s irresponsibility with technology or the constant tampering of nature. The misuse of science…

“So in the Godzilla films, the answer to that fundamental concern of science fiction-can one really trust those people with specialist knowledge and broad institutional responsibility to be contempt, honest, humble and cautious?-is a resounding maybe.” (William Tsutsui, 1997)

The debate rages on even today regarding the United States decision to launch two nuclear attacks against Japan. With opinion divided between how irresponsible the U.S were to not allow Japan more time to consider the Potsdam Declaration or how necessary it was to end the Second World War and prevent further casualties. One thing is for sure, it’s never a specific nation that is in the wrong… It’s always down to the stupidity of humankind versus the intelligence of humankind. We have the power to both save us and destroy us. These themes are deep set into the structure of Kaiju eiga. We are either all to blame or non of us are to blame.

“…one doubts that audiences either Japanese or American felt too much remorse about the atomic bombings and the harnessing of nuclear power. Anxiety, yes; anger, perhaps; personal culpability, no.” (William Tsutsui, 2004)

It is true that all Kaiju eiga, including Godzilla, had reached unspeakable levels of popularity around the world, especially with the younger viewers. What made Godzilla or Mothra so appealing to the younger generation? Many have stated that it’s been a result of the studio induced “dumbing down” of the genre to make it more accessible to a broader audience but then why is the original Godzilla movie, and it’s sequel Godzilla Raids Again, still the most popular with the younger generation. These are both serious films and at one time Godzilla could have been called a horror film. William Tsutsui suggests “The basic framework the films establish may explain why these films have been so popular among younger viewers. The monster can be seen to symbolize the viewer-child’s conscious and unconscious antisocial impulses, which are simultaneously acted out in grand spectacle while being redirected toward the good of society by the filmic-child which whom the viewer identifies. The films resolve or alleviate the contradictions inherent in childhood and puberty. Thus Godzilla joins the ranks of teenage werewolves and other archetypal monsters in expressing anxieties about the uncontrollable changes of puberty.” Regardless of age, there is no doubting the popularity of Kaiju eiga around the world. For me the films not only represent a historical significance unmatched in this genre, but also a sense of nostalgia. It’s this nostalgia that keeps the fans, critics and scholars watching and questioning the films.

“While most of Godzilla’s installments after the 1950s did become increasingly juvenile and silly, the first two films (in their original Japanese presentations) are serious films which explore the effects on the Japanese psyche of being the only nation to suffer from nuclear bombing. And that is a fact no critic or skeptic can diminish.” (John Rocco Roberto, 1997)

CONCLUSION:
Godzilla, it turns out, is one complicated guy…

“His thundering footsteps can be heard throughout the great city, sounding hauntingly similar to the American bombs which exploded in the city ten years before.” (John Rocco Roberto, 1997)

Godzilla continues to provide many questions, with just as many answers to accompany them. This is what has kept Godzilla fascinating. Not only is Godzilla a great movie but it can also provide you with some tough questions. William Tsutsui was shocked when presented with this question during a middle-school presentation on Godzilla:

“…the eleven-year-old shyly posed a single question. “When watching the old Godzilla movies,” he innocently asked, “did Americans enjoy seeing all those Japanese people die?” I was taken aback and was, for one of the few times in my life, completely speechless.”

“Not once had that thought ever crossed my mind, no matter how obvious, how plausible—and how chilling—it may indeed be.”

Godzilla has proven to be much more than just a representation of the atomic bomb for a culture still in fear that a disaster like Hiroshima or Nagasaki could happen again in the future and Godzilla’s creation was certainly born from the fears still inherent within the filmmakers at the time. You only have to watch the film to discover just how much depth the destructive mutated lizard truly has. It presents a strong symbolic message.

“The film has revealing qualities when seen today, qualities lacking in later efforts…” (Jon Inouye , 1979)

It is truly the exploitation of public fears that drive this film. So yes the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films is partly born from the fears of nuclear war, but the fascination for films like Godzilla doesn’t just derive from those fears. What makes Kaiju eiga fascinating, not just in Japanese culture but around the world, is that anyone can take something away from their experience. Overall enjoyment, unanswered questions, utter bewilderment… It doesn’t matter. No one leaves the cinema without thoughts left by what they have just seen, be it praise or criticism.

“Just because Godzilla seems a simple, straightforward monster doesn’t mean he can be reduced to a simple, straightforward theory.” (William Tsutsui, 2004)

I still have many more unanswered questions regarding both Godzilla, Kaiju eiga, and their American counterparts that far outreach the scope of this study. Godzilla is one hell of an experience and never has a film left such an impact on my life…a statement I believe that is shared by millions.

“Never, I think, in the history of childhood has such blatant self interest been rewarded so generously. Thank you Godzilla.” (William Tsutsui, 2004)

Kaiju Neutral Alignment was originally posted on Attack From Planet B as a four-part essay, between 20th-23rd November 2012.

Japanese Animation: A Global Worldwide Culture (Part Two)

2013-06-12T21:37:00.000+01:00

Click here to read the first part of this two-part essay.

IDENTIFICATION OF MAJOR ACADEMIC TEXTS ON ANIME AND THE MAIN THEMES AND THEORIES WITHIN THEM.

Otaku (oh-TAH-kuu)
- From the Japanese, literally meaning “house”. In Japan, the term refers to someone with a heavy interest in something. In the Japanese culture it also carries a derogatory meaning, in the context of being someone with no real social or personal life outside of the object of their obsession.

Napier, Susan J. Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation, 2002.

Napier explores Japanese Animation in such great detail as she breaks down and analyses the many different genres of anime. Both the differences and the similarities in these genres are explained. Napier also demonstrates how anime often portrays important social and cultural themes in a sophisticated yet entertaining way and how many of theses similarities fit into those themes. Further into the book we discover how Identity appears in all sorts of genre, from hentai to horror, within anime. 'Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke' also explains that some films deal with themes that challenge the modern day Japanese society.

Kelts, Roland. Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture has invaded the U.S, 2007.

Kelts takes a look at both Western and Eastern film production. He mentions that while Hollywood struggles to fill seats, animation releases in Japan are increasingly out pacing American movies in sheer numbers and, more importantly, in the devotion they inspire in their fans. He also makes comparison to our very own 'Harry Potter' series and how despite it being a very 'English' release it is loved worldwide in all formats. Much like the way Anime is also deeply Japanese, making its popularity in the rest of the world surprising. 'Japanamerica' covers everything from the family orientated Hayao Miyazaki's epics to the burgeoning world of hentai, or violent pornographic anime. His insight regarding both nations highlights the shared conflicts as American and Japanese pop cultures dramatically intersect and therefore shares a familiar Susan Napier's views on

For most Japanese consumers of anime, their culture is no longer a purely Japanese one (and indeed it probably hasn't been for over a century and a half). At least in terms of entertainment, they are as equally interested by Western cultural influences as they are by specifically Japanese ones. (Napier, 2002)

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF JAPANESE ANIMATION.

Original Video Animation (OVA)
- A term used for Japanese animation titles that are released direct-to-video, without prior showings on TV or in cinemas. OVA is sometimes used to refer to any short anime series or special regardless of its release format.

Japanese animation is thought to be related to extreme violence and explicit sexuality, and this is no less true than in the great OVA series 'Devilman'. This analysis will observe the cultural meanings of Anime and it's relationships specifically within in the films 'Devilman: The Birth' and 'Devilman: The Demon Bird'. Both 'Devilman' OVA's are effectively remakes of the original 'Devilman' manga and 1970's TV series. The series has since spawned a third OVA, a TV series set in an alternative universe, a live action film and a multitude of different spinoffs in both film and manga.

Symbolism within Japanese animation, as with all cinematic work, references certain situations and/or emotions displaying them in simplified (and even iconic) terms. Our hero (or rather anti-hero) Akira can be found in many of these compromising situations where normally one would feel nervous or scared but instead of conveying these feelings through dialog or facial expression, the emotions are simplified and conveyed as a symbol or icon. For example Akira awakes from a hideous dream which has since made made him nervous. This is conveyed by simple beads of sweat down his forehead.

Anime often rejects basic symbolism and creates new symbolism. The most recognized of the new could be the over sized eyes. These signify the emotions of the character we are watching and there innocence within the plot. You will notice that in 'Devilman: The Birth' Akira has quite large rounded eyes to begin but by the end of the film and throughout 'Devilman: The Demon Bird' his eyes have became much smaller and bolder. This conveys Akira's loss of innocence throughout the two films due to his transformation into Devilman.

The symbolism found in Japanese animation creates such a complex sign to communicate situation and emotion that it makes anime one of the most important cinematic symbols not just for Japanese culture, but for global worldwide culture as a whole.

Co-written with Sam Williams and Daniel Harrold.

Japanese Animation: A Global Worldwide Culture (Part One)

2013-06-07T16:54:00.000+01:00

AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE ANIMATION AND IT'S IMPORTANCE WITHIN VISUAL CULTURE.

Anime (AH-nee-may or AN-nee-may)
- Short for “Animation”. Anime refers to “Japanese Animation” and is seen as the Japanese abbreviation of the English word.

Japanese anime has become a global worldwide culture for many reasons. Becoming popular in Japan after the second world war, anime provided an alternative format for storytelling. The common misconception in the west is that animation is primarily aimed towards the children, a subject we shall look into further, but this is not the case in Japan. Just about every genre imaginable is represented in anime ranging across all age groups, each product appealing to a different audience.

When Japanese animation began its export into western countries in large quantities) during the 1970's many people who had watched these programs at that time may not have known that they were watching anime. This is because once it was dubbed into English the American distributors and voice actors would often take credit over the original Japanese creators. Adults today would have probably seen anime as children perhaps without even realizing that it was from Japan. The 1990's saw great international success with the likes of 'Pokemon' and 'Dragon Ball'. Children from all over the world were after the very latest in Pokemon merchandising. It wasn't until 'Akira' in 1988 that most other adult orientated animation became popular, particularly 'Ghost in the Shell' in 1995 helping popularize anime and helping it establish it's legitimacy as an art form in its own right.

Akira became both a critical and cult hit and in many ways can be seen as the film that started the anime boom in the West. The films adult themes of dystopia and apocalypse and its superbly detailed, viscerally exciting animated style amazed Western audiences.

As a result of this rise in popularity, many earlier anime and manga (comic books) only available in Japan has been sought out, translated and distributed worldwide.

OVERVIEW OF THE ANIME INDUSTRY AND FORM OF CULTURAL PRODUCTION.

Japanimation (jap-A-neh-MAY-shun)
n. - A combination of the words “Japanese” and “Animation”, used to refer animation from Japan and the industry as a whole. Some fans consider this term outdated (preferring instead to use the word “anime”) since This term was more widely used around the 80's when anime began to become more popular in other western and international countries.

Up to and during the second world war the presence of western animators such as the Fleischer Brothers and Walt Disney dominated the early 20th century animation industry, setting the standards for animated motion picture for years to come. The Japanese during this time however were hardly mentioned due to their slow approach and any comparisons made were completely one-sided in favour with the west‘s revolutionary animation.

After the Second World War had passed Japanese economy had fell into a state of disaster making it impossible to support the vast industry of film. This meant that many people had to express themselves through other medium, most notably by drawing manga. Manga itself was influenced by the western comic books that had made it’s way to Japan after the war. But as Japan began to recover and it’s film industry began to grow it was only a matter of time before the deep and compelling storytelling found in most manga would crossover to film. However instead of the use of live action to recreate these stories the focus on Japanese film making was to animate them thus keeping the overall feel of the original manga intact. Even today this focus on filmmaking is unchanged in Japan and anime continues to play an important part in Japanese entertainment but how much of this has made an impact on the western side of the world?

Osamu Tezuka, a factory worker during the war, had created the first manga to reach the United States in 1952. This manga was named ‘Astro-Boy’ and curiously instead of developing the unique characteristics of Japanese physical traits Osamu Tezuka mimicked that of the west creating characters with disney-like characteristics such as their large innocent eyes. This was quickly followed up by an animated series based on 'Astro Boy' in 1963 which also became the first anime series to be broadcast outside of Japan. Tezuka became a pioneer to the growing Japanese manga and anime industry, drawing on the influences of western cartoons he had seen as a child. A style that had quickly caught on resulting in most manga and anime not bearing the characteristics distinct to the Japanese public. Historians even believe that Osamu Tezuka was the precursor to not just anime but manga as well. He was first to come out with a full length graphic novel titled ‘Shintakarajima’ (translated ‘New Treasure Island’) in 1947 before producing ‘Astro Boy’.

CONCLUSION OF PART ONE.

As time went on however the Japanese animation industry began to see changes that diverted from the previous western influences and highlighted many techniques and trends that would go on to become what is now known as the uniqueness of Japanese anime. The most obvious of these trends was the giant robot sub-genre of anime known as ‘mecha’ in the 1970‘s. The earliest ‘mecha’ anime was known to be ‘Mazinger Z’ created by artist Go Nagai who then went on to create another highly influential trend in anime years later known as ‘Devilman’ that ignored the ‘good vs. bad’ storytelling of old and created an ‘anti-hero’. Go Nagai now considers ’Devilman’ his life’s work. Western culture however really began to appreciate anime after the release of ‘Akira’ in 1989 with it’s very complex animation and compelling science fiction storytelling making it a success and allowing anime to leave Japan and enter the rest of the world for all fans to consume.

Today anime continues to develop and evolve with new series being shown on Japanese TV networks almost everyday despite Japan’s economic hardship. Internationally an increasing fan base has helped to bring Japanese animation across the world in both it’s original Japanese and in dubbed format and as anime expands, the cycle of cultural influence extends into the USA and European markets with western work such as ‘Perfect Hair Forever’ and ‘The Animatrix‘ taking much influence from the Japanese.

Co-written with Sam Williams and Daniel Harrold.

Click here to read the second part of this two-part essay.

Gorepress #1 - Douglas McKeown's THE DEADLY SPAWN (1983)

2013-05-27T20:14:00.000+01:00

aka Return of the Alien's Deadly Spawn

Filmed on location in New Jersey, Douglas McKeown's The Deadly Spawn seemingly plays out as serious science-fiction, but undoubtedly has it's tongue placed firmly in cheek, emphasized strongly by the amount of splattering gore that is tossed around.

Made for approximately $25,000.00 and released in 1983 The Deadly Spawn is an exercise in low-budget excess. Conceived by producers Ted Bohus and Tim Hildebrandt this 16mm cult classic emerged, drenched in blood, during the horror video boom of the 1980′s as an effort to pay tribute to the alien sub-genre of 1950′s science fiction.

Severely underrated, The Deadly Spawn almost suffered obscurity when it was unfairly retitled as Return of the Alien's Deadly Spawn...

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #23 - Tsutomu Iida's DEVILMAN: THE BIRTH (1987) Manga Entertainment VHS

2013-05-21T19:46:00.000+01:00

デビルマン誕生編
debiruman tanjō hen

Directed by Tsutomu Iida and released in 1987 Devilman: The Birth is an original video animation (OVA) based upon the Japanese manga series (1972-1973) of the same name, written and illustrated by Go Nagai.

Devilman: The Birth is the origin story of Akira Fudo's transformation into the Devilman, a result of Akira retaining his consciousness during his metamorphosis with Amon, the Lord of War. Remaining faithful to the original source material, this hyper-violent animated OVA was the first introduction of Go Nagai's iconic character for western audiences, although it was not the first on-screen appearance of Devilman. That accolade belongs to the equally fun, but toned down in terms of violence, 1972-1973 anime series.

Click here to read the full review.

SFX & Post-production Episode V: The Essay Strikes Back

2013-05-15T00:04:00.000+01:00

INTRODUCTION:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....

Special Effects.
- Illusions created for movies and television by props, camerawork, computer graphics, ect.

Post-Production.
- A final stage in the production of a film or a television program, occurring after the action has been filmed or videotaped and typically involving editing and the addition of soundtracks.

When Star Wars was first released in 1977 it was met with an outstanding commercial success and has since become one of the most successful films of all time. Ground-breaking in it's use of special effects, it was quite a surprise to long time fans of the series then when George Lucas concluded in 1997 that digital technology had caught up to his original vision for Star Wars. 20 years after the original release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope George Lucas revisited his original saga to add special effects which were just not possible at the time. New technology plays a large role in how we see film today. It makes the impossible possible and now both production and post-production have become easier and less time-consuming with the constant changes in digital technology. However it can be abused... Watch the special edition's of the original Star Wars trilogy and ask yourself the question:

Where does it end?

THE ROLE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY IN ANIMATION PRODUCTION:
Not so far, far away....

With new technology overtaking the old with each day, the chances that technological advances will just stop is a notion difficult to comprehend.

Thank the Jedi!

For animation the role of new technology has aided much in both the production and post-production side of things. Trey Parker and Matt Stone's award winning, animated comedy series South Park and it's continued success comes, in part, from how each episodes chosen subject matter is based on a current world event. This however would be impossible to maintain for a television series if it was still being produced on construction paper using the same stop motion techniques used in the original pilot. One example would be the episode “It's Christmas in Canada” with it's depiction of, and references to, the capture of Saddam Hussein. The episode was broadcast three day's after the actual event. THREE DAYS?! It sounds impossible but with the use of computers, as opposed to construction paper replacement animation, “things don't have to be cut out and glued together” making it more efficient and less “labour intensive”.

Currently South Park uses a modern computer animation tool known as Maya to duplicate the overall amateurish look or the series. Strangely enough Maya is known more for being a high end 3D computer graphics and 3D modeling software package more famous for it's effects in Jurassic Park and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Both Parker and Stone have both described the use of Maya in relation to the show as “building a sandcastle with a bulldozer”.

For South Park the role of new technology in animation is speed. It has never wanted to become a visually stunning show. That's not what they adopted the technology for. It's always been about keeping on top of schedule, allowing the creators to keep the episodes topical and allowing the animators to make any last minute changes before a show is broadcast which would otherwise have been impossible using traditional methods.

"Even though we are now using the computer for efficiency, we will always see South Park as construction paper animation. If we had three months to do an episode we would probably still be ding the show in construction paper, but because of our tight schedule, we find the computer very helpful." (Eric Stough – Director of Animation on South Park)

The role of technology in animation production is dependent on the views of the animator or director and their own reflections on art and animation. Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence incorporates both 2D, 3D and computer generated graphics to create a film that is visually stunning, pushing the boundaries of animation further, but still feels like traditional Japanese animation.

"I think that Hollywood is relying more and more on 3D imaging like that of Shrek. The strength behind Japanese animation is based in the designer's pencil. Even if he mixes 2D, 3D and computer graphics, the foundation is still 2D. Only doing 3D does not interest me." (Mamoru Oshii – Director of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence)

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANIMATION AND LIVE-ACTION:
"I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way."

Live-Action.
- Film and video that features cinematography that is not produced by animation.

The relationship between live-action and animation began with Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur, a short animated film produced in 1914 that was originally part of a stage production in which McCay would interact with a projection of the dinosaur himself. The film was later extended to include title cards and a live-action prologue so it could be marketed to moving-picture theaters. The animation is also notable for it's production. McCay had came up with many other techniques that would later become the standard in animation. These techniques include key framing, registration marks and the re-use of some of his drawings.

During the later days of silent film this mixture between both live-action and animation was adopted further by such animators as Max Fleischer and Walt Disney who began to experiment, pushing the boundaries of what could be achieved. This experimentation led to yet another standard technique in the animation industry, created by Fleischer, known as Rotoscoping.

However it wasn't until 1988 when the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released to phenomenal success that the relationship between animation and live-action had reached a realistic portrayal of interaction between both human actors, cartoon characters and their surroundings. Don Hahn credits most of this realism to director Robert Zemeckis.

“He didn’t want to limit Roger Rabbit to the traditional rules of animation live-action combinations, such as you would never move the camera, and you would never want to have an animated character interact that much with a human. He just threw all those rules away, so that when you walk into the room, if a toon picks up a pencil, it should be a real pencil, and if he drives a car, it should be a real car in an extremely interactive environment. The camera should move, so you feel it. All those things made it extremely challenging to work on the movie. Nobody had ever done that to that degree.” (Don Hahn – Associate Producer on Who Framed Roger Rabbit)

Furthermore, hand-drawn animated characters were overlayed with analogue optical effects produced by Industrial Light & Magic. The lighting and shadow effects helped significantly in creating a more three-dimensional appearance to the characters.

All this combined to make Who Framed Roger Rabbit a landmark film and one that helped reinvigorate the field of animation which had suffered a recession in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s . It inspired many studios to return to the industry and created a newly found interest in animation with audiences worldwide.

CONCLUSION:
"Screw you guys, I'm going home."

Whether it's technology or technique let's just make one thing clear, the strength of animation has always came about from strong ideas regardless of the medium. It's the relationship between all of these elements and the introduction of new elements that keep the animation industry on their toes. SFX and post-production are just one of these elements and, as with anything in film, it can help to get the narrative across.

“Voice-over: Coming, this summer! It's the digitally enhanced re-release of the very first pilot episode of South Park! Yes, the classic, rough, hand-made first episode is getting a make-over for 2002! The simple, funny aliens are now super badass and cool! Flying saucer? No longer cheap construction paper, but a 4.0 megapixel constructed through a masterpiece of technology! Everything's new! New is better!

Trey Parker: When we first made South Park, we didn't wanna use construction paper. We just had to because it was cheap.

Matt Stone: And now with new technology we can finally re-master South Park, make it look sharp, clean and focused.

Trey Parker: Expensive.

Voice-over: Yes, all the charm of a simple little cartoon will melt before your eyes as it is replaced by newer and more standardized animation!

Trey Parker: For instance, in the scene at the bus stop, we always meant to have Imperial walkers and giant dewback lizards in the background, but simply couldn't afford it.

Voice-over: Get this special enhanced version quick, because another enhanced version will likely be coming out for 2003!”

Attack From Planet B #22 - Takafumi Nagamine's KEKKO KAMEN (2004)

2013-05-10T17:01:00.000+01:00

けっこう仮面
aka Kekko Kamen New!

Directed by Takafumi Nagamine, Kekko Kamen (2004) is based upon the shōnen manga series of the same name, written and illustrated by Go Nagai.

The perverted teachers at Mangriffon Announcer Academy punish the students through sexual humiliation, and unluckily for Mayumi she is falling behind in class... But just when the teachers are about to take their actions too far, a super-heroine emerges from the shadows. A super-heroine that hides her face but bares everything else in the name of justice! A super-heroine named Kekko Kamen!

Click here to read the full review.

The Original Concepts of Public Service Broadcasting

2013-05-05T12:24:00.000+01:00

The original concepts of public service broadcasting were to provide the ‘best’ in artistic content, programmes for minorities and to educate the public. How does modern broadcasting compare to this philosophy?

Public service broadcasting (PSB) was originally conceived to serve the needs of the public and had traditionally been the most dominant form of broadcasting all across the world, apart from the United States where commercial broadcasting is dominant. PSB television and radio services receive some (or most) of their funding from the public through license fees, donations or via a government grant. Commercial broadcasting however is the practice of broadcasting for profit, normally achieved by interrupting normal programming to air advertisements.

PSB programming is generally transmitted as an aim to inform viewers and improve our society but also to entertain their viewers much like commercial broadcasting and since public service broadcasters do NOT rely on advertising as a source of their revenue they can risk airing programs with less saleability to the masses such as documentaries and educational programs. This often leads to criticism that they fail to provide what the public wants because they don’t chase ratings the same way as commercial broadcasters do. It does however give PSB programming the freedom to be creative and artistic with the only restrictions coming from funding and the limitations of the individuals working on that current project.

Public service broadcasting itself was established in the 1920’s. The concept was conceived with the idea of creating cultural and intellectual enlightenment for society. In 1922 the British Broadcasting Company was founded as an attempt to broadcast experimental radio services but eventually became known as the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927. The roots of PSB are generally traced to documents prepared in support of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s establishment. By 1932 the BBC (as it became to be known) started experimental television broadcasting which by 1936 became a regular service and since has been widely emulated throughout Europe. The BBC is now the largest broadcasting corporation in the world proving that PSB is still a successful form of broadcasting, despite the fact that the ‘Beeb’ (an affectionate term used by many and coined by Kenny Everett for the BBC) has had many years to perfect its art. But is public service broadcasting still as popular today as it was 60 years ago? Will other forms of broadcasting eventually take over?

‘Walter Lippmann stated the justification for noncommercial educational television in 1959 when he wrote that it should be a network which can be run as a public service, and its criterion not what will be most popular but what is good.’ - McGeorge Bundy

High ratings and success does not mean that the programs a company broadcasts contributes to our cultural development. As mentioned previously commercial broadcasting concentrates on putting out ‘entertaining’ programs that will make them a profit. Heavy criticism suggests that most programs are aired because of ‘ratings for ratings sake’ and do not consider what the public want. Advertising also plays a huge part in this criticism as advertisers pay considerable amounts of money to air their advertisements. Advertising contributes to a high percentage of a company's funding and makes commercial broadcasting more answerable to advertisers than the public.

Although there is no standard definition for what public service broadcasting is there have been a number of official bodies (known as the Broadcasting Research Unit) who have attempted to pick out it’s key characteristics that most public service broadcasters now use as guidelines. Presented here are eight of the most followed guidelines:

• Geographic universality.
• Catering for all interests and tastes.
• Catering for minorities.
• Concern for national identity and community.
• Detachment from vested interests and government.
• One broadcasting system to be directly funded by the corpus of users.
• Competition in good programming rather than numbers.
• Guidelines to liberate programme-makers and not restrict them.

Additionally, public service broadcasters facilitate the implementation of cultural policy. In the UK, the BBC supports multiculturalism and diversity mainly by using a host of different ethnic origins. In Canada the government is committed to bilingualism of English and French thus the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) employs translators and journalists who speak both languages and encourages cross-cultural material.

Between the 70’s and 80’s public service broadcasting, not just in the UK but worldwide, began to become heavily criticized as its original concepts were called into question. The public’s perception of PSB had changed by the arrival of cable TV, satellite and video cassettes. People began to forget its importance and successful commercial company’s seemed to support the arguments of critics that public service broadcasting was no longer justified.

Despite this criticism another UK public service broadcaster was created in 1982 by an Act of Parliament under the name Channel 4. That same year on the 2nd of November, Channel 4 began its regular broadcasts. The channel set out to provide an alternative to the existing UK channels at the time resulting in high quality artistic programming, but also sometimes tasteless programming which was criticized by politicians and campaigners including Mary Whitehouse. Despite this criticism the channel was warmly received by minority groups and the arts and cultural world during 1982 and 1990. Channel 4 was also one of the first channels to broadcast programs produced by other companies. All Channel 4's programming during this time was produced outside outside of the company resulting in Channel 4 being known as a ‘publisher-broadcaster’. The channel also does not receive funding from a broadcast receiver license as the BBC does. Instead all programming was originally funded by ITV (Independent Television) in return for their right to advertise on Channel 4 and now today by managing its own advertisements. This could have become a potential disaster but luckily Channel 4 had created a ‘safety net’ and had thus kept it's reputation as one of the most successful leading broadcasters in the UK.

Unfortunately both public and political dissatisfaction with public broadcasting had reached an all time high by the early 1990’s. Many felt that the original concepts and the implementation of cultural policy were damaged, even after the launch of Channel 4, with the BBC being targeted by most critics who did not see why they should pay by law (via license fees) for a service they saw ‘unfit’.

‘Why would you say to some poor worker out here with three kids, we’re now going to take your money and tax you for a program that you may never watch?’ - Newt Gingrich, January 1995

In response a few unlicensed pirate radio and television broadcasters began to emerge (radio becoming the most popular and cheapest to produce), fed up with what both public and commercial broadcasting were force feeding the public. Most pirate broadcasters were established to provide the public with the programming they wanted to see or hear. Pirate Cat TV in San Francisco, California is notable for showing short films that had been submitted by the public. Their aims were to ‘restore media by the people for the people’.

As with the inclusion of other forms of broadcasting some may say the internet has damaged the ideals of PSB. The internet is a worldwide ‘network of networks’ which together carry various levels of information and services that can be publicly accessed. The World Wide Web on the other hand is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents that runs over the internet and with the use of a Web browser a user can view web pages, usually containing text, images and sometimes other multimedia. Created in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee it was announced on the 30th April 1993 that the World Wide Web would be free to anyone but it wasn’t until after the release of a new operating system for personal computers known as Windows 95 (with it's inclusion of dial-up software) that the internet became known to the general public. Since then the internet has became insanely popular with most homes having access to what has affectionately become known as the ‘information highway’. Today people can access most information they request, even watching television programs through official ‘streaming’ sites or via P2P file sharing services, the later being illegal in terms of copyrighted material. At the time of writing (18th September 2006) 1.09 billion people use the internet according to Internet World Stats.

One could also argue that the public has made it difficult for public service broadcasters to provide the ‘best’ in artistic content through censorship led by the idea that certain programming could provoke certain behavior. Mary Whitehouse began her ‘Clean up TV’ campaign in 1964 targeting BBC director-general, Sir Hugh Greene first claiming that he ‘more than anyone else, was responsible for the moral collapse in this country’. Most of Whitehouse’s opposition however claimed that she had the ability to be offended by almost anything. Her concerns about the TV character Alf Garnett, the shows Doctor Who, Monty Python’s Flying Circus and her complaints about the use of the word ‘bloody’ were laughable by most in the industry. How can cultural development ensue when people aren’t allowed artistic freedom?

For years self-righteous and self-appointed preservers of ‘our’ culture have told us that television is bad and will become the destroyer of all that is right in the world. I have yet to see this happen.... In fact, in my own opinion, television is a required resource in our world today for cultural development. Public service broadcasters have provided an insight to not just the foundations and development of our own culture but that of other cultures around the world. Without public service broadcasting we would not be a culturally aware society.

Whether or not public service broadcasting will survive alongside modern broadcasting is always going to be up for debate. In my opinion the original public service broadcasting concepts are justified by today’s standards. PSB has brought us a varied selection of programs that appeal to the different tastes of the 21st century public and continues to do so. It has made us culturally aware and continues to push the boundaries of it's art. The quality of PBS programming will always be determined by who is watching it and with what mindset they have at that time but broadcasters can afford to take these risks and learn from them. Modern broadcasting itself borrows from the concepts of PSB, observing and waiting for the next development. Modern broadcasting has continued to develop since the BBC laid down its original concepts but the basic guidelines have always been followed. Filmmakers will always strive to produce the ‘best’ quality programming and despite public opinion public service broadcasting will always strive to provide the 'best’ in artistic content. You may not always agree but take certain programming and opinion (including my own) with a ‘pinch of salt’. It is entertainment after all!

Attack From Planet B #21 - Bob Clark's DEAD OF NIGHT (1974)

2013-02-20T12:49:00.002+00:00

aka Deathdream

Directed by Bob Clark, written by Alan Ormsby and released in 1974, Dead of Night is as haunting as it is unsettling.

Inspired by the W.W. Jacobs short story The Monkey's Paw, in which a family are granted three wishes and use one of them to resurrect their dead son, Dead of Night takes the zombie sub-genre and expands upon the established mythos.

Dead of Night (released as Deathdream in the United States) aspires to be more than simply a horror movie. By pushing the boundaries of the genre Bob Clark and Alan Ormsby have created a powerful anti-war protest and a compellingly depressing middle-class family drama.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #20 - Kaiju Neutral Alignment (Part IV)

2012-11-23T23:36:00.000+00:00

Is the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films and its symbolism born from the fears of nuclear war?

“As I watched the World Trade towers collapse on September 11, I felt guilty. The scene looked similar to those that had entertained me in many Godzilla films. But it wasn’t a fantasy, the people were real, and their fear and suffering were heartbreaking.”

Over the years Godzilla has changed roles significantly from once being the ultimate threat to Japan, to now being Japan’s protector. One could believe that this change was made to make the monster appeal to a broader audience resulting in much larger profits for the studio or perhaps it is the result of the fears Japan once had post-war becoming less and less significant?

“Godzilla should not be destroyed… HE SHOULD BE STUDIED!”

Click here to read the fourth and final part of my four-part essay.

Attack From Planet B #19 - Kaiju Neutral Alignment (Part III)

2012-11-22T20:06:00.000+00:00

Is the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films and its symbolism born from the fears of nuclear war?

How can we understand Japan’s mindset after World War II? How did they really feel after the atomic bombings and their subsequent defeat? Was any blame placed upon a particular nation, including their own, for how the war ended?

Every culture has it’s fears… Godzilla itself is a creation born from the fears of another future nuclear disaster. Modern technology of the time created nuclear weapons and from these nuclear weapons came Godzilla! Tom Miller believes however that through the film’s inherent symbolism Godzilla represents more than just the atomic bombing of Japan. In his article “Struggling With Godzilla: Unraveling the Symbolism in Toho’s Sci/Fi Films” Tom states: “In the movie they made, Godzilla represents more than the A-Bomb; Godzilla is the United States itself”, but didn’t the United States have a motive for the atomic bombings? Godzilla needed no motive… Just the animalistic desire to survive.

Click here to read the third part of my four-part essay.

Attack From Planet B #18 - Kaiju Neutral Alignment (Part II)

2012-11-21T21:13:00.000+00:00

Is the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films and its symbolism born from the fears of nuclear war?

William Tsutsui is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Kansas, an author of many books on Japanese history and a life-long fan of the mutant lizard having authored “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters” (First published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2004).

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Godzilla “Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters” discusses how it grew into a global phenomenon thus exploring the monster’s lasting cultural impact on Japan, the United States and the rest of the world whilst a video entitled “Godzilla and Post-War Japan” uploaded onto the web for UCTV (University of California Television) presented Professor William Tsutsui arguing that the evolution of Godzilla, throughout it’s many films, reflects the social and political changes of post-war Japan and Godzilla’s lasting cultural impact on the world.

Click here to read the second part of my four-part essay.

Attack From Planet B #17 - Kaiju Neutral Alignment (Part I)

2012-11-20T21:53:00.000+00:00

Is the fascination in Japanese culture for science fiction Kaiju films and its symbolism born from the fears of nuclear war?

After World War II Japan’s economy made one of the most remarkable recoveries in the history of the modern world.

Arguably one of their most vital post war recoveries was that of their film industry and by 1953, the industry had entered its Golden Age.

This study of Japanese culture looks at the fascination Japanese audiences have for the symbolism found in these science fiction Kaiju movies. Are they just presented as brainless entertainment or are they born from an ingrained fear that their could perhaps be another disaster like the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the future?

Click here to read the first part of my four-part essay.

Interactive Animation Innovation: Understanding Contemporary Interactive Animation

2012-11-16T18:30:00.000+00:00

INTRODUCTION:
Interactive animation as a cultural phenomenon.

Interaction.
- The combined action of two or more things that have an effect on each other and work together.

Personal computers, digital interactive television, the internet, compact discs and digital versatile discs. This is just part of a limited electronic heritage that has helped to fuel a relationship between ourselves and interaction. Interactive animation, to our understanding as a cultural phenomenon, has been largely based on this relationship.

So what is interactive animation? When you play a video game and begin to navigate through the various environments on screen THAT is an example of interactive animation, but when have you ever heard Grand Theft Auto being referred to as such?

Animation itself has been referred to as a sequence of images played together in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement. This optical illusion of motion has allowed us to push the boundaries of what be accomplished in contemporary film. The visual effects of Star Wars or the shadow and lighting in Akira continues to amaze audiences today because of their different approaches to what we would normally expect in terms of reality in cinema, yet are real enough to be believable.

However in this digital age, interactive animation has given us what can't be found within traditional motion picture: a sense of freedom. Of course not all restrictions are broken but rather than merely relating to and sharing the emotions of a certain on-screen character we can now determine their actions and tell their story in a new way.

“Thus far, most discussions of cinema in the digital age have focused on the possibilities of interactive narrative. It is not hard to understand why: since the majority of viewers and critics equate cinema with storytelling, digital media is understood as something which will let cinema tell its stories in a new way.”
Lev Manovich (Professor of Visual Arts)

MAYA:
A scientific and technical achievement.

Computer Animation.
- The art of creating moving images via the use of computers.

3D Computer Graphics.
- A three-dimensional representation of geometric data.

Autodesk's Maya is known worldwide as an Academy Award winning high end 3D computer graphics, modeling and rendering software package. Originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation it has been responsible for the 3D digital effects in films like the 2011 prequel to the 1986 classic The Thing and The Matrix. Today it continues to have a significant and dominant impact on the motion picture industry with most of it's popularity coming from the fact that the software is highly customizable. In Maya, anything can be connected to anything. Pixar's RenderMan for example is a successful photorealistic renderer that has been used in the production of over one hundred films and has since spawned RenderMan for Maya, designed to be completely integrated into the software.

Maya is also known for it's use in computer and video game production with games utilizing features such as the creation of environments with realistic light and shadows in Resident Evil 4 and the production of character models for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It's the innovation of this software package and these elements of many that bring emotion, atmosphere and excitement into both film and the virtual world, fully immersing the player in it's narrative. Film in most instances, due to the hardware limitations of current home computers, has implemented it's use of digital media much more efficiently and realistically. However you still don't have that level of interaction you get from a video game.

Interaction is all about control. In computer and video games a user is not only observing, but is involving too and it's this level of interaction that is making interactive animation more and more popular, whatever form it takes.

"The buzz in Hollywood, which I heard from some Hollywood folks is [that] people are worried whether Iron Man the movie is going to get killed by Grand Theft Auto the game. I don't think I've ever heard of that before."
John Riccitiello (CEO of Electronic Arts)

CONCLUSION:
Interactive animation in it's various forms.

Innovation.
- The act of introducing something new.

Myst back in 1993 became a popular, best selling PC game possibly because, despite the amount of interaction and involvement it gave the player, it still felt like a cinematic event and that was largely unheard of at the time. This could be because Myst itself relies on the techniques of twentieth century cinema. As a PC game it's compact disc based digital media allowed for more data to be stored and accessed by the current hardware of that time. This allowed for thousands of pre-rendered images to act as the environment with simulated camera turns to switch from one image to the next. These pre-rendered images where created using StrataVision 3D, a 3D graphics and modeling software package that helped to push 3D desktop publishing software further. The success of Myst also helped drive adoption of the CD-ROM format which up until then hadn't convinced anyone of it's true capabilities.

Just as traditional cinema continues to adopt digital technology, the innovation of interactive animation will continue to be adopted and open the world to entire new ways of thinking seeing entertainment.

“As traditional film technology is universally being replaced by digital technology, the logic of the filmmaking process is being redefined.”
Lev Manovich (Professor of Visual Arts)

Attack From Planet B #16 - Vittorio Rambaldi's PRIMAL RAGE (1988)

2012-10-29T18:37:00.000+00:00

aka Rage, furia primitiva

Directed by Vittorio Rambaldi and written by Umberto Lenzi, Primal Rage is an Italian / American splatter film shot on location in Florida.

With his debut as director Vittorio Rambaldi has managed to create an entertaining film that, despite it’s slow set-up, delivers a lot of the crimson red you would expect from 1980′s Italian horror cinema. The special make-up effects and gore, courtesy of Carlo Rambaldi and Alex Rambaldi, are the highlight of Primal Rage, especially during the final act.

Primal Rage isn’t perfect however, and Vittorio Rambaldi’s direction can at times be underwhelming and uninspired. Primal Rage can also feel very dated but the ingeniously bizarre special effects on display help elevate this movie above most Italian exploitation films of the same era.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #15 - George Pan Cosmatos' COBRA (1986)

2012-10-22T13:46:00.000+01:00

"In America, there's a burglary every 11 seconds...an armed robbery every 65 seconds...a violent crime every 25 seconds...a murder every 24 minutes...and 250 rapes a day."

When a hostage situation arises, and all negotiations fail, the Los Angeles Police Department contact police officer Marion Cobretti, codenamed “Cobra” (Stallone). From a division of the L.A.P.D. known as the “Zombie Squad” Cobretti is ruthless and unpredictable, playing by his own set of rules. “Cobra” does the job nobody wants.

Armed with a 9mm Colt Gold Cup, Cobretti sneaks into the supermarket and confronts the assailant. When the gunman declares that he has a bomb and won’t hesitate to kill everyone inside, Cobretti coldly responds “Go ahead…I don’t shop here.”

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #14 - Joe D’Amato's ANTROPOPHAGUS (1980)

2012-10-16T21:59:00.000+01:00

Directed by Joe D’Amato, co-written by Joe D’Amato and George Eastman, and starring George Eastman, Antropophagus is an Italian horror film notorious in the United Kingdom for being described as a snuff film.

In it’s uncut format Antropophagus deserves it’s notoriety. Retitled and released in the United Kingdom in 1980 as Anthropophagous: The Beast, distributor VFP opted to release an uncut print of the film on VHS which eventually caught the attention of the media, resulting in the title being added onto the Department of Public Prosecutions (DDP) list of “Video Nasties”.

Antropophagus is exploitative cinema at it's most disgusting and at it's most depraved, containing two of the most notorious scenes in the annuals of Italian cinema.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #13 - Benito Robinsoni's NEON KILLER (1986)

2012-09-11T22:03:00.000+01:00

Neon Killer proved to be a hyper-stylised excess of brightly coloured neon lighting and violence. Under it’s original title Polizia Di Morte Detective’s John Balmoral (Roger Robinson) and Barry McClagen (Louise Raynes) are investigating an ongoing series of horrific murders perpetrated by a sadistic and brutal serial killer. The majority of the film presents itself as a series of flashbacks in which old partners John and Barry try to understand the motives of the killer.

Ultimately John concludes that he is getting too old and announces his intention to retire from active duty despite the successful capture of the killer. Barry however can’t walk away from all this death too easily…

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #12 - Jason Eisener’s HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (2011)

2012-08-08T21:30:00.000+01:00

Jason Eisener’s Hobo With a Shotgun initially started life as a fake trailer created for an international South by Southwest (SXSW) contest to promote the release of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature Grindhouse (2007).

Fast forward four years to the full feature length release of Hobo With a Shotgun, a exploitative 80′s throwback that has already gained itself a sizeable cult following due to it’s shameless brutality and black humour that runs throughout it’s 86 minute runtime.

What had started life as a no budget fake trailer has turned into a low budget fully featured film. Hobo With a Shotgun may have it's tongue placed firmly in cheek but it's execution has been treated with total seriousness.

Click here to read the full review.

Attack From Planet B #11 - Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS (1979)

2012-08-06T23:00:00.000+01:00

aka Zombi 2
aka Zombie

With Zombie Flesh Eaters Lucio Fulci had achieved international acclaim and notoriety...

Originally intended as a sequel to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), Lucio Fulci’s Zombie Flesh Eaters (aka Zombie) (1979) is an uncompromising, illogically scripted, fantastical display of outstanding zombie flesh munching!

This is Fulci at his outrageously exploitative best and just as Dawn of the Dead could be considered Romero’s masterpiece, Zombie Flesh Eaters is Lucio Fulci’s tour de force! A slow paced but literally eye-popping experience (pun intended) that is highly recommended to any fan of exploitation cinema.

Click here to read the full review.