Among the first movies to “borrow” heavily from Star Wars, the Japanese science-fiction spectacular Message from Space – from Battle Royale director, Kinji Fukasaku, is available now on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment, appropriately under the label’s Masters of Cinema Series.
When a utopian planet falls under the control of the evil Gavanas Empire, the oppressed Jillucian people send out eight Liabe seeds (walnuts) into the cosmos to summon powerful warriors to come to their aid. Answering the call are an assortment of exiled individuals, ex-military men, thrill-seekers and royalty, many of whom are unlikely heroes about to embark on the adventure of their lives.
Message from Space is not the blatant rip-off it’s made out to be. Similarities and parallels to George Lucas’ classic are undeniably obvious, but it’s not done in a shameless fashion. Hiro Matusda’s screenplay uses the model of Star Wars but fills much of the story with nuance pertaining to Japanese culture, such as the samurai code and philosophy relating to the essence of life. In a more modern context our thrill seekers, Shiro and Aaron, are basically dirt bike riders: all that’s missing is the Kawasaki emblem on the side of their spacecraft. The pair’s female bestie, the aristocratic Meia, is equally keen for excitement whereas the more reluctant Jack, a gambler of sorts, is along for the ride. This lively quartet of young adults bring the film in tune with the late 1970s as they act as though they’re either about to fight evil or head to the nearest disco-tec.
Vic Morrow, one of my favourite supporting actors, and legendary sour puss, doesn’t disappoint as the disillusioned commander in need of a noble cause to fight for. His close relationship to his robot companion Beba-2 (the R2-D2 of the movie) is sweet and Morrow’s presence adds weight along with his Japanese counterpart, the swordsman with a score to settle, Hans, played by the immortal Sonny Chiba.
George Lucas notably drew a lot of inspiration from Japanese cinema, namely The Hidden Fortress when making A New Hope, so it’s very interesting to see that same country in return draw inspiration right back, often resulting in a uniquely colourful style. Emperor Rockseia not only resembles Darth Vader, but pretty much every villain I remember seeing in Power Rangers as a child, or Super Sentai, its original title.
While special effects may not measure up to bigger-budget Hollywood titles, the use of miniatures and the excess of explosions are a nostalgic reminder of the blind enjoyment we had as children when watching these types of movies. I had a wonderful time with Message from Space.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Scott Saslow [2000 copies]
- Limited edition reversible poster [2000 copies]
- 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a restoration of the original film elements supplied by Toei
- Original Japanese audio
- Optional English dubbed audio
- Optional English subtitles
- Brand new audio commentary by Tom Mes
- Message from Earth – archival documentary featuring interviews with Sonny Chiba and Kenta Fukasaku
- Brand new appreciation of the film by film writer Patrick Macias
- Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork
- Stills gallery
- Trailers
- A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Christopher Stewardson
The definition of “easy listening”, Tom Mes’ new commentary track is a fantastic companion for our feature film as it provides cultural context and background information on the cast and crew. Additional interesting and amusing behind-the-scenes anecdotes can be found in the Message From Earth archival documentary. Running for about 30 minutes and ported from a German DVD release, the featurette includes interviews with director Kinji Fukasaku’s son and Sonny Chiba both of whom are warm, animated, and fun to watch. The sole “new” supplement on this disc is more than worthy of that claim thanks to superfan Patrick Macias’ enthusiasm for the subject matter. An admirer of the film since childhood, the film writer packs his personal reflections, production history, and experiences meeting some of the stars into a brief runtime. – by Hannah Lynch
VIDEO AND AUDIO
Supplied by Toei, this 1080p presentation comes from a restoration of the original film elements, which appears quite standard. There’s a light texture and while colours aren’t particularly bright, the image is spotless, preventing the array of practical effects from being too revealing. Naturally, with this era of Asian cinema, sound is on the Mono side of Stereo with both the original Japanese track and an English dub, but do stick with the first, because who doesn’t want to hear Vic Morrow speak Japanese?
As someone who has grown tired and disenchanted by the galaxy far, far away, Message from Space was the Star Wars I needed in this age of franchise saturation. I advise potential new viewers to ignore the unfair 4.9 IMDb rating and instead, embrace the vibes and energy of this super fun and exciting Japanese space opera.
MESSAGE FROM SPACE
(1978, director: Kinji Fukasaku)
★★★★
direct blu-ray screen captures
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