Sunday comes early this week due to unforseen technical difficulties that have thrust Savant 78 hours into the future. I'd explain but you just wouldn't understand. Drugs are not involved, and I have not been detained at Guantanamo Bay. Just the same, I have some reviews of killer DVDs to spring at ya:

Savant's new reviews today are

Have a nice Memorial Day weekend! See you next week! Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today (about ten hours early) are

Hello! This is a tad early, but there's a method to the madness. Six new reviews tonight. I also have some thoughts about a couple of theatrical screenings I saw.

I did go to the original Toho Godzilla at the Nuart a week ago and promised a report on it. It is indeed a picture with an entirely different spin than the reworked Terry Morse version that we have been watching in America for the last 48 years. The Raymond Burr scenes gave the movie a Yank presence and really didn't change it much; I've always liked the way Burr was integrated into the show. But it did distort the original intention of the movie. The original Japanese Godzilla doesn't directly address the issue of Japan's nuclear bombing nine years earlier, but it's very clear just the same. People on the subway talk about having to evacuate Tokyo again, and what a bother it was the first time. The war itself is never mentioned, but the Japanese public is said to have been very aware of the inspiration for the movie, an incident when a shipload of fish strayed into an American nuclear test zone (later disputed) and crewmen suffered burns while tons of irradiated fish were distributed back in Japan. Although nobody comes out and says it, the original Godzilla monster is therefore a monstrous manifestation of the nuclear threat to the world posed by the U.S.. There is even dialogue where the monster is said to be innocent, having been turned into a threat by radiation poisoning (source not mentioned in so many words).

The problem has a typically Japanese solution. A dedicated Dr. Serizawa sacrifices himself (just as in the Ray Burr version) to destroy Godzilla, so that his secret "oxygen destroyer" weapon can die with him. Unlike those irresponsible American scientists, this ethically superior Serizawa takes true responsibility for his "crime" of finding a new weapon. There are of course, no Japanese authorities in the film to direct Serizawa or wrest control of his invention as happened here; he found the secret all by himself and bears the responsibility exclusively.

So what we're left with is a vague American enemy (by symbolic proxy) and Japanese who are doubly noble: unbowed by their terrible victimization under the atom bombs, yet sufficiently superior morally to handle another new weapon "responsibly," when the arrogant Americans won't even admit that their reckless testing is poisoning the ocean. It's a nice dodge which doesn't have to get into the issue of the war or admit any kind of national wrong or even error. Serizawa carries a mark of Cain, a scar that's blinded him in one eye, an interesting transposition of Rotwang's gloved hand in Metropolis. But he's only been made ethically stronger. In this first Godzilla film Japan is defiant and unbowed.

Since we're told that Godzilla won't be coming to home video in this form (Toho has been frustratingly mysterious with their monster shows in the United States for the last ten years or so), I'll end by saying that the Rialto theatrical prints look fine, a tad darker than the old videos I've seen of this version. The movie is in about the same condition as theatrical prints of Seven Samurai - some scratches, jumping at splices and general blah quality, but most of it plays well. The Toho logo looked terrible for some reason, as if it were very overexposed and grainy.

The other screening I went to was a preview of Saved!, a new film from my old alma mater, MGM. It's a teen comedy with the twist that the subject is an "All Christian" private school where kids live and breathe Jesus all day long, a brainwashing regimen that's more than a little disturbing. Although it plays like an outrageous exaggeration, I'm assured that most of what happens is not exaggerated at all. I liked the cast and there were plenty of witty jokes. The tone eventually turns sentimental which seemed acceptable. I'm told MGM is giving it a limited release. It's controversial and thought-provoking as well as funny - the audience loved it. I hope it will be a hit. It stars Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Eva Amurri and Patrick Fugit. Back in a couple of days, Glenn Erickson.

Savant's new reviews today are

I'm stepping up the review pace (eight - count 'em - 8) to catch up with the cool genre titles that are hitting the shelves here in late spring, including a passel of Memorial Day-themed War and action pix (how we remember our fallen, tsk tsk). And there'll be a short break at Memorial Day time so I'm hitting the gas now to compensate.

"R" O'Donnell of Home Vision asked me to mention a big event he held in New York last Tuesday to promote the upcoming The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi movie. Miramax is hoping that the heightened popularity of HVe's Zatoichi DVD's (now up to seventeen instalments) and IFC's cable screenings will benefit the new movie's release. Premiere magazine's Glenn Kenny gave an amusing overview speech about the entire Asian cultural invasion, from Kill Bill to the The Ring horror mania. HVe is planning a roundup of its Yakuza films in a boxed set to tie in with new releases Bloody Territories and Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter, which "R" describes as "Kill Bill all the way." HVE always has the most creative promotions, which I'm happy to pass along.

A question for Savant readers: I've received a DVD of a very good movie which may lie in a gray area in regard to bootlegging - I'm fairly sure that a major label has rights to the title (and should have released it a long time ago). Here's the problem - do I review it straight and not mention the issue of legitimacy? There's a possibility that it may be in the clear. Do I snub the release on the presumption that it's not legit? I think I'm going to review it straight, without mentioning the problem (on which I've received no final word from the major label), and just let it happen. The DVD is still being sold and I've gotten several emails from readers who want to know if it's worth buying. Thanks, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

It's a work week and Savant has been enjoying his discs but without much time to relax otherwise. A couple of hot titles came in the mail - Criterion's giant THE LEOPARD set due June 8, and Flicker Alley's JUDEX silent serial multi-DVD special edition that's already out. Hope to get to them soon. Thanks, Glenn E.

Savant's new reviews today are

GODZILLA is back in town, and this time he's wisely been dubbed not the King of the Monsters but a Weapon of Mass Destruction. I saw an okay VHS of this restored Japanese cut of GOJIRA, the original version without Raymond Burr, and it's like another film altogether, a totally straight protest against nuclear bombs that makes it abundantly clear that the giant WMD (who, like all real WMDs, is very easy to find) represents nuclear aggression and probably the U.S. too. And I don't know any other country than Japan with the right to make such a film. I should be seeing the theatrical reissue soon and I'll give a little report here; from what I could tell from the old VHS, the original movie wasn't as contrasty as our 1956 domestic version, and although its action scenes were almost identical to ours, they had an entirely grim feeling about them.

Something I've never heard answered, even in the media storm that accompanied the 1998 American Godzilla movie: Who exactly figured out the name Godzilla, anyway? Thanks, Glenn Erickson

Greetings once again. Savant gets by with a little help from his friends ... I've five reviews tonight. One of them is from Lee Broughton, the correspondent who is part of the group that has been helping me with research and advice on The Good, The Bad and The Ugly DVD for the last year.

Savant's new reviews are

The way screeners arrive, Savant often reviews discs either 3 weeks early or 2 weeks late, so let's try the following recap: The new discs that "streeted" this week for which reviews can already be accessed at DVD Savant are: The 300 Spartans, Dead Eyes of London / The Ghost, Down to Earth and The Fog of War. I realize it's easy to lose track of a title, and I think the various distributors will be happy to see a more timely reference to their products as well.

It's a big writing and research week for Savant, working with the window open to enjoy the good weather. Hope your springtime/school/business plans are coming along well ... Thanks, Glenn

Savant's new reviews today are

Well, last night The American Cinematheque showed my Major Dundee missing scene, and here's how it went. The audience was pretty tired by 12:20 when it came on, but were surprised by the sudden revelation of what happened to the Riago character. I met producer Nick Redman briefly and talked about the possibility of restoring all the European version scenes to Dundee - not Peckinpah's cut, just a version 11 minutes longer with a number of scenes that would help the continuity. But we dream on ...

It's mother's day, the perfect day for a paranoid thriller, two political pictures and a movie about tragic motherhood in the South. The Disney Treasures tins came in yesterday, and I'm in the midst of them. So far it's good news - I didn't see any signs of censorship on the Goes to War disc set. Back soon, Glenn Erickson

Try this URL link ... it's a silly but fun THE GOOD THE BAD & THE UGLY tie-in gundown game.

Savant's new reviews today are

So Savant finally caught up with the elusive Mill of the Stone Women, and liked what he saw. When you question my sense of proportion, remember that I've been impatiently waiting to see this for about 30 years. Some horror fans find it slow and uneventful, and yes, I must confess that there isn't a single explosion or gushing artery in the whole picture. No rap score either.

The American Cinematheque is having a Sam Peckinpah revival (the films, not the director himself) and this Saturday are showing a double bill of Ride the High Country, one of his best, and Major Dundee, the one I think is the most interesting. They're showing one of the 'legendary' missing scenes from Dundee immediately afterward, from my surviving flat 16mm source. If that's an extra enticement to turn out for the program, terrific; I'm hoping that Dundee will be a new print. That's Saturday the 8th at 7:30 at the Egyptian on Hollywood Boulevard. So, spread the word ...

Thanks, Glenn Erickson

Savant's new reviews today are

Hello - four reviews this day that Savant really put some time into, with help from frequent advisor Gary Teetzel, especially on the confusing series of Hammer films with titles like Dracula Has Graduated Cum Laude. The Frankenstein picture is actually one of Hammer's better efforts.

The coverage of the new "extended version" disc of THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY is here; I've tried to make it more of an overview than a review as I'm far too close to this one to be truly objective about it. But I've included a lot of new information about the disc and the restoration that should prove interesting. I invite notes about what I should do in this situation ... I don't want to ignore good discs, but it might be best to recuse myself from reviewing ones I work on. Or is the whole subject too petty to become an ethics problem? DVD reviews aren't exactly Pulitzer material. My present compromise is to put the situation out in the open.

I'm told that the Disney Treasures discs are on their way .. can't wait to finally see the Tomorrowland space shows that inspired my dreams as a seven year-old.

Sometime correspondent Arianné Ulmer Cipes has given me some information about a project I've heard about for years: here's what she had to say:

"Dear Glenn, We have just completed our principal photography for our Documentary Edgar E. Ulmer The Man Off Screen. The 60 minute TV version will debut on Turner Classic Movies along with a few of the Ulmer films this September. The DVD has already been sold to KINO and will be delivered prior to the end of the year. This is the centennial of Ulmer's birth - September 17, 1904. There will be a retrospective screening series at the National Film Theatre in London the whole month of August - a large number of films -- and the premiere of the English version 90 minute theatrical print."

You can read Savant's article about Arianné and her famous father here at Savant in The Daughter of Director Ulmer.

Thanks for reading, Glenn Erickson