Show notes
This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor discuss Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku.About the films:Following years of a certain radioactive beast’s domination at the box office, many Japanese studios tried to replicate the formula with their own brands of monster movies. One of the most fascinating, if short-lived, dives into that fiendish deep end was the one by Shochiku, a studio better known for elegant dramas by the likes of Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu. In 1967 and 1968, the company created four certifiably batty, low-budget fantasies, tales haunted by watery ghosts, plagued by angry insects, and stalked by aliens—including one in the form of a giant chicken-lizard. Shochiku’s outrageous and oozy horror period shows a studio leaping into the unknown, even if only for one brief, bloody moment.Subscribe to the podcast via RSS or in iTunes.Timeline for the podcast:Introduction/Background (The X from Outer Space (Goke, Body Snatcher From Hell (The Living Skeleton (Genocide (Conclusion (Buy The Box Set On Amazon:Episode Links:Shochiku Studio:Shochiku Films (international site publicizing movies produced by the studio)Official History from Shochiku.com (note: it does not mention the films discussed in this episode.)Film Comment overview of Shochiku’s history by Chuck Stephens“Shochiku Drives Into Classic Films” from Variety Magazine (October 2013), by John HopewellBox Set Reviews:PopMatters review by Marco LanzagortaDVD Drive-In review by Paul TabiliAustin Chronicle review by Richard WhittakerThe X from Outer Space:David’s Journey Through the Eclipse Series reviewThe Escapist video review by Bob ChipmanCineMassacre review by Mike MateiBadMovies.org review by Andrew BorntregerBraineater review by Will LoughlinGoke, Body Snatcher from Hell:Film Society of Lincoln Center review (uncredited)1000 Misspent Hours review by Scott AshlinDoomed Moviethon review (uncredited)Horror Movie A Day review by Brian (no last name given)The Ladders commercial featuring GuilalaThe Living Skeleton:Wtf-Film review by Kevin PyrtleBlack Hole review by Mark HodgsonTalk of Horrors review by Joseph HowellCineFantastique review by Steve BiodrowskiSeven Days review by Ethan De SeifeGenocide:Movie Morlocks review by Kimberly LindbergsSequart Organization review by Harry Edmundson-CornellRoweReviews (uncredited)This Dark Exegesis review by Alex DeLargeLone Wolves and Hidden Dragons review by Shaun AndersonNext time on the podcast: Eclipse Series 22: Presenting Sacha GuitryContact us:TwitterEmail: theeclipseviewer (at) gmail.comDavid Blakeslee ( Twitter / Website )Trevor Berrett ( Twitter / Website )

