MESSAGE FROM SPACE Masters of Cinema Special Edition Blu-ray

Eureka keep smashing it out of the park with these Fukasaku movies. This is another great release from the filmography of Japan's Scorsese, the mighty Kinji Fukasaku. Yes, this isn't the strongest entry in his incredible back catalogue of movies, yet it does have a certain charm and I have fond memories of watching this as a kid on VHS in the 80s. In short, it's a compelete mess, a frustrating melee of ideas that Fukasaku just didn't have the budget or time to properly realise. It's part Star Wars wannabe, part futuristic retelling of classic Japanese mythology, but it just falls short of achieving either. Having said that, I have a real soft spot for this movie - featuring the late-great Vic Morrow and, of course, Fukasaku's 'De Niro', Sinichi 'Sonny' Chiba, there's still a lot to like about Message From Space, in a 'you can see what they're trying to do' sort of way. The transfer is crisp, the audio is cracking and there's a few extras to explore. I have this nestled alongside other Eureka Fukasaku releases, like Samurai Reincarnation and The Legend of the 8 Samurai - I'm hoping there will be a few more titles from this period to add in the not-too-distant future.