© 2010 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title:	Akira Ifukube Recording Archives - DVD
CD Label:	Toho Music Corporation
CD Number:	GX-9
Music by:	Akira Ifukube
Number of tracks:	4
Running time:	62:07
Number of discs:	1
Year of release/manufacture:	April 25, 2010

REVIEW

May 17, 2010 This is the BONUS DVD available to those who bought all 5 previous box sets in the 50th ANNIVERSARY GODZILLA SOUNDTRACK PERFECT COLLECTION. When ordering you need to provide the serial numbers from the first 5 sets in order to get the DVD. The DVD itself is free and you get what you pay for in my opinion. The DVD has 4 tracks (videos) with track 1 running at 19:01, 2 at 24:33, 3 at 15:54 and 4 at 2:39 for a total just over an hour. The videos on this disc appear to come from VHS tapes and have not been cleaned up or enhanced. Track 1 is the worst of the bunch looking like it could be a 2nd or third generation copy. When it starts you see the color bands going from top to bottom and throughout this and most of the videos you see mistracking noise at the bottom of the screen. Tracks 2 & 4 aren't as bad quality wise but do seem hazy like viewing a video behind curtain sheers. Track 3 is the cleanest of the bunch. OK, that covers quality. What do you see? Well, considering it's free, it's nice to have. However between the quality and actual material, I would never pay for it. What the videos mainly consist of is a conductor and orchestra behind glass playing the soundtrack music. In one of the sequences you can see the movie being projected so that the musicians can see what they are playing to. All in all, fairly boring to watch. You do see Mr. Ifukube sitting behind a desk at times but not much else of him. So as stated earlier, my opinion is you are getting what you pay for. In Toho's defense, since this is a very limited DVD, I doubt it would have been worth the money to them to spend a ton on cleaning up these tapes and transferring to a new digital copy. The process is expensive, this is a very limited quantity and they are giving it away for free as a bonus. Additional Review Courtesy of Robert Storch, June 17,2010 (Updated September 02, 2012) This Akira Ifukube Recording Archives DVD is only available to those consumers who have purchased all six 50th Anniversary Godzilla Soundtrack Perfect Collection boxed sets, from either Arksquare or directly through Toho Music's Japanese website. There are four different video clips on this DVD, and to my knowledge, none of this footage has ever been commercially released on VHS, Laserdisc or DVD before. Such a treasure trove of rare archival material should delight most Ifukube and Godzilla music fans, though the overall video and sound quality is so poor on at least two of the segments, that it will likely create a mixed reaction among those who have it. Most or all of the footage appears to have been shot with a video camera, and its amateurish quality suggests that it was probably never intended for release in the mass market. While some viewers may lament Toho's decision to offer this sub-standard footage in a digital format, others will be thrilled at the opportunity to view this scarce material, despite its condition. If anyone was expecting to see the premiere 1983 performance of Symphonic Fantasia No. 1 looking and sounding fantastic on DVD, they will undoubtedly be disappointed by what they see on their screen. The source, which is likely a videotape of some kind, is in very poor condition, and I am truly amazed that it was the ONLY source that Toho Music had at their disposal. The most glaring problems include a somewhat grainy and slightly blurred picture, and incredibly poor sound quality. Other issues include occasional white lines and static throughout, and even a split screen during one scene. One can only speculate what the actual source is of course (maybe a translation of the booklet could shed some light on this), but from what I see it appears to be either a video shot at the actual concert, or a home-recorded TV broadcast. As the segment begins we see veteran Toho actor Akihiko Hirata on stage speaking to the audience, wearing a white lab coat and black eye patch in a reprise of his role as Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (I can also make out the words "Oxygen Destroyer" as he is speaking). After a few minutes the lights come back on (as he takes off the lab coat and eye patch), and he concludes his remarks wearing a nice suit. He then introduces Toho producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, who also says a few words before summoning maestro Akira Ifukube from the audience to present him with flowers. Mr. Ifukube appears very honored and humbled, bowing a number of times before he exits the stage. Following this, Mr. Hirata invites Godzilla director Ishiro Honda onstage to say a few words as well. Afterwards we finally see the orchestra beginning to play, but unfortunately this musical interlude lasts just four minutes, with the remainder of the time devoted to Ifukube and the conductor being applauded by the audience. All in all, while this footage is very interesting to watch, I feel that the poor video and sound quality (as well as the brevity of the music, which itself is jarringly edited and choppy) spoils what should have been an enjoyable viewing experience. Next up is some very rare footage from the 1986 Ostinato recording sessions, and it is also the longest segment on the DVD, clocking in at just less than 25 minutes. The video and audio quality are much better than the previous segment, but could have used some cleaning up just the same. Unfortunately, most of the video was shot with a stationary camera on one side of the studio, and while we can see the conductor most of the time, the musicians are not visible at all except for a brief moment when the segment starts. The video occasionally cuts to Akira Ifukube sitting at a table in a back room, looking over some sheet music while the orchestra is playing. There are many other people present as well, including a young Koichi Kawakita in one scene. The audio quality is OK, but sounds rather flat throughout, probably because the source is a videotape. Regardless of the sound quality, Ostinato has always been one of my favorite Ifukube CDs, and getting to finally see some of the original 1986 recording sessions is indeed a big treat for me. The third segment features a clip from 1992's GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA scoring session, and it is easily the best looking and sounding segment on the DVD. The video appears to be shot from the back of the recording studio using one camera, and what we see is the conductor from behind, leading the orchestra in the darkened room while footage from the Godzilla film is projected above (obviously so the orchestra can play in sync with the onscreen action). While not as lengthy or professionally filmed as the recording sessions for 1993's GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA 2, this feature does give Godzilla fans a brief glimpse at how a Heisei Godzilla score was recorded. The fourth and final segment may actually be the most disappointing feature on the DVD, as it features just under 3 minutes of footage from 1995's GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH scoring session. In addition to the criminally brief length, the camera appears to be tilted, with the left side of the video raised higher than the right side (was the person who was recording it falling asleep?). Unfortunately, what we see and hear isn't exactly memorable either, as it appears to show a tired Akira Ifukube conducting the orchestra while they are playing a very slow and plodding Godzilla theme. In my opinion they could have used the 2:39 time more wisely and shown the orchestra playing the great and exciting end title music from this film. The video itself is somewhat dark and grainy too, but as bad as the quality is, it is still interesting to see some footage from Ifukube's final Godzilla recording session. The packaging turns out to be the nicest thing about this bonus DVD in my opinion, as it features very nice color photos of Akira Ifukube on the front cover and back insert. It also includes a 12-page booklet (with all text written in Japanese) that features photos of the original SYMPHONIC FANTASIA and OSTINATO LPs, as well as the previous Toshiba CD editions of GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA and GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH. The DVD itself is housed in a standard size CD jewel case, and was shrink-wrapped at the factory. I am happy that Toho Music has included this free bonus DVD to those who have purchased all six boxed sets, and for me personally, I view it as a nice companion to the three GODZILLA FINAL BOX bonus DVDs that I own (which feature the GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA 2 recording session, and the GODZILLA LEGEND, SYMPHONIC FANTASIA 1~3 and GODZILLA HEISEI FANTASY music videos). As mentioned above, this DVD features only previously unreleased videos (on any format), that is why things like the MG 2 recording session are absent here. One can only hope that Toho will one day release other Akira Ifukube videos on the DVD format, such as the GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH scoring session (which was only released on a bonus Laserdisc, which was included in the KING OF MONSTERS 10-CD box set ) and the 40TH ANNIVERSARY GODZILLA SYMPHONIC CONCERT conducted by Masaru Satoh (which was only officially released on VHS and reportedly limited to 100 copies). As for this bonus DVD, I am not sure how many of these discs Toho Music is distributing, but I am certain that it is a limited number and will one day go out of print. In the end, despite the DVD's shortcomings, it is fascinating to watch these previously unseen moments in Ifukube's career. Please note: This bonus DVD is coded Region 2, so you must have either a region-free DVD player or a computer that can play Region 2 discs.

Track 1	August 5th, 1983, Akira Ifukube Symphonic Fantasia - Hibiya (19:01 minutes)
Track 2	August 12th, 1986, Ostinato - King Records Recording Studio Otowa (24:33 minutes)
Track 3	September 2nd, 1992, Godzilla vs. Mothra - Toho Recording Studio (15:54 minutes)
Track 4	August 28th, 1995, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah - Toho Recording Studio (2:39 minutes)