DVD REVIEW: YONGARY: MONSTER FROM THE DEEP / KONGA
DVD REVIEW: MGM [ 2007 ] 80' / 90'
DVD REVIEW: AVG. BITRATE: 7.12 / 4.98 Mb/sec
WTFFILM RATING:

MGM's MIDNITE MOVIES really came back with a bang this September - on the 11th of that month (an unfortunate choice, in my opinion, but I digress) a multitude of titles were released, including Bert I. Gordon's atrocious adaptation of FOOD OF THE GODS and the much anticipated Vincent Price film WITCHFINDER GENERAL. With little or no fanfare another title snuck its way into the ranks, this time on a double bill with the horrid KING KONG clone KONGA.

While WTFFILM could certainly care less about seeing MGM's disc of KONGA again - this time on the B-side of a single-layer flipper - YONGARY: MONSTER FROM THE DEEP's second outing on American DVD turned out to be quite a surprise . . .

THE FEATURE PRESENTATION:
YONGARY: MONSTER FROM THE DEEP:
KONGA:

YONGARY is presented, here, in an all-new anamorphic widescreen (2.34:1 aspect ratio) transfer made from what is, quite probably, the only remaining complete 35mm element for the film. The running time here may initially disappoint some fans hoping for a 100 minute Korean cut of the film - recent research seems to indicate that there is not and never was such a lengthy version of the film in existence and that the 80 minute cut of the film presented here is, in fact, full length.

A lot of work went into this release, as has been noted in an interview with technical director James Owsley by SciFi Japan, and it shows. YONGARY's colors are more vivid than any Westerner has ever seen them in this beautiful progressive scan transfer. Contrast levels look quite right and, amazingly for a film 40 years old as of this writing, there is little to no print damage to be found - very mild speckling occurs from time to time but I found this unnoticeable until I watched the film on a larger monitor.

The film is presented on a single layer (A-side of the two sided flipper disc) at an impressive average bitrate of 7.12 MB/sec. Audio options include a mono and stereo English dub track as well as a Spanish language dub, with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. Considering the quality of the bootleg DVDs of this title that have been floating around for ages, the OOP laserdisc, and even Alpha Video's DVD from a couple of years back, it's impossible for me to think that there's any release of this film anywhere else in the world that comes close to matching what MGM has done here. Bravo!

KONGA is precisely the same as when it was released in 2005 - the transfer is interlaced and in 1.85:1 matted widescreen. Colors and contrast are serviceable but the latter, in particular, could have used more work. The only audio option present is English with optional subtitles available in both English and French. The print used is in reasonably good condition, with bits of damage here and there. This is a serviceable if entirely unspectacular release of an equally unspectacular film.

THE EXTRAS:

Aside from a chapters listing, YONGARY: MONSTER OF THE DEEP is entirely void of extras. The KONGA side of the disc contains two trailers - one promoting the GODZILLA: FINAL WARS DVD release and the other the film MIRRORMASK. I'm sure that there are a number of promotional images for both films and its a pity that an image gallery, at the very least, couldn't have been created for either of them.

THE OVERALL PRESENTATION:

The double sided flipper comes packaged in a standard Amaray style case with full insert - the layout of the artwork on the front and back is in line with that of any of the other MIDNITE MOVIES double feature releases. The menu designs for KONGA are based on the DVD cover art and poster and are both serviceable and attractive. YONGARY: MONSTER FROM THE DEEP's menus are considerably less refined and look as though they were thrown together in a matter of minutes, at most. All in all, it works, but don't expect groundbreaking packaging and presentation.

Amusingly enough, there are a number of inconsistencies between the details printed on the back of the DVD cover and the specifications of the discs themselves. KONGA is said to have English (mono and stereo) and French (mono) audio options and a set of Spanish subtitles, while YONGARY is supposed to have a French (mono) audio option. None of this exists on the discs and one has to wonder if these options were originally intended for them.

THE VERDICT:

KONGA is a real groaner of a film looking no better than it did in 2005 and it's doubtful that much of anyone seeing this package will be forking out the cash to buy it just because of its inclusion - YONGARY: MONSTER FROM THE DEEP is the real star of the show here. A beautiful transfer and issue-free encoding make it the obvious choice for those seeking their South Korean monster fix. Recommended.