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    Galgameth
    Force Entertainment/Force Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 100 mins . PG . PAL

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    When I was a kid I just loved Japanese monster, or kaiju films, and much to our excitement, my brothers and I would catch one on the telly every now and again on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Our favourite kaiju was the flying turtle Gammera, but Godzilla or the flying bird-reptile Rodan were just as good. So imagine being a kid whose family owned their very own kaiju - a huge monster whose fiery breath could burn your enemies to a crisp and whose towering frame could bust-down stone walls like rice paper – all at your very command. Such is the premise for (The Adventures of) Galgameth.

    Prince Davin (Devin Oayway) is your normal fourteen-year-old. He’s let his hair grow, he lacks self-confidence, and is all at sea when his father mysteriously dies from a small jousting wound. Mourning his loss, and not knowing how to run an entire kingdom, Davin relies on his father’s right-hand-man El El (Stephen Macht) to rule in his stead. Little does he know that it was El El himself who poisoned the king’s wound and means to take over the kingdom!

    Now in control, El El wastes no time in throwing the young prince in prison. However, Davin has a powerful secret (though he does not realise it). Before his death his father passed on to him the family icon - Galgameth – a small stone statue of a dragon-like creature that appears on the family coat-of-arms. Weeping for the passing his father, his tears fall on the statue and it awakens into a chirpy little play-doh Pokemon with a fierce appetite for metal. With Galgameth’s help, Davin escapes his captors, and with the consumption of prison bars, handcuffs, swords and the like, Galgemeth begins to grow remarkably.

    While Davin has been imprisoned, El El has not been idle and is ruling the kingdom with an iron fist. However, across the kingdom resistance is mounting. Devin and Galgameth (now approaching Andre the Giant proportions) ultimately join up with the resistance, and when Galgameth is finally transformed into a kaiju the size of Godzilla, it’s time for Davin to retake his kingdom!

    Although produced in 1997, Galgameth is about as near an homage to the kaiju genre as you are ever likely to see. Whilst the recent Hollywood production of Godzilla combined bad acting with predictable plot (both replicated here), the visual effects were just way too good. Thankfully, Galgameth sees the return of the man-in-rubber-suit-smashing-models school of movie making, and boy does it look cheesy! Ultimately, Galgameth is a typical direct-to-video, kids b-movie fare, with nothing to rave about in either plot or production. There’s a little humour (typically prat-falls and burp-jokes) and a little medieval adventure, but this is no Shrek or Toy Story. Kids 6-10 may enjoy it all the same.

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    Galgameth is presented full-frame on a single-sided, single-layer disc from Force. Whether or not 4:3 is the original aspect ratio is unknown, but with the production travelling to Romania for principle filming, I think it unlikely. The image is sharp and clean with vivid colours and deep blacks. Taken from what looks like a video master, Galgameth displays variable detail, hampered by a constant level of low-level grain. In close ups detail is reasonable, while in long-shots and backgrounds it’s poor. Similarly, shadow detail is also on the average side. There’s a little aliasing from time to time and the odd instance of moirè, but they aren’t too distracting. Given these limitations in the source material, Force have done a good job with the transfer itself, and it displays no compression artefacts.

    In terms of audio, we are provided with a serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 English soundtrack that actually sounds quite good through a Prologic decoder. Dialogue is clear and distinct, with the characters annunciating as only bad actors can. A pleasing proportion of the dramatic score is routed by the decoder to the surround channels, and this creates a reasonably enveloping experience. The subwoofer is the big surprise, getting a good workout throughout. Having Godzilla pounding around smashing walls all over the place provides plenty of opportunity for it to shine!

    Although Force has provided a menu and chapter stops, no extras as such have been supplied.


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  •   And I quote...
    "Think a little Camelot meets a lot of Godzilla."
    - Gavin Turner
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Toshiba SD-2108
    • TV:
          Panasonic TC-68P90A TAU (80cm)
    • Receiver:
          Yamaha RX-V795
    • Amplifier:
          Yamaha RX-V795
    • Speakers:
          B&W 602
    • Centre Speaker:
          B&W CC6 S2
    • Surrounds:
          JM Lab Cobalt SR20
    • Subwoofer:
          B&W ASW-500
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard Optical
    • Video Cables:
          Standard Component RCA
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