I�m a big fan of the 1969 Toei film FLYING PHANTOM SHIP � I paid cash money to have it translated into English, even though its story of a ultra-advanced flying battleship fighting super destructive giant robots controlled by an evil capitalist conspiracy masterminded by an undersea monster is easy enough to grasp, no matter what language it�s in. And as a big fan, I can�t quit writing about it.
So when I spotted this Asahi Sonorama children�s book-and-record set among the Kamen Rider singles and jazz LPs of Tokyo�s Kanda/Jinbucho neighborhood, there was no question that it would be coming home with me. And it did!
A highly abbreviated version of the film, what makes this scratchy Sonorama single stand out are the original Shotaro Ishinomori color illustrations. I can�t get enough of moody Ishinomori watercolors of tattered sailing vessels looming ominously in the background as Hayato, our audience-identification hero, bravely faces killer crabs and deadly soft drinks.
Not that those make it onto this Sonorama record, of course. Hey, even at 331/3 rpm you only get seven minutes per side, so something�s gotta get cut. But the important stuff remains, including the mysterious skull-masked captain of the Flying Phantom Ship, the robot Golem, and its ending in a giant explosion (cue producer of �Bride Of The Monster�). The opening song and music cues from the film remain, though the dialog is completely rewritten.
There are enough short Toei films from the late 1960s-early 1970s to outfit an entire fleet of Flying Phantom Ships, and while most of them can�t boast this movie�s pedigree, they�re all worth a look if you can dig �em up. Until that day, however, enjoy the scratches and pops of this representative sample.
So when I spotted this Asahi Sonorama children�s book-and-record set among the Kamen Rider singles and jazz LPs of Tokyo�s Kanda/Jinbucho neighborhood, there was no question that it would be coming home with me. And it did!
A highly abbreviated version of the film, what makes this scratchy Sonorama single stand out are the original Shotaro Ishinomori color illustrations. I can�t get enough of moody Ishinomori watercolors of tattered sailing vessels looming ominously in the background as Hayato, our audience-identification hero, bravely faces killer crabs and deadly soft drinks.
Not that those make it onto this Sonorama record, of course. Hey, even at 331/3 rpm you only get seven minutes per side, so something�s gotta get cut. But the important stuff remains, including the mysterious skull-masked captain of the Flying Phantom Ship, the robot Golem, and its ending in a giant explosion (cue producer of �Bride Of The Monster�). The opening song and music cues from the film remain, though the dialog is completely rewritten.
There are enough short Toei films from the late 1960s-early 1970s to outfit an entire fleet of Flying Phantom Ships, and while most of them can�t boast this movie�s pedigree, they�re all worth a look if you can dig �em up. Until that day, however, enjoy the scratches and pops of this representative sample.
