Overview: As a new recruit to the marketing department of World Caramel, fresh-faced graduate Nishi (Hiroshi Kawaguchi) is eager to impress his ambitious and hard-nosed boss Goda (Black Test Car's Hideo Takamatsu), even if it strains his relationships with his college friend Yokoyama (Koichi Fujiyama) and budding love interest Masami (Michiko Ono); who work at the rival companies of Giant and Apollo.

With World's lead over its competitors slipping badly, the two spot a chance to get back in the race in the shape of the pretty but unsophisticated 18-year-old, Kyoko (Hitomi Nozoe).

Goda and Nishi get to work polishing this rough diamond as their new campaign girl, but as the three rival confectionary companies pitch themselves into an all-out advertising war that spills out onto the streets of Tokyo as it escalates to ludicrous extremes, Kyoko's newfound fame starts going to her head.

Blu-ray Verdict: Making its worldwide Blu-ray debut, this lurid adaptation of the award-winning 1957 novel by Ken Kaiko is considered a landmark in Japanese film history and a key work by Yasuzo Masumura (Blind Beast, Red Angel), one of the country's most highly acclaimed directors of his generation.

Its absurdist and acidly cynical take on the excesses of the media and advertising worlds recalls the work of Frank Tashlin (Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?), as it presents a garish vision of a bold new postwar Japan where traditional company values come head-to-head with American-style consumer capitalism.

As I think we can all attest to, cynicism about the corporate advertising world is always topical, so this twisted Japanese satire is still relevant.

Apollo, Giant and World are three companies battling for the all-important caramel market. Their publicity departments are hatching frantic promotions to generate sales, including giveaways of live animals, space suits (the "space race" motif is one dated element) and financial support for life.

But World strikes gold when an ad exec stumbles upon Kyoko, an unconventionally attractive girl who has gnarled teeth but a certain frisky charisma. She becomes an overnight sensation, appealing to a population who can't relate to flawless celebrities.

Meanwhile, the frustrated superstar becomes smitten with a lower World employee assigned to watch her, but he already has a girlfriend working at rival Apollo. He also has an old chum at Giant, and everyone wants to sneak inside information from everyone else.

In my humble opinion, 'Giants and Toys' makes a nice companion piece for 'A Face in the Crowd,' which came out just a year earlier. It's quite accessible and has a feisty, percussion-heavy score that's bound to tickle exotica fans.

Director Yasuzo Masumura ('Blind Beast,' 'Red Angel') has a knack for dark humor, though his odd decision to show time-lapse montages over a clicking cigarette lighter doesn't really work here!

In conclusion, as a piece of satire, sure, the film has lost some of its bite, but as a piece of kitschen-sink camp, it's still as outrageous as it ever was. Combine the two and it's easy to see why it has a cult following. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original uncompressed Japanese mono audio
Optional English subtitles
Brand new audio commentary by Japanese cinema scholar Irene González-López
Newly filmed introduction by Japanese cinema expert Tony Rayns
In the Realm of the Publicists, a brand new visual essay by Asian cinema scholar Earl Jackson
Original Trailer
Image Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors' booklet featuring new writing by Michael Raine