Godzilla KOTM... from the Criterion Collection!?!?!

[canofhumdingers]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. That would explain why I was surprised at how good the classic media dvd held up lol!

[Heiseigodzilla425]

It looks like DVD Beaver with screenshots from the last two discs, as well as documenting the extent of the special features on Disc 8. Some things to note:

1) Yes, the Japanese version of King Kong vs. Godzilla is included.
2) The full version of the Toho Unused Special Effects Complete Collection is included, and doesn't seem to have been edited.
3) Bringing Godzilla Down to Size is not included in this set.

[lhb412]

^ Huh, a new feature on the series music? That's a suprise.

Happy that the unused effects doc and the Honda/Banno interview are each about an hour long.

[H-Man]

It's a really good thing the Toho 4K King Kong vs. Godzilla is circulating online.

[Dr Kain]

Just used the money in Paypal I had to pay for this set in full over at DiabolikDVD. I can't wait. I hope they are able to ship it a few days early.

[GodzFire]

I buy stuff for the actual things/purpose of what I bought them for. This was supposed to be a collection of movies with great video quality and better than any releases that's been before it. Given the opportunity, every single time I would pay for a quality & top notch video/audio release that came in nothing more than a blank disc case that said the name of the movie in big black and white letters. This set is not that, and that's why I'm not buying it.

It COULD have been, but because of the company who own the films and supposedly care about their product and it's presentation, it's not. There won't be a chance at anything better now for at minimum 5-10 years. For those who are fans and supported purchases over the decades hoping for something better when this unique opportunity of a series set became a reality, there is no other way to sum this up other than a large disappointment. Not only that, but one that could have been completely avoided.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Dr Kain]

[Benjamin Haines]

[GodzFire]

[Dr Kain]

[SeaHawk]

Why are you comparing alien skin tones instead of people skin tones?

[Dr Kain]

[SeaHawk]

Alright, you've demonstrated that you think the color is better in the inferior element. Does the inferior element look sharper, too?

[Benjamin Haines]

Oh yeah, Toho's new transfers of the Champion Festival cuts look great based on the screenshots that have gone around. Hell, if Toho had allowed Criterion to do their own transfers of the 14 sequels like they did for G'54 then Criterion probably would have produced even better restorations than what Toho did with the Champion Festival cuts.

I already know none of that happened for this new BRD set. I've known that for months. That doesn't change the fact that most of the movies in this set will be the best they've ever looked or sounded on any home media release to date. I've been watching Godzilla movies for more than 20 years now and almost every one of those many, many movie viewings has been of a transfer that had room for improvement. That's never been a make-or-break factor as to whether I can enjoy watching Godzilla movies and it hasn't suddenly become one now, especially since most of the films on this BRD set will be the best-looking and best-sounding of any copies I've ever owned.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I can't wait to see what these movies will look like with proper HDR. A lot of older movies tend to benefit from 4K HDR but then again its going to depend on how Toho goes about to remaster these.

As for the images that GodzFire posted I can see both good and bad in both styles. Then again I can't make a proper judgement because I know my monitor isn't calibrated properly.

[Dr Kain]

[lhb412]

Toho's Champion HD versions are largely superior, but from what I can see they aren't perfect either. They seem to push the image into more of that modern 'cool blue' look that I find hard to imagine reflects the original presentation.

Honestly, while there is still plenty of room for improvement (and if a superior remaster makes itself available in the next couple of years I'll definitely get it) I'm pretty impressed with the screencaps I've seen from Criterion set. I knew some subtle visual tweaking with the 2008 transfers would make them better, but I'm surprised they look as good as they do!

Although fans and videophiles will have much to argue and discuss about the presentation I think your general consumer who's very excited about the set will find them more than adequate, and not something to detract from the enjoyability the films like, say, the horrid Blu-ray transfers of Hard Boiled and The Killer from a few years back.

[Dr Kain]

[Godzilla21]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I can't help but think that if Japan had a different region code for BD as it did with DVD then Toho would have given the okay for Criterion to do their remaster magic. As for the original dubs I think we can put that blame on Media Blasters and their DAM release.

[Dr Kain]

Diabolik DVD just shipped out my set. YAY!! I hope it gets here on time.

[Gojira07]

My set showed up today. (pre-ordered direct from criterion).

Haven't had time to pop in any of the blu-rays yet. But I gotta say, for all the nitpicks and different tastes out there -this thing is hella impressive in your hand. The prints are all vibrant and colorful. After being part of this fandom for 20+ years, and all the various versions of these films I've owned - hell even purchasing Godzilla Raids Again on VHS from my blockbuster because I literally could not find a copy anywhere else - I still can't wrap my head around the reality of this set ACTUALLY existing. The love, care, and RESPECT that went into this release, we are really fortunate as a fanbase for this.

[Dr Kain]

Man, that pisses me off as I ordered from Diabolik because people told me they always ship items out early enough that you will have them in your hand nearly a week before the street date and they only shipped it out on Thursday with an expected delivery date of Wed.

Anyway, nice pictures you have there. I'm super jealous you already have it in your hands.

[Benjamin Haines]

The user twozbar on blu-ray.com these Mothra vs. Godzilla screenshot comparisons between Toho's 2014 BRD and Criterion's 2019 BRD. It looks like Criterion's BRD has better colors and contrast. In terms of cropping, while Toho's has a bit more of the image visible on the left side, Criterion's has a bit more of the image visible on the right.


Toho BRD:


Criterion BRD:



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I don't own Toho's Mothra vs. Godzilla BRD but I do have Classic Media's 2006 DVD and Toho's 2003 DVD (reissued in 2005), and it looks like Criterion's BRD is going to trounce all of them!