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

[lhb412]

A copy of Miss Namakawa's letter.

[klen7]

a picture of a Heisei Godzilla (resulting in a fandom boycott)

[lhb412]

Oooh, Son of Godzilla and Raids Again have finally popped up on the Amazon version of STARZ.

OOOOOOHH, the Japanese title screen for Son of Godzilla is cool!

[The Top Crusader]

I assume getting Universal on board for KKvsG is a really tough sell, even with the new battle coming up here in a few years, but what about the Showa titles Kraken has? Kraken always seemed more rinky-dink to me and probably willing to cooperate. Much as I'd LOVE KKvsG thrown in, having ALL the other Showa films under one roof (or at least leased for a set) would be amazing!

That would include all of them, right?

[Joseph Goodman]

[Rody]

I doubt this, but I wonder if Janus Films could/would provide funds to assist in the 4k restoration project? Input like that might help the process and give Criterion more say in their own physical releases for the films.
I certainly don't want to rush this, though; the fandom has struck gold here, and I hope Criterion can & will give these films the very best treatment.

[tbeasley]

[lhb412]

[lhb412]

STARZ now has DAM on Amazon.

[jellydonut25]

[canofhumdingers]

^yep, i posted that same email they sent me in this thread...

[klen7]

uh-oh Jelly is turning into MfW!

[canofhumdingers]

So I watched one more last night: All Monsters Attack, better known as Godzilla’s Revenge. It wasn’t my first choice, but it turns out MOST of the films on Amazon’s Starz channel subscription are just SD. I didn’t check Godzilla ‘54, Godzilla:KotM, or Destroy All Monsters. But I did check all the others and the only ones in HD were Rodan, War of the Gargantuas, Godzilla’s Revenge, and Mothra vs Godzilla.

Godzilla’s Revenge was fun to see in HD. It was the first Godzilla film I owned and I watched the heck out of that vhs. Most of the stock footage was new to me and I was the right age to really identify with Ichiro. It’s not my favorite by a long shot, but I still enjoy it (and all the nostalgia it brings) and I’ve always loved the jazzy score.

All of the HD streams appear to use Toho’s old HD masters corrected in color and contrast for US calibration standards. It’s funny, but the lower bitrate on the streaming (compared to disc-based media) actually appeared to hide some of the flaws (like the ugly video noise) notoriously inherent in Toho’s transfers.

I doubt I’ll get to the final HD film, Mothra vs Godzilla, before my free trial runs out. It would be cool to watch it in HD with subs, but I’ve owned the Toho Blu ray for a few years so it’s not like the others, where I was really excited to finally see them in something better than standard def.

[Henry88]

mechagodzilla will show on the 20th with dub.

[lhb412]

Wait, are the STARZ/Janus versions of Godzilla '54 and KotM up on Amazon just the Classic Media versions? Sure looks like it to me.

[Joseph Goodman]

These new Criterion titles hit the Filmstruck streaming service December 8.

[Gwangi]

Filmstruck has begun to advertise both "Godzilla" and "Godzilla Raids Again" on their YouTube channel:

[lhb412]

I can't wait to see the packaging. Back in the late '90s/early '00s Criterion was famous for this spartan, utilitarian design that was often spoofed, but somewhere along the line they began investing in having great artists and designers to design new artwork for their films and the results are often spectacular.

[Goji 84]

[lhb412]

I hope Criterion releases these movies before year's end: it'd be perfect for a rewatch of the entire series before Godzilla:KotM is released.

[Gwangi]

[Benjamin Haines]

[H-Man]

It's right before the saucers reach Planet X. Fuji says something and Glenn replies, "Tell me about it, pal."

Most of the edits in MZ are removing expository Japanese text, such as signs on buildings or newspaper headlines. UPA also cut a sequence after the X saucers appear on Earth with soldiers retreating.

[Joseph Goodman]

I think they cut a few shots of Akira Takarada exclaiming "chikusho!"; maybe they didn't want to dub "damn it" over them?

[Gwangi]

Filmstruck has now begun advertising WOtG on YouTube. There is not much dialog, but what from what little I heard, it sounds quite inferior to the UPA version. If and when Criterion releases the physical media, yes, it will have the Japanese and international versions, but I hope they will also preserve the UPA edition as well (I don't hold out much hope in that however).