Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Well, with all this talk about "Journey to the Beginning of Time", Criterion has just announed their February releases and one of the titles - "Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman"



And one of the titles is "Journey to the Beginning of Time"



Unknown if the dubbed version will be included. If not, then we still have the U.K. version (region free), that was released earlier this Fall. I will probably still get this Criterion set, since it does included the other features that I have been dying to watch!

Wow! I've been curious about this guy's work for a little while, even beyond Journey to the Beginning of Time. Happy to get three of his features (and several shorts) all in one go!

Bill Warren called The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (the U.S. release title of the film here called "Invention for Destruction") the best film he reviewed for Keep Watching the Skies. I've never seen it but I'm interested based on that praise alone.

Yes, it looks from what is posted on Criterion's site that they have simply bundled all three of Zeman's films recently restored and available thru Second Run and stuffed them into one big release. I am going to purchase the other two films separately, based on how terrific the restored version of JttBoT turned out. (The teaser footage on Criterion's site of the Verne-inspired film looks incredible!) But the CC price lists @ $80 for the set. If was under $60 I'd say it was a solid deal but as is... I think buying the current releases individually might be the more prudent purchase. (I know B&N and other places often have half price sales for CC stuff, but I don't think I can wait!)

No official annoucement yet, but in some film magazine interview someone from Arrow Video let slip that a Gamera box set is in the works:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... tcount=357

^ Arrow has become one of the US's top boutique home video labels since they've began selling here. Typically, the only reason one of their releases comes out in the UK and not in the US is when another distributor has the US license, like how Arrow released Candyman in Britain whereas Shout Factory put out the Blu-ray in America at about the same time.

I feel that a Gamera release would almost certainly be a UK and US release.

It seems 2020 will be an even better year for kaiju fans.

2019 had KOTM in theaters, then the year closed out with the Criterion Godzilla set and five Ultraman Blu-Ray sets (the Mill Creek deal being the most significant US distribution deal in kaiju home video history!).

In 2020 we'll likely be getting a dozen Ultraman series on Blu-ray (plus a new American comic book), Godzilla vs. Kong capping things off at the end of the year, and the Arrow Video Gamera set!

Inceedible!

Hmmm, it seems that the Criterion Collection will be putting out a new blu-ray edition of Leave Her to Heaven. It's an awesome classic film, often considered noir even though it's in vibrant color. Thing is, once upon a time I paid a not insubstantial amount of money for the Twilight Time release of the film. Will the Criterion Edition be a significant upgrade? Apparently the original negative is lost, or something like that, which is why even though the film is visually stunning apparently the color and detail is more muted then it should be? I'm not an expert, but if Criterion manages to work some sort of magic to make the film look better I suppose I might have to pick it up!

Man, the entire idea behind Twilight Time really deflated, didn't it? Their entire deal was that physical media was on the way out and that through their limited editions these would be the last chance you'd get to own physical copies of these films in high definition. This has been substantially disproven and practically every significant film that they released has been re-released either by other boutique labels or buy Sony themselves with their Warner Archive-esque made on demand pressed discs.

Arrow's BRD release of ROBOCOP is pretty flippin' sweet, for those contemplating a purchase.

i am hoping for alligator to hit bluray in 2020.

I could see Alligator coming out next year. After all it does mark the 40th anniversary of the film so what better way to celebrate than to release the film on BD.

Hmmmm... need four films to complete my Studio Ghibli collection, but now I seen that in the switchover from Disney to GKIDS some extra content has been added to movies I already have on Blu-ray. To rebuy or not to rebuy?

Nausicaä, it seems, is a must: drastically improved transfer from Disney's release and they licensed a bevy of special features from international editions.

Captain Kronos and a special edition release of Curse of the Werewolf coming from Scream this April!

Shout is also doing The Lost Continent on BD as well. Can't wait to see what else they announce this year, Shout usually puts out a great product.