KING KONG VS. GODZILLA and KING KONG ESCAPES on BD April 1

[GaryT]

Blu-ray.com is reporting that Universal will release KING KONG VS. GODZILLA and KING KONG ESCAPE on Blu-ray on April 1. U.S. versions only, no extras.

[TylerPreston20]

[DannyBeane]

I just bought these on DVD a few months ago. I can wait a few years to upgrade.

[Ultra T-Rex]

I'll be getting these either way, but disappointing they won't be including the Japanese versions. Would be nice if Universal could go the extra mile.

[GaryT]

[TylerPreston20]

[klen7]

[Ultra T-Rex]

[jellydonut25]

US versions only no extras? PASS. Big time.

[Joseph Goodman]

Weren't these films remastered in recent years, due to the 2008 Universal fire destroying the old masters used for the dvd? For being from old dupes, the DVD's looked really good. The only real "flaw" was the somewhat purplish shadows on KKvsG, which I image are due to it being from a faded interpositive.

[TylerPreston20]

And looks like Amazon now has links for both movies:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/King-K ... B00I3C1T6G

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/King-E ... B00I3C1T7A

Well, bust my bubble, he was right. I never owned King Kong Escapes in any form, so I'll get that. I'll also get the US cut again for King Kong vs Godzilla, only for the HD transfer, despite me owning the German steelbook. Still don't get why they pick April Fool's Day.

[GaryT]

Universal's press releases as posted on the Home Theater Forum:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/3 ... 3-blu-ray/

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/3 ... 8-blu-ray/

[canofhumdingers]

Well, it is disappointing that they once again chose not to include the japanese cuts but I'm sure I won't be able to resist double dipping on these. I'm a sucker for even the slightest improvement in video quality and it's hard to say no to Kaiju on Blu! (there's a pacific rim joke in there somewhere i think...)

[lhb412]

We'd all love the original Japanese versions, but I honestly never expected Uni to get them. I'm still giddy with the prospect of these new releases because:

-I genuinely love the US versions of both, KK vs. G mostly for nostalgic reasons (and the pacing is slightly improved), and KKE is a legitimately great one (and 2/5th of the cast speaking English anyway!).
-Universal's versions are in better shape than their Japanese counterparts! Even if you're a sub only traditionalist if you want to pop in a disc and see Godzilla fall into the fiery, poison gas pit or King Kong fight Gorosaurus in the best quality you'll want these discs. The DVDs look great so I imagine these will only look better.

[Dr Kain]

No Jp version = no buy.

I'll continue to wait until Toho finally releases it on BD.

[klen7]

Linda Miller in HD?! ::swoooon::

[Cookie]

If real, I have no problem getting these. Looks like my son an I will be having some fun this year.

[gojira_fan]

Too bad they aren't the originals.


Oh well congrats to those who will enjoy these but I'll pass for now. However this May bode well for other Godzilla films with no licensing issues.

[lhb412]

I can understand (but disagree) with those who'd avoid the Americanized King Kong vs. Godzilla... but come on: Americanized King Kong Escapes is totally awesome!!!

Honestly, I can't imagine watching the film without Paul Frees dubbing over Hideyo Amamoto to create maximum supervillian synergy.

[Gwangi]

[Dr Kain]

[JimPV]

[lhb412]

I'm enormously happy about King Kong Escapes. It's one of my favorites, and while I half-suspected Universal would whip out a Blu-Ray of their version of KKvG to tie into the new movie there wasn't really an impetus to release the other Toho Kong film. I'm happy they decided to anyway.

We all remember their previous DVD versions were released to coincide with PJ's King Kong, right?

[klen7]

[jellydonut25]

Cheapness would probably be the only way I'd bother. Covers don't sway me at all. Not with the way I have my movies racked. I don't see any of the covers, only the spines.