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

[Benjamin Haines]

The user reason108 on blu-ray.com these Godzilla vs. Megalon screenshot comparisons between Media Blasters' 2014 BRD and Criterion's 2019 BRD.


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Additionally, the user twozbar Invasion of Astro-Monster between Toho's 2014 BRD and Criterion's 2019 BRD:


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[Dr Kain]

Why is everyone so obsessed with comparison shots instead of just enjoying the movies?

It's like people need some sort of reward to enjoy a movie these days.

[H-Man]

Because the movies would be more enjoyable if they looked better than "meh."

Criterion:


Toho 4K (from broadcast, so purely for color reference):


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Toho:

[william newell]

Thanks to B and N's timely sale, I picked this set up yesterday. So far I have watched Ghidorah, the special effects outtakes feature, and the Japanese cut of "King Kong vs. Godzilla". Ghidorah looks great, the best I've ever seen it look, the "outtakes" feature- so nice to finally have subs for this, and as to the Japanese cut of "King Kong vs. Godzilla", this is the 4th release I've had of this. The first was the official Toho VHS release(in which it was easily visible that this was a reconstruction of elements of varying quality), then an "unofficial" DVD release that was basically just a DVD rip of the VHS, to another "unofficial" copy of the Toho DVD, which, while not great, at least had fairly consistent video quality. which brings me to this release, which is pretty much like the Toho DVD. Not the best picture quality, but definitely watchable. And with this being an "official" release, I have no/less worry about laser rot than I do with an unofficial copy. One definite problem I ran across, however, was rather loud static coming from my rear speakers whenever the sound levels reach their peak. I was able to remedy this by putting my processor in "stereo" mode which cut off the rear speakers. Has anyone else had this issue, or am I the proud owner of a defective disc? Other than that, I'm quite pleased with this release. Of course, I would have preferred to have the English dubs/versions, but I still have my Classic Media/Sony/Media Blasters release's for those. Until something better comes along(which it seem's always does)I'm quite happy. It's funny to think how far things have come...from Ken Films 8mm shorts to this. all in less than the span of a lifetime!

[SeaHawk]

The comparisons are welcome, but not as instructive or as stark as comparisons between either the Criterion or Toho Blu-Rays of Astro-Monster and this year's premiere of the Champion version in HD, scanned from the original negative. The difference between the Criterion and Toho BRs is so incredibly marginal that you'd need to flip between them both on the same monitor to see it. A different monitor calibration would change the image more than the Toho-approved "light restoration." For all intents and purposes, it is a clone of Toho's original HD transfer, which has been available for streaming in this country for two years, to the day. The contrast relative to the originals is slightly boosted, but this isn't something you can detect without comparing the two under absolutely identical circumstances at the same time.

The Astro-Monster Champion broadcast, though, was a total revelation for me. You don't even need to directly compare it to any other copy to notice a huge difference. The movie looks like candy when you're finally able to see every color of the rainbow. It was like watching the movie for the first time. Gone is that mustard and beef stew tint. I never even noticed the greens in the night club or the plant in the conference room since the color green barely exists in the old HD transfer. There were details I'd never seen before.

The original Japanese prints of these films would have been struck from the original negatives... this is close to how they would have looked originally, if not slightly sharper and cleaner. The supplied HD transfer of this film, though, was from a print from a dupe negative from an IP from the original negative. It's closer to how an American print would have looked, and it could still look sharper and more colorful if it were given a modern transfer.











Check this out... in the bottom left corner you can see the shadow of the clapper at the very beginning of a cut. I never noticed it in any earlier transfer. I think it might have been outside of the projection area, or else they would have cut the first few seconds out.

[Shokara]

I picked up mine at Barnes and Noble today, and with the 50% discount on Criterion titles this month plus my Barnes and Noble membership card, I got the Blu-ray set price down to $108! Geez, this thing is so huge I have no idea where I'm going to put it. lol

[gojira_fan]

I caved in and picked up a copy at Barnes & Noble. Plus I’m a member so I got the 10% off.

Now I gotta figure out where I’m going to put it.

[Dr Kain]

[SeaHawk]

Guys, the Blu-Rays look better than VHS. Just be glad.

[H-Man]

[Dr Kain]

True, but there's a difference between what you want and unrealistic expectations. The video quality matches exactly what is available at this time in Japan. Anyone that wanted it to be beyond that set themselves up for disappointment and should have put those expectations in check (same goes for the Ultraman BD). I knew what to expect. I didn't expect them to look as good as Infinty War. I just wanted something that was vasty superior to the DVDs I have and I have gotten that. They also look better than Toho's own BDs, which was quite surprising, so I'm happy about that too. I'm also super excited because it seems like Godzilla vs Gigan has the speech bubbles intact, so I can not wait to see those as they should have never been removed in the first place (at the very least should have been present on the DVDs and BDs that included the Jp version). Could they look better? Of course, but you can say that about every film. There is always room for improvement. Nevertheless, like I said, these are on par, if not slightly better, than what Japan currently has, and that is what matters most.

[lhb412]

[Gwangi]

[O.Supreme]

It does feel odd however, basically owning this set just for the Japanese release of KKvG, and any time I want to watch a classic Godzilla film other than this, I'm watching a fan restoration I've downloaded, or a previous BRD release that is better than Criterion's release... . Criterion is supposed to be *the best of the best* when it comes to home media releases. It's just frustrating that in this case....it isn't

[lhb412]

[Heiseigodzilla425]

[lhb412]

^ I know you're speaking overall and not referring to the current sale, but I just wanted to mention that right now the Criterion set is $112, which breaks down to less than $10 a movie, plus the book and special features. If anyone's on the fence about buying it know that this price isn't likely to come back until the next Barnes and Noble sale in July.

[Benjamin Haines]

[DannyBeane]

99% of the problems with this set are because of Toho. Criterion would have loved to have done their usual restorations and included dubs but Toho seems to want the American dubs to die because they are afraid of owing royalties to the vo artists and doesn't want the set to compete against the Japanese releases as far as having new prints made. That said, I'm in love with this set, most of these films have never looked better. For the missing dubs, I'm just going to download and burn the fan restorations. It's a shame Toho has such a backwards view. Overall I give this release a B+. The Ghidrah print has been the best print so far.

[SeaHawk]

I'm glad, at least, that awareness of Toho's ridiculous mandates has risen to the surface, and that Criterion isn't the fall guy this time like ADV, Sony and Classic Media all were. Criterion isn't getting roasted, Toho is, and that makes me happy. Something happened during the Media Blasters debacle, and continued throughout the wave of Echo Bridge and Kraken releases - a revolution in which more and more fans have become aware of Toho's awful management and bureaucracy.

Everyone knows Criterion, especially, would have done a bang-up job if they had any freedom. They would have been more than capable - even more than Classic Media - of restoring the poorly preserved US versions to modern standards. Their near immaculate restoration of GKOTM set a precedent for what could have been. This isn't restoration that any fan is capable of. All I thought I could reasonably look forward to with a set like this was restorations of the former Classic Media-owned US versions... I wasn't even expecting new transfers of the Japanese versions, or even the long-suppressed (for no good reason) AIP dubs of Destroy All Monsters and Smog Monster. Any extras would have just been added icing, and the quality of the packaging art is never something I consider when buying stuff on video.

This set might be significant as the first collection of all 15 original films stateside, but it's also significant as a sort of symbolic funeral march for virtually all of the US versions. What it lacks sends just as strong of a message as what it does contain, and it sets a depressing precedent for the future of all Toho kaiju films' US versions on video and streaming. The bar feels lower than it has ever been. The inclusion of brand new transfers of US versions of Euro trash on Blu-Ray isn't an unthinkable luxury, far from it, but for Toho genre films, it is. Whether you like them or not, these versions are important artifacts, and Toho wants to pretend they don't exist, which is immoral, cowardly, fundamentally revisionist, and simply a really poor business decision. Some of these versions contain unique footage shot in Toho's own studios, but they don't care.

The true potential for these films on video continues to be eroded each year by the studio that owns them. Meanwhile, you can buy a Blu-Ray containing Hercules in the Haunted World containing new transfers of the Italian, UK, and US versions. Shame on you, Toho. It is the twilight of home video, and a long belated genre film renaissance is occurring that you refuse to let your films join, or even the US versions of your films. Shame on you, cowards.

[Dr Kain]

[SeaHawk]

[Dr Kain]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[XvGojira]