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

[O.Supreme]

That is interesting...but I figure there are actually a few people out there that don't understand the concept. My daughter actually was helped to learn to read by using cc when watching TV. I explained to her however a LONG time ago, you cant watch Anime that way, or any foreign film, because the subtitles are actually different from cc and Engh subs of an Eng film.

I wonder what film they were watching however, since there are so few English dubs on the Criterion set.

[lhb412]

Holy maceral! I'd always wondered about that weird moment before the final fight in Godzilla vs. Hedorah when Ken seems to sense Godzilla is coming, but with these new subtitles Ken straight-up says that Godzilla has just sent him a telepathic message! WILD!

[Dr Kain]

[Benjamin Haines]

[canofhumdingers]

While I have yet to watch Hedorah, I can’t help but find your claim that it holds up against the Sony-based Kraken release highly suspect. I’ve seen screenshots of Toho’s video master...

I have watched MechaGodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla in the last few days (the first two movies I’ve had a chance to watch since I received the set over Christmas). They are exactly what I expected. Toho video masters that have been color corrected for US tv standards. At times they look pretty darn good. Other times they look almost insultingly soft and out of focus. But for the vast majority of the run time they look incredibly mediocre and absolutely pale in comparison to even modestly competent modern HD transfers of their contemporaries. Yet, overall they are still the best they’ve ever looked on home video, so there’s that.

I do agree the new subtitle translations are wonderful and quite revelatory. I’d actually argue the set is worth the price of admission for the clarity of the new subs alone! This is easily the biggest gift criterion managed to give to fans with this release. I’m also looking forward to diving into the extra features disc. I’ve seen the special effect outtakes doc before, but never with subtitles! I suspect that’s going to be a real treat.

[lhb412]

^^ Fantastic work, Ben!

[Benjamin Haines]

[canofhumdingers]

I think you’re taking my “best they’ve ever looked” statement out of context. Say I’d never tasted a hamburger in my life and then ate at McDonalds. I could say, in all honesty, that it’s the best hamburger I’ve ever eaten. But that doesn’t exactly paint a true picture of the quality of what I consumed...

I’m not being overly pessimistic, bitter, or angry. I’m just being honest. Unfortunately inflection doesn’t come through in typed word and so it can be difficult to express disappointment or criticism in a way that doesn’t sound just miserable.

And I’m not trying to quell your enthusiasm or enjoyment. I’m truly glad you’re enjoying the set so much. I’m enjoying it too, though probably not as much

But just as you offer your thoughts and opinions, I offer mine. Where you focus on the better details or vibrant colors, I can’t help but see the soft, highly processed video quality that is far removed from what actual film can or should look like on modern home video. We have FINALLY reached the point where home video can *very* closely replicate the theatrical experience (and in many cases even surpass it). To say we shouldn’t compare these transfers to anything other than previous outdated transfers of the same films is just sticking your head in the sand and being willfully ignorant. I can’t abide that mentality.

I have enjoyed this set so far, and will continue to do so. But I’m not going to be dishonest about it’s true quality, or lack thereof just to avoid sounding negative.

[lhb412]

So many cool bits of animation in the original Japanese opening titles of these movies that have been lost for years by replacing them with generic English titles. Those laser sound effects in the opening of Godzilla vs. Gigan finally makes sense now!

Random observation: the final fight in Godzilla vs. Megalon is in many ways more well-staged then the ones in the previous few movies. The fight goes through distinct phases and both Godzilla and Jet Jaguar as well as Megalon and Gigan have a nice rapport with each other. The participants show a lot of their respective characters as they fight. There's a lot of awesome stuff in the final fight with Hedorah, but there's also a lot of empty space the drags that (very extended sequence) down, and the final fight at the end of Gigan only gets interesting after Godzilla catches his second wind and him and Anguirus pull a bunch of combo moves over the baddies.

[H-Man]

[O.Supreme]

For me, Video Presentation has never been an issue, since I started recording films such as these from TV broadcasts on my own in the mid-late 80's, I've watched my copies literally deteriorate from extensive viewing, until the age of digital media. I've been willing to put up with far less.

My issue now of course is with the lack of audio options. It's hard to believe that it's only been since 2004, for the 50th anniversary that we've had DVD media with multiple audio options.

*Yes I know multi language DVD's in general existed pretty much since DVDs entry into the consumer market in the late 90's, but the first Godzilla films to receive such releases in North America wasn't until 2004. Even the Heisei Gamera Trilogy and Yamato Takeru (all released by ADV) preceded any Godzilla film in terms of multi language release by a year or more.

Hearing these films in their original spoken language with subtitles was to me *neat* side-option, never could I have conceived it would be the standard, or the norm in an English speaking market. Even Less, would I have imagined a day and age where more options are available than ever, that the standard audio by which these films were heard in North America for 30+ years would be removed without reasonable explanation.

Just for the record. Ben- I love those comparisons, I appreciate all the hard work that went into it. definitely something I myself would have enjoyed doing if only I had the time. Also, Yes I have purchased the Criterion Set, basically to have a copy of the Original Japanese version of KK V G. I've watched 4 of the 15 films, and I'm generally unimpressed, sad to say. I may watch more, but Most of my preferred ways of viewing these films I can get from perfectly watchable DVDs, or from amazing looking fan restorations.

[Gwangi]

[lhb412]

Finished all the movies.

Picture quality on all of them is certainly watchable, if in some cases only a modest improvement over standard definition. I feel the most egregious flaws are the print damage in Mothra vs. Godzilla (which isn't a flaw of the transfer per se) and the weirdly muted color palette of Son of Godzilla. But some of Toho's transfers are better than others, with Ghidorah, Destroy All Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Megalon looking quite superior as well as a general improvement overall in the transfers for the 70s films. The real gem among the Toho transfers is All Monsters Attack. That's the movie that looks the way all of these movies should look!

Even though we may be years off from getting the substantially improved remasters the films deserve Criterion's presentation does offer at least one huge overall improvement extended to all the films in their superlative new subtitle translations.

I'm going to save most of the extras for this weekend, but I did watch a couple and I was very pleasantly surprised by the Furuya interview. I felt it would be on the slight side, instead it felt like a ton of great stuff packed into those 6 minutes. Don't overlook this one.

[Benjamin Haines]

[O.Supreme]

Some of the translations are very similar if not exact. But I LOVE the Diversity of DAM. Pretty different across all versions, yet none of them can really be accused of being *inaccurate*. So many ways to convey the same message in my favorite G film of all time. I love it.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Dr Kain]

The one thing that really annoyed me about the dub to DAM is that they still said Baragon was attacking Paris even though it was Gorosaurus. I get why it was wrong in the Japanese version since the scenes are shot separately, but the dubbers should have fixed it.

[H-Man]

[SeaHawk]

[lhb412]

[SeaHawk]

[lhb412]

^ A bit off topic, but I'm really enjoying the subtitles for Ultraseven.

I had a few qualms with the subtitles for Ultraman, what with the sometimes overly literal phrasing and the dozen or so times the word "monster" is misspelled, but overall it was decent.

I feel the subs for Ultraseven or just a bit stronger, though. One aspect I really love is that Dan is always cursing himself after, say, not noticing something suspicious or maybe not being fast enough or something like that. The subtitles translate his exclamation in these moments as "blast." Like: "Blast, I should have been more careful." I really love it. It's almost like his catchphrase!

[Benjamin Haines]

[H-Man]

If memory serves, the actor in Frontier’s dub actually says “Beiping” instead of Peking. At the time, that was an informal name although it seems to have been used officially by some foreign governments until the 70s.

[Dr Kain]