Gamera Showa titles... definitive ones are SF!

[Gojira69]

Are the Shout Factory! DVDs still the definitive editions?

[Benjamin Haines]

Shout! Factory's 2010-2011 releases are certainly still the best editions of the Showa Gamera films on region-1 DVD.

Mill Creek also released them on region-free North American BRD in 2014. The A/V quality is excellent but they don't include any of the English dubs or bonus features from the S!F DVDs, just the uncut Japanese versions of the films with English subtitles. includes the first four movies and has the last four. They're out of print now but you can still get them for reasonable prices from third-party sellers.

[Gojira69]

[O.Supreme]

Agreed, that the S!F DVD are the best releases. Yes I'm still a bit saddened we don't have a proper recent release of Gammera the Invincible, or the AIP dub of War of the Monsters, but I do have those from various budget DVD releases, so it's fine. I only got the blu-ray sets because they were incredibly inexpensive, but now that they are OOP, they are starting to go up. It would be nice someday to get quality releases with all the credit and title sequences of the AIP TV versions (or on the case of Super Monster the Filmways credits), but I'm OK with what I have for now.

[lhb412]

Now that Mill Creek's Daiei releases are going out of print I'd love for another company to pick up the license and put out Blu-rays. Their Daimajim release was just about perfect (one of the best home video releases we kaiju fans have ever had), but all of their Gamera releases could be improved upon.

[O.Supreme]

Not sure what the difference between Mill Creeks DaiMajin & Gamera Blu Ray releases were (in terms of quality), both had the films in original Japanese with subs (no English Dubs, alternate cuts, or title cards).

For what it's worth, I'm also glad to have the single DVD release of the two Majin films that were dubbed in English by AIP-TV. Not sure why the 3rd film was never dubbed, but I'm glad I have what was available.



https://www.amazon.com/Giant-Majin-Coll ... 254&sr=8-2

[lhb412]

^ The transfers for the Majin films were much better. The Gamera films had less stellar transfers (the Showa film's are 1080i instead of 1080p, apparently because they were given very early HD transfers by Kadokawa), some compression issues (especially for the Showa movies, 4 to a disc), and some questionable subtitle issues. The cool thing is they listened to fan complaints and addressed them in the Majin release.

They even hired a dubbing studio to dub that third film, which, as you say, wasn't dubbed back in the day!

[O.Supreme]

Oh wow...I had completely forgotten they included the dubs on that set and commissioned a knew one for the 3rd film. Yes, then definitely that release is superior to the Gamera Blu rays.

[Gojira69]

[lhb412]

^ only the first two Majin films were dubbed back in the day. Both of these dubs are available on Mill Creek's Blu-ray, and for completions sake they commissioned a brand new English dub of the third film.

[Gojira69]

[O.Supreme]

It's funny you mention that. I believe the Daimajin VHS set from ADV was the very first purchase I made on Amazon ever! (way back in 1998!) Both the VHS, and later DVD set from 2002 just had the films with English subs, no real extras of any kind. The fact that Mill Creek included the English dubs (and commissioned a new one for the 3rd film), was something unique to that specific Blu Ray set, and definitely made it more desirable.

[Gojira69]

[O.Supreme]

^Correct

VHS (all 3 films Japanese Audio/English Subs) 1998


DVD (all 3 films Japanese Audio/English Subs) 2002


DVD (The First 2 Films AIP-TV English Dub Only) 2007 *from Image Ent. not ADV Films


BRD (All 3 Films Original Japanese Audio w/subs, and English Audio for all 3 films *AIP TV for first 2, then NEW DUB from MC for the 3rd film) Mill Creek 2012

[Gojira69]

Thanks for clarifying.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Mill Creek’s Blus are OK, probably the best the films have ever looked on home video, but I was still a little disappointed. Not only did they cram four movies onto each disc, but I think they’re just BD-25s, and the audio for the Showa movies is only lossy Dolby Digital, and they aren’t even encoded at 24p! Still, a better release in the future seems unlikely.


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