Arrow Video presents GAMERA: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

[Rody]

[lhb412]

I am so excited. I love this company, so just seeing them take on a franchise I love is a big deal.

I know plenty were disappointed by the limitations of Criterion's Godzilla set (though I think Criterion did the best they could within those Toho impositions), but I think this could really be the deluxe, definitive presentation of a set of films that fans really want.

I suspect artist Matt Frank's involvement with creating the packaging art based on a few ambiguous hints about a big project he's teased.

[Dr Kain]

Outside of Amazon, who even sells Arrow's products?

[lhb412]

^ Barnes and Noble. That's where I picked up Ringu a few weeks ago, as they had the Arrow releases half-off just like the Criterions.

[canofhumdingers]

I’ve seen them in Fry’s Electronics, though that chain seems to be in its death throes if the store I last visited is any indication.

[Jinzo Ningen]

Depending on the quality of the source materials, this could well be THE defining home video release for the big turtle. ARROW has yet to disappoint me. They have a level of enthusiasm that rivals Shout!Factory and a level of attention to detail that shames Criterion in many ways. And so as such, this looks to be a HUGE win-win for Gamera fans. Hopefully this set will include ALL of the films, in 4k restoration with ALL bonus supplements (AIP & Frank dubs, alternate opening/ending credits, etc.)

Regardless, based on previous overwhelmingly positive experiences with Arrow product in the past, this boxset will be an instant pre-order for me. Whoop!

[Benjamin Haines]

I just hope that Arrow releases the full dozen. I got the Media Blasters DVD of Gamera the Brave but it's the only Gamera film I don't have on BRD.

For that matter, I still have to get Arrow's release of the Toho Dracula trilogy!

I'm content with Mill Creek's Gamera BRDs but there is room for improvement, particularly in the video quality on Gamera 3, and of course it would be nice if the Showa films included their English dubs.

[Gwangi]

[Jinzo Ningen]

The biggest win would be to get a completely intact version of the American release of Gammera. HD versions exist; it's just a matter of diligence & money. (More of the latter than the former.) A clean English audio dub for Barugon would be the second hi-five. A 4k of copy of The Brave would be the trifecta.

[Dr Kain]

Doesn't MB still own the license to The Brave though? At least I assumed so given they had a mountain of BDs for it at NDK back in August and that was the first time I ever saw them selling the thing in years.

Just give me a box set of the Heisei trilogy with subtitles that don't suck and I'll be happy.

[O.Supreme]

^That is odd that MB had it at their booth, but they don't offer it online, GTB has been OOP for years, and can demand quite a hefty price for either the DVD or BRD (mine is still sealed, shows how often I watch it heh...)

Also I know both ADV & Mill Creek had subtitle issues with their Heisei sets, but weren't those eventually all corrected? I bought the sets late, on clearance, but admittedly I always watch the dub, so not sure what the subtitles are like.

Basically what Arrow needs to do is exactly the same thing that S!F did, but improved- in that they could *fine tune* some of the dub sync issues. Include Gammera the Brave, BOTH English dubs of WotM/Barugon, and offer all the English open/closing sequences as either special features, or offer completely separate versions for the Dubs and Japanese versions for all the films (ala the Mill Creek Godzilla DVDs).

Give us that, and it WOULD make every previous Gamera DVD & BRD superfluous, which is what the Criterion Godzilla set should have done, but fell way short.

[Jinzo Ningen]

[Dr Kain]

[Benjamin Haines]

[lhb412]

Mill Creek made a point to use a different subtitling service for their Daimajin release after the multiple snafus on the Gamera 3 disc.

Gotta say, even though the subtitles as is and including the corrected ones for the third film are fine... It still bothers me that they don't subtitle signage, location descriptions, that sort of thing.

[Dr Kain]

[H-Man]

Gonna share this here (from my Toho Kingdom post) just in the very rare case that special feature production is still ongoing and that someone from Arrow is looking:

"But if I were Arrow (or whoever), I'd be looking for alternate audio sources than the ones Shout! used. For one, Shout! didn't even include English versions for either of the first two films. So, if anyone's looking, there are fans who have pretty decent audio sources for these films and would be willing to help out (fully free of charge, of course)."

[Jinzo Ningen]

[XvGojira]

Well, it's coming and with 4K version of the Heisei trilogy according to NEO Magazine.

https://news.tokunation.com/2019/12/29/ ... 2020-65125

But it lists it as a UK release. Hopefully it'l come to the US as well.

[lhb412]

^ These are all UK outlets, so naturally they're talkin from a UK perspective. We've yet to have any confirmation that it's a UK only set, and even if it is at first it may just be a case of waiting a while until the US rights situation can be sorted. Their Ring box set took many months from its UK release until it was clear for US release.

[Dr Kain]

[lhb412]

^ The phrasing is slightly vague, but I have no doubt what they mean is that the US cut will be there in addition to be original.

And to remind everyone before people have a chance to blow this into a thing up: when Arrow Video releases something in the UK only it almost always means it's because the license is taken in the United States. For instance, they released Candyman and Buckaroo Banzai in the UK, while Shout Factory has released them in the US. We know that Mill Creek's Gamera license has expired, so if Arrow is unable to release the set in the US (I think unlikely, I think this will be a US/UK set) that would probably mean someone else has called dibs here in America or the rights will take a little longer to sort out, as was the case with the delayed US release of Ringu.

[H-Man]

The inclusion of Gammera (assuming an HD transfer of the complete film) and the 4K scans of the Heisei trilogy elevate this above Criterion's Godzilla set.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I'm thinking it'll be a US release too. Hopefully all the English versions of the films are included and not just Gammera.

[XvGojira]