Arrow Video presents GAMERA: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION

[The Shadow]

[tbeasley]

[lhb412]

[superhedorahsaiyan]

Love Matt Frank's work and never knew about the Dark Horse comics. considering this.

[tbeasley]

You know what else would be cool? Mahiro Maeda's prequel comic -


But maybe we're asking for too much.

[tbeasley]

[Jinzo Ningen]

Forgive my ignorance, and in the event this has already been covered elsewhere, but ...are these upcoming Blu-rays using hi-def transfers that are already in existence? Meaning... did Arrow take advantage of existing or newly-struck HD prints, or did they engage Kadokawa and propose working with them in order to affect pristine all-new transfers of the films, using original Kadokawa/Daiei source materials & elements???

[Jinzo Ningen]

Just got a notice from Amazon. "Set now retailing for $161.64 Price dropped 10% (was $179.95 when added to List) "

[O.Supreme]

One question, I know the term *Official* doesn't exactly apply here, but the fact is- that a Destroy All planets DVD commentary including Carl Craig does exist. I am glad to have it. I wonder if Arrow would even attempt to include such a thing. I don't think it would be difficult to obtain.

[hanshotfirst1138]

Man, first Criterion, then Mill Creek, now this. It’s a great time to be a toku fan.

[Benjamin Haines]

Arrow Video did indeed release Gamera: The Complete Collection as an eight-disc, limited-edition BRD set in August 2020. They vastly underestimated demand for the set by only manufacturing 5,000 copies of the US edition and 3,000 copies of the UK edition, and it was sold out from all of the major online retailers within a day of being released. Worse still, Amazon US did not treat the set like a limited edition and instead took far more pre-orders than they could fulfill, leaving many fans with unfulfilled pre-orders upon release with nowhere else to get the set at that point. As of today, the cheapest copy of the set on eBay has a $380 asking price.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Gamera-The-Complete-Collection-Blu-ray/264411/

Fortunately, Arrow released two standard-edition Gamera box sets in January 2021, one for the Showa Era and one for the Heisei Era. Although they don’t include any of the supplemental books, all of the discs are identical to those in the limited-edition set, so anyone who missed out on that set can still get all of the disc contents for about $100 total.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Gamera-The-Showa-Era-Blu-ray/279577/
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Gamera-The-Heisei-Era-Blu-ray/279579/

Arrow left no stone unturned for the Gamera series. They got cooperation from Kadokawa, MGM, ADV, Shout Factory and Mill Creek to compile the best available presentations of every Gamera movie along with all of the existing English dubs, all of the special features from previous home video releases, newly recorded audio commentaries for the films that lacked them, plus other extras from Japanese media including a 6-hour documentary on the Heisei trilogy from 2010.

The official specifications of the limited-edition set are listed below. The first four discs are available in Arrow’s Gamera: The Showa Era box set, while discs five through eight are available in Arrow’s Gamera: The Heisei Era box set.

DISC ONE – GAMERA THE GIANT MONSTER
• High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera the Giant Monster, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles

• Commentary and newly filmed introduction by August Ragone

• High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gammera the Invincible (Blu-ray premiere), the American theatrical version of the film, with lossless mono audio and optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

• Remembering the Gamera Series, an archive featurette from 1991, including interviews with director Noriaki Yuasa, writer Nisan Takahashi and others

• Interview with Noriaki Yuasa, filmed by Jörg Buttgereit in 2002

• Gamera Special, an hour-long best-of compilation supervised by Noriaki Yuasa in 1991

• Alternate English credits

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC TWO – GAMERA VS. BARUGON / GAMERA VS. GYAOS
• High Definition (1080p) transfers of Gamera vs. Barugon and Gamera vs. Gyaos, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles

• Commentary on Gamera vs. Barugon by August Ragone & Jason Varney

• Commentary on Gamera vs. Gyaos by Stuart Galbraith IV

• Newly filmed introductions to both films by August Ragone

• High Definition (1080p) transfer of War of the Monsters, the shorter American edit of Gamera vs. Barugon, with lossless English audio

• Alternate English credits for both films

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC THREE – GAMERA VS. VIRAS / GAMERA VS. GUIRON
• High Definition (1080p) transfers of Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Guiron, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles

• Choice of three different versions of Gamera vs. Viras via seamless branching (72-minute Theatrical Version, 81-minute Director’s Version and 90-minute US Extended Version)

• Commentary on Gamera vs. Viras by Carl Craig and Jim Cironella

• Commentary on Gamera vs. Guiron by David Kalat

• Newly filmed introductions to both films by August Ragone

• New featurette with actor Carl Craig showing his souvenirs and props from Gamera vs. Viras

• Highlights from the G-FEST X convention in 2003, featuring Noriaki Yuasa and Carl Craig

• The 4th Nippon Jamboree, a promotional film for the Boy Scouts of Japan directed by Yuasa in 1966

• Alternate English credits for both films

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC FOUR – GAMERA VS. JIGER / GAMERA VS. ZIGRA / GAMERA SUPER MONSTER
• High Definition (1080p) transfers of Gamera vs. Jiger, Gamera vs. Zigra and Gamera Super Monster, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles

• Commentary on Gamera vs. Jiger by Edward L. Holland

• Commentary by Gamera vs. Zigra by Sean Rhoads & Brooke McCorkle

• Commentary on Gamera Super Monster by Richard Pusateri

• Newly filmed introductions to all three films by August Ragone

• Alternate English credits for all three films

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC FIVE – GAMERA THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE
• High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, from a 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures

• Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles

• Commentary by Matt Frank

• Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone

• A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 1, the first in an epic three-part documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy

• Interviews with director Shusuke Kaneko and SFX director Shinji Higuchi, filmed by Jörg Buttgereit in 2002

• Extended 90-min interview with Shinji Higuchi from 2001, focusing on the trilogy’s special effects

• Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release

• Alternate English credits

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC SIX – GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION
• High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, from a 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures

• Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles

• Commentary by Kyle Yount

• Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone

• A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 2, the next part of the documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy

• On-set footage from the shooting of the film’s main unit and special effects filming

• Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release

• Alternate English credits

• “Lake Texarkana” comedic dub track

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC SEVEN – GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS
• High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, from a 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures

• Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles

• Commentary by Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski

• Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone

• A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 3, the final part of the documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy

• Newly filmed interview with Kaho Tsutsumi about the DNA Tokasatsu exhibition in Tokyo, by kaiju historian Edward L. Holland

• Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release

• Deleted Scenes

• The Awakening of Irys (Remix), a montage of behind-the-scenes footage and work-in-progress special effects footage

• Alternate English credits

• Spoof commentary by “Gamera” & “Soldier No.6”

• Trailer and image galleries


DISC EIGHT – GAMERA THE BRAVE
• High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera the Brave

• Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles

• Commentary by Keith Aiken & Bob Johnson

• How to Make a Gamera Movie, a featurette hosted by director Ryuta Tasaki

• Behind The Scenes of Gamera the Brave, an all-access on-set documentary

• The Men That Made Gamera, a documentary looking back at the series from start to finish, featuring interviews with cast and crew

• Opening Day Premiere, a featurette showing the cast and crew presenting the film at its first showing

• Kaho’s Summer, an interview with the film’s young star

• Special Effects Supercut, a montage of effects shots overseen by FX supervisor Hajime Matsumoto

• Trailer and image galleries

[lhb412]

Such an incredible release. Still need to watch the OG American versions of the Showa flicks - already watched The Invincible, which, honestly, I might prefer to the original edit.

The commentary track for Gamera 3 might be the single best commentary track for a Kaiju movie home video release. It's packed with fantastic info! The Heisei films in general just have an enormous amount of great supplements. The Showa flick less so, but I enjoy all the stuff on Yuasa. Thankfully, I got the original limited edition set with the books and the long form interview with Yuasa.

[DannyBeane]

That Gamera set is the best set I've ever seen and is what I wish the Criterion Godzilla set was. I'm so lucky I was able to get a copy when it was released. I had to order it from a Canadian company since every where else was sold out.

[lhb412]

I almost missed it because I pre-ordered at Deep Discount and they didn't get enough in stock!

[Benjamin Haines]

Although we can't post images or hyperlinks on here at this point, here are text links to some comparisons between Arrow's English subtitles for Gamera 3 and the subtitles on ADV's 2003 DVD and Mill Creek's 2011 BRD as well as ADV's English dubbing, which is an alternate audio option on all of these releases.

SCENE - Discovery of the undersea Gamera graveyard: https://i.imgur.com/mEbEh0V.png

SCENE - Ms. Asakura and Shinya Kurata go to the marine insurance agency to see the curved jewels: https://i.imgur.com/soZYkes.png

SCENE - Shigeki tells Ayana about the legend of Ryuseicho: https://i.imgur.com/8CVTu5N.png

SCENE - Asagi and Nagamine discuss Mana in the museum: https://i.imgur.com/Nqpzfk7.png

SCENE - Nagamine receives the Irys chromosome analysis results from Sakurai: https://i.imgur.com/QRpljig.png

SCENE - Kurata talks to Nagamine and Asagi outside the shrine: https://i.imgur.com/QDBEf0X.png

SCENE - Discussion of humanity's potential extinction at the Kyoto station: https://i.imgur.com/3cIOfpK.png

SCENE - Irys arrives in Kyoto: https://i.imgur.com/RzJG9Vb.png

[Benjamin Haines]

For anyone here who hasn't gotten Arrow's Gamera blu-ray discs yet, if you want the limited edition complete collection with the books and the postcards, there are currently two reasonably priced listings on eBay.

This one has no bids yet and is asking for a $150 starting bid: https://www.ebay.com/itm/334963641108

And this one isn't asking for bids but for $190 to buy it now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134666453096

For reference, the MSRP was $179.99 when Arrow released this set back in 2020. The rest of the listings currently on Amazon and eBay are outrageously priced.