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

[Benjamin Haines]

[KaiserGhidorah]

Good news. Hopefully, we'll get US edits and Titra dubs but I won't hold my breath.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I too am hoping for the Titra dubs as well as the original English dubs and based on interviews over the weekend at SDCC Toho seems to have changed their ways a bit, so who knows.

[KaiserGhidorah]

[The Shadow]

[Dr Kain]

[O.Supreme]

[jellydonut25]

More and more places reporting this will be subtitled only.

Makes it WAY less appealing, honestly. The idea of having to hold onto ALL my previous versions of these movies STILL...and also not being able to watch any of these releases with my kids...and that my go-to versions of Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs Monster Zero, Godzilla vs the Sea Monster, and Son of Godzilla will be fan restorations...wildly disappointing.

This will be a 50% off sale purchase...or an eBay used for cheap purchase if there are no dubs.

[TripMasterMunky]

This will be a day 1 purchase for me. Finally we get a nice blu-ray collection of these films... will definitely need to marathon the Showa era, which I haven't done in quite a while.

[Gojira07]

ahem.....


Its worth pointing out, last week at the "Bringing Godzilla to Size" panel at G-Fest, they hinted at there being some sort of announcement in the coming weeks that COULD include that documentary being re-released. Would be a real slick bonus content on this set.

[Gwangi]

[KaiserGhidorah]

[Dr Kain]

If there are no dubs, then blame Toho, not Criterion. Criterion should not have to suffer due to Toho not wanting them to do dubs.

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

Subtitled only would be a real shame for those of us who grew up with the dubbed versions, but I feel mostly irrelevant for newer fans who will for the first time have access to high-quality versions of all the original films, including (fingers crossed) King Kong vs. Godzilla. Of course, if Universal/Classic Media wanted to just slap those English dubbed versions they already have onto a barebones Blu-ray collection of their own I'd certainly pick that up.

Of course, it may just be the push I needed to finally track down those high-quality fan restorations of the original American versions that have been popping up the last few years.

[Benjamin Haines]

Criterion included the international English dub when they released The X From Outer Space and that was part of a 4-DVD set with three other films that had no English dubs.

I would be shocked if Criterion didn't include Toho's international English dubs as audio options for Monster Zero, Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, DAM, Hedorah, Gigan, Megalon, GvsMG and ToMG. Toho commissioned those dubs specifically for international sales so I can't imagine why they wouldn't let Criterion include them. Toho also previously allowed Criterion to release the US cut of the original Godzilla, so it's hard to believe that it wouldn't be included on the same disc as the Japanese cut in this set.

That's 10 out of 15 movies that are likely to include an English-language viewing option.

It's when we get into the alternate cuts and dubs that were previously done by US distributors that things get tricky. Keith mentioned a few years ago (and I can't find the quote now, it might not have been here on MZ) that Toho no longer allows home video companies licensing their films to include any additional content that isn't provided directly by Toho. That stipulation likely came about in response to how Media Blasters released DAM and later Megalon with a bunch of unapproved extra content.

So while Classic Media was able to release the US cuts of Godzilla Raids Again, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah and Revenge on DVD from 2006 to 2012, Toho might not allow Criterion to release those cuts now if Toho themselves don't have materials to provide those cuts to Criterion. Additionally, even if Toho allowed Criterion to include those cuts from third-party sources, Criterion might not want to include them on this BRD set if they don't have HD materials to work with.

That "extra content must come from Toho" stipulation could also prevent Criterion from including the Titra/Titan dubs for Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, DAM and Hedorah, and possibly even the US cut of King Kong vs. Godzilla.

[lhb412]

^ In addition to the International dubs you mentioned I also have to point out that the 'Monster Zero' dub of Astro Monster is the international dub. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I think the entire movie was dubbed early on and then several years later when Saperstein finally got the US distribution lined up it then received minor edits. The version of the movie on Starz streaming is this international version with the classic dub.

So there's no reason not to include it 'cause we know Toho has it. It would mean a deliberate decision to keep the release Japanese with English subtitles only.

[XvGojira]

I am anticipating no dubs on this release, especially dubs that aren't Toho international dub. I'd love dubs, even if they aren't the ones I grew up watching, but I'd rather not get my hopes up. I just don't trust Toho to do/allow more than just the bare minimum for these releases (or anything for the West honestly). If there are dubs and great extras, that'd be fantastic. I'm just not going to anticipate anything other than video quality better than the DVD releases and only Japanese audio with English subtitles.

[Dr Kain]

[Dr Kain]

[H-Man]

Regarding the Astro-Monsters dub:

It was recorded by June 1966 in Hollywood at Glen Glenn sound in anticipation of a U.S. release. The report at the time, printed in Variety and later re-printed by a syndicated news service, stated the film was to be titled “Invasion of the Astro-Monsters” (Toho’s preferred title is “Invasion of Astro-Monster”). Saperstein wasn’t able to get a distribution deal for the film until 1970. Early in that year, I think March, it was reported by BoxOffice or Variety that the MPAA had rated it, under the title “Invasion of the Astros,” and as “Astros” it was seen mostly at U.S. armed forces bases through the early ‘70s. As “Monster Zero” it was released around the U.S. starting in June or July, if memory serves.

The “international version” that was released on video in the UK and the audio for which is heard in the Janus streaming version, was probably assembled using various film elements in Toho’s vaults in the 1980s. Because there is no dubbed dialogue in Toho’s full length “Astro-Monsters” that’s exclusive to that version, and because there are audible splices at any edit that Saperstein made for his version of the film, it would seem that the full length “international version” is no more than the marriage of Toho’s archived Saperstein version elements (when the title was “Astro-Monsters”) and its own archived second generation foreign element.

How do we know this was done in the 1980s? The full Japanese version was unseen for a while after the Champion Festival release in 1971, and the first home video release in Japan was the shorter Champion Fest version. The latter is important here because like KKvG, it was edited on the original negative, meaning that Toho probably only has second gen elements for it. One of those is apparently the aforementioned foreign element that would have been used to strike other inter-elements for foreign distributors. That’s likely why the Toho HD scan of MZ opens with the English Toho logo and why the full version has always looked so dupey compared to transfers from the Champion Festival negative.

[lhb412]

^ Wow! Thanks for the info.

[Dai]

The only showa movies I prefer dubbed are Gigan and Megalon, which I already have on blu-ray, so I'm totally fine if this set turns out to be sub-only. Even with the gouging I'll get from the import fees, shipping, and the awful exchange rate, $150 for 15 movies is a bargain (assuming that price is accurate).

[jellydonut25]

[Joseph Goodman]