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

[Rody]

^ I like it a lot. Really, I think most of the art is pretty strong, with only a few that are mediocre in some way or another.

The comments about this release resembling old transfers has me concerned, though. I don't know much about what the 2008 Toho Blu-rays looked like, but I'm pretty sure I've heard mostly negative things about them.
I have every intention of buying this set - even before sale, if I can - but I'm definitely losing the sense of excitement I've had for it.
Hopefully the set sells well, just so that Criterion and Toho alike can see that there is ample demand; but if the set ends up sub-par, I suppose returns are always an option.

[John Schuermann]

The Toho transfers are quite poor, for the most part (some of them could accurately be called terrible). I hate to say it, but my enthusiasm has dropped by about 50%. We know how much better these films can look, judging by the US transfers of Ebirah, Gigan and Hedorah. Not to mention the teases we've seen of the 4K scan of KK vs. Godzilla.

I don't care much about dubs or special features; I was most excited by the idea of seeing all of these movies restored and looking as good as modern technology allows (which can be pretty spectacular). My fear is that if Criterion couldn't pull that off with Toho, who else possibly could? What's sad to me is that we might never see these films properly restored, and each year that goes by the original elements continue to deteriorate.

[lhb412]

While not perfect, the 2008 HD transfers I've seen from Toho of the Showa films have one glaring problem: the contrast is terrible. The image is way too bright and it blows out the detail. If Criterion does the necessary adjustments the movies should look pretty good.

If you've got the Media Blasters Blu-ray of Destroy All Monsters you can test this for yourself with your TV settings. When I turned the brightness way down and boosted the color and fiddled with the levels a little bit the picture was not only good, it's frankly far superor to many of the very grainy and soft HD transfers of Toho's '80s - '00s films.

[H-Man]

Forgive me if this info has already been posted, but I took the time to write it out for Toho Kingdom and I figured I'd just re-share it here.

Here are the films with English dubs in this set, and here is where you may have heard these dubbed versions before if you're an American fan:

Son of Godzilla - Dubbed by Frontier Enterprises in Tokyo. First released in the U.S. by TriStar on DVD in 2004. (American dub, heard 1969~2004 is absent.)
Destroy All Monsters - Dubbed by Frontier Enterprises in Tokyo. Sci-Fi Channel (1996-2006), ADV (VHS and all DVD releases), Media Blasters (2011). (American dub, heard 1969~1980s is absent.)
Godzilla vs. Megalon - Dubbed in Hong Kong (group headed by Ted Thomas). Never re-dubbed for U.S. release so this is the English track we've all heard. American version was heavily edited. It will be uncut, as it was on the Media Blasters DVD/Blu-ray.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Dubbed in Hong Kong (group headed by Matthew Oram). Never re-dubbed for U.S. release so this is the English track we've all heard. American version was heavily edited (but most of us are more familiar with the uncut version that was officially released on VHS). Of note: the previous TriStar DVD release had a remixed audio track that . The version that Criterion has been using since 2017 features the uncut and unedited dub, as far as I know.
Terror of Mechagodzilla - Dubbed in Hong Kong (group headed by Matthew Oram). Never re-dubbed for U.S. release so this is the English track we've all heard. The more familiar U.S. version was heavily edited; the TV version that was released by Classic Media in 2007 was mostly uncut but added a prologue, edited in America, that explained Godzilla's history. That prologue will almost certainly be missing in this set since it wasn't part of Toho's original export dub.

The dubbed versions of all of the above films are expected to be uncut.

KOTM and KKvG will probably be identical to the earlier Criterion and Universal Blu-ray releases, respectively. Both of these versions originated in America.

Astro Monsters is a unique example which I already talked about . In short: This is the same English audio we've heard on every home video release. As far as audio goes, it simply reinstates lines that were cut from the American version (not dubbed; they're the original Japanese dialogue) and one of Nick Adams' lines that was likewise snipped. So in other words it's the English version except for less than a minute of dialogue in Japanese. (There may be another English version commissioned by Toho in the '60s but it's never been seen/heard in the western world and there's very little information about it. There's not even any concrete evidence it exists. Talked about and .)

Now, real quick, here are the dubbed-in-America versions that are not in this set and also not available at all on digital media:

Godzilla versus the Sea Monster (last released via GoodTimes on VHS, circa 2001); Son of Godzilla (last released via Anchor Bay on VHS, 1997); Destroy All Monsters (only released on video by Media Blasters in 2011, although that version was quickly recalled); Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (last released via Simitar on VHS, 1990, also released on VHS and Laserdisc via Orion in 1989)

Obviously there are more dubs that are missing in this set, but they've all been released in some form on DVD. Going through a case by case basis would take too long.

[KaiserGhidorah]

[lhb412]

Guys, if I were to start a boutique home video label remind me never ever to put out a Godzilla movie.

[H-Man]

I love all the artwork. It reminds me of walking through Suncoast or Sam Goody and looking at all the Godzilla movies with colorful and exciting original artwork. As I said elsewhere, if I want the original posters, I can do that myself in Photoshop.

[Rodanex]

Hey, this is being released on my birthday!

Yeah the artwork is pretty bad, but I'm stoked about everything else.

[lhb412]

^^ I'm wowed by the artists they got. You have everything from legendary cartoonists and illustrators to more obscure folks who are known for their kaiju fanart on the internet! It's frankly astounding. I didn't think anything could top the roster of talent they used in the Zatoichi set, but I think they've done it.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I'm not sure how I feel about this release on one hand its amazing we're getting the Showa series complete in one boxset and I have to commend Criterion for doing that but the lack of English versions for GRA, Godzilla vs The Thing, Ghidorah, Sea Monster, Godzilla's Revenge, Hedorah and Gigan is very disappointing to me. I know it was a pipedream to have the Titra dubs and Walter Reade dubs on the discs but still they could have at least added the international dubs on too. The artwork doesn't bother me that much its the lack of the dubs that bugs me the most.

This is going to be a must buy for me but probably not at launch I may add it to my Christmas list

[canofhumdingers]

[Benjamin Haines]

[lhb412]

^ nicely put!

You know what really bums me out? I think every American release version will have a quality fan restoration given the work some Godzilla fans have been putting in these last few years, but I bet we'll never have one for Rodan. For all we know that dated, early 80s master that we've seen on LaserDisc, VHS, DVD, and TV is the only known copy. You can never make a recreation using the Japanese footage and the English soundtrack because the English language version uses a workprint of the film where scenes are different lengths so it would never match up.

[tbeasley]

[Heiseigodzilla425]

I'm pretty bummed by this release. From the missing American versions, the missing international dubs, the Toho 2008 masters, lack of ported special features, 3 movies being crammed on a disc, to the fact that I can't even put it on my media shelf with my other DVDs and Blu-rays; this release has greatly fallen below my hopes and expectations. Yes, its nice to have the Japanese cut in the U.S. for the first time. But the 4K remaster has recently made its way to the interwebs, and if Criterion is using Toho's old transfer, then I'll just defer to my other copy. And at this point, I'm not very confident that we'll be getting new subtitles, since Criterion might be forced to use whatever Toho gives them.

If this set included all of the international dubs and proper Criterion-level restorations of each film, then this would be a no-brainer to get on day one. If they had included HD remasters of any of the American versions that we haven't previously gotten on BD, then this set would have been an absolute must-own.

But at this point, I'll just wait for the next B&N Criterion sale to pick it up. And it sounds like I won't have to wait long.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

After thinking about it I honestly think Criterion should have delayed the set a little longer, that way they could try to get better elements or at least do some color correcting on the HD masters. IIRC the issue with the Toho HD masters is that Japanese TVs use different brightness and color settings than US sets, I could be wrong but I thought that's what I heard once.

I don't know, maybe I just over hyped myself thinking that Criterion might be able to pull off the impossible and get the dubs that I grew up with as a kid on the set but to omit stuff like Godzilla vs The Thing is incredibly disappointing.

[KaiserGhidorah]

[Dr Kain]

[lhb412]

[Dr Kain]

[H-Man]

[Dr Kain]

[Gwangi]

Right now, I think my money is probably better spent on tracking down old 8mm films on Ebay. Ever since my father restored my grandfather’s old 8mm projector a few months ago and gave it to me, I have been having a blast watching some of my old 8mm films again! Was able to purchase a few more on Ebay – “Rodan”, “Godzilla vs. The Thing”, “One Million Years B.C.” & “Jason and the Argonauts”. Can’t seem to find a “Frankenstein Conquers the World” 8mm. I know those existed, because I use to see them at K-Mart way back in the day. If one knows where I can purchase a copy, I can’t give you a finder’s fee, but you will have my eternal gratitude!

As for these Criterion movies, if Sci-fi Japan is going to have a giveaway contest, I will enter it. That will probably be the closest thing of me trying to obtain this set.

[Dr Kain]

[canofhumdingers]