1000 Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975
- soundchaser
- Leave Her to Beaver
- Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:32 am
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
For the record, I wasn't trying to suggest that the set isn't happening; it's patently obvious by now. But that Blu-Ray listing isn't anything new, and many of the specs listed are educated guesses at best.
- mfunk9786
- Under Chris' Protection
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- Location: Philadelphia, PA
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Wasn't talking about you, for the record.
- FrauBlucher
- Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
- Location: Greenwich Village
Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Who knew Godzilla would create this much agita.
- J Wilson
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:26 am
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Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Hopefully we'll soon be able to celebrate the end of this saga with an announcement.
- aox
- Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
- Location: nYc
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
The thread itself is already sort of a "record", no?
- dwk
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
CD Universe has pre-order up and lists this as an 8 disc set. If this is correct, I imagine that, except for the US cut of the first film, they are only going to include the Japanese cuts and the disc breakdown will be:
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
- HitchcockLang
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 1:43 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
I could be wrong, but I imagine you could accomplish quite a lot with alternate audio and seamless branching.
- EddieLarkin
- Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
I don't see why it being 8 discs would be indicative of that, considering the Zatoichi set was 9 discs and included 25 films total.
How about:
Godzilla (1954)
(+Godzilla, King of the Monsters)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
(+Gigantis the Fire Monster)
Rodan (1956)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
(+Godzilla vs. the Thing)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
(+Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
(+Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
(+Godzilla's Revenge)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
(+The Terror of Godzilla)
War of the Gargantuas (1966)
All I've included here are the additional films Classic Media released (Rodan and Gargantuas), which we know Criterion picked up, and the alternative cuts that featured on the Godzilla DVDs Classic Media released. These aren't alternative dubs but different cuts of the films.
How about:
Godzilla (1954)
(+Godzilla, King of the Monsters)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
(+Gigantis the Fire Monster)
Rodan (1956)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
(+Godzilla vs. the Thing)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
(+Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
(+Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
(+Godzilla's Revenge)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
(+The Terror of Godzilla)
War of the Gargantuas (1966)
All I've included here are the additional films Classic Media released (Rodan and Gargantuas), which we know Criterion picked up, and the alternative cuts that featured on the Godzilla DVDs Classic Media released. These aren't alternative dubs but different cuts of the films.
- kcota17
- Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:05 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
And if King Kong vs Godzilla is included, both cuts being included would be a huge draw to the set and I’m sure Criterion would try to include both.
Also, and this was back in 2017 when they first appeared on Filmstruck so I don’t remember exactly, but some films had Japanese dialogue while others it was just an English dub. So I imagine most will be given both audio tracks besides a select few alternate cuts (KoTm, KK v G definitely but I’m not sure what other alternate cuts would be important enough to keep)
Also, and this was back in 2017 when they first appeared on Filmstruck so I don’t remember exactly, but some films had Japanese dialogue while others it was just an English dub. So I imagine most will be given both audio tracks besides a select few alternate cuts (KoTm, KK v G definitely but I’m not sure what other alternate cuts would be important enough to keep)
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
- Contact:
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
It's worth noting that these are not long films, and are in Scope, which means that a full feature encode even at optimum bitrate will take up a fair bit less space than one of a longer feature that fills more of the screen. The Zatoichi box set took advantage of a similar situation.
- EddieLarkin
- Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 10:25 am
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Anything is possible at this point but I don't see why the US cut would be such a draw since it's readily available on Blu-ray already from Universal. They are in fact re-releasing it in September.
- dwk
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Since Kraken were not allowed to include the original US cuts/dubs, I'm not sure Toho will let Criterion, but I suppose it is possible. (I also kind of doubt that they will include the two non-Godzilla titles, even if they are in the same universe.)
- HitchcockLang
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2013 1:43 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Would be so much fun to get the US Godzilla vs the Smog Monster with the cheesy environmentalism song but I’m doubting Toho will allow it.
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- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 2:13 am
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
I really want another pop-up in this set, like in the Godzilla release (spine 594).
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- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:31 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
I wouldn't say it's a matter of whether they were allowed so much as whether they could be bothered. Toho doesn't generally keep elements for localizations prepared by the US distributors handy*, so any company that wants to release them is basically on their own in terms of finding source materials and preparing a master, at which point Toho still has to approve it. Most smaller labels don't necessarily have the budget for that, and in Kraken's case, they were specifically targeting impulse-buyers at bargain-bin prices. In this situation, most of these smaller labels will simply take whatever is available to them and release it -- usually that's Toho's rather pitiful HD transfers from 2008, plus the export dubs commissioned by Toho from one of a number of small firms in Hong Kong or Tokyo, which sync right up to the Japanese version. Kraken was lucky in that TriStar had released the three Showa films they were handling on DVD with bespoke transfers in 2004, giving them a much better video source than Toho's transfers, but still no US dubs.
The only region 1/A discs since 2004 to include US-specific dubs have been Universal's King Kong vs. Godzilla discs (since they released the film back in the '60s and still had the elements on hand), Media Blasters'/Tokyo Shock's 2011 release of Destroy All Monsters (featured the US dub in poor quality and re-edited to sync to the Japanese cut), and Classic Media's 2007/2008 DVDs.
The CM discs were something of a labor of love by a number of big-name fans and genre scholars, and featured US versions presented various ways using various sources:
- Godzilla Raids Again: Seemingly a SD television master with a video-generated "Godzilla Raids Again" title card replacing the original "Gigantis the Fire Monster" card
- Mothra vs. Godzilla/Godzilla vs. the Thing: A mediocre cropped 1.78:1 transfer, possibly from Monsters HD
- Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster: A somewhat dodgy OAR reconstruction utilizing an ancient videotape master of the US version and Toho's DVD master of the Japanese version
- Invasion of Astro-Monster/Monster Zero: Another dodgy reconstruction using a cropped 1.78:1 Monsters HD transfer and Toho's DVD master -- opening credits are in 1.78:1; other US-specific visuals are presented cropped to the "OAR" from the already cropped MHD transfer, or in the case of two location supers, rather imprecise digital recreations
- All Monsters Attack/Godzilla's Revenge: Another reconstruction; mostly fine as both versions are nearly identical. Opening credits in the Monsters HD transfer may have been squeezed to 1.78:1 rather than cropped, since they appear in the OAR here (presumably stretched back); end title card is double-cropped like the MZ visuals
- Terror of Mechagodzilla: Widescreen reconstruction of the UPA television version using Toho's DVD transfer and a 1.33:1 P&S broadcast master. Prologue with footage from Monster Zero and Godzilla's Revenge and opening credits are cropped to 1.78:1 from the already-cropped broadcast master; remainder of the film is from the OAR Japanese version, with a digital "The End" super added in English below the Japanese super.
*The only exception to this, as far as I know, is Toho's English version of Invasion of Astro-Monster, which is the US Monster Zero dub conformed to the Japanese cut of the film, filling in scenes cut from the US release with the Japanese audio and, for one line from Nick Adams, on-set audio that was dubbed over for the Japanese theatrical release. Interestingly, this soundtrack also retains the US version's music for the opening credits, which is a quiet and foreboding cue taken from later in the film as opposed to the Japanese version's rousing military march. Worth noting that while this does utilize the US dubbing, it doesn't fully preserve the film as it was released in the US.
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- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 2:13 am
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
I hope Criterion perseveres. I really want those English cuts.
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- Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:29 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Right, obviously the Godzilla sequels aren't cinematic masterpieces but to act as if they aren't "worthy" of a Criterion release is just showing ignorance. Especially if it's just over an arbitrary number. They were the most widely seen Japanese films for decades, and they left a huge mark on culture. Films such as King Kong vs Godzilla, Mothra vs Godzilla, and Monster Zero aren't as thematically rich and emotionally resonant as the original Godzilla, but they're fine productions on their own and just as entertaining. The notion that everything but the original is churned out garbage is an easy idea to subscribe to but if the original film barely got it's widespread critical recognition when people finally noticed it's heavy handed themes 50 years later, perhaps the sequels will get their due soon enough.LucariosJohnson wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2019 10:14 pmThink the general hand-wringing about these not belonging in the "Collection" is a bit silly. As others have pointed out, the movies have some qualities (Tohoscope is gorgeous, detailed miniature effects), and deserve a restoration for a cultural perspective. I also think the idea that Ishiro Honda just stopped putting effort into these movies after the original is mostly garbage. 2001 cribs a lot of imagery from Monster Zero from what I remember. The hated Godzilla's Revege is a proto-version of Oshima's Boy and Kurosawa's Dodeskaden.
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- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:31 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
We'll see. If they don't, there are always other options.
Last edited by ComradeMisato on Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- knives
- Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
I 'd actually argue some are as thematically rich albeit in a different way. Fortunately I don't have to as the commentary to Mothra does just that.
- Minkin
- Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:13 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Though it might not prove anything, but the English dubs have been playing on Svengoolie (on MeTV) for the past year+; they still have the Classic Media logo at the end, but it perhaps proves that the English dubs aren't entirely unavailable.
- jwd5275
- Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 12:26 pm
- Location: SF, CA
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Don't know about the Criterion Channel, but on Filmstruck at least half the Godzilla films had english dubs available. I was actively seeking the dubs out, as my kids love the films and two of them are not quite at the age where subtitles help...
Last edited by jwd5275 on Tue Jul 23, 2019 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2019 2:13 am
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Fingers crossed
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- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2019 1:31 pm
Re: Forthcoming: Godzilla Versus Megaset
Those aren't the dubs we're worried about. Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, and All Monsters Attack were (as far as we know) only dubbed for their US releases, most of which recut them, meaning there's no available dub that you can just sync to the Japanese version of the film. Those films are therefore in danger of lacking any English audio option on this set whatsoever.
On top of that, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Hedorah all have multiple dubs -- Toho's export dubs that they commissioned themselves and which sync to the Japanese cuts, and dubs made by their US distributors for their stateside theatrical and television exhibition. The latter dubs are usually better, and they're the versions a lot of people grew up with on VHS and TV airings, but again, they're usually slightly recut and therefore can't just be slapped on the Japanese version. These films are likely to only feature the export dubs, which are the ones Toho keeps handy to give to US home video distributors, and the ones that appeared on Filmstruck and currently appear on the Criterion Channel.
(There's also Astro-Monster, which I explained in my previous post. That one's an odd case.)
- swo17
- Bloodthirsty Butcher
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- Location: SLC, UT
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- Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 1:27 pm
Re: 1000 Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975
It's finally over!!!