594, 1000 Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975

[mfunk9786]

It's only appropriate that spine #1000 is a technical boondoggle

[Minkin]

It's only appropriate that spine #1000 is a technical boondoggle

1000 spines of disappointment!

I'm glad this set is coming out and to have the films on bluray, but yeesh, it has a lot of issues. I would rather they have waited a year and got all the loose ends sorted out; and let spine #1000 be something more mundane.

I'm not sure why they would've left Rodan out; or skipped so many of the English dubs (the lack of the dub on Godzilla's Revenge is particularly heartbreaking for me); etc. Hell, they could've made a killing on each film being released separately, then maybe some more time could be spent on everything. Especially as it seems most of the special features came from their earlier Godzilla release. I guess I'm just disappointed that such a major property gets the short end of the stick (AV/extras/dubs/alt-versions/etc), but maybe Toho was a huge pain in the ass here.

[Orlac]

One weird problem with the previous BD of Megalon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssGb8Hf6_tw

I suspect this would be carried over to the Criterion version.

[tenia]

Hell, they could've made a killing on each film being released separately, then maybe some more time could be spent on everything.

They barely manage releasing 1 Chaplin or 1 Lloyd per year, I certainly can't even imagine them releasing each movie separately (it'd take almost 3 full months slots).

As for what's missing, my guess is that the set and its content are the results of what they managed to get from Toho and if Criterion can't even get the latest 4K restoration of Godzilla from them, it's clear to me how much of a pain Toho must have been on this one.

[colinr0380]

I just would not have pegged Alex Cox as a Godzilla aficionado! So I'm looking forward to what he has to say in that feature.

[Orlac]

I wonder if we'll get a Rodan/War of the Gargantuas double further down the line...Tim Burton is a fan of the latter.

[Roscoe]

I'm glad that the box will make Criterion a lot of money. I'm glad that Criterion is getting a lot of attention. I'm glad that folks are getting films they enjoy in quality home-video physical media. I can't work up any personal enthusiasm for it apart from that.

[mfunk9786]

That's the case for a couple of releases a month (at least for me), not sure what makes this one any different, where everyone needs to formally register their indifference to it

[Big Ben]

I wonder if we'll get a Rodan/War of the Gargantuas double further down the line...Tim Burton is a fan of the latter.

Both of these are canonically within the Showa series timeline, as is the prequel of sorts to Gargantua, Frankenstein Conquers the World. I suppose Criterion/Toho wanted Godzilla out of the way and in his own set but to add to this does anyone know who owns the rights in the US? War of the Gargantuas is a rancid, utterly bizarre film about hairy Frankenstein clones beating the shit out of each other and everyone needs to see it.

[Roscoe]

That's the case for a couple of releases a month (at least for me), not sure what makes this one any different, where everyone needs to formally register their indifference to it

For much the same reason that everyone needs to formally register their wild orgasmic enthusiasm for something. Why not.

[knives]

That's the case for a couple of releases a month (at least for me), not sure what makes this one any different, where everyone needs to formally register their indifference to it

To show they're too cool for school.

[Finch]

I'm sure there were a few people complaining we were getting yet more Bergman when the boxset came out last year. I don't think there's more complaining about this set than any others, and to be fair to Roscoe, they didn't go "why won't Criterion only release what I want?". To say that set XYZ is not for you but you're happy just the same for others that it exists is a fair point to make (coincidentally this is how I feel about both the Bergman set and this set: the original Godzilla film is all I need and I'm not enough of a Bergman fan to want to be a completist).

[Glowingwabbit]

But what is the point of going into a thread dedicated to a release you dont care about just to say you dont care about it.

[swo17]

I'll say this--I've never seen a Godzilla film other than the first one and am looking forward to watching these with my kids

[Finch]

If the argument is that the post should have been made in a different thread, say, the Rumours and Speculation Thread, fair enough.

[colinr0380]

I'll say this--I've never seen a Godzilla film other than the first one and am looking forward to watching these with my kids

And the plus of that is that you'll look like a brilliant father compared to the way that Godzilla treats Minilla!

Destroy All Monsters is probably the 60s equivalent of the recent Avengers films, in that it mashes everything up to that point together in one giant piece of fan service. Plus telepathic space aliens!

[mfunk9786]

If the argument is that the post should have been made in a different thread, say, the Rumours and Speculation Thread, fair enough.

My argument isn't that there's anything particularly wrong with the location of or existence of the post outside of fatigue from seeing how many people are choosing to let everyone know that they don't approve of this release, or worse (imo), that they'll begrudgingly live with it but it's not for them. There's now 1,000 spines in this collection, everything isn't supposed to be for you. It's the equivalent of posting "Who cares?" in the comments of a news story or announcement. It is a zero net gain for anyone else scrolling through this forum to find out that user X (regardless of how high profile, thoughtful, etc) isn't going to buy this set.

Anyway, I haven't seen much Godzilla but I'm looking forward to watching these with swo's kids.

[swo17]

Get out of my house!

[youngsummer]

It'd be a real shame if Criterion is stuck working with Toho's garbage HD material from over a decade ago

[Michael Kerpan]

Dealing with Toho is apparently ALWAYS a huge pain in the ass. Alas.

[jwd5275]

I'll say this--I've never seen a Godzilla film other than the first one and am looking forward to watching these with my kids

And the plus of that is that you'll look like a brilliant father compared to the way that Godzilla treats Minilla!

Destroy All Monsters is probably the 60s equivalent of the recent Avengers films, in that it mashes everything up to that point together in one giant piece of fan service. Plus telepathic space aliens!

Funny, Destroy All Monsters is the only one my kids don't really like because they find the telepathic aliens 'creepy' (not sure how cockroach people are any less creepy.)

On the other hand, they absolutely love Godzilla vs Megalon, which makes sense being that the original Jet Jaguar character was designed by an elementary school student.

[HitchcockLang]

I'll say this--I've never seen a Godzilla film other than the first one and am looking forward to watching these with my kids

Well you and your kids are in for a real treat with All Monsters Attack (it’s a shame the US version, Godzilla’s Revenge, isn’t included as it takes the camp of the original and doubles down on it). You must report back after viewing that one.

[swo17]

Are any of these not good to watch with kids?

[HitchcockLang]

I’d say that depends on your own parental style. They’re all moderately campy giant monster movies. They all feature stylized violence. Some are darker in tone than others but nothing off the top of my head from the Shōwa era is darker in tone than the original but YMMV.

All Monsters Attack is just especially kid-centric and silly enough for an adult to enjoy for different reasons.

[Roscoe]

The first one might be a bit much -- the shots of all those wounded folks might be disturbing, and that little moment where a mother comforts her children, as a building collapses around them, with the words "we'll be with daddy soon" also. It might be the kind of thing that kids skate right past, that adults find upsetting.