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

[Yaanu]

According to Godzilla-Movies.com, not only will there be a WB/Legendary panel at San-Diego Comic-Con on 19 July to discuss upcoming their Monsterverse and the upcoming "Godzilla vs. Kong", but Toho themselves will have a presence on the showfloor with a Godzilla-themed booth.

If Criterion is indeed announcing a Gojira box set, it may be that they're postponing all of their October announcements to drop in tandem with this panel.

[DRW.mov]

Probably more likely that the Godzilla set will be announced independently of the October slate much like the Olympic and Bergman boxes, but this panel looks like the ideal venue.

[HitchcockLang]

So I know it’s confirmed that Criterion has most if not all of the Showa Godzilla films. A question to those who understand rights and relationships better than I: is there ANY chance (even a small one) that Criterion would be able to work out a deal through Toho with Sony and the handful of other stray US rights holders to do a complete Godzilla box with the Heisei and Millenium films as well (and maybe even Shin Godzilla and the Netflix anime trilogy)? It sure would be nice for all the Japanese Godzilla to finally be available under one umbrella in North America. That would be an announcement worth a SDCC announcement. Or is that just totally outside the realm of possibility?

[dwk]

Probably not. Godzilla 1984 is still with Kraken and Godzilla vs. Biollante is still with Miramax. I believe the rest are with Sony, but their rights to a number of them are expiring soon:

GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH (Renewal Date: 2019)
GODZILLA AND MOTHRA (Renewal Date: 2019)
GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA II (Renewal Date: 2023)
GODZILLA VS SPACE GODZILLA (Renewal Date: 2023)
GODZILLA VS DESTOROYAH (Renewal Date: 2023)
REBIRTH OF MOTHRA (Renewal Date: 2023)
REBIRTH OF MOTHRA II (Renewal Date: 2023)
REBIRTH OF MOTHRA III (Renewal Date: 2025)
GODZILLA 2000 (Renewal Date: 2025)
GODZILLA VS MEGAGUIRUS (Renewal Date: 2023)
GMK (Renewal Date: 2023)

[kekid]

Who to blame for the delays? Amazon and Bezos probably with their 2 Prime Days.… Or maybe Criterion is going for a suspenseful drama. When they finally drop the bomb(s) they are hoping the waves would reach Patagonia.

This probably falls in the category of "Why don't they release only what I want?", but the news of the annual box-set being Godzilla has created a wave of massive disappointment in me. I am sure there are many ardent fans of Godzilla, and I am happy for them. But I would not have dreamed a month ago that in preference to box sets of Kiarostami, Kurosawa, Ray, Chaplin, Ozu, and some others, Criterion would choose Godzilla. Not since the Complete Zatoichi box have I felt so let down. Godzilla following Bergman has the feeling of Trump following Obama. My advanced apologies to all those that this would offend (both on behalf of Godzilla and on behalf of Trump). If this is the wave that is causing the delay...what can I say?

[domino harvey]

I mean, I felt similarly unenthused about the Olympics set on the other side of the Bergman set too. I have no interest in a Godzilla box either, but I’m sure it will make a ton of money and allow future Bergman-type ventures, so try to look on the bright side

[Big Ben]

Godzilla films, regardless of uh, quality do have a cultural significance. While said significance on a broad scale is debatable I'm quite certain the notion that this set will sell is not lost on Criterion. If it sells well it means we can get more things in the future that while have great artistic merit do not have the same broad commercial appeal. I happen to love Godzilla and will have no issues picking this up. No it's not Ozu or Naruse but I'd be lying to myself if I said I didn't derive some amusement from watching grown men in monster suits beat the shit out of each other.

[Graphist]

I hear you, Kekid, but I’ll have to agree with Domino on this. For the company to stay in business they realized they needed to widen their selections to be able to bring in more money so they could keep doing what they love to do — preserve and release the real and true gems. I hope I don’t sound ignorant, but when they announced the Police Stories I wasn’t jumping from joy myself but I suspected Chan would sell and sell well. (Which reminds me, the other day when as I was paying for my copies of the BRD and Grey Gardens, the B&N cashier, a guy in his 30-40s, thought he would share his excitement of purchasing the Police Story set with me.)

When they announced the Olympic set I knew I wasn’t going to order it. But several months later I did and now I am happy I did.

We’ll have to wait and see what the whole Godzilla boxset is all about and what extras they would be including.

[Brian C]

I think it's funny that releases like the Godzilla set are assumed to be Criterion just doing what they have to do to pay the bills, as if the films occupy such a low place in culture that they have to be rationalized somehow.

[Luke M]

I think this movie is bad so Criterion must've released it so they can release something I like.

[domino harvey]

I think it's funny that releases like the Godzilla set are assumed to be Criterion just doing what they have to do to pay the bills, as if the films occupy such a low place in culture that they have to be rationalized somehow.

There’s a difference between people acknowledging a set will sell and saying it has “a low place in culture”— no one here has been disrespectful

[Brian C]

There’s a difference between people acknowledging a set will sell and saying it has “a low place in culture”— no one here has been disrespectful

I think my paraphrase was more than fair considering that one poster specifically made an analogy between the Godzilla set and Trump and another contrasted it to the "real and true gems."

But I'm not worked up over this. I just think it's amusing that people have such a hard time accepting that Criterion releases a wide range of films probably because they like them and not because they're whoring themselves out for sales. We go through this every time Criterion releases a popular film that doesn't fit a narrow arthouse/canon mold.

[Graphist]

I am not discounting the Godzilla box set yet or the whole genre for that matter but pretending to think men in hot and heavy rubber suits hitting each other for my amusement should be considered as highly as films of Tarkovsky, Bergman or Ozu that I would never do.

[dwk]

Don't forget that Criterion had plans to release a number of these Godzilla titles on laserdisc. Someone there is a fan.

I'd never assume that any foreign film released by any label is a money grab. I've heard a number of people that run labels mention that it is really hard to get genre fans to buy foreign films. So, while Godzilla has a loyal fanbase, it wouldn't surprise me if the Bergman set ends up being the bigger moneymaker of the two. (Especially when you factor in that the Bergman set is region free, while Godzilla will no doubt be region locked.)

[Brian C]

I am not discounting the Godzilla box set yet or the whole genre for that matter but pretending to think men in hot and heavy rubber suits hitting each other for my amusement should be considered as highly as films of Tarkovsky, Bergman or Ozu that I would never do.

I mean, it kind of sounds like you're discounting the genre. But obviously I am forced to respect your ever-so-refined taste in canonical directors.

[Big Ben]

I think it's funny that releases like the Godzilla set are assumed to be Criterion just doing what they have to do to pay the bills, as if the films occupy such a low place in culture that they have to be rationalized somehow.

That's not precisely what I mean, if you were at all referring to me. Godzilla certainly isn't Ozu nor is he Tarkovsky but to deny that his films wouldn't sell better than both of those men is quite silly in my opinion. I think it would also be foolish to deny that there are drastic differences in structure, plot and style. Ozu and Tarkovsky were of course, meticulous and a film like Godzilla vs. Megalon was shot in something like three weeks. I absolutely do not believe that Godzilla belongs in a low place in culture but rather that these films appeal to a much broader (Although occasionally overlapping group of people.) audience. It would be absolutely mental to deny that Godzilla is a pop culture icon much in the same way John Hughes' films are. No, Godzilla fighting a giant sea lobster isn't the same as Tarkovsky meditating on the nature of existence but I really don't want every film in the collection to be the latter. But I also very much don't want it to just be the former either.

[soundchaser]

I like the implication in the above post that Godzilla is his own auteur.

[domino harvey]

Why won't he destroy only the cities I want?

[Brianruns10]

Between the Godzilla films and his Kurosawa appearances, surely this would make Takashi Shimura the actor with the most films in the collection, wouldn't you think?

[Big Ben]

I like the implication in the above post that Godzilla is his own auteur.

Correct. He has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to acknowledge his cinematic contributions and auteurship.

[Yaanu]

Personally I don't mind a Godzilla box set, but I'd rather that it be treated as a standalone release like the Bergman box set or AK100 box set or the Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films box set, rather than a full spine release.

[movielocke]

There’s a difference between people acknowledging a set will sell and saying it has “a low place in culture”— no one here has been disrespectful

I think my paraphrase was more than fair considering that one poster specifically made an analogy between the Godzilla set and Trump and another contrasted it to the "real and true gems."

But I'm not worked up over this. I just think it's amusing that people have such a hard time accepting that Criterion releases a wide range of films probably because they like them and not because they're whoring themselves out for sales. We go through this every time Criterion releases a popular film that doesn't fit a narrow arthouse/canon mold.

True, in the podcast, they talk about seventies disaster movies (the question prompts with terrible titles, and Kline counters with towering inferno and Poseidon adventure and that they’ve discussed it internally and would jump at the chance to do one—which leads to an off the cuff musing that Kline would love to see their edition of the rock upgrades to Blu-ray)

I watched the next three Showa films on filmstruck and they were all pretty terrible, but it was fun watching them, and I’ll probably buy the set (and sell it after watching everything else). These are fun films, like the two police story films, and it’s a nice change from de rigeour dour/ depressing that many folks seems to represent “real” film arts.

[whaleallright]

Personally I don't mind a Godzilla box set, but I'd rather that it be treated as a standalone release like the Bergman box set or AK100 box set or the Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films box set, rather than a full spine release.

Imagine: the world is melting and you care about this.

[soundchaser]

Imagine: the world is melting and you care about this.

I’m not sure anyone posting regularly on this forum has a right to define when caring about the minutia gets ridiculous.

EDIT: Unless it’s to dunk on the Blu-Ray.com forums.

[DeprongMori]

Shouldn’t the title of this thread really be Godzilla vs. Megaset?