Hopefully this GODZILLA-themed message posting will translate (with continued member support) into an ongoing discussion-notification of future DVD and Blu-ray releases of this classic Japan-based Toho produced Kaiju film series. Three previous GODZILLA DVD releases through Columbia-Tristar Pictures Home Entertainment (or the Sony Corporation) SON OF GODZILLA (1967), GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER aka GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH (1971) and GODZILLA VS. GIGAN aka GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND (1972) are all now out-of-print. Surely they will be made available again some time in the near future...right?! I honestly don't know how I missed out on all three but they had fantastic packaging design illustrations and if they were anything like the GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER (1966) DVD release the video transfer quality must have been superb. Further the recently released DESTROY ALL MONSTER (1969) Blu-ray edition has also been withdrawn. What happened there? I (fortunately) have this but I am still curious why it (apparently) disappeared so suddenly and is no longer available. Let's keep this discussion thread going strong as an important and ready source of information on all GODZILLA DVD releases! Jeff T.
Come back in a year, when the next US GODZILLA should spur interest in its predecessors. (Those DVDs are nice.) There are apparently some beautiful Blus of classic kaiju available from Japan but they're expensive and unsubtitled.
I'm almost embarassed to say I picke dup practially all of the r1 Godzilla releases when they were on sale for $5.95 at DeepDiscount years ago! The current asking prices are...high... The Hong Kong release of Godzilla 85 is fair. Unfortunately if you have the Eng-rish language track, you get unremovable Cantonese subs, but at least the film is uncut and OAR.
There is nothing to be embarrassed about you are a (very) smart shopper. I wish I'd taken advantage of the opportunity when it was available. I must have been focussed on the more "important" films in the series ie. GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER aka GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1959), GODZILLA VS. THE THING aka GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (1964), GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1965), MONSTER ZERO aka GODZILLA VS. MONSTER ZERO (1966), GODZILLA VS. EBIRAH (1966) all of which I really wanted right-off-the-bat. But surely it is time to make all of these available on Blu-ray for the Sixtieth Anniversary a year from now (as has been suggested)! No sense lamenting over spilt milk. Let's hope that the ones I missed (and anyone else for that matter) are made available again (albeit I don't think that the packaging design artwork will be as nice as the Columbia-Tristar Pictures editions). GODZILLA 1985 (1984) is on my want list too! Jeff T.
No need for shame. I decided that after carefully curating my G's for quality I needed them all, and scooped up the 70s entries when the getting was good. At the very least I would expect all of these to be reissued next year. Note that a R3 DVD of THE RETURN OF GODZILLA, minus Burr, and those Japanese Blus (Region A) are available from YesAsia.com.
I presume, since we're having this conversation, that most here were aware of the slip up at Media Blasters on the Godzilla vs Megalon release? Seems they released their standard bare bones edition as a result of their snafu with Toho on DAM. They always had a special edition in the can but couldn't get release authorization. Then, magically, a month after the initial street date the special edition discs start showing up completely unmarked. There was no way from either the packaging or the disc ID to determine if you got a "good" one, it was simply pot luck. For those who are interested, the differences are an audio commentary, interview with one of the fx crew men, and a special 40 minute trailer mash-up of almost every R1 kaiju trailer spliced together. The last piece is actually an easter egg off of one of the menus.
The story going around was that Media Blasters didn't wait for final approval from Toho on all their extras before they released DAM. As a result, Toho wouldn't allow additional printings on that title and would only approve a bare-bones Megalon. As a result, DAM prices are through the roof since supply dried up and the Megalon special edition is unlikely to ever officially appear. The fact that Media Blasters had the Megalon special edition accidentally get out would lead one to believe that Toho is probably fed up with them at this point. The notorious Toho slow approval process is the same reason why the commentary was left off of the Biolante disc that just came out.
Toho is run by idiots. People should be fed up with Toho. It is sad that properties like this are held by idiots. I think that Media Blasters has put out some good stuff and Toho is at fault here. The sad thing is that because Toho decides to have a temper tantrum that consumers are the ones that are hurt.
I managed to get a hold of ALL the commercially released DVDs when they got released -- the Sonys, DAM, and GODZILLA VS MEGALON (with the exras). For MEGALON, I took the advice of what I'd read online and high-tailed it over to my local FYE store, where I took the chance of re-buying it, and I lucked out and got the Extras Version. Yeah, Toho is ridiculous. I love Godzilla movies,, but let's face it -- those guys act like they own CITIZEN KANE or something. They keep these films under lock and key and get all intense about them, and it's so overdone and rather funny. But their attitude makes me laugh and smile that I managed to get a hold of their fiercely withdrawn DVDs like DESTROY ALL MONSTERS and MEGALON, both with all their "bonus" features intact -- take THAT, Toho!
I too have all of the releases; I elected to buy the Australian editions of Megalon, Destroy All Monsters and vs Mothra: Battle for Earth as they are superior to their r1 counterparts. The majority of r1 Megalon releases were PD quality, and at the time DAM was the poor ADV effort If you are missing the Godzilla films, then a lot of them are available in Australia, including three boxsets, the Heisei and Showa 1/Showa 2
I posted this over at Blu-ray.com months ago, and figured some here may be interested:
For any people here who care about original Japanese language tracks on their Godzilla films, along with accurate English subtitles, I have created a list below of which are the best releases. Although most of the Godzilla films are now available somewhere with the original Japanese and English subs, often these subs are the dreaded dubtitles. The term is self explanatory, this is simply when the subs on the disc are made to accompany the English dub track, leaving the Japanese dialogue unintelligible to us many non-Japanese speaking fans. I have identified when a disc has subtitles or dubtitles: GODZILLA - Criterion/Classic Media, accurate subs GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN - Classic Media, accurate subs KING KONG VS. GODZILLA - No official release features the original language track accompanied by English subtitles MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA - Classic Media, accurate subs GHIDORAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER - Classic Media, accurate subs INVASION OF ASTRO MONSTER - Classic Media, accurate subs EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP - Sony/Madman, dubtitles SON OF GODZILLA - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, dubtitles DESTROY ALL MONSTERS - Madman, accurate subs. Media Blasters, unsure? ALL MONSTERS ATTACK - Classic Media, accurate subs GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH - Sony/Madman, accurate subs GODZILLA VS. GIGAN - Sony/Madman, dubtitles GODZILLA VS MEGALON - Sony/Madman, dubtitles. Media Blasters, unsure? GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA - Sony/Madman, dubtitles. TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA - Classic Media, accurate subs THE RETURN OF GODZILLA - No official release features the original language track accompanied by English subtitles GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE - Echo Bridge Blu-ray, accurate subs GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, unsure? GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, unsure? GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA 2 - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, dubtitles. GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA - Madman, dubtitles. Sony, no original language track. GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, unsure? GODZILLA 2000 - No official release features the original language track accompanied by English subtitles GODZILLA VS. MEGAGUIRUS - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, dubtitles. GMK: GIANT MONSTERS ALL OUT ATTACK - Madman, accurate subs. Sony, unsure? GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA - Sony/Madman, accurate subs GODZILLA TOKYO S.O.S -Sony/Madman, dubtitles GODZILLA FINAL WARS - Sony/Madman, accurate subs Blue = accurate subs Orange = dubtitles Red = no original track
This Godzilla-themed discussion thread has turned out just fine. If we can continue to consolidate our participation-contribution-interest than it can well prove to be a useful (and handy) instrument for determining what was, what is and what (possibly) will be in the classic (and ongoing) Kaiju film series . My personal thanks to all! I would like to see the Japanese version of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1963) made available in a quality DVD or Blu-ray release. It is surprising that a vastly improved upon state-of-the-art remake was never attempted (likely to due copyright issues). Jeff T.