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Post by The Curmudgeon on Oct 17, 2011 2:58:25 GMT 2
The good people at Criterion (a series designed to commemorate truly unique and groundbreaking pieces of cinema) are re-releasing Gojira, the original Japanese version of the classic movie, to Blu Ray. As is now expected from Criterion releases, it comes packed with extra features; Beyond the best transfer of Godzilla to disc yet, the Criterion version will include the following extras: *New high-definition digital restoration (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition) *Audio commentary by David Kalat (A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series) * New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, starring Raymond Burr * Audio commentary for Godzilla, King of the Monsters by Kalat * New interviews with actor Akira Takarada (Hideto Ogata), Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai * Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira I[frick]ube * Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects * New interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato * The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo [frick]uryu maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla * Theatrical trailers * New and improved English subtitle translation * PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman And check out that artwork.  OK, I would have preferred "Gojira" as well, but fuck it. This is a MUST BUY. |
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Post by trashcanman on Oct 17, 2011 10:34:23 GMT 2
Not too much that isn't equaled by the current release aside from Criterion's legendary quality, but that fucking blu-ray cover needs to be a shirt on my body NOW! Did you seriously replace every Japanese name with the consecutive letters F-U-K with [frick] or was that that copied and pasted, because what the Ifukuba?!
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Post by Benjamin Haines on Oct 18, 2011 6:29:30 GMT 2
The 2-disc DVD by Classic Media on the market right now is great but this Criterion release is going to blow it out of the water. Godzilla has badly needed a full restoration for years now, as even Toho's Japanese DVD featured a transfer riddled with as much print damage as you'd expect for a film made in 1954. Toho finally did their own restoration in 2008 and released it on blu-ray in Japan but Criterion have a history of outdoing Toho with their own titles. Toho was purportedly embarrassed when Criterion's first release of Seven Samurai in the late '90s looked noticeably cleaner than their own DVD. Criterion got their hands on a film interpositive from Toho earlier this year and restored it themselves, so this is likely going to be the best Godzilla has ever looked. My only real gripe with the 2006 Classic Media DVD is the subtitles. The font is too scrunched together, so the letters "lo" or "ol" together often look like "b" or "d" and the yellow color looks atrocious on the black and white film (I always turn the color down on my TV when I watch it). Criterion are pros when it comes to subtitling foreign language films so that will be a relief to me. Toho's Japanese DVD of Godzilla had an interview with Akira Ifukube. I hope that's the same interview Criterion have included on their upcoming release, as that feature was around 40 minutes long but didn't have English subtitles. On October 25, Media Blasters - the same company that have released The Mysterians, Matango, Atragon and a number of other Toho classics on North American DVD - will be giving Destroy All Monsters the deluxe DVD and blu-ray treatment. They just revealed the cover art on Facebook earlier today.  The extras were announced in August on SciFi Japan: Godzilla vs. Megalon will get the same kind of release from Media Blasters on November 22. |
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Post by trashcanman on Oct 18, 2011 20:08:39 GMT 2
I need that Destroy All Monsters set. I wonder what Criterion's secret to restoring films is. Their releases are always worth looking into. They typically represent very well for underrated cult classics of cinema which makes them a great friend to me.
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Oct 20, 2011 12:01:40 GMT 2
I was all about Criterion a few years back, even if getting the discs themselves can be a pretty costly task. Then they released .. Armageddon? Man Bites Dog? Yes. M? Yes. Chasing Amy? Fuck no. But that bloated piece of Hollywood horseshit? Really?
For once, I just wish some company would release a legit series of ALL the Godzilla movies. One every four months or something. Nice artwork, nice selection of extras, nice transfer, subtitled version... is that really too much to ask?
Back in the VHS days, Toho released a series of videos with similar artwork (the outline of Godzilla on the front, a different colour for every movie) and I bought every one of them. I would love someone to attempt that on DVD now.
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Post by trashcanman on Oct 20, 2011 20:29:06 GMT 2
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Oct 20, 2011 21:29:02 GMT 2
No, no, no. Armageddon was bloated Hollywood bullshit. Chasing Amy was just.. average, in my opinion. I didn't hate it, but it just did nothing for me, and certainly doesn't deserve a Criterion disc. The main gripe in the movie for me was the extremely unlikable Amy. Why would you fall in love with THAT hateful bitch?
Granted, the racist Star Wars bit is genius, I just didn't care for anyone else in the movie at all.
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Post by trashcanman on Oct 20, 2011 23:31:31 GMT 2
I would agree that it isn't Criterion-worthy, but it's a film that I've grown to appreciate over multiple viewings. I actually really liked Alyssa, it was Affleck's character that irked me. But seriously, think of every romantic comedy you've ever seen. Chasing Amy fucking clobbers them all. Funny, nasty, adult, heartfelt, geeky, and with a real message behind it. None of that Hollywood fluff. Frankly, I find it's a better representation of a real relationship than almost any other movie claiming to be "romantic". It's not my favorite Kevin Smith film by any stretch, but for that genre, it's a monster that stands all on it's own. While I'm carrying on about it, I may as well post a link to my review: www.amazon.com/review/R11H6DHWGUM3H7/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_alt_1 |
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Post by The Curmudgeon on Oct 20, 2011 23:57:19 GMT 2
Great review. I thought you'd binned Amazon? Are you back to reviewing stuff on there? It's been a while since I've seen it (like, years) so I don't remember much about Ben's character, all I remember is thinking "why would anyone go to so much trouble for this annoying broad?"
I think I need to be in a certain frame of mind to watch those Kevin Smith movies. That whole "what I'm saying is SO witty and so literary that no human being could ever say this sort of stuff off the cuff and in everyday conversation" conversational style he has in his movies, where it's so OBVIOUSLY fucking written, annoys me sometimes. It's the same with a lot of movies in the 90s - think Trainspotting and, of course, Tarantino.
As for romantic movies, I think one that doesn't get a lot of credit and is actually far more involving, real and moving than any of the usual rom-com shit is Garden State. I LOVE that film, and Natalie Portman's character - now THERE is a girl you could fall in love with. And not just because she looks like Natalie Portman, either.
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Post by trashcanman on Oct 21, 2011 2:29:55 GMT 2
Haven't seen Garden State, but if Portman is in it I'm interested. Girl knows how to pick her roles. A lot of people say that about dialogue in QT and Smith's films, and they aren't wrong, but I find that style highly entertaining. It's more like a cooler version of life as opposed to the stark, awkward, doofy conversations and monologues we usually end up having. One thing I learned while doing video reviews is that I am astoundingly lame to listen to. Wish Smith directed my life. That is an old review I did on Amazon a couple of years ago. I still review on The Vine so I can get free stuff, but on the whole I;m semi-retired from reviewing full-time.
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Post by Benjamin Haines on Oct 23, 2011 7:50:52 GMT 2
For once, I just wish some company would release a legit series of ALL the Godzilla movies. One every four months or something. Nice artwork, nice selection of extras, nice transfer, subtitled version... is that really too much to ask? Back in the VHS days, Toho released a series of videos with similar artwork (the outline of Godzilla on the front, a different colour for every movie) and I bought every one of them. I would love someone to attempt that on DVD now. It would be great if one company like Criterion could swoop in and release the entire Godzilla series. It'll never happen, but the majority of the films have gotten subtitled, widescreen treatment from the likes of Sony, Classic Media and now Media Blasters and Criterion. Of the original 15-film series (1954-1975), King Kong vs. Godzilla will soon be the only entry to not have such a release (the current Universal DVD is the American version alone). GodzillaGodzilla Raids AgainMothra vs. GodzillaGhidorah the Three-Headed MonsterMonster ZeroGodzilla vs. the Sea MonsterSon of GodzillaDestroy All MonstersGodzilla's RevengeGodzilla vs. HedorahGodzilla vs. GiganGodzilla vs. MegalonGodzilla vs. MechagodzillaTerror of Mechagodzilla |
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