Gamera Arrow Limited Edition set

[Crazy Jim Films]

Man, this set looks incredible. Like the kind of set we were lead to believe was "unrealistic" to expect from the Criterion Godzilla one. I really wish Toho had played ball a little more on that one.

[Angilasman]

Man, this set looks incredible. Like the kind of set we were lead to believe was "unrealistic" to expect from the Criterion Godzilla one. I really wish Toho had played ball a little more on that one.

Hell, James Flower himself, the dude at Arrow Video in charge of this set, has said they wouldn't have been able to do more than what Criterion did while dealing with Toho's restrictions.

Maybe if we make this set the most successful Kaiju home video release ever it'll make Toho look bad and make them think twice about the way they play ball. I mean, we can dream right?

[Godzilla21]

Maybe if we make this set the most successful Kaiju home video release ever it'll make Toho look bad and make them think twice about the way they play ball. I mean, we can dream right?

Thanks for the good laugh.

[Crazy Jim Films]

Maybe if we make this set the most successful Kaiju home video release ever it'll make Toho look bad and make them think twice about the way they play ball. I mean, we can dream right?

Doubtful but it's nice to dream.

[Chrispy_G]

Toho can just be stubborn, and they'll also have to be content with low-energy effort.

Gamera appealed more to kids than Godzilla. Gamera got the better Heisei Reboot than Godzilla. Gamera got the better Blu Ray Box Set than Godzilla.

All we need now is for Gamera to get the better modern reboot/US reboot/anime trilogy than Godzilla. None of it would shock me at this rate.

[Ed Glaser]

I know Patrick Macias writes the introductory essay, but who wrote the individual film synopsis in the book?

Also Patrick Macias.

[Joseph Goodman]

Comparisons of the Kaneko trilogy with the Mill Creek discs.

[Godzilla21]

Just ordered mine through Deep Discount. $110 before tax and shipping. Can't wait

[eabaker]

Just ordered mine through Deep Discount. $110 before tax and shipping. Can't wait

Nice! I almost ordered it from them the other day when it was $113, but I'm glad I waited! That's $3.00 saved!

[BlankAccount]

Comparisons of the Kaneko trilogy with the Mill Creek discs.

Hmm, I have mixed feelings, I feel removing the orange from the sky removes the atmosphere a little, I always pictured that fight in the forest with the two Gyaos as being near sunset. Also some of the night scenes are a little too dark.

On the other hand the blue of Legion's Rail Horn attack really stands out, looking arguably better.

[Terasawa]

Theater-sub bootleg VHS, 1996?


ADV VHS, 1997


UK Manga Live DVD, 2002


ADV DVD, 2003


Kadokawa 4K (down-rezzed screenshot from SpaceHunter's Tumblr)


Very interesting that it's so different in Arrow's set. In general, the timing seems pretty "modern" (teal and orange); to be honest, I'm not crazy with how the trilogy looks here but I'm not gonna make a judgment on it until I see it in action on my TV.

[Chrispy_G]

Damn. I had the 2003 ADV DVD...and even THEN I thought those DVDs only looked 'okay'. That is such a massive jump.

I'm not here to argue over what is the most appropriately balanced image, but man oh man do I love the way that 4K restoration looks!

And THAT is a CGI/effects shot we are looking at, circa Japan 1995. No way that shot was scanned and finished at a resolution higher than about 1K, and it still looks damn good.

[BlankAccount]

I just realized the newspaper says January 1997. So Advent of Legion started in 1997 or started late December 1996 and carried over and ended in early 1997. It's been a while since I saw the film, how long does the invasion last? Days? Weeks?

EDIT: Nvm, reading the newspaper says the seeds landed in Japan on January 12th.

[Great Hierophant]

Any chance of a Arrow Showa vs. prior Showa Blu-ray comparison? I'd really love to see some screenshots even though I think the issue of motion will be far superior on the Arrow due to a progressive scan presentation over an interlaced presentation.

[Chrispy_G]

Any chance of a Arrow Showa vs. prior Showa Blu-ray comparison? I'd really love to see some screenshots even though I think the issue of motion will be far superior on the Arrow due to a progressive scan presentation over an interlaced presentation.

I'd also love to see some comparisons between Criterion's Showa Godzilla presentations and Arrow's Showa Gamera presentations from corresponding films/years(65-71)

[Rody]

Very interesting that it's so different in Arrow's set. In general, the timing seems pretty "modern" (teal and orange); to be honest, I'm not crazy with how the trilogy looks here but I'm not gonna make a judgment on it until I see it in action on my TV.

Yeah, I realize my perspective is probably skewed by what I'm used to seeing, but several of those shots actually look like they've lost some color range - trading out greens and purples for blues and higher black levels.
...And that scene at the bridge looks plain weird without the orange/yellow tint.

[Jamie2049]

Those colours are quite surprising in how different they look.
The clarity of the crisp image is beautiful but it definitely looks like they've lost some minor details in some shots by raising the contrast/black levels.
They also look extremely, shockingly blue, like I'm watching Possession! But hey, maybe that's how it was meant to look all along. Or maybe the selected screenshots are very particular.
I doubt I'll notice it when actually watching, and I probably wouldn't have thought the difference was as large if it wasn't pointed out to me.

I agree that I thought the scenes with Gamera on the island were supposed to be taking place at dusk, that change seems the most extreme. On a personal note, the oranges look far nicer, warmer and more pleasant to me than cold, distant, sterile blues, but that's my personal taste. Others may love it!

On a positive, Arrow recently posted the Gamera vs Guiron fight on Twitter and I noticed details on Guiron that I'd never seen before: the scales on the sides of his head and the stripes on his back. The level of detail is fantastic.
Still very excited for this set, it's so comprehensive I almost can't believe it's real. One week can't pass quickly enough!

[Angilasman]

I'm a fan of the warmer color grading in the older masters of Guardian of the Universe, but as I'm keeping my Mill Creek Blu-rays that doesn't impede my desire to see the greater detail in these new masters (as well as all the special features, of course).

[Chrispy_G]

I know I'm being "That guy" right now, but the particular scene in discussion, where Gamera arrives and saves them while they are on the bridge...that one always felt a little TOO "extremely orange" to me.

When I rented the VHS I thought it was just wear/tear on the tape, when I got the DVD, I was shocked that it was still so hardcore on the orange coloring in that sequence.

So for what it is worth, that being a little toned down or evened out in the 4K restoration is a bit of a welcome surprise for me.

I don't LOVE that some of the night/dark scenes seem to lose detail to the shadows and darkness. In some cases it gives it a somewhat more stylish/cinematic look, but I feel like in some cases, I would simply like to see more of the skin/details/elements of the monsters and the suits and etc.

[Space Hunter M]

My 2￠ on this is that while we what we're getting is not necessarily accurate to the established gradings for the Kaneko films, neither are the raw 4Ks, and quite frankly, we were spared the even more questionable changes in those iterations.