Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

[mwbworld]

When I got to check my set - of course a few were flowing down into the clue. I think I cleaned them up enough. And ordered a 8 disk case on Amazon (one review said great for putting your Criterion Showa disks in - so I call that a win) and for now put them in a DVD travel case I have.

Ultimately I'll have to print some sort of cover. And the original case/book is filed with my books.

[JAGzilla]

My set still looks fine. I laid it down flat to be safe, and I guess I'll have to get an eight-disk case at some point, too. It kind of works out; I wanted to keep them on the same shelf as the rest of my collection, anyway.

[Rody]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... count=5029

Please tell me where you got these. I literally found out earlier this week my discs were starting to slide and I didn’t even know where to begin figuring out a solution.

Search Amazon, eBay, etc. for "cd hub center". The specific item listing I bought on Amazon doesn't exist anymore (I've had these for awhile).

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... count=5028

Much better solution: New 4 Viva Elite 15mm Blu-ray Replacement Case Hold 4 Discs (4 Tray) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF5KN3M

Regrettably, "CD hub center" doesn't really bring up anything remotely correct on either Amazon or eBay. Different key words might be needed, if the product still even exists to be found.

I'm currently looking to see if I can find any blu-ray cases that match the Criterion design. There exists some nice custom art for the set, but it's specifically for one type of case:
https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/comm ... 75_custom/
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... tcount=670

Spoiler:

What You’ll Need:

· Printer (laser or inkjet, but for this, I recommend laser for the finest quality and easiest handling).
· 8.5” x 14” US Legal paper, either 28 or 30lb varieties with a brightness of at least 100.
· Two Scanavo 4-Disc Clear Blu-ray cases with 22mm spine.
· Straight edge cutting tool.

How To:

Print the covers onto the legal paper. Ensure that they are printing to 16.1” (or 100.8%) in size. These always print better when I’m printing from Photoshop. Printing elsewhere can be a crap shoot, but “Actual Size” should get it out looking nearly the right size (if just a tiny bit on the small side).

Printing the flip side image onto the appropriate cover can be tricky and is really dependant on your printer. In many cases, merely flipping the printed cover over and printing the flip-side (at the 16.1”, 100.8% size) should work. It could be trial and error for you. I can’t really recommended this for those using Inkjet printers.

Cut edges perfectly along colored area. If you printed using a laser printer, can do this right after printing! If you printed using Inkjet, let the page dry for five or so minutes (there’s a lot of color!) before handling and cutting. And even then, be weary of smudging and fringerprints.

Slide the cover into the case. The spine should align perfectly with your other Criterion editions and the top and bottom edges should be flush with the plastic sleeve of the case. If you printed using a laser printer, you can do this step immediately! If you printed with Inkjet, I would give the page a few more minutes to dry before sliding into the sleeve.

You’re done! Now, we wait….

[omgitsgodzilla]

4-disc Criterion-style case: https://www.casetopia.com/Scanavo_4_Dis ... mm.krt.htm

This site has a "Criterion" category, but these don't show up in it for some reason; I'm guessing because they're thicker than regulation Criterion cases.

Searching "adhesive CD hub" on eBay returns all kinds of options for securing the discs inside the existing packaging.

[tbeasley]

And ordered a 8 disk case on Amazon (one review said great for putting your Criterion Showa disks in - so I call that a win)

This one?

[tbeasley]

Matt Frank has his artwork with case on sale again -
https://twitter.com/spankzilla85/status ... 4398066689

[airforce111]

i remember when this came out, i just ripped all the discs (because toho heavy DNRd godzilla 74 for some reason and it looked like trash, looks like criterion got the encode before that happened), then resold the entire thing the very next day only for a $20 loss. ive always hated the box, and it looks like with good reason now that this happened. really terrible coordination here for criterion. besides the physical product, i never liked the art either, it should've been like the vinyl set where there is 1 cohesive artist that represents each era. thats enough of my rant. All i'll say its actually a good price but given the quality its something i would not even buy for that pricepoint again. what a waste!

[Rody]

4-disc Criterion-style case: https://www.casetopia.com/Scanavo_4_Dis ... mm.krt.htm

This site has a "Criterion" category, but these don't show up in it for some reason; I'm guessing because they're thicker than regulation Criterion cases.

Searching "adhesive CD hub" on eBay returns all kinds of options for securing the discs inside the existing packaging.

Beautiful, thank you. Sometimes I just don't know how/where to look for certain things.

Besides the physical product, i never liked the art either, it should've been like the vinyl set where there is 1 cohesive artist that represents each era. that's enough of my rant. All I'll say its actually a good price but given the quality its something I would not even buy for that price point again. what a waste!

While I do think the set's artwork can be very hit or miss, I appreciate the variety of artists commissioned; and in a way, I think it's actually pretty appropriate, considering this era wasn't exactly a "cohesive set" in the first place.
The set definitely needed more proofing, though. Besides some of the art just looking rather crude or cheap, these issues with case construction certainly shouldn't be happening for what is meant to be a premium set. The fact that no one seems to be having these problems with Arrow's Gamera set really suggests someone at Criterion wasn't doing due diligence.

I wonder: is it at all possible that the "Spine 1000" marketing could have added to the problems? I certainly don't know anything about Criterion's production process, nor do I know how far ahead they were planning this set; but I just wonder if having a deadline for the spine number may have resulted in certain details getting a little rushed.

[mwbworld]

And ordered a 8 disk case on Amazon (one review said great for putting your Criterion Showa disks in - so I call that a win)

This one?

Yup - that one! It arrives this week so we'll see.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Well, the glue had a good run, but disc 1 of my set is starting to slip just a little. No glue on it or anything, but it's sitting a little low and clearly not hitting a hard boundary at the bottom of the sleeve. Ordered some of those adhesive disc hubs.

[misfitsfan83]

I never wanted to risk it. I just put the discs in jewel cases the moment I got my box set.

[LegendZilla]

One day, Criterion needs to license Toho's other non-Godzilla kaiju films.

[Mac Daddy MM]

One day, Criterion needs to license Toho's other non-Godzilla kaiju films.

I'd much rather them not and instead let a MUCH better company handle such releases. You know, like Arrow or Shout! The Criterion set is the biggest, Godzilla-related letdown of the 2010's, IMO.

[UltramanGoji]

It's not Criterion's fault the set turned out the way it was so much as it was Toho's. Arrow and Shout would give you pretty much the exact same results.

[Mac Daddy MM]

It's not Criterion's fault the set turned out the way it was so much as it was Toho's. Arrow and Shout would give you pretty much the exact same results.

Explain why Kraken's BR releases for Godzilla vs. Gigan, The Sea Monster and Hedorah were better. And also explain why the art for the Criterion set is halfassed except for like 4.

[UltramanGoji]

Explain why Kraken's BR releases for Godzilla vs. Gigan, The Sea Monster and Hedorah were better.

Because those were made under the tutelage of a different Toho with a different ideology towards international home media releases. The Toho of 2014/2016 isn't the Toho of 2019/today. Today's Toho is focusing on consolidating the different transfers of the films, the different dubs, the different special features all under one roof. Toho in the past was fine with distributors making their own adjustments and commissioning their own special features and featuring versions of the films made outside of Japan. Now, they want those distributors to use Toho-owned transfers, Toho-owned dubs, Toho-owned special features for a multitude of reasons, most notably to prevent importing into Japan (which has notoriously expensive home media releases making importing from America much cheaper) and to prevent legal issues (older English versions like Godzilla vs. The Thing are not 100% Toho owned, for example). You can even see this start to happen with Kraken's last Godzilla release in The Return of Godzilla. The disc uses the Hi-Vision transfer found on the Japanese Blu-ray and the only English language option is the Toho-owned "International" dub with Godzilla 1985 being left off due to music rights issues.

As for why Toho changed their ways, it's likely to do with Godzilla's increasing Western popularity following Godzilla 2014's success. Toho began to personally handle almost all of the Western Godzilla merchandise, events, and what-not once the brand became re-established in modern popular culture. They have booths at licensing expos, they offer more Godzilla-related products than probably ever released in the West before, and the films are even available to license and dub in foreign languages direct from Toho themselves. Before 2014, Godzilla was decidedly more niche than ever and companies interested in the films were likely allotted way more leeway with their home media releases due to the small market for it.

Basically: Before 2014, Godzilla wasn't very popular and Toho didn't really care. Now that Godzilla is way more popular, Toho wants to maintain more direct control over their films.

And also explain why the art for the Criterion set is halfassed except for like 4.

Alright, well that one's obviously on Criterion but packaging art isn't exactly on my priority list regarding someone else handling the franchise.

[Legion1979]

It's not Criterion's fault the set turned out the way it was so much as it was Toho's. Arrow and Shout would give you pretty much the exact same results.

Explain why Kraken's BR releases for Godzilla vs. Gigan, The Sea Monster and Hedorah were better. And also explain why the art for the Criterion set is halfassed except for like 4.

Studios have to use whatever Toho gave them. And clearly in 2014 Toho had no problem giving them what Sony used a decade early. Something definitely changed between then and Criterion's release. But the masters used are always going to be up to Toho. Criterion can't call any shots on those.

As for the artwork, what matters are the movies and how they're presented. I didn't find the artwork as bad as most did.

The long and short of it is, no matter what company we're talking about, they're going to have to deal with Toho, and Toho is hell bent on erasing American versions/dubs and dealing out subpar masters.

Sucks, but if Criterion can't do it, no one else can. Toho gonna Toho.

[canofhumdingers]

It's not Criterion's fault the set turned out the way it was so much as it was Toho's. Arrow and Shout would give you pretty much the exact same results.

Explain why Kraken's BR releases for Godzilla vs. Gigan, The Sea Monster and Hedorah were better. And also explain why the art for the Criterion set is halfassed except for like 4.

Well, with regard to the transfers at least, I believe this is the correct situation: Kraken licensed the films through Sony, who had transferred their own film elements independent of Toho. Criterion dealt directly with Toho (Sony’s rights has reverted to toho by this point I believe) and has to use the material provided to them by Toho. It seems likely (though I have no proof) that Toho does not have copies of the transfers Sony made.

Doesn’t make it better. But it at least explains why the Kraken discs feature superior transfers.

[Mac Daddy MM]

Basically: Before 2014, Godzilla wasn't very popular and Toho didn't really care. Now that Godzilla is way more popular, Toho wants to maintain more direct control over their films.

The long and short of it is, no matter what company we're talking about, they're going to have to deal with Toho, and Toho is hell bent on erasing American versions/dubs and dealing out subpar masters.

Sucks, but if Criterion can't do it, no one else can. Toho gonna Toho.

And, at this point, I can't understand why anyone would WANT to support these kinds of releases. What happened with the Criterion set is a damn disgrace. I'd rather have single disk releases over a set if even just allows the dubs/international versions.

As for the art of the set, while artwork doesn't MAKE the release, it surely helps it. Or, in this case, hurts it. Nevermind the dumb design that is now falling apart on shelves (got mine laying down flat now). The sheer ignorance of both Criterion and the artists behind the release. Plastering Heisei Godzilla on the cover, mixing up designs (02 Goji and Heisei Mothra on MvG, Heisei Rodan on GvMZ)... To just outright BAD (Godzilla vs. Megalon) art.

The arguments as to why this set fell flat as bad as it did would be much easier to take if Criterion itself didn't approve the train wreck that is the packaging and artwork that goes with it.

You might me right. Maybe Arrow or Shout! would have been the same, release wise, as this set. But at least the art and packaging would have been a ton better.

Also, I don't want to be *THIS* guy... But this wouldn't be the first time a company blames Toho for the shortcomings of a release. Just look at how many times NECA blamed Toho and it turned out to be 100% wrong.

[UltramanGoji]

I really genuinely do not care about the art of this release because the book currently sits in a drawer under my TV and the discs are on my shelf in a standard 8-disc case with custom artwork by Matt Frank. The only positive that another company would've had in this area is providing original poster art reversibles, if they put it out in a standard case. Like...really, the art on the box is the last thing on my mind when watching movies. The spine is the only visible part for 90% of its lifetime. It's not a big deal to me and it certainly isn't bad enough to negate all the actual issues with this set.

Also, I don't want to be *THIS* guy... But this wouldn't be the first time a company blames Toho for the shortcomings of a release. Just look at how many times NECA blamed Toho and it turned out to be 100% wrong.

Except Toho's difficulty to work with on home media releases has been prevalent for years now. The Kraken Releasing G84 disc, the Tokyo Shock Destroy All Monsters special edition fiasco, the Echo Bridge Godzilla vs. Biollante commentary ordeal. We even have word direct from Arrow's James Flower that they're hesitant to work with Toho because of how strict they can be (somewhere in this interview, I'm not watching a 40 minute video just to provide examples for a forum post).

NECA's situation differs because another toy company (companies?) eventually proved them wrong. If another home media company can put out a Godzilla/Toho release that doesn't have the same level of restrictions as the Criterion set, then your point will be valid. But as of now, especially with previous situations on the brain, the blame lies entirely on Toho.