The Toho "HD" thread

For the discussion of Toho DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs, streaming services, VHS, and other formats where Toho films and soundtracks can be found.
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o.supreme
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by o.supreme »

I know this would be difficult/near impossible (Obtaining rights to H-Man from Sony, Vapor from MGM Archive, I'm not sure who has Telegian in the U.S., and I don't even know if Invisible Man was ever released in English Speaking markets), but if someone (Criterion?) could work with these companies and Toho to release a version of this set with subs, and English Dubs where available, that would be awesome.

I still don't have the Blu ray of H-Man/BioS that was released a while back, I have the Toho Icons DVD set that includes Mothra.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

Correct, Invisible Man has never seen release in the U.S. And Telegian should have reverted to Toho nearly 50 years ago. Both of those should realistically be available, although I imagine their obscurity (even to Godzilla fans -- the typical target audience of U.S. releases of Toho genre films) is the major reason we haven't seen digital releases of them in the West. I'm not sure that will change any time soon, especially for release with two films that would have to be sublicensed from Sony and MGM.
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Re: "Transforming Human Series" BD (Japan)

Post by tbeasley »

Terasawa wrote: Wed Jul 21, 2021 11:43 am So, uh... Bye-Bye Jupiter coming to Blu-ray via Toho Video, October 20th. Amazon Japan.
Terasawa wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 7:22 am 2-disc Transforming Human Series Blu-ray coming via Toho Video on Nov. 24. The four films are Invisible Man ('54), The H-Man, The Secret of the Telegian, and The Human Vapor -- all but H-Man are hi-def home video debuts.

Predictably, no English audio or subtitles. All films have original mono mixes; The H-Man and The Secret of the Telegian have additional 3-channel mixes (derived from the original Perspecta soundtracks, apparently), while The H-Man and The Human Vapor also have the 5.1 mixes from their previous DVD releases. The only special features detailed in the Amazon listing are audio commentaries (Kenji Sahara on H-Man, Tadao Nakamaru on Telegian and Kaoru Yachigusa on Vapor) and isolated music on Vapor.

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Re: "Transforming Human Series" BD (Japan)

Post by Legion1979 »

tbeasley wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:47 pmSomeone get Arrow Video on the phone.
Why? So Toho can crush their spirit?
Last edited by Legion1979 on Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: "Transforming Human Series" BD (Japan)

Post by John Pannozzi »

Legion1979 wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:34 pm
tbeasley wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:47 pmSomeone get Arrow Video on the phone.
Why? So Toho can crush their spirit?
Arrow already licensed the Bloodthirsty trilogy from Toho, so who knows?
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Great Hierophant »

There are Toho films, and then there are Toho Godzilla films. Dealing with the former is like trying to hang up a poster frame, dealing with the latter is like trying to nail jelly to the wall (or trying to get a film scanned from the UCLA Film and Television Archive)
Last edited by Great Hierophant on Wed Sep 22, 2021 9:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: "Transforming Human Series" BD (Japan)

Post by Terasawa »

tbeasley wrote: Tue Sep 21, 2021 12:47 pm Someone get Arrow Video on the phone.
I'm just going to import from Japan. :shrug:
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by MaxRebo320 »

I'll just wait for a certain bootleg provider to release their version with subtitles. Or ideally, torrents to pop up.

That said, compromised or not, I would love to see The Human Vapor on home video in the US, if only to give that great movie some much-deserved attention. Invisible Avenger (Even if I found the film dull) and Telegian would of course be great to see, too.
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Bloodthirsty Trilogy & Terror in the Streets BD (Japan)

Post by Terasawa »

Next from Toho Video: the Bloodthirsty trilogy and Terror in the Streets. The latter is a home video debut (let alone an HD video debut). Special features include trailers and still galleries for all four films; the Bloodthirsty trilogy have audio commentary tracks.

No English audio or subtitles. Release date: February 16, 2022.

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Last edited by Terasawa on Wed Nov 24, 2021 9:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by mikelcho »

Terasawa wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:32 am Correct, Invisible Man has never seen release in the U.S. And Telegian should have reverted to Toho nearly 50 years ago. Both of those should realistically be available, although I imagine their obscurity (even to Godzilla fans -- the typical target audience of U.S. releases of Toho genre films) is the major reason we haven't seen digital releases of them in the West. I'm not sure that will change any time soon, especially for release with two films that would have to be sublicensed from Sony and MGM.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think I saw on SciFi Japan in the Godzilla - Toho section that Invisible Man was shown in the West at a film festival somewhere, although I can't remember which article had it, even though I did look through all 24 pages. Can someone help me out here and tell me if I'm right or wrong?
Last edited by mikelcho on Wed Nov 24, 2021 9:54 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

mikelcho wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 9:52 am
Terasawa wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:32 am Correct, Invisible Man has never seen release in the U.S. And Telegian should have reverted to Toho nearly 50 years ago. Both of those should realistically be available, although I imagine their obscurity (even to Godzilla fans -- the typical target audience of U.S. releases of Toho genre films) is the major reason we haven't seen digital releases of them in the West. I'm not sure that will change any time soon, especially for release with two films that would have to be sublicensed from Sony and MGM.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think I saw on SciFi Japan in the Godzilla - Toho section that Invisible Man was shown in the West at a film festival somewhere, although I can't remember which article had it, even though I did look through all 24 pages. Can someone help me out here and tell me if I'm right or wrong?
I'm not aware of it having ever been screened in the U.S.

But even if it has, a one-off screening at a film festival is very different than a conventional release.
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Great Hierophant
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Great Hierophant »

Toho's box art for the Bloodthirsty Trilogy and Terror in the Streets Blu-ray looks more like a bootleg than an official Toho release.

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

Great Hierophant wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 8:59 pm Toho's box art for the Bloodthirsty Trilogy and Terror in the Streets Blu-ray looks more like a bootleg than an official Toho release.
Their art on Bye Bye Jupiter and the Mutant Series was pretty lousy, too.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by omgitsgodzilla »

To be honest, most of their Godzilla Blu-ray covers could be bootleg covers. They're not fundamentally that different from the black spine DVDs that had similar covers with generic promo stills, but that blue framing around everything just makes it look so much cheaper.
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by MaxRebo320 »

I'm honestly amazed Terror in the Streets is getting a release. I figured it would forever be trapped in "Unavailable on Home Video" Hell. Here's hoping flicks like Key of Keys and The Killing Bottle will get releases one day. Be interesting to see how Toho's set compares to Arrow's.

But yeah, all of those covers are hideous. The Mutant and Bloodthirsty sets are just bad photoshops, but Sayonara Jupiter uses probably the most unappealing shot ever. Why not just use the iconic image of the Space Arrow in the front of the red planet other home video releases used?
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by Terasawa »

MaxRebo320 wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:07 pm I'm honestly amazed Terror in the Streets is getting a release. I figured it would forever be trapped in "Unavailable on Home Video" Hell. Here's hoping flicks like Key of Keys and The Killing Bottle will get releases one day.
That would be nice. These last two releases have been four films each, so here's hoping they'll up their game and put all five of those films out. (But too bad they probably won't.)
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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by wahoo123 »

Toho will be releasing Akira Kurosawa's 'Ikiru' and 'Stray Dog' on 4K UHD, though neither release will have HDR or English subtitles. Hopefully they let Criterion release these in the U.S. and possibly let them create their own HDR grade.

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

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wahoo123 wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 9:30 am Toho will be releasing Akira Kurosawa's 'Ikiru' and 'Stray Dog' on 4K UHD, though neither release will have HDR or English subtitles. Hopefully they let Criterion release these in the U.S. and possibly let them create their own HDR grade.
Toho have also announced that they will be releasing 'Yojimbo' and 'Sanjuro' in April. Just like the first 2 announced releases, there will be no HDR, no English subs, and no extras.

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by G-MAN »

wahoo123 wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:25 am
wahoo123 wrote: Wed Jan 25, 2023 9:30 am Toho will be releasing Akira Kurosawa's 'Ikiru' and 'Stray Dog' on 4K UHD, though neither release will have HDR or English subtitles. Hopefully they let Criterion release these in the U.S. and possibly let them create their own HDR grade.
Toho have also announced that they will be releasing 'Yojimbo' and 'Sanjuro' in April. Just like the first 2 announced releases, there will be no HDR, no English subs, and no extras.
HDR isn't necessary for movies shot on film. Especially ones that were made long before it was a thing

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Re: The Toho "HD" thread

Post by canofhumdingers »

HDR can absolutely be used for movies shot on film, though it’s really more the wide color gamut part of the hdr spec that makes a difference. Film definitely produces more colors than the standard HD colorspace can. And wide color gamut and High dynamic range, while technically two different things, are generally lumped together for home video.

Now if it’s shot on black and white film…. WCG probably doesn’t matter and HDR (the actual high dynamic range, basically super high contrast ratios) probably doesn’t matter either. Which might explain why the Kurosawa films aren’t receiving an HDR grade…

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