Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

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Great Hierophant
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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Great Hierophant »

How does one obtain a good case for the Criterion Showa Set? I've seen some decent looking clamshell cases in photos posted in this forum thread in the past. I would really like to put the Showa Set's original book on a shelf instead of laying it flat.

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canofhumdingers
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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by canofhumdingers »

I haven’t done it yet myself but you can find plenty of different style Blu ray cases online. Just buy the one(s) you like and then find some case art online or make your own and print it off and slide it into the outer sleeve.

Added in 4 minutes 1 second:
Here’s a post on Bluray.com forums that has the artwork you commonly see online for custom cases. Just print these out and order two 4-disc cases to slide them into.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... tcount=670
Last edited by canofhumdingers on Mon Nov 14, 2022 7:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Angilasman »

Svengoolie is showing the UPA version of War of the Gargantuas right now! It is apparently available to air, and that makes me a tad more optimistic about the future.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Angilasman »

^ Suprised this didn't get more attention. Felt like a pretty big development!

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by canofhumdingers »

People were definitely paying attention. Seems like it was the same video master made for the Classic Media dvd years ago. Apparently it’s a decent transfer but the dvd was poorly encoded?

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Angilasman »

^ It's slightly stretched horizontally is the problem.

Still, better colors and contrast make it more watchable than the Japanese cut on the DVD!

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Legion1979 »

So the podcast Kaiju Transmissions did an interview with GodzillaFest organizer Bob Johnson and the subject of the Criterion set came up. Regarding the lack of dubs on Ebirah, Hedorah or Gigan, apparently Krakken did not want to let Criterion have the dubs for those three films because they didn't want their releases to be redundant.

I figured it was something like that.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by canofhumdingers »

Not surprised. It still kinda sucks. But those three kraken BDs have better transfers than the criterion discs anyway so not a huge deal (for those who have the kraken discs at least).

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by UltramanGoji »

That’s hilarious because the Kraken discs were long out of print by the time the Criterion set was released.
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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Legion1979 »

UltramanGoji wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2023 6:20 pm That’s hilarious because the Kraken discs were long out of print by the time the Criterion set was released.
Pettiness doesn't understand logic.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by JVM »

Legion1979 wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2023 4:30 pm So the podcast Kaiju Transmissions did an interview with GodzillaFest organizer Bob Johnson and the subject of the Criterion set came up. Regarding the lack of dubs on Ebirah, Hedorah or Gigan, apparently Krakken did not want to let Criterion have the dubs for those three films because they didn't want their releases to be redundant.

I figured it was something like that.
I thought everyone was positive it was Toho's own hatred of the dubs and desire to minimize the distribution? Not sarcasm, like, I'd heard that and assumed someone had found some kind of strong evidence and that I had just missed it because I wasn't tuning in much on that channel. The fact it's Kraken's fault is honestly kind of hilarious to me.
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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by canofhumdingers »

I think you’re getting mixed up between the dubs commissioned by other distributors like Continental, AIP, or New World vs the international dubs commissioned by Toho themselves.

There was (and still is) a suspicion that Toho is afraid to release old dubs that they didn’t directly commission themselves out of fear of potential rights issues and/or royalties lawsuits. Apparently royalty payment laws are quite different (and cumbersome) in Japan.

So as far as we know, the odds of ever seeing another official release of dubs like Godzilla vs The Thing, Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster, or Godzilla 1985 are slim to none. But Toho has and does continue to release the international dubs they commissioned and own outright (hence why the dubs for Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla, Terror of MechaGodzilla, and even the international dub for DAM but *not* the AIP dub) made it on the criterion set.

The confusion was over the international dubs of the three kraken titles mentioned above as they fall into the later category of commissioned and owned by Toho (and had been included on the kraken discs). People wondered why some international dubs were okayed while others weren’t. And now we know.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by JVM »

canofhumdingers wrote: Mon Jul 10, 2023 10:52 pm I think you’re getting mixed up between the dubs commissioned by other distributors like Continental, AIP, or New World vs the international dubs commissioned by Toho themselves.

There was (and still is) a suspicion that Toho is afraid to release old dubs that they didn’t directly commission themselves out of fear of potential rights issues and/or royalties lawsuits. Apparently royalty payment laws are quite different (and cumbersome) in Japan.

So as far as we know, the odds of ever seeing another official release of dubs like Godzilla vs The Thing, Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster, or Godzilla 1985 are slim to none. But Toho has and does continue to release the international dubs they commissioned and own outright (hence why the dubs for Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla, Terror of MechaGodzilla, and even the international dub for DAM but *not* the AIP dub) made it on the criterion set.

The confusion was over the international dubs of the three kraken titles mentioned above as they fall into the later category of commissioned and owned by Toho (and had been included on the kraken discs). People wondered why some international dubs were okayed while others weren’t. And now we know.
Nah, I'm not mixed up, but I appreciate the refresher nonetheless as you did give me some new information here, especially the royalty information mention as I hadn't been sure that was a factor. There are people out there who feel Toho has the right to release these alternate cuts and is intentionally suppressing them.

I recall someone (it may not have been on TK, though I believe it was) suggesting that the lack of certain international dubs on this release was an escalation of Toho's treatment of the outside-commissioned dubs towards the international versions, a sign of their own antipathy towards even their own dubs, and that Toho felt only their original Japanese cuts of the film were the only valid versions and likely intended to eventually suppress the dubs entirely aside from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. I do know someone chimed in to mention how much that thinking would limit their audience, but it stuck out to me quite a bit.
I used to be a lot more optimistic and outgoing, believe it or not. I used to actually be passionate about this stuff.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by UltramanGoji »

The dubs on Kraken’s discs are Toho’s own “International” ones they commissioned themselves, the same type of dubs available on a few of the other Showa films in the set. Toho’s not interested in using dubs they had no real hand in like the original Gigantis/vs The Thing/Ghidrah versions.
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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Malchik »

What I don't understand is Toho commissioned their own English internation dubs for all their Shows era classics, minus a few of the oldies. All three of those films mentioned had those Hong Kong commissioned dubs on the international prints Sony's DVD utilized. Those internation duds are owned by Toho.

Am I wrong on this?

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Legion1979 »

Toho owns the dubs but Krakken licensed them, and it seems likely they licensed them for a decade.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Malchik »

Ah. Does Kraken still hold distribution rights to these films and Criterion sublicensed them for the box?

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by omgitsgodzilla »

I'm curious where the guy on the podcast got this information, because it seems pretty strange to me that Kraken would have any say in it, or that they would have the dubs licensed for any longer than the films. Criterion's set didn't come out until Kraken's license expired, at least for Blu-ray, and I'm pretty sure Janus/Criterion were streaming those three movies too by the time the Blu-ray set came out.
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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by Legion1979 »

Yes but those three dubs have been MIA since the Krakken releases. Let's use simple logic here.

Bob Johnson has been booking and screening Godzilla movies at festivals for at least 20 years. I trust what he says.

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Re: Criterion streaming Godzilla films + Criterion Showa Box Set

Post by omgitsgodzilla »

I think it stands to reason that Kraken's releases have something to do with it, but "simple logic" doesn't dictate that Kraken themselves were in any position to block those dubs. That's why I'm curious about the source of the information -- I don't doubt that he's speaking in earnest, but is this something that he heard from someone who was involved, or is he inferring this from the circumstances?
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