Blu-ray release: ‘Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975’
By Phil Mills | Jul 26, 2019
Criterion will release a US Blu-ray collector’s box set containing all of the ‘Godzilla’ films from Japan’s Showa era (1954-1975) on October 29, 2019.
The set will be made up of the following fifteen films:
• Godzilla (1954)
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
• Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
• Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
• Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
• Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
• Son of Godzilla (1967)
• Destroy All Monsters (1968)
• All Monsters Attack (1969)
• Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
• Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
• Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
• Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Special Features:
• High-definition digital transfers of all fifteen films, released together for the first time, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks
• High-definition digital transfers of ‘Godzilla, King of the Monsters’, the 1956 U.S.-release version of ‘Godzilla’; and the 1962 Japanese-release version of ‘King Kong vs. Godzilla’
• Audio commentaries from 2011 on ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Godzilla, King of the Monsters’ featuring film historian David Kalat
• International English-language dub tracks for ‘Invasion of Astro-Monster’, ‘Son of Godzilla’, ‘Destroy All Monsters’, ‘Godzilla vs. Megalon’, ‘Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla’, and ‘Terror of Mechagodzilla’
• Directors Guild of Japan interview with director Ishiro Honda, conducted by director Yoshimitsu Banno in 1990
• Programs detailing the creation of Godzilla’s special effects and unused effects sequences from Toho releases including ‘Destroy All Monsters’
• New interview with filmmaker Alex Cox about his admiration for the Showa-era ‘Godzilla’ films
• New and archival interviews with cast and crew members, including actors Bin Furuya, Tsugutoshi Komada, Haruo Nakajima, and Akira Takarada; composer Akira Ifukube; and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
• Interview with critic Tadao Sato from 2011
• Illustrated audio essay from 2011 about the real-life tragedy that inspired Godzilla
• New English subtitle translations
• Trailers
• A lavishly illustrated deluxe hardcover book
‘Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975’ is available for pre-order now from Amazon.com.
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