King Goji on Criterion

Discussion in 'Whatever' started by Dean, Oct 17, 2011.

  1. Dean

    Dean Prototype

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    King Goji on Criterion
    [​IMG]

    To be released 01/24/2012 on DVD and Blu-Ray. Includes both the original "Gojira" and the notorious USA release "Godzilla: King of the Monsters"

    http://www.criterion.com/films/27755-godzilla

    Features listed at the Criterion site

    • New high-definition digital restoration (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)

    • Audio commentary by David Kalat (A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series)

    • New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, starring Raymond Burr

    • Audio commentary for Godzilla, King of the Monsters by Kalat

    • New interviews with actor Akira Takarada (Hideto Ogata), Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai

    • Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube

    • Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects

    • New interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato

    • The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo fukuryu maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla

    • Theatrical trailers

    • New and improved English subtitle translation

    • A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman
     
  2. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

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    King Goji on Criterion
    With all these great Criterion films going to Blu-ray, it is really getting hard not to go hi-def. Too bad I am still a student with an old tube tv. Some day Goji, some day... ;) Thanks for the update. I would really love to see Criterion do a Tsuburaya/Toho or Daiei compendium/box set.
     
  3. CCPfan

    CCPfan Comment King

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    King Goji on Criterion
    agreed on the box set. I'll wait for the reviews on this - not sure how they will handle the transfer / cleaning of the original to blu-ray. when the transfer isn't rock solid the small things really stand out.
     
  4. Dean

    Dean Prototype

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    King Goji on Criterion
    Criterion has always maintained that there's a point at which datacine can be cleaned up too much, that some degree of film grain or in some cases even some scratches and edit artifacts should be left in, so I wouldn't be surprised if their edition includes some reminders of the age of this film, and the fact that it wasn't taken seriously outside of Japan by a large number of people until about twenty years ago. If I recall correctly they're working with some of the same elements that were used to create the excellent BFI (Region 2 PAL) DVD that was released a couple of years ago. I wish I could remember where I read the report. I'm sure that once the discs are released, sites like DVD Beaver will do in-depth analyses of the edition with comparisons to previous edition. I trust Criterion to do a great job ... they'd lobbied for rights to do this for at least ten years. I thought it was especially interesting that they're including the USA version, and nice that the BD will have an uncompressed soundtrack.

    I'm also still stuck in DVD-land but expect to upgrade to BD within a year or two (and by then the format will probably be obsolete LOL.)
     
  5. deadboy

    deadboy Comment King

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    King Goji on Criterion
    Criterion can do no wrong. In my eyes the only definitive releases come from Criterion. Any videophile will surely agree. They make a point of not just giving you a movie, but also a film lesson. Top notch company. I challenge you to find a techniclly negative review on anything they have put out.
    Criterion.com
    ....end of commercial ;)
     

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