Criterion Collection is doing Godzilla!

[OmahaStar]

Linkified

It's coming in January. DVD will be 30 bucks. Blu-Ray will be 40. It will include both the Japanese version, and the American version with Mr. Burr.

Features include:

• 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
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman

 

[Mike Farley]

I've been waiting for a Criterion GODZILLA since they announced (and never released) it on laser disc YEARS ago.

 

[23skidoo]

Excellent news. I like the fact it's not going to be one of the super-expensive releases too. I admire Criterion and appreciate what they do, but the pricing on some of them makes things like Doctor Who seem bargain-priced by comparison.

I've my fingers crossed that they'll be doing more reissues of past Criterions to Blu-ray as well.

Alex

 

[Harvey]

They've been pretty steadily releasing old Criterion titles on Blu-Ray (as long as the rights have been available) over the past two years. I am looking forward to this release, though (as well as the long awaited Island of Lost Souls).