New Replies (Page 743)

If we could get some of these extras, subtitled, it would be beyond great. Toho did an excellent job on this Blu-ray set. Seeing so much of the cast in the footage, given the narrative-driven nature of the film, is wonderful. The same goes for the staff. Seeing them work with and direct the cast is rewarding. I love anything that brings me closer to these films and this genre. And the Shin Godzilla Blu-ray set does that in a way that defies description. I hope that, God willing, FUNimation can really come through for fans here in North America. Otherwise, I guess I'm going to have to learn Japanese. There's just too much to be enjoyed from this presentation of this seminal Godzilla film, a unique entry in the Series.

Beautiful.

So this little miniseries is over and I even included a setup for the final entry in the series, coming most likely in May or June.

^Actually, each of the heads just had a different roar in GMK.

Overall favorite Ghidroah I guess I gotta go with either GMK Ghidorah or Heisei King Ghidorah. The showa one is cool, but I never got into his head shapes. They kind of looked derpy to me with the wide eyes and the lack of a control in what they were looking.

If I had to give points for roar though, GMK Ghidorah takes the cake. I love the cackle of the Showa, but it never sounded all that threatening. GMK ramps it up and makes it sound super intimidating. Heisei Ghidorah's roar is just a sped up Rodan.

Showa King Ghidorah takes it by no small margin for me. It's the only King Ghidorah that was portrayed flawlessly - wild flailing heads and tail - quick pounding wings - He really seemed like a planet killer in Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster and Monster Zero. Granted his post-Destroy All Monsters appearances became stiff and shabby, but the first three movies really succeeded in portraying him as a juggernaut.

By contrast the other King Ghidorahs have either been too stiff and unconvincing in the air, despite having monstrously larger budgets. Or their designs are just a step down.

My second favorite probably goes to the maligned GMK King Ghidorah. Although I don't wish to see a protagonist King Ghidorah again, I was okay with the shift in this case - Matching Japanese mythology. I also enjoyed the fact that his heads purposefully looked like Varan since the monster was cut from the movie. I also dug the little innovations like the taloned feet and folded wings. Those are good ways to play with the design without losing the traditional silhouette--Unlike these God awful fan pieces portraying him as wyvern trite.

The others I don't think about too much or just hate--Especially Keizer Ghidorah who is easily the worst looking of the bunch.

Well the bad news about a lot of the titles you mentioned is that there's no incentive to put them on Blu-ray.

Classic Media's titles are now owned by Dreamworks Animation and they consider themselves to have much bigger fish to fry than give their Godzilla titles any attention. One of the reasons War of the Gargantuas and Rodan were hastily put on a two disc set was because they knew they had the rights and simply wanted to get them out there and be done with it.

Godzilla Raids Again, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, All Monsters Attack and Terror of MechaGodzilla are under Dreamworks Animation and, infuriatingly enough, they don't want to foot the bill for HD transfers to put these movies on Blu-ray. A massive, fan built, letter writing movement needs to be launched if there is any hope of getting them on Blu-ray.

Son of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla are still in limbo with no US distributor. Last year when The Return of Godzilla was released, Kraken Releasing hinted that they might be getting more Godzilla films--Or at least more kaiju movies. Many fans guessed these two titles were the ones being alluded to (since they're the only ones up for grabs), but there's been no movement/announcement from Kraken Releasing since then.

Universal owns King Kong vs. Godzilla in perpetuity and have never shown interest in buying the Japanese cut from Toho. I can confirm Toho is salty about their naivety with the deal back in 1963 and would probably charge an arm and a leg for it anyway. My one hope is that maybe, just maybe, Universal and Toho are able to work something out in honor of the upcoming Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020.

Hands down Showa Ghidorah. I LOVE the design. I love the golden scales, the mane on each neck, the curved horns, etc. My second favorite would be the Grand King ghidorah from Mothra 3. I never got into the Heisei design; I always thought it was a lazy re-do of the Showa design but to each their own.

That is awesome.

Commissioned artwork. Destoroyah vs Gamera.

Tie between Showa and Heisei for first place. Then Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah. Then Mecha-King Ghidorah. Then Grand King Ghidorah. Then that's it

^Huh... I didn't get that either.

Not even close. Showa by a large margin. Heisei would be second. Least favorite (from G movies) would be the GMK version. I hate that design. The FW version I don't consider King Ghidorah.

Never saw the Mothra movies.

One other note I would like to add is that my copy was preordered, yet I didn't receive my "Limited Edition Ticket Holders", and Amazon Japan was absolutely wonderful about fixing it. They responded surprisingly fast for a place with a 16 time difference from where I live, and are currently in the process of getting ready to send me my ticket holders. 

The Toho set is really something to behold: hours of of great entertainment while rolling around in the universe of Shin Godzilla. There's a lot here, and a special Blu-ray/DVD release would be commensurate with the influence and achievement of this entry in the Series. Shin Godzilla received 11 nominations and got seven wins from the 40th Japanese Academy Prize awards. The film was a blockbuster hit and critical success with reviewers and the moviegoing public. Surely, for the release here, something special is planned. I mean, Shin Godzilla was released in theaters here mere weeks after it opened in Japan. I'm still amazed at this. And grateful. A special Blu-ray/DVD release would be icing on an already beautiful and delicious cake.

Also, one more important note, the new "Monster Mayhem" re-issue includes King Kong (1933) on Bluray, with $8 movie cash toward a Kong Skull Island ticket. It's only $9.99 at Best Buy right now. King Kong (1933) Bluray @ Best Buy

Aside from the Bluray release, there is also a "Monster Mayhem" DVD release with both King Kong (1933) and Son of Kong, also at Best Buy, for $7.99, with $5 movie money. King Kong (1933) and Son of Kong DVD @ Best Buy

In addition, King Kong (2005) has a new "Ultimate Edition" with the Extended Edition in addition to the Theatrical, with all the previously released extras and a Ultraviolet copy of the Extended Edition, and I can't tell if it also comes with a digital copy of the Theatrical or not... $12.49 on Amazon King Kong (2005) Ultimate Edition Bluray (With Ultraviolet Copy) @ Amazon

Gman, 

Honestly, anything that has yet to get a bluray release, or in the case of King Kong vs Godzilla, a release with the original Japanese. News regarding Godzilla Raids Again, Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, Invasion of the Astro Monster, Son of Godzilla, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Mothra, Rodan, or War of the Gargantuans. You are the resident expert on such things, so I thought I'd see if there were any new developments. 

SchizoidHorse,
Which in particular? Depending on the titles, the answer may be different--Overall I haven't heard of any new information regarding Godzilla Blu-ray releases though.

My father was the one who got me into Godzilla. Sadly neither of us can remember which film it was.

Well, I was born in the mid 90's, so I wasn't around during the original run of Godzilla movies. For me, it wasn't even specifically a Godzilla film. Rather, I was a HUGE dinosaur fanatic (what kid isn't) by the time I was 2. I could name almost any dinosaur by its full name and scientific name by the time I was 4. (I always had a great memory for things I REALLY liked) But I'm getting off track, already. I watched all the Land Before Time Films that I could and went absolutely crazy over anything Dino related, I still have storage bins full of dinosaur figures that I played with for hours on end.

When I was probably 4 or so (around the year 2000), my mom took me to see Jurassic Park at a drive in movie theater, because it was one of those discount nights where they show an older film, and Jurassic Park was about 7 years old by then. Anyway, everyone thought I would be afraid of the movie, but instead it fired me up even more, which lead to me wanting to see every dinosaur related film and documentary. Which leads us directly into Godzilla....

One Friday evening, in '02 or '03, my dad went to Hastings (so sad they went out of business last year) to pick up some movies to watch, and while he was in there, he saw Godzilla 2000, and was surprised to see they still made them, since he remembered watching them as a kid in the 70's. So he decided to buy it and see if it was any good. I distinctly remember sitting in our family room in the basement, leaning up against a bookshelf, and thinking that I was watching the coolest thing ever. (A GIANT DINOSAUR THING THAT SHOOTS FIRE (I know, it's atomic breath) OUT OF ITS MOUTH) Let's just say that after that, it was all downhill. (for my parents, since I was on the prowl for anything Godzilla related)

Over the years, I would beg my mom to buy me anything Godzilla related. We went to the mall every few weeks to check the video stores for new shipments of old Godzilla movies on VHS. We went to Best Buy all the time to see if they had Terror of Mechagodzilla (one I could never find, no matter how hard I searched) since they were supposed to carry it, but never had it in stock. 

I always dragged my mom into KB toys whenever we were in the area, where I picked up a variety of Godzilla figures over the years. 

Man, good times. 

I honestly used to like this movie a lot more, and while it's still an excellent Godzilla movie, I no longer place it in my top 5. Those would be (in no particular order) vs Destoroyah, vs Biollante, GMK: Giant Monsters All Out Attack, 1954, and Destroy All Monsters. 

One main reason I don't rank it as high is because of the fact that it heavily takes from the Terminator films, and it just felt meh to me. I also didn't particularly like the new origin for Godzilla or King Ghidorah. The fight scenes felt like the camera work was lacking and too much dust/smoke was used in them, making them seem hazy to me. 

Just my personal opinion. Not to bash on anyone's love for it, since it was still very good. 

Any news of any older Showa era movies getting Bluray releases? I'm still holding out for the rest of them, but it seems to be slow to come. 

Huh. I just watched vs Hedorah and vs Gigan, and I thought there was an awful lot of Godzilla in them for the Showa era, and I guess I wasn't wrong. Awesome work, szmigiel, this is really well done and informative, as well as just fun. I am going to refer to this on my next watch through of all the G-movies. 

I think this is the best Kong Skull Island concept art I've seen.

I also bought the Japanese Bluray, though I got the 4K Bluray. It is loaded with special feature, all like mentioned above, and it is really a very attractive special edition, and very immaculate. The Amazon Japan version also came with a sweet Steelbook that can be used as an alternative to store your discs, and the normal case itself is really well done, with a nice textured outer slipcover, with embossed and indented lettering, and the inner case is smooth red paper stock that folds out nicely. The 4K disc comes in a separate black paper stock. I'm really hoping Funimation really notches the whole US release up to 11, and gives us a Special Edition that at least equals the Japanese version, and maybe go so far as to make some sort of Collector's Edition, in line with what they did with Tokyo Ghoul Season 1, perhaps even a figure. 

Forgot to mention this, but they reveal that Ghidorah's meteor killed the dinosaurs

For me the best enemy is MechaGodzilla. Not only did it take the combined efforts of both Godzilla and King Caesar to finally stop him, but He is also one of the only monsters to cause Godzilla to bleed.

The worst enemy on the other hand would have to be the Giant Condor.

My pick for toughest would be Hedorah. He was getting bigger and bigger and if it weren't for the electrodes, i have my doubts as to whether Godzilla would have got the best of him. Worst I'd have to say Gabara. He was just too easy and he even had a hard time against Minilla. Just mho

King Ghidorah, definitely. He always gave Godzilla a run for his money. He had personality and when you heard he was on his way, you knew a good fight was about to go down. In my opinion, it's a tie for a close second of Mechagodzilla and Gigan, both of whom tormented Godzilla on more than one occasion and always made him work to win. Hedorah also was surprisingly resilient and challenging for Godzilla to defeat, so he definitely deserves the recognition too. (also, design-wise, I think all of the above foes were significantly above average) 

Weakest in both design and power would be Giant Condor, Gabara, and Ebirah, in order by how bad I think they are (I like Ebirah better than Gabara, while the only reason Gabara is in front of Giant Condor is at least he has a name and more than 15 seconds of screen time) 

I'm with what appears to be the forming consensus, which would be that, power-wise, it is hands down Destoroyah. It's just so ridiculously strong, that Meltdown Godzilla (in other words, G at max power) ALMOST lost. Destroroyah gave Godzilla a real fight. As far as just basic design goes, I'd say it's close between Destoroyah and Biollante, but the execution was better on Biollante. Destoroyah was a little stiff and the movement was unconvincing. Biollante on the other hand is really articulate and the puppeteering was definitely next level. Also, Biollante is just freaking cool.

Worst would be Mothra and Battra, or Spacegodzilla, for reasons already mentioned by other posters. Mothra and Battra, power wise, were pretty much worthless as individual threats to Godzilla, and were only able to prevail through cooperation. I also agree that the props were very immobile and stiff, as well as the fact that I definitely noticed more wires for flying than I normally have in previous films. As far as Spacegodzilla goes, he was powerful enough, but the design was lazy (and the name) and he was just kinda boring. 

The other Gman.

Which one? XD

I hope that they keep the same design for godzilla from 2014. That one looked absolutely bad ass. In case if you were wondering, the original godzilla theme song cannot be in any future american movies because akira said in his will, or what ever it was, that the theme shall not be used in any american movies.

I have to agree with Gman.

I always tend to lump Mothra vs. Godzilla's ensemble as just the top three leads: Takarada, Hoshi and Koizumi. I don't know how I keep forgetting Sahara--It's probably my favorite role of his in these films and he plays well off of Tajima.

Godzilla vs. Megalon is probably up there for me too, but I don't find them unlikable, just unremarkable by any stretch. Godzilla x Megaguirus has some competent moments, but nothing the actors do give their roles any real charm. They just flounder around as extremely painful archetypes fulfilling the story's needs. When the laser-focused and hardened Kiriko is suddenly friendly to a child it's only because the screenplay wanted her to be. Granted that's not entirely Tanaka's fault.

This is actually kind of difficult to decide for me, since my favorite group of human characters and my favorite cast of actors aren't necessarily one and the same. In terms of my absolute favorite group of characters in a Godzilla film, it would have to be those in Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. They have always been the most colorful and interesting group of characters in a Godzilla film for me, helped to a great deal by the performances of Akira Takarada, in perhaps his most memorable and charming role, and Kumi Mizuno, who turns in another excellent performance, all the more impressive considering she wasn't originally meant to play the role.

But my absolute favorite cast of actors to appear in a Godzilla film is more difficult for me to decide. Based simply on the actors present, I'd be obligated to say Final Wars, simply because it features so many of my favorite actors from the series, including Kenji Sahara, Kumi Mizuno, Akira Takarada and my personal favorite Akira Nakao. Plus I can't help but love Don Frye's performance in the film, as well as Kazuki Kitamura's. But judging the cast simply on who is in it doesn't quite account for how they are used, and the majority of the roles by classic actors in Final Wars are either minor or mere cameos. Plus I don't really consider Final Wars to be one of the better Godzilla films, just more of an entertaining mess.

So, I would probably say my favorite cast in a Godzilla film has to be that of Mothra vs. Godzilla. It is so solidly cast from top to bottom. Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi and Hiroshi Koizumi make up the three central characters, and all three are incredibly likable and each turn in great performances with very memorable lines. The two human villains are well-portrayed by Yoshifumi Tajima and Kenji Sahara, and both manage to come off as incredibly slimy and despicable despite both actors being capable of playing likable characters as well. Even the auxiliary characters are terrific, especially Jun Tazaki as the newspaper editor, in probably my favorite performance of his next to his role in Atragon, and Yu Fujiki playing the comic relief expertly as a bumbling reporter. I of course can't forget to mention Emi and Yumi Ito reprising their iconic portrayal of Mothra's Shobijin. All things considered, the cast of Mothra vs. Godzilla is just excellent.

My least favorite human cast would probably have to be that of Godzilla vs. Megalon. There's just nothing really noteworthy about it. All of the actors do fine with what they're given I suppose, but each is capable of more and their characters just aren't that interesting. Even though Robert Dunham gets a supporting role in the film, it's regrettably very brief and he doesn't even get to deliver his own dialogue in Japanese, instead being dubbed over by the great Goro Naya. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is probably up there too, but the presence of Yuriko Hoshi and somewhat competent performances by the other actors prevent it from being my absolute least favorite.

If it is Godzilla.....

Looks like he's taken up Legendary Godzilla's ninja classes :P

they all look great ; )

I've seen people bring this up before on Facebook. I think it's just a tree. It is in the shape of Godzilla's spine, but largely coincidental. It just seems too far and too obscure to be anything worth the attention. I'd be happy to be wrong though.

^I can not confirm nor deny the existence of some tailor-made features for the upcoming North American release of Shin Godzilla by Funimation--But it should be fun.