The Criterion Collection is perhaps the most prestigious assortment of home entertainment around, so naturally, there was a lot of speculation as to what the company’s 1,000th title would be. And the selection they ended up going with is both unexpected and totally awesome.
A massive 8 disc, 15 movie collection of classic Godzilla films titled Godzilla: The Shōwa Era-Films, 1954-1975 is set to be Criterion #1,000, the company has announced. The collection includes a tremendous gathering of Kaiju classics from Godzilla’s first two decades as a movie monster, the full list of which can be viewed below:
- – Godzilla
- – Godzilla Raids Again
- – King Kong vs. Godzilla
- – Mothra vs. Godzilla
- – Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
- – Invasion of Astro-Monster
- – Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
- – Son of Godzilla
- – Destroy All Monsters
- – All Monsters Attack
- – Godzilla vs. Hedorah
- – Godzilla vs. Gigan
- – Godzilla vs. Megalon
- – Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
- – Terror of Mechagodzilla
Obviously, just owning all of these films would be plenty awesome, but with this being Criterion, you can expect more extras than you’d know what to do with. The collection comes with a Tokyo-sized selection of special features, listed below:
- – High-definition digital transfers of all fifteen Godzilla films made between 1954 and 1975, 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 featuring an essay by cinema historian Steve Ryfle, notes on the films by cinema historian Ed Godziszewski, and new illustrations by Arthur Adams, Sophie Campbell, Becky Cloonan, Jorge Coelho, Geof Darrow, Simon Gane, Robert Goodin, Benjamin Marra, Monarobot, Takashi Okazaki, Angela Rizza, Yuko Shimizu, Bill Sienkiewicz, Katsuya Terada, Ronald Wimberly, and Chris Wisnia
And BTW, when they call the hardcover book that comes with the collection “lavishly illustrated,” they aren’t kidding. The artwork in this thing is mind-numbingly gorgeous, and would make an excellent addition to any Godzilla fan’s collection.
The Criterion Godzilla Blu-ray collection won’t be available until Oct. 29, but it’s available for pre-order now at a discounted rate.
