GODZILLA BOX - THE SHOWA FILMS 1954-1975 (CRITERION COLLECTION) [Blu-ray] [2019]

Reviews

Paul Scollon

Most of the movies are presented in the original Japanese with English subs, the only movies that have English dubs are: Invasion of Astro Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs Megalon, Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla. It really is gigantic (like a large book - which it kind of is, also) and the artwork is amazing. Of course this all starts with the 1954 original movie and includes series classics like Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster and Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla.

Chris A

You get 36 pages in the book, with a 3 page essay on Godzilla movies and the impact they made on Japanese cinema, then you get two pages for each movie, one page of text about the movie and one full page of stunning full colour artwork. If you are just casually interested in Japanese monster movies or are buying something to entertain the kids, this is NOT for you.

S. Lornie

Disc 2: Godzilla Raids Again & the American version of King Kong vs GodzillaDisc 3: Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster & Invasion of Astro MonsterDisc 4: Ebirah Horror of the Deep, Son of Godzilla & Destroy All MonstersDisc 5: All Monsters Attack & Godzilla vs HedorahDisc 6: Godzilla vs Gigan & Godzilla vs MegalonDisc 7: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla & Terror of GodzillaDisc 8: Original Japanese version of King Kong s Godzilla and extras. You'll notice that the original 1954 film is considerably sharper but retains all the scratches and film damage from previous releases. They're bright and very easy to read, great for those watching with the original Japanese audio. The bluray discs themselves features a reasonable amount of features and extras.

Dantas Octavio

The hi-definition transfers of the films are pretty good for the most part. Great fun and the only way you can get most of these movies here in the UK. The American release of the 1954 film is featured as well as the original Japanese version of King Kong vs Godzilla (located on a bonus disc). It is absolutely stunning to look at and looks pretty good on the television.

There are fifteen films in total spread across eight bluray discs. Well, yes, as this is the only way you will acquire all of the Showa era movies in one go, immediately playable on a UK purchased blu-ray player (I do however recommend getting at international player, as there are great boxesets to be acquired from other corners of the world for the later Godzilla series - which I have). As a box-set, it isn't quite as impressive as the Zatoichi collection but it definitely comes in a VERY close second.

Wow! Save your money. An added bonus is the brand new subtitle translations which flow very well and look very sharp on the screen.

But unless you're an overly fussy collector who has thirty different copies of each film from all over the world, this will serve you well and will look good doing it. There's trailers, audio commentaries by historian David Kalat, lots of archival interviews from Ishiro Honda, filmaker Alex Cox about the making of this box-set and more with others including cast members. All 15 movies from the Showa era of Godzilla in one extremely beautiful package.