The Criterion of Godzilla will Terrorize Blu-ray in January

Now you can not only see a man in a giant rubber lizard suit in a new digital transfer, but you’ll be able to experience all of the unique special features that are usually accompanied with Criterion’s discs.  The original 1954 radiation fueled monster that attacked Japan, Godzilla, will terrorize Blu-ray on January 24, 2012.  Cirterion is known for releasing discs packed to the gills with interviews, featurettes, and booklets with excerpts from film historians.  Yet, for completists, this new package will not only have the original 1954 version but also the heavily edited 1956 version released in America.  America’s version of the film utilized original footage from the 1954 film, but forced in an unnecessary American reporter that covered the devastation of the giant monster.  Now, fans will have both versions in one complete package.  See the official synopsis from the Criterion Collection’s website below, along with the striking cover-art from the upcoming disc.

SYNOPSIS: Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than twenty sequels. This first thrilling, tactile spectacle continues to be a cult phenomenon; here, we present the original, 1954 Japanese version, along with Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the 1956 American reworking starring Raymond Burr.

The Godzilla DVD and Blu-ray Includes:

• 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

 

 

Source: Criterion