Original 1954 Gojira / 1956 Godzilla: King of the Monsters on Criterion DVD and Blu-ray

This week, Criterion released its long-awaited high-definition digital restoration of both the original Japanese classic Gojira (1954) and the heavily reworked 1956 American version Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Available on both DVD and Blu-ray, the new edition is getting high marks for having a great picture.

Buy Godzilla (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
Buy Godzilla (Criterion Collection) on DVD

Related links:
The Original Godzilla: New Criterion Release Celebrates the Greatest Monster Movie (TIME)
“Godzilla” roars onto Criterion Blu-ray (IFC)
Original Godzilla goes to DVD, Blu-Ray in his terrible glory (USA TODAY)
This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: Godzilla Vs. Wilma Deering (Comic Book Resources)
Six Decades Later, Godzilla Still Has a Message for Us (SF Weekly)
The Criterion Collection edition of Godzilla (Giant Monsters on the Loose)

Special 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

Bangladesh KING KONG: I Want To Go To There

This looks awesome.

Banglar King Kong

Apparently there's also an English-language musical on the way: King Kong Musical To Give Regards To Broadway? (Monster island News)

The Criterion Collection edition of Godzilla

Here's info from Criterion's website about their upcoming DVD and Blu-ray of Godzilla (1954). Coming to stores January 24, 2012.

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.

Disc Features

• 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

Related links:
Godzilla Vs Megalon on DVD and Blu-ray
Mystery Science Theater 3000 vs. Giant Monsters
Available for Pre-Order: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
Giant Monster Movies: Godzilla
Giant Monster Movies: Mothra
Giant Monster Movies: Rodan
Giant Monster Movies: King Ghidorah

Godzilla Vs Megalon on DVD and Blu-ray

In November, Tokyo Shock follows up their new edition of Destroy All Monsters with the release of Godzilla vs. Megalon to DVD and Blu-ray:

GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (1973) has been the most elusive Godzilla film in North America. This is the film that most baby-boomers saw in U.S. movie theaters and then had to rely on badly cropped VHS and DVD bootleg copies to enjoy the film thereafter. This entry features Godzilla taking on Megalon and Gigan with the help of the unforgettable growing robot, Jet Jaguar! Reportedly cut to receive a G-rating upon its U.S. release, the film was hosted by John Belushi in a Godzilla suit for its national TV premiere. Tokyo Shock will present the film uncut on DVD and Blu-ray for the first time on November 29!

"Godzilla vs. Megalon" completes the canonization of Godzilla, the creature who came from beneath the sea… to destroy Tokyo and has returned in sequels again and again to protect the land he once loathed. It's been a remarkable transformation of character- the dragon has become St. George.” – Vincent Canby, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Buy Online:
Godzilla Vs Megalon
Godzilla Vs Megalon [Blu-ray]
Destroy All Monsters
Destroy All Monsters [Blu-ray]



Related links:
MST3K vs. Giant Monsters
Available for Pre-Order: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS
Giant Monster Movies: Godzilla

MST3K vs. Giant Monsters

Here are the hacienda, my wife and I have become big fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Over at Squidoo, I've created a page devoted to the giant monster movies that appeared on the series -- with an assortment of video clips, trailers, movie info and even a couple of polls. It also includes special sections devoted to the Gamera series and the Godzilla series, as well as movies with dinosaurs, sea monsters, giant lizards and more! (There are even links to watch several of the films free.)

Please check it out! MST3K vs. Giant Monsters 

Related links:
King Kong: Eighth Wonder of the World (Squidoo)
Complete Guide To James Bond Songs (Squidoo)
20 Crime Movies on MST3K (Crime TV)
Giant Monster Movies: MST3K
MST3K Vs. Gamera on DVD

William Shakespeare Presents Terminator the Second

This is crazy: Coming to Nashville in October, William Shakespeare Presents Terminator the Second is a staging of Terminator 2: Judgment Day reconstructed entirely from lines found in the plays of The Bard. As recounted on the official website:

"William Shakespeare Presents Terminator the Second" is the premiere production of the Nashville performance collective, Husky Jackal Theater. A product of nearly a year of research and revision by scriptors and Husky Jackal co-founders Marshall Weber and Cody De Vos, the script tells the story of a boy and his cyborg protector entirely in lines and phrases taken from the plays of William Shakespeare.

In April of 2011, Husky Jackal Theater launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for their production. They hoped to raise a modest $3,000, and finance the rest themselves - the original intent being to perform the show one night only at a local rock club. The project caught the attention of a number of influential websites and publications, including the SyFy channel, Gawker science blog i09, and Mental Floss magazine. The creators were suddenly in contact with supporters as far-flung as Brazil, the Philippines, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and their original fundraising goal was eclipsed several times over, enabling Husky Jackal Theater to vastly increase the scope of its production.

International support (and a healthy bit of pavement pounding) fostered community relationships, as the publicity brought the production to the attention of Nashville's creative class. Various persons reached out and came on board in every aspect of production. The Nashville Shakespeare festival invited Husky Jackal to observe auditions for Shakespeare in the Park's "Romeo and Juliet," establishing contact with several talented actors and actresses from the region eager to join. Eventually, Husky Jackal sought participation from the Nashville School of the Arts, and, thanks to a unique partnership, "Terminator the Second" will debut on the school's main stage in October of 2011, with some cast and stage crew roles filled by advanced production students.

The production will be at Nashville School of the Arts October 14-17. More information at TerminatorTheSecond.com.

Happy Birthday, Jack Kirby

Today would have been the 94th birthday of comics legend Jack Kirby (1917-1994). One of the most influential comics creators ever, Kirby was the creator or co-creator of Captain America, Fantastic Four, X-Men, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer, Thor, Black Panther, New Gods, Mister Miracle, The Forever People, Darkseid, OMAC, Kamandi, Kobra, among many others.

During his prolific career, he also did war comics, romance comics -- and monster comics. Here are some examples of classic Jack Kirby monster comics:

Now on DVD: TROLLHUNTER

Now available on DVD and Blu-ray: The vérité style giant monster movie Trollhunter, which follows a group of Norwegian film students that set out investigate a series of mysterious bear killings -- and learns there are much more dangerous things out there. The film was directed by André Øvredal, and stars Otto Jespersen, Hans Morten Hansen, and Tomas Alf Larsen.

The government says there’s nothing to worry about – it’s just a problem with bears making trouble in the mountains and forests of Norway. But local hunters don’t believe it – and neither do a trio of college students who want to find out the truth. Armed with a video camera, they trail a mysterious “poacher,” who wants nothing to do with them. However, their persistence lands them straight in the path of the objects of his pursuits: trolls. They soon find themselves documenting every move of this grizzled, unlikely hero -- the trollhunter -- risking their lives to uncover the secrets of creatures only thought to exist in fairy tales.

 

Available for Pre-Order: DESTROY ALL MONSTERS

Coming October 25 from Tokyo Shock: The Japanese-language edition of Toho's monster rally classic Destroy All Monsters!

The year is 1999, and all of Earth's monsters have been captured and detained at Ogasawara Island. All is well in the solar system until one day, a race of alien women brainwashes the monsters and releases them, causing havoc around the world. Godzilla attacks New York City, Rodan invades Moscow, Mothra lays waste to Beijing, Gorosaurus destroys Paris, and Manda attacks London!

Gene Colan (1926–2011)

Legendary comic book artist Gene Colan died late Thursday following a broken hip and complications from liver disease. He was 84. His career in comics, which spanned seven decades, included classic runs with such characters as Batman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Daredevil, Howard the Duck and, of course, Count Dracula.

Legendary Comic Book Artist Gene Colan Has Died (Bleeding Cool)
Friday Runaround – Remembering Gene (Bleeding Cool)
Gallery: Images Featuring Gene Colan (Marvel.com)