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The 'Godzilla' Criterion Collection Box Set Trailer Unleashes Kaiju Carnage

Godzilla Criterion Collection Box Set Trailer
By Chris Evangelista

In case you missed the news, the Criterion Collection is releasing a massive box set containing high-definition digital transfers of all fifteen Godzilla films made between 1954 and 1975, released together for the first time. It's a big deal, and even to a casual Godzilla fan like myself. The set arrives in October, and ahead of its release, Criterion has cut together a nifty little trailer to show us all what's in store. Watch the Godzilla Criterion Collection box set trailer below.

Godzilla Criterion Collection Box Set Trailer

Are you ready for some city-stomping, fire-breathing, rubber-costume-wearing action? I hope so, because Criterion is about to unleash its biggest and most ambitious box set yet. The set includes:

GODZILLA (Ishiro Honda, 1954)

GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (Motoyoshi Oda, 1955)

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (Ishiro Honda and Thomas Montgomery, 1963)

MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA (Ishiro Honda, 1964)

GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (Ishiro Honda, 1964)

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (Ishiro Honda, 1965)

EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP (Jun Fukuda, 1966)

SON OF GODZILLA (Jun Fukuda, 1967)

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (Ishiro Honda, 1968)

ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (Ishiro Honda, 1969)

GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH (Yoshimitsu Banno, 1971)

GODZILLA VS. GIGAN (Jun Fukuda, 1972)

GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (Jun Fukuda, 1973)

GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA (Jun Fukuda, 1974)

TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (Ishiro Honda, 1975)

On top of that, you'll also get a "deluxe hardcover book with notes on each film and new illustrations from sixteen artists, new and archival interviews with cast and crew members." I'll confess that I'm not a hardcore Godzilla fan, but I want to get my hands on this thing simply because it looks so damn cool. And it comes packed with these special features:

  • 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 transfer of Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956), the U.S.-release version of Godzilla
  • Japanese-release version of King Kong vs. Godzilla from 1962
  • Audio commentaries from 2011 on Godzilla and Godzilla, King of the Monstersfeaturing 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
  • PLUS: 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

    • The Godzilla Criterion Collection box set will drop October 29, 2019.

    In 1954, an enormous beast clawed its way out of the sea, destroying everything in its path—and changing movies forever. The arresting original Godzilla soon gave rise to an entire monster-movie genre (kaiju eiga), but the King of the Monsters continued to reign supreme: in fourteen fiercely entertaining sequels over the next two decades, Godzilla defended its throne against a host of other formidable creatures, transforming from a terrifying symbol of nuclear annihilation into a benevolent (if still belligerent) Earth protector. Collected here for the first time are all fifteen Godzilla films of Japan's Showa era, in a landmark set showcasing the technical wizardry, fantastical storytelling, and indomitable international appeal that established the most iconic giant monster the cinema has ever seen.

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