Criterion is Releasing a Godzilla Box Set This Fall

The Criterion Collection prides itself on releasing important film making achievements on home video. Now, the company has unveiled plans for its upcoming 1000th release, and it’s probably the last thing most fans would expect. Via their official website, Criterion is putting together a massive box set featuring the first 15 entries in the Godzilla franchise on Blu-ray. You can watch a short trailer for the new collection below.

The box set collects every Godzilla film released during the Shōwa era (named for the Japanese emperor who reigned until 1989), starting with the classic 1954 eponymous film and ending with Terror of MechaGodzilla, which came out in 1975. Criterion certainly went all out for this new edition of the series. Most notably, they enlisted 15 different artists to grace each film with revamped cover art. The movies themselves are high-definition transfers of the originals and boast uncompressed monaural soundtracks.

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Additionally, the company is hoping to entice prospective buyers with a laundry list of special features. Among other standout bonuses, fans can listen to film historian David Kalat’s audio commentaries for Godzilla and its U.S. re-release, Godzilla, King of the Monsters. There will also be several interviews, including a 1990 sit-down with the late director of the original film, Ishiro Honda. Beyond these, viewers can go inside the movies’ visual effects departments and revisit the real-life tragedy that inspired the franchise. The collection also comes with a hardcover book filled with essays and more artwork.

The Godzilla collection arrives on October 29. You can check out the full list of special features as well as the new cover art for each film below. Will you be picking up the box set when it hits store shelves? Let us know in the comment section!

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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
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