Is Godzilla 1984 A Lost Film ?

[Tohosaurus]

Is there anything stopping a company like Mill Creek (just a company example) from securing the rights to the original version and releasing it here, simply ignoring the Godzilla 1985 version? It seems unlikely, but I wonder if that could be done. I'm no expert and I don't see why they couldn't.

[kpa]

Is there anything stopping a company like Mill Creek (just a company example) from securing the rights to the original version and releasing it here, simply ignoring the Godzilla 1985 version? It seems unlikely, but I wonder if that could be done. I'm no expert and I don't see why they couldn't.

When Toho licenses rights to a movie, the licensee has an exclusive on that film... otherwise, Toho could just keep making different version of the same film and selling it over and over again, which wouldn't go over well with the company who bought the rights. So if a company licenses GODZILLA '54 they also get GODZILL: KING OF THE MONSTERS, etc.

Toho has said GODZILLA 1985 is temporarily unavailable, so that extends to GODZILLA '84, RETURN OF GODZILLA, and whatever other alternate versions may be be out there.

[Tohosaurus]

When Toho licenses rights to a movie, the licensee has an exclusive on that film... otherwise, Toho could just keep making different version of the same film and selling it over and over again, which wouldn't go over well with the company who bought the rights. So if a company licenses GODZILLA '54 they also get GODZILL: KING OF THE MONSTERS, etc.

Toho has said GODZILLA 1985 is temporarily unavailable, so that extends to GODZILLA '84, RETURN OF GODZILLA, and whatever other alternate versions may be be out there.

Ah, I see. It'd just be much better if we could find out who really does have the North American rights to it because there seems to be some debate over who does, New World, etc. Seems to really be the only thing keeping it from getting a release.

[kpa]

I've posted this before... Toho says the rights have reverted to them but there's some old contractual issue (which they haven't explained) that they want resolved before they will offer it for licensing again. It's just a matter of time before that happens, but until then no distributor can get the film.

Rather than repeat all the details again, just check out my posts in this thread... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7806

[Tohosaurus]

I've posted this before... Toho says the rights have reverted to them but there's some old contractual issue (which they haven't explained) that they want resolved before they will offer it for licensing again. It's just a matter of time before that happens, but until then no distributor can get the film.

Rather than repeat all the details again, just check out my posts in this thread... http://www.tohokingdom.com/forum/viewto ... f=6&t=7806

Ah yes, I remember that thread and your information. So it still seems like rights issues is something even Toho isn't sure of (whether or not they'd be able to get away with licensing out G85 to someone else without legal issues, for example) and this is for an amount of time we just don't know.

Thanks again though. You're a bottomless pit of knowledge I swear.

[Goji]

New World Pictures have been defunct for years, so they wouldn't 'have' the film anymore anyway.

New World's filmography is owned by multiple companies these days, and there has been some confusion over the years as to who actually has/had the rights to GODZILLA 1985 specifically.

[Tohosaurus]

New World Pictures have been defunct for years, so they wouldn't 'have' the film anymore anyway.

New World's filmography is owned by multiple companies these days, and there has been some confusion over the years as to who actually has/had the rights to GODZILLA 1985 specifically.

Well I mean it in the sense that their library was absorbed by another company (or multiple?). Not the right way to put it, I know.

Edit: And you just said that anyway ... lol.

[Rockzilla]

The contract between New World and Toho was set for 100 years. True story.

[Tohosaurus]

The contract between New World and Toho was set for 100 years. True story.

Ah perfect. We can expect an ultra-Blu-Ray VI 3.0S release of G8 in 2084-2085.

[Killswitch]

I own a VHS copy of Godzilla 85. Haven't watched it in years! Bought it new back in the day. To younger fans Godzilla 85 could be considered "lost", but for some of us older fans, we remember everything about.

Godzilla Raids Again (a.k.a. Gigantis, The Fire Monster) was the lost Godzilla film when I was growing up.

[Planetxman]

Godzilla Raids Again (a.k.a. Gigantis, The Fire Monster) was the lost Godzilla film when I was growing up.

As was Godzilla Vs. Gigan. I remember seeing Raids Again on Disney sometime in the 90's. Around the same time both appeared on VHS. I bought them immediately.
Raids Again I finally saw as an adult. I saw pictures in various books and mags and always wondered about it.

I bet most of the younger generation has never seen G 1984. I can tell by the comments on my Youtube videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0ik7IqQO6c

[Goji]

To younger fans Godzilla 85 could be considered "lost", but for some of us older fans, we remember everything about.

Indeed. It was my first G film.

Godzilla Raids Again (a.k.a. Gigantis, The Fire Monster) was the lost Godzilla film when I was growing up.

I got extremely lucky, and found the lone VHS release by Video Treasures sometime in 1990/'91. I didn't even know the film existed, since I was only 6 or 7 at the time, and was simply trying trying to find all of the Godzilla films.

GODZILLA'S REVENGE was another one that took me a while to find, though I know it existed because of the trailer on the Paramount release of MONSTER ZERO from the 80's. I found the Simitar release (with the ghastly cover art) sometime in '91, I believe.

Paramount never did release it in the 80's, for some strange reason, but they did eventually get around to releasing it in the early 90's.

Here's the Paramount trailer that I'm talking about, for anyone that's interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXh-oo_vNJk

[Killswitch]

^^I saw pictures of Godzilla Raids Again in Magazines for years. When I was an adult, it was released on VHS and we bought it. Wasn't impressed. LOL

Godzilla vs Gigan/Godzilla on Monster Island: Wasn't shown in my area until the late 70's or early 80's. Rarely shown over the years.

In Cleveland, we had three stations that would show giant monster and classic Horror films every weekend, so we would see all the Godzilla and Gamera films throughout the year. WUAB 43 was really the station that focused on Godzilla and Toho films. It was fantastic! Three Stooges in the morning and Giant Monster films in the afternoon. By 6pm, it was time for Star Trek followed by Space 1999. Oh, the good ol' days!

[Hellspawn28]

GRA was the lost Godzilla film when I was growing up as well. I remember reading about the movie in books but I never saw the movie until 2007 when I got the movie for my birthday. The movie was hard to sit through and the dub made me want to turn it off.

[Killswitch]

GRA was the lost Godzilla film when I was growing up as well. I remember reading about the movie in books but I never saw the movie until 2007 when I got the movie for my birthday. The movie was hard to sit through and the dub made me want to turn it off.

When did they release that film on VHS? 20 years ago? In 20 years, I've only watched it twice. Never liked it. A few years ago, I thought I would give it another chance. I ended up falling asleep watching it! LOL

[kpa]

I own a VHS copy of Godzilla 85. Haven't watched it in years! Bought it new back in the day. To younger fans Godzilla 85 could be considered "lost", but for some of us older fans, we remember everything about.

A "lost film" is a movie for which there are no materials... no prints, no negatives, etc., and therefore no copies are available. Toho has materials for G'84, RETURN OF GODZILLA and G'85 so that film is in no way lost. The Japanese version has been released on laserdisc, VHS (multiple times), DVD (multiple times) and (I think) Blu-ray. The international version was released on VHS and the US version was released on laserdisc, VHS (multiple times) and shown on Monsters HD just a few years back. If someone hasn't seen it they would be able to with very little effort, particularly with the internet at their disposal.

Godzilla Raids Again (a.k.a. Gigantis, The Fire Monster) was the lost Godzilla film when I was growing up.

In the 1970s-80s most of the Godzilla films were syndicated to television so it was up to local television to book the movies to broadcast in their area. Some areas might show a movie dozens of times, while others not at all. I grew up near Philadelphia, and somebody in programming at the Philly stations most have loved Japanese sci-fi because Godzilla/Toho, Gamera, and even movies like THE X FROM OUTER SPACE and MONSTER FROM A PREHISTORIC PLANET (plus TV shows like ULTRAMAN and SPACE GIANTS) aired frequently.

The one exception was GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER, which actually was a lost film for a couple of decades. Warner Bros only had theatrical rights to it for 5 years, and the company that licensed the film from Toho shut down in the early 1960s so GIGANTIS wasn't available at all. Toho finally re-offered the movie to distributors in the mid-1980s, and I saw it for the first time around 1986-87 on TV (where it was shown around 2am). In 1989 it was released on VHS, and in (going from memory) 1994 it began showing frequently on the Disney Channel with the new video generated GRA title card.

[Killswitch]

^kpa, to a child or pre-teen a film like Godzilla 85 could be "lost". Its not shown on regular TV or standard cable. You can't buy it in stores. Plus, they have to depend on their parents for money. A lot easier to beg your parents for a DVD at Walmart, than to have them search the net for a rare film. That's why I used the words "could be considered "lost"". You are correct in your statement, but I am looking at it from a kids point of view.

Your Philly programming was similar to mine in Cleveland during the 70's & 80's. I am guessing that it was the norm across the country back then. At least in the Mid-West and East Coast. Local Detroit Stations still show Godzilla films. I was up at the Woodward Dream Cruise a few years back, and they were showing a G film on the weekend.

[kpa]

^kpa, to a child or pre-teen a film like Godzilla 85 could be "lost". Its not shown on regular TV or standard cable. You can't buy it in stores. Plus, they have to depend on their parents for money. A lot easier to beg your parents for a DVD at Walmart, than to have them search the net for a rare film. That's why I used the words "could be considered "lost"". You are correct in your statement, but I am looking at it from a kids point of view.

The a big difference between "completely unavailable" and "not easily accessible". Of course children will have less options to find something like an out of print movie, but I just did a quick check on Amazon and ebay and both have copies of the film for around $6. It's available and it's cheap, so if some kid's parents won't buy it for them it doesn't make the movie lost.

Your Philly programming was similar to mine in Cleveland during the 70's & 80's. I am guessing that it was the norm across the country back then.

It really depended on the local programmers. I've talked to fans in their 30-40s who've said Japanese sci-fi movies and shows rarely-- or never-- aired on their local stations. I feel lucky the Philly was different, because I'm sure my interest in the genre was built on the movies and shows being on TV all the time.

At least in the Mid-West and East Coast. Local Detroit Stations still show Godzilla films. I was up at the Woodward Dream Cruise a few years back, and they were showing a G film on the weekend.

Very cool! Not a lot of local stations will show old movies these days.

[Goji]

Like kpa said, a film can only truly be considered "lost" if there is no possible way to see it in any format. GODZILLA ('84)/GODZILLA 1985/RETURN OF GODZILLA has been released multiple times in various formats in and outside of the U.S., that it cannot be considered "lost".

[Tamura]

RETURN OF GODZILLA can also be found on DVD in almost every Western European country. It can hardly be called rare.