Classic Kaiju still missing on Region 1 DVD

[repticulous]

I'd like to see a DVD of GAPPA that's anamorphic widescreen and doesn't have those horrible video-generated titles covering up the beginning scenes that the Media Blasters version has. Of course, both the Japanese and the English versions should be available.

[GodzillaBurgh]

I want to see Daigoro vs. Goliath on DVD. And also Pulgasari.

[Godsteigman]

I have the import DVD of Gappa which is 16 x 9. I want Gappa, Pulgassari and Monster Wangmagwi on Blu ray &/or DVD. I feel like we will never see Monster Wangmagwi ever in our lifetime

[repticulous]

I have the import DVD of Gappa which is 16 x 9. I want Gappa, Pulgassari and Monster Wangmagwi on Blu ray &/or DVD. I feel like we will never see Monster Wangmagwi ever in our lifetime

PM sent.

[JetrellFo]

Huh? I don't own that one but huh what do you mean?

The early Paramount VHS releases (first around 1983-4 and reissued in 1989) does not have a title card of any kind on the transfer.

I own the Godzilla Vs. Mothra VHS from Paramount and I can confirm this. It is the UPA cut of the film.

[Gogifan71]

Gamera vs. Barugon with A.I.P. English sountrack
Gammera, the Invincible with A.I.P. English sountrack

Aren't these available on various public domain releases? We're also missing Half-Human, but I don't think we're getting that anytime soon...

I have those two but half human may be streaming on some public domain sites

[Gojira69]

Things have changed a lot since this thread began.

Since the Criterion Showa Godzilla set came out, I have grown to realize I have come full circle on the question of watching the dubbed versions of the Godzilla films. I used to chase down the Japanese OSTs, but these days, I just like watching Godzilla in English (though not necessarily the other kaiju). I want to make sure I have tracked down all of them.

Who can tell me which of these have been released legitimately in the US, and in what format these can be found (I know a few of them, not all):

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) Hollywood
Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959) Ryder Sound Service, Hollywood
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963) Ryder Sound, Hollywood
Godzilla vs the Thing (1964) Titra Sound Studios, New York
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1965) Bellucci Productions, New York (credited to Joe Bellucci)
Monster Zero (1970) Glen Glenn Sound, New York
Godzilla versus the Sea Monster (1968) Peter Fernandez, New York (likely at the studios of Titan Productions, Inc.)
Son of Godzilla (1969) Peter Fernandez, New York (same story as "Sea Monster")
Destroy All Monsters (1969) Titan Productions, Inc., New York (the renamed sound recording division of Titra Sound Studios)
Godzilla's Revenge (1971) Ryder Sound Services, Hollywood
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1972) Titan Productions, Inc., New York

[Terasawa]

Who can tell me which of these have been released legitimately in the US, and in what format these can be found (I know a few of them, not all):

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) Hollywood
Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959) Ryder Sound Service, Hollywood
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963) Ryder Sound, Hollywood
Godzilla vs the Thing (1964) Titra Sound Studios, New York
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1965) Bellucci Productions, New York (credited to Joe Bellucci)
Monster Zero (1970) Glen Glenn Sound, New York
Godzilla versus the Sea Monster (1968) Peter Fernandez, New York (likely at the studios of Titan Productions, Inc.)
Son of Godzilla (1969) Peter Fernandez, New York (same story as "Sea Monster")
Destroy All Monsters (1969) Titan Productions, Inc., New York (the renamed sound recording division of Titra Sound Studios)
Godzilla's Revenge (1971) Ryder Sound Services, Hollywood
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1972) Titan Productions, Inc., New York

KOTM, King Kong vs. Godzilla, and the dubbed soundtrack for Monster Zero are all in the Criterion set, of course. Media Blasters' 2011 DVD and Blu-ray releases of DAM came with the Titan dub; it was removed for the re-released versions and has become an overpriced collector's item.

The others you'll have to settle for on DVD or earlier formats. Gigantis, Godzilla vs the Thing, and Ghidrah, and Godzilla's Revenge were released by Classic Media. Just keep in mind the CM discs, and especially their presentations of the American versions, are far from perfect. For example, Ghidrah's and Revenge's English versions were imperfect re-creations while Gigantis and Godzilla vs the Thing came from subpar, incomplete or altered video transfers.

The versions of Sea Monster, SoG, and Smog Monster listed above haven't been officially available since the days of analog media. The best version of Smog Monster is Image's LaserDisc, but if you can't do that then you should look for Orion's VHS. The best version of Son of Godzilla was an SP mode cassette released by Anchor Bay. Their Canadian counterpart, HGV, released Godzilla versus the Sea Monster in SP but that's somewhat harder to come by. There were a lot of U.S. releases in the lower quality LP and EP speeds.

[Gojira69]

Thank you!

Added in 7 minutes 31 seconds:

<snip> The best version of Smog Monster is Image's LaserDisc, but if you can't do that then you should look for Orion's VHS. <snip>

Do you or anyone know if the image LaserDisc of SM is letterboxed or full screen or its picture quality?

[Terasawa]

Thank you!

Added in 7 minutes 31 seconds:

<snip> The best version of Smog Monster is Image's LaserDisc, but if you can't do that then you should look for Orion's VHS. <snip>

Do you or anyone know if the image LaserDisc of SM is letterboxed or full screen or its picture quality?

It's the same transfer as the Orion VHS. The title is letterboxed but the rest of the movie is like 1.66:1 squeezed to 1.33.