Guide to Toho Film/TV Distributors

[ScouseGojira]

Just a quick question, are there any UK based Goji fans on here who are aware of any potential releases of classic Toho films on region b Blu-rays? Was thinking for sure we'd see someone snap the films up this year from Toho with the release of the new film. The search goes on :/

[Tohosaurus]

Updated with the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy and Lions Gate's release of Godzilla vs Biollante.

[Tohosaurus]

Dear Typos.....

[three]

i think i am going to eventually start collecting the DVDs of these movies since netflix and other sites are so inconsistent and with poor quality.

anyway, just wanted to give props to Tohosaurus for making this thread. it will help me out in my ventures to come. ^-^

[Tohosaurus]

I'm looking to update this list for Media Blasters' Tokyo Shock titles. Can we confirm that all of their non-Godzilla Showa titles are OOP? They seem to be.

[gigan72]

I'm looking to update this list for Media Blasters' Tokyo Shock titles. Can we confirm that all of their non-Godzilla Showa titles are OOP? They seem to be.

They're not available anywhere, so I would say so. Only odd occurrence was when FCTW randomly came back in stock on Amazon (I snagged a copy quickly), but that was probably old stock rediscovered.

[gigan71]

What about - crest of the wold, espy, the dracula trilogy ?

[Tohosaurus]

What about - crest of the wold, espy, the dracula trilogy ?

I would love to do that, but information seems relatively limited from what I remember. But like I mentioned in the original post, people absolutely can ask about a specific movie in a given region. What region are you looking for with regards to the Dracula trilogy? And what year would those be? I am unfamiliar with those titles at Toho.

[Terasawa]

What about - crest of the wold, espy, the dracula trilogy ?

UPA used to have Lake of Dracula, Evil of Dracula and ESPY. Classic Media grandfathered those in but let the rights lapse, so they're back with Toho. They've never been released on Region 1 DVD. I don't think Vampire Doll or Crest of the Wolf have ever been licensed to a U.S. distributor.

[Arbok]

What about - crest of the wold, espy, the dracula trilogy ?

UPA used to have Lake of Dracula, Evil of Dracula and ESPY. Classic Media grandfathered those in but let the rights lapse, so they're back with Toho. They've never been released on Region 1 DVD. I don't think Vampire Doll or Crest of the Wolf have ever been licensed to a U.S. distributor.

I don't believe Vampire Doll has been licensed since the advent of the DVD age. I'm not able to say the licencor, but can state that the film was available for license and at one time was being seriously considered for a US license agreement purchase around 10 years ago. So I imagine the rights are still available if someone were to grab them, and I really hope someone does... It's a really enjoyable film.

Given the level of nudity with Horror of the Wolf, I imagine that makes it a less likely candidate for distribution in the US as opposed to others like ESPY.

[Space Hunter M]

Given the level of nudity with Horror of the Wolf, I imagine that makes it a less likely candidate for distribution in the US as opposed to others like ESPY.

what about kaoru yumi's knockers in espy tho

[Arbok]

Given the level of nudity with Horror of the Wolf, I imagine that makes it a less likely candidate for distribution in the US as opposed to others like ESPY.

what about kaoru yumi's knockers in espy tho

Not as bad as Horror of the Wolf, but point taken.

Evil of Dracula also has some nudity... in fact Vampire Doll and Lake of Dracula were the only ones without it, and the only pair of those five films that I know was considered for a license agreement at one time.

[Chrispy_G]

Should the OP include maybe a 'Godzilla only' section to specifically group and track which companies have US home market distribution rights?

I remember in the VHS/DVD days, it was a crazy experience to go on the internet and try and figured out who had which films and how likely/unlikely it was to expect DVD releases at all....let alone DVD releases of any real quality(widescreen, Japanese audio)

It is nice now that all 29 Pre-Legendary films are split up across only a handful of companies
Sony - 12 films - 91 through 2004
Universal/Classic Media(Via the Dreamworks Animation purchase) - 8 films - 54-65, 69, 75
Kraken - 4 films - 66, 71, 72, 84
Media Blasters - 2 films - 68, 73
Lionsgate - 1 film - 89
To Be Determined - 67, 74

If Son of Godzilla and MechaG 74 get grabbed by one of the other companies, then the 29 films will only be divided across 5 distributors...that isn't too bad at all.

[GodzFire]

Should the OP include maybe a 'Godzilla only' section to specifically group and track which companies have US home market distribution rights?

I remember in the VHS/DVD days, it was a crazy experience to go on the internet and try and figured out who had which films and how likely/unlikely it was to expect DVD releases at all....let alone DVD releases of any real quality(widescreen, Japanese audio)

It is nice now that all 29 Pre-Legendary films are split up across only a handful of companies
Sony - 12 films - 91 through 2004
Universal/Classic Media(Via the Dreamworks Animation purchase) - 8 films - 54-65, 69, 75
Kraken - 4 films - 66, 71, 72, 84
Media Blasters - 2 films - 68, 73
Lionsgate - 1 film - 89
To Be Determined - 67, 74

If Son of Godzilla and MechaG 74 get grabbed by one of the other companies, then the 29 films will only be divided across 5 distributors...that isn't too bad at all.

You are free to use the format I created over at Monster Zero's forums for the Godzilla rights list:

(Last Updated May 2016)

Here is the list of which Godzilla films are owned by what company, along with Blu-Ray/DVD information.

Sony TriStar (11/29)
- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla vs. Mothra (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Space Godzilla (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Destroyah (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla 2000 (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Megaguirus (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla, Mothra, & King Ghidorah: GMAOA (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla: Final Wars (Blu-Ray 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)

Classic Media (7/29)
- Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Blu-Ray/DVD 2012: Fullscreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub) [via Criterion Collection]
- Godzilla Raids Again (DVD 2006: Fullscreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)
- Mothra Vs Godzilla (DVD 2006: Anamorphic Widescreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)
- Ghidrah, The Three Headed Monster (DVD 2007: Anamorphic Widescreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Monster Zero (DVD 2007: Anamorphic Widescreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla's Revenge (DVD 2007: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Terror of Mechagodzilla (DVD 2007: Anamorphic Widescreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)

Kraken Releasing (4/29)
- Godzilla Vs The Sea Monster (Blu-Ray/DVD 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Hedorah (Blu-Ray/DVD 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Gigan (Blu-Ray/DVD 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- The Return Of Godzilla *Blu-Ray/DVD coming September 2016*

Media Blasters [Via Tokyo Shock] (2/29)
- Destroy All Monsters (Blu-Ray/DVD 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Megalon (Blu-Ray/DVD 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)

Miramax [Via Echo Bridge] (1/29)
- Godzilla Vs Biollante (Blu-Ray/DVD 2012: Anamorphic Widescreen, Jap/Eng Versions, Sub/Dub)

Universal (1/29)
- King Kong Vs Godzilla (Blu-Ray/DVD 2014: Anamorphic Widescreen, Eng Version, Dub)

** TOHO OWNED ** (3/29)
- Son of Godzilla: Sony Tristar (DVD 2004: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla: Sony Tristar: (DVD 2004: Anamorphic Widescreen, Sub/Dub)
- Godzilla 1985: Anchor Bay (VHS 1997, Non-Anamorphic Widescreen, Eng Version, Dub)

[Chrispy_G]

Just polling the crowd here...but when it comes to North American home market distributors....if we had to pick ONE company to handle EVERY Godzilla release...which would probably be best?

It seems that a lot of people have very good things to say about Shout Factory.

[Terasawa]

Just polling the crowd here...but when it comes to North American home market distributors....if we had to pick ONE company to handle EVERY Godzilla release...which would probably be best?

Criterion. Obviously all the remaining films are outside of The Collection's focus, but it doesn't matter since this is a fantasy scenario.

[Chrispy_G]

Yeah obviously Criterion handling EVERY movie of any kind would be best...but I was kinda sorta going for 'fairly feasible' with my suggestion.

[omgitsgodzilla]

I'd have to give my vote to Shout! Factory. They tend to give niche titles like these pretty damn good releases. Their Sleepaway Camp trilogy Blu-rays are a good example of what I mean: The transfers aren't absolutely stellar but they're solid, and they contain a good deal of newly-produced extras, as well as reversible cover art featuring new artwork on one side and the original posters on the other.

[Tohosaurus]

Made some updates. At some point I would need to re-research existing titles to ensure they're still in print (or not). As always, if anyone knows information here is incorrect please post!

[gigan72]

KK Escapes should mention that only the US cut is available, same with KK vs. Godzilla. The DAM Blu-ray is OOP (DVD is still in print though), and the Gunhed DVD is OOP.

Also-

Rodan (1956) - Held by Classic Media. Currently available in the The War of the Rodan/War of the Gargantuas double-feature DVD.

The War of the Rodan