Guide to Toho Film/TV Distributors

[Tohosaurus]

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

You don't have that version?

[omgitsgodzilla]

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.

The bare-bones DAM Blu-ray is OOP?

[gigan72]

The bare-bones DAM Blu-ray is OOP?

Yup, none are left on Amazon and it's become a horde of scalped listings.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Damn. Do any other retailers still have it in stock?

[gigan72]

Damn. Do any other retailers still have it in stock?

Cheapest I could find was this two pack which includes it and GvM, it's about $40 shipped but it's still cheaper than getting DAM alone.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GODZILLA-vs-MEG ... SwCQNWeizi

[Tohosaurus]

Hmm. Couldn't they re-release it? As in supplies yo-yo at times?

[Chrispy_G]

I know it isn't a Toho film....but would it be worth mentioning that by all accounts the 78 Godzilla Animated series distribution rights are now with Universal. Classic Media had them, and then they were purchased by Dreamworks Animation whose purchase by Universal was recently finalized.

So by default/extension...Universal has 8 Showa films and the first animated series under their belt. Part of me would like to see them make a play for Son of Godzilla and Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla....and then maybe just make deals with Media Blasters/Kraken/Lionsgate/Sony.....and then they could in fact have all 29 of the 'first 50 years' Godzilla era under one roof. Then we'd maybe be one giant licensing/sub-licensing deal with Shout Factory or Funimation away from these films perhaps ALL getting consistent, top-notch releases.

Completely wishful thinking and something tells me Uni doesn't give two squats...but I have to think they might want to monetize every little thing that came with the Dreamworks deal...and having the entire original run of Godzilla films would be pretty valuable.

[omgitsgodzilla]

I think Shout might be a decent bet, as they've sublicensed a lot of titles from Universal before. They'll almost certainly never go for the whole series, but the CM titles and King Kong vs. Godzilla might be a possibility.

[Terasawa]

The Hanna-Barbera Godzilla may be back with Toho. Classic Media licensed the first season from them after Hanna-Barbera's successor (Warner Animation?) lost the rights in the mid-2000s.

[Tohosaurus]

A full set of HB's series would be great.

Anyway I removed Hulu/Netflix/Amazon since that wasn't very relevant to this thread.

[Chrispy_G]

...this is also interesting.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 03173.html

So while Funimation handles production and marketing of its product, in North America Universal handles physical distribution. So there is a partnership there. This could possibly open pathways from Universal's Godzilla titles to Funimation, which of course has the Shin Godzilla rights. Perhaps a drive/interest from Funimation in being the 'home' of past/Toho Godzilla films could lead to THEM trying to consolidate all of the rights together.

This notion of all of the non-WB/Legendary films being under one roof is still a pipe dream. Universal likely doesn't give a darn about it.

But Shin Godzilla is making money for Funimation, and they are the type of company that might see a value in these titles. Box sets, multi-film collections, the potential of giving every film a nice, new, high quality Funimation Dub, new transfers sourced from Toho's 4K restorations of(hopefully all of) their Godzilla films.

[B5Erik]

I know it isn't a Toho film....but would it be worth mentioning that by all accounts the 78 Godzilla Animated series distribution rights are now with Universal. Classic Media had them, and then they were purchased by Dreamworks Animation whose purchase by Universal was recently finalized.

So by default/extension...Universal has 8 Showa films and the first animated series under their belt. Part of me would like to see them make a play for Son of Godzilla and Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla....and then maybe just make deals with Media Blasters/Kraken/Lionsgate/Sony.....and then they could in fact have all 29 of the 'first 50 years' Godzilla era under one roof. Then we'd maybe be one giant licensing/sub-licensing deal with Shout Factory or Funimation away from these films perhaps ALL getting consistent, top-notch releases.

Completely wishful thinking and something tells me Uni doesn't give two squats...but I have to think they might want to monetize every little thing that came with the Dreamworks deal...and having the entire original run of Godzilla films would be pretty valuable.

Universal sucks. They are a TERRIBLE studio when it comes to releasing catalog titles. They started a Film Noir DVD series with 4 titles 13 or so years ago. They sold fairly well, but not as well as they'd have liked (still made a good profit), and never released another title in that series again. A ton of great movies were just gathering dust in their warehouse.

So, no, you don't want Universal owning anything Godzilla. They'd have less respect for Godzilla than they did a ton of Film Noir classics that garner critical acclaim.

[omgitsgodzilla]

I mean, no, we don't want them owning these movies, but they do. Those seven or eight, anyway.

The Funimation angle is certainly interesting, though it seems like they generally give their titles to Universal for distribution as opposed to getting titles from their catalog. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing them pick up what Universal's got.

[Chrispy_G]

If Universal by any chance purchased Funimation....maybe that could work?

Or hell...maybe Funimation just becomes the one who goes after the full catalog. Use their distribution ties with Universal to create a deal for those Godzilla titles. Media Blasters which has Megalon and DAM is quite a small company from what I understand, Funi could maybe get a quick deal to get those titles. Pick up titles that currently have no US distribution like Son and MechaG74.

It is a pipe dream, but WB doesn't care enough to go after all of the titles just because they have new Godzilla. Funimation would do them justice but they only have one title. Sony and Kraken seem interested in putting the bare minimum effort into it. Universal/Dreamworks Classics doesn't even seem interested in putting their titles on Blu Ray at all.

I see the Frankenstein and Wolf Man "Legacy Collection" Blu Ray sets with audio commentaries and extras and get a little jealous. I see the treatment the Classic Media DVD releases were given(audio commentaries, 2 versions of every film, extras) and get jealous. I'd like to see all of the Godzilla films get that kind of 'respect'

[Tohosaurus]

Section23 (Kraken) would be a decent place to have SoG, or Mechagodzilla.

[omgitsgodzilla]

They'll probably get the Sony transfers, which is great; otherwise they aren't really anything special.

I often wonder why they haven't gotten those two already; the best explanation I can think of is that Son of Godzilla doesn't have another English title for them to use side-by-side on the cover art for no particular reason.

[Tohosaurus]

Yeah I don't think Kraken would have crazy special features. That said, they've previously worked with classic Godzilla titles so I would think they'd be more likely than FUNimation. FUNimation does great work though.

[Chrispy_G]

I like the idea of Funimation, because there could be the ever-so-slight possibility of maybe having English Dub options on some of the films that have no English option...like the original cuts of the early Showa films. Those films have no international dubs.

Or beyond that...the thought of Funimation creating new dubs for all of the films. Where we get an eye for accurate translation, or at least appropriate translation, of the dialogue...as well as performance/quality in the dub that is often very lacking in the international dubs.

I'm all for watching the films subtitled, but to have a "quality" English-language option would certainly be nice.

But it is likely just another pipe-dream.

[omgitsgodzilla]

That would be nice, though I'd personally prefer to see decent-looking copies of the original US versions.

[Legion1979]

No one company is ever going to have every Toho-produced Godzilla film. Sony let all their Showa films go, so they obviously are never going to license any others. Yet they still have the most films out of any other company (11) and I doubt they'll let anyone get ahold of those.