Toho Kingdom

It's nice to finally have this in NA. Really wish we'd get 85, but I know that'll never happen. Still have my New World Video rental VHS copy and a rip of the Monsters HD copy that I burned. I wasn't going to put that on my shelf, but now that I've got 84 officially I'll put the bootleg 85 up too.

I know it is complicated. But should we honestly expect these issues to NEVER be resolved? Or is it just a matter of being 'too much red tape to weed through' for any North American distributor to bother with?

I mean...is it Anchor Bay that currently has the rights? What is the issue with them not releasing 1985? Is it an Anchor Bay-Toho issue?

There are issues revolving using the Def Con 4 score in the 1985 version...I'm aware of that. But that doesn't seem like it would be something insurmountable. At worst, couldn't they craft a version of 1985 that only used musical cues from the original 1984 film? I know for sticklers that wouldn't truly be the "1985 version", but if it is a compromise that gets the 85 Cut of the film on the home market...wouldn't it be worth it?

There is a lot of demand among the fanbase to see this version get a proper release. It would stink if they were denied that option forever.

It could be any number of things. The on-screen actors, dubbers, composer, estates of those who were involved, and maybe even Dr. Pepper could all be part of the problem. The problem isn't limited to whether or not any of these individuals have a right to any royalties, but whether or not they could initiate some sort of legal dispute - which would cost the defendant (Kraken and/or Toho) money. That doesn't even mean that these individuals actually have a legitimate claim for some sort of royalty (which, might depend on the contracts from 1984/1985 that may no longer apply), but whether or not they could cause a headache for Kraken or Toho.

Toho already has an English version of the movie, so why would they throw down the money to clear up the legal issues for a different version? And Kraken is too small of a company to have the ability to clear those issues themselves, regardless of if they cared to do so.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to money. The general public, fans, and completionists will all buy the DVDs and Blu-rays no matter what versions are included, and Kraken obviously didn't see a good return on investment for clearing the red tape holding up Godzilla 1985.

The only way that we would ever see Godzilla 1985, or any other "lost" versions of Kaiju/Tokusatsu films, is if the fans organized effective campaigns to convince the studios that these films are worth it for them (i.e., profitable), not just the fans. But that would require a concise and united vision amongst the fandom, which we sorely lack.

Though it really begs the question, why would someone who doesn't even like Godzilla 1985 hope to see it released? First it's not worthy of preservation, but now suddenly "It would stink if they were denied that option forever". Funny.

Goji wrote:Though it really begs the question, why would someone who doesn't even like Godzilla 1985 hope to see it released? First it's not worthy of preservation, but now suddenly "It would stink if they were denied that option forever". Funny.

Beats me. I was never crazy about New World's cut of this movie, & have long pined for the original Japanese version, as I usually like those better. GMK's edit on SyFy, anyone? Godzilla 1985 can stay in limbo FOREVER for all I care...

I mean, good for you, but even if I didn't give a shit about that version I'd consider it worth preserving, for Raymond Burr's scenes if nothing else.

And I'm pretty sure it was confirmed ages ago that the issue is Christopher Young's music. The voice actors and additional cast were already compensated for their work; they're not an issue. Music is different, because this music wasn't commissioned for this film but was licensed from the publishers, requiring ongoing royalty payments.

After watching it, I don't like 84 at all. 85 is so much better.

So my last three remaining VHS tapes are G vs MG 74, an old dinosaur documentary, and G85. After reading the last 20 pages or so of this thread it makes me sad to see that G85 will probably never get an official release. I basically keep my ancient VHS player for G85, and it seems I will have to keep this fossil for the foreseeable future.

When I was a kid I had a DVD recorder and recorded my VHS copy of G85 onto a disc...to at least maintain the lackluster image quality indefinitely.

MandaSaurus wrote:

Goji wrote:Though it really begs the question, why would someone who doesn't even like Godzilla 1985 hope to see it released? First it's not worthy of preservation, but now suddenly "It would stink if they were denied that option forever". Funny.

Beats me. I was never crazy about New World's cut of this movie, & have long pined for the original Japanese version, as I usually like those better. GMK's edit on SyFy, anyone? Godzilla 1985 can stay in limbo FOREVER for all I care...

I think half of the Showa movies should be in limbo because some of them may be garbage ,and others may not be. Still a flawed argument.

I may not like it that much from what I've seen, but having it preserved and restored would be better. The English version of 84 has a dub track that sounds like it was a parody.

I mean, I certainly don't adore all of these movies either, but I'm losing y'all somewhere between there and "I would genuinely not care if they weren't available for anyone to see, ever." Not quite following.

omgitsgodzilla wrote:I mean, I certainly don't adore all of these movies either, but I'm losing y'all somewhere between there and "I would genuinely not care if they weren't available for anyone to see, ever." Not quite following.

Sarcasm doesn't get far on the internet, though. Should've added a thing afterwards to clear it up.

I wasn't responding only to what you said; the "flawed argument" part made it a little unclear whether you actually meant it, but it seemed like at least one other person did.

For me personally I suppose I just "prioritize" and care more about the original versions. There are a few US versions I'd like to see preserved and continue to be released. Others I don't like as much. So I PERSONALLY would not really care if say....the US Version of Godzilla Raids Again was lost forever.

I'm not rooting for it to happen, I'm not saying it should be destroyed and nobody should be allowed to have a way of seeing it. I just know that if that DID happen, I PERSONALLY would not feel much of a sting. I hate spaghetti, if there were no more spaghetti in the world...I'd be fine. Even though I know many people would miss it and yeah, it sucks for them that they don't get their spaghetti....but I can't pretend that I personally would miss spaghetti.

But conversely, I'd really hate to hear the same news about, say, King of the Monsters. Or Chicken.

We're all just talking personal preference and opinion here. This shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Chrispy_G wrote:But conversely, I'd really hate to hear the same news about, say, King of the Monsters. Or Chicken.

I'd like to hear some news about "King of the Chicken".

G1985 wrote:

Chrispy_G wrote:But conversely, I'd really hate to hear the same news about, say, King of the Monsters. Or Chicken.

I'd like to hear some news about "King of the Chicken".

Gigan King of the chickens

G1985 wrote:

Chrispy_G wrote:But conversely, I'd really hate to hear the same news about, say, King of the Monsters. Or Chicken.

I'd like to hear some news about "King of the Chicken".

omgitsgodzilla wrote:I wasn't responding only to what you said; the "flawed argument" part made it a little unclear whether you actually meant it, but it seemed like at least one other person did.

I just said that it was a sort of flawed argument to dismiss movies just because we don't like a section of them, meaning that despite of what I like or not, I would rather have alternate versions and edits preserved if not restored, preferably.

G1985 wrote:

Chrispy_G wrote:But conversely, I'd really hate to hear the same news about, say, King of the Monsters. Or Chicken.

I'd like to hear some news about "King of the Chicken".

Isn't that Burger King?

Jk, that stuff's disgusting.

Just got my Blu-Ray in the mail. After viewing it, the audio is really the best part. The audio quality for both tracks is great. The only problem with the audio is if I want to switch tracks I have to go to the menu and choose the other audio option, then replay the movie. The subs are even worse. I can't remove them at all on the Japanese version. Also, the trailer they included says it comes with two audio tracks for the trailer, but I can't switch between the trailer audios and there is no option on the menu. I feel if I got the DVD I could just rip it and add the subs and audio tracks, and it would be fine.

omgitsgodzilla wrote:I mean, I certainly don't adore all of these movies either, but I'm losing y'all somewhere between there and "I would genuinely not care if they weren't available for anyone to see, ever." Not quite following.

I think, for a lot of people, one English version is enough. I don't necessarily agree, but that's what I feel like I'm seeing.