Godzilla 4K Ultra HD - The Criterion Collection

Godzilla (a.k.a. Gojira) is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than thirty sequels. A thrilling, tactile spectacle that continues to be a cult phenomenon, the original 1954 Japanese version is presented here, along with Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the 1956 “Americanized” version.

Film Info

• Japan

• 1954

• 96 minutes

• Black & White

• 1.37:1

• Japanese

• Spine #594

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• [4k ONLY] One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features

• High-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack

• Audio commentary for both movies by film historian David Kalat

• Interviews with actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima and special effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai

• Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube

• Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects, introduced by special effects director Koichi Kawakita and special effects photographer Motoyoshi Tomioka

• Interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato

• The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla

• Trailers

• PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman

• Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz