Also today, Arrow Video has announced the contents of their Gamera: The Complete Collection Blu-ray set (due on 8/18 in the States and 8/17 in the UK), which will include:
COLLECTOR’S EDITION BOX SET CONTENTS
- Limited collectors’ edition packaging, housed in a large-format rigid box, fully illustrated by Matt Frank
- Casebound, fully-illustrated disc book containing eight Blu-ray discs
- High Definition (1080p) versions of all twelve films, with lossless original Japanese audio and a complete collection of English dub tracks, including classic American International dubs on the Showa-era films remastered from original MGM elements
- Hardback 130-page comic book including a full-colour reprint of the four-issue Gamera comic series originally released by Dark Horse Comics in 1996, and the first-ever English-language printing of the prequel comic The Last Hope by Matt Frank and Joshua Bugosh
- Perfect-bound 80-page book including a new retrospective on the series by Patrick Macias, an archive interview with Noriaki Yuasa by David Milner, kaiju X-ray illustrations by Jolyon Yates, Fangoria set reports on the Heisei trilogy by Norman England, and a viewers’ guide to the English-dubbed versions of the films
- Double-sided four-panel poster of “Gamera’s Map of Japan” in both Japanese and English
- Collectors’ artcards for each film, featuring new artwork by Matt Frank
DISC ONE – GAMERA THE GIANT MONSTER
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera the Giant Monster, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles
- Commentary and newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gammera the Invincible (Blu-ray premiere), the American theatrical version of the film, with lossless mono audio and optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
- Remembering the Gamera Series, an archive featurette from 1991, including interviews with director Noriaki Yuasa, writer Nisan Takahashi and others
- Interview with Noriaki Yuasa, filmed by Jörg Buttgereit in 2002
- Gamera Special, an hour-long best-of compilation supervised by Noriaki Yuasa in 1991
- Alternate English credits
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC TWO – GAMERA VS. BARUGON / GAMERA VS. GYAOS
- High Definition (1080p) transfers of Gamera vs. Barugon and Gamera vs. Gyaos, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles
- Commentary on Gamera vs. Barugon by August Ragone & Jason Varney
- Commentary on Gamera vs. Gyaos by Stuart Galbraith IV
- Newly filmed introductions to both films by August Ragone
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of War of the Monsters, the shorter American edit of Gamera vs. Barugon, with lossless English audio
- Alternate English credits for both films
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC THREE – GAMERA VS. VIRAS / GAMERA VS. GUIRON
- High Definition (1080p) transfers of Gamera vs. Viras and Gamera vs. Guiron, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles
- Choice of three different versions of Gamera vs. Viras via seamless branching (72-minute Theatrical Version, 81-minute Director’s Version and 90-minute US Extended Version)
- Commentary on Gamera vs. Viras by Carl Craig and Jim Cironella
- Commentary on Gamera vs. Guiron by David Kalat
- Newly filmed introductions to both films by August Ragone
- New featurette with actor Carl Craig showing his souvenirs and props from Gamera vs. Viras
- Highlights from the G-FEST X convention in 2003, featuring Noriaki Yuasa and Carl Craig
- The 4th Nippon Jamboree, a promotional film for the Boy Scouts of Japan directed by Yuasa in 1966
- Alternate English credits for both films
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC FOUR – GAMERA VS. JIGER / GAMERA VS. ZIGRA / GAMERA SUPER MONSTER
- High Definition (1080p) transfers of Gamera vs. Jiger, Gamera vs. Zigra and Gamera Super Monster, with lossless original Japanese and dubbed English mono audio, and optional English subtitles
- Commentary on Gamera vs. Jiger by Edward L. Holland
- Commentary on Gamera vs. Zigra by Sean Rhoads & Brooke McCorkle
- Commentary on Gamera Super Monster by Richard Pusateri
- Newly filmed introductions to all three films by August Ragone
- Alternate English credits for all three films
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC FIVE – GAMERA THE GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera the Guardian of the Universe, from a 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures
- Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles
- Commentary by Matt Frank
- Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 1, the first in an epic three-part documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy
- Interviews with director Shusuke Kaneko and SFX director Shinji Higuchi, filmed by Jörg Buttgereit in 2002
- Extended 90-min interview with Shinji Higuchi from 2001, focusing on the trilogy’s special effects
- Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release
- Alternate English credits
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC SIX – GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, from a 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures
- Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles
- Commentary by Kyle Yount
- Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 2, the next part of the documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy
- On-set footage from the shooting of the film’s main unit and special effects filming
- Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release
- Alternate English credits
- “Lake Texarkana” comedic dub track
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC SEVEN – GAMERA 3: REVENGE OF IRIS
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, from a 4K restoration by Kadokawa Pictures
- Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles
- Commentary by Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski
- Newly filmed introduction by August Ragone
- A Testimony of 15 Years: Part 3, the final part of the documentary interviewing cast and crew of the Heisei Trilogy
- Newly filmed interview with Kaho Tsutsumi about the DNA Tokasatsu exhibition in Tokyo, by kaiju historian Edward L. Holland
- Behind the scenes featurettes tracing the film’s production from announcement to release
- Deleted Scenes
- The Awakening of Irys (Remix), a montage of behind-the-scenes footage and work-in-progress special effects footage
- Alternate English credits
- Spoof commentary by “Gamera” & “Soldier No.6”
- Trailer and image galleries
DISC EIGHT – GAMERA THE BRAVE
- High Definition (1080p) transfer of Gamera the Brave
- Original Japanese and dubbed English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0 audio, with optional English subtitles
- Commentary by Keith Aiken & Bob Johnson
- How to Make a Gamera Movie, a featurette hosted by director Ryuta Tasaki
- Behind the Scenes of Gamera the Brave, an all-access on-set documentary
- The Men That Made Gamera, a documentary looking back at the series from start to finish, featuring interviews with cast and crew
- Opening Day Premiere, a featurette showing the cast and crew presenting the film at its first showing
- Kaho’s Summer, an interview with the film’s young star
- Special Effects Supercut, a montage of effects shots overseen by FX supervisor Hajime Matsumoto
- Trailer and image galleries
Whew! Here’s a look at the open packaging (and clicking on the image below will take you to the Amazon.com pre-order page for the title)...
And finally today, our friends at Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and the Warner Archive Collection have just posted their Comic-Con at Home panel celebrating the 80th anniversary of Bugs Bunny. The great news is that they officially revealed the Bugs Bunny: 80th Anniversary Collection, which is expected to street on 11/3. The 3-disc Blu-ray set will include 60 remastered cartoons. Among these will be 20 cartoons that have been released before but are considered “essential,” as well as 40 more cartoons that have either never been remastered on Blu-ray, never been released on home video at all (including Racketeer Rabbit (1946), Rabbit Every Monday (1951), Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943), and What’s Cookin’ Doc? (1944) and others), or never been released in the proper Academy aspect ratio! All of them have been fully remastered from original elements in HD. They range from the very earliest cartoons, to the end of the classic Bugs Bunny era in 1964. The set is also filled with special features, including documentary featurettes and audio commentaries.
Here’s a look at the opening packaging for the set (and like the Gamera set, it's now available for pre-order on Amazon.com buy clicking here or on the image below)...
And here’s the video of the full panel discussion on YouTube...
We expect the complete and detailed list of the cartoons and extras included in the set to be released soon. [UPDATE: Here’s a complete list of all 60 of the cartoons that will be included in this set, with a bit of detail on the extras too. Additional extras (including audio commentaries) are still TBA.]
That’s all for now. Stay tuned...!
(You can follow Bill on social media at these links: Twitter and Facebook)