Godzilla Minus One 4K UHD (2023)

[CWCprime]

Originally Posted by Driver78

Who's to say they won't change their mind and add subs to the extras? They're being added to the feature film...they went through with that effort and could still decide to add them to other material. I wouldn't count on any literature being reprinted in English since that likely involves a much higher expense. Depending on the number of preorders, I could see Toho doing an about face regarding subs.

Doubtful. They've got less than two months until it ships, and as someone else pointed out, adding subs for the feature itself was likely just a matter of importing the work already done for the international theatrical release. Adding subs to the extras would take much more work than that.

[HannibalBarca]

Originally Posted by Driver78

Depending on the number of preorders, I could see Toho doing an about face regarding subs.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but pretty much nothing I've seen in Toho's track record of dealing with this franchise makes me think that is even remotely possible. Even setting aside the difficulties that would probably arise in changing the actual physical production of the disks at the last minute, Toho's entire modus operandi in dealing with Godzilla home media in the West has been to be as lazy, obstinate, and capricious as possible, putting out relatively modest releases while putting in as the bare minimum of direct effort themselves. They usually make the overseas distributors (Classic Media in the aughts, Criterion for the big Showa set) do all the heavy lifting while saddling them with ridiculous restrictions. In at least in one instance, Toho blew up an entire release over some planned bonus features that didn't get 100% cleared by them ahead of time (or so they say). Since they're distributing Minus One themselves (for now), the path of least resistance is to dangle a cool box that they already produced in Japan, insert English subtitles that had already been prepared for the theatrical release, and shove it out the door with a chunky price tag.

Toho does this because they know that they have a cadre of insanely devoted Stateside fans who (like me, shamefully) will take whatever they get in terms of home media releases in this day and age. There's literally no incentive for Toho to make any more of an effort because a sufficiently large audience is locked in. They do the lazy home video releases, they contract with various geek/nerd culture labels to put out Godzilla shirts and toys and posters and hot sauce and coffee and popcorn (seriously), and rake in the dough. Why bother with actually well-done physical releases of the movies at that point? And that's without getting into the whole neurotic paranoia Toho has about Japanese fans importing Western home media releases. Maybe a year or more down the line, when they've wrung all the juice they can out of the Godzilla superfans, they'll put out a less glitzy release of Minus One, but I'm pretty confident that won't have much in the way of extras either. This is just The Way Toho Is, unfortunately.

Maybe one day they'll prove me wrong; maybe we'll get a (quality?) Heisei/Millennium set from Criterion, maybe they'll stop trying to destroy all the old English dubs from the VHS era, maybe they'll start actually making the best prints available for international home video. But I'll believe that when I see it, and not a second sooner.

[OSHAN]

How is the JP 4K UHD, anyway? I don't think I've read any reviews for it.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Anyone know the dimensions on the case (assume its the same size as the JP)? Tried looking a bit in the other threads, there's just too many threads discussing it.

[King Crimson]

Originally Posted by starsteam

And after all this talk about giving more attention to US fans. I agree that raw extras are better than no extras, which is how it usually goes anyway, but I would have taken lousy AI translations over none too.

A good number in the comment section on their socials are talking about the lack of subs. Maybe they'll try to make right one way or the other.

Either way, supporting this release shows Toho interest in physical media from US fans. I imagine Janus would still handle any releases of the classic catalog, but Shin and the anime stuff could be potential future releases.

Really hoping the Shin Godzilla 4K 4 disc set gets the same treatment, with Orthochromatic taking the place of one of the discs or something.

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by Jumbalia23

Personally I would rather have it unsubtitled than not at all.

Originally Posted by starsteam

I agree that raw extras are better than no extras

I’m truly not being sarcastic or hostile at all when I ask this: why? What am I missing? What good are bonus features you literally can’t understand?

[Modren]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

In all likelihood, the only reason the bonus disc (and the Japanese booklet) is included is because it was already in the version sold in Japan. Producing any kind of different version potentially has its own costs, so if Toho changed the physical product, possibly even down to removing the bonus disc as opposed to just including it, they would have to cover those costs by raising the price. Otherwise, Toho could have simply used the three-disc Japanese Deluxe Edition Blu-ray package and swapped out the bonus disc there for the 4K UHD disc. They didn't do that, so it must be cheaper for them to just sell us the Japanese 4K UHD version, bonus disc, booklet and all, while making minor changes to the three film discs.

In other words, it could be a situation where you would pay more to get this release without the bonus disc than with it.

They're already making changes to the Japanese set, since it didn't have English subtitles for the movie. 3/4ths of the discs in this set are new, and that's where the production cost went. I cannot imagine it would be more expensive to use empty 3-disc cases and insert the English-friendly UHD and Blu-rays than it is to use the 4-disc case and (presumably) reprint the bonus disc alongside the new movie discs.

I understand why Toho wants to have more control over how their Godzilla movies are distributed stateside, but I think they really need to reconsider their strategy with this release. It feels very slapdash and, frankly, lazy and exploitive. For 99% of people in America, this is a barebones release selling at a premium price.

[punisher]

there won't be English subtitles for any of the bonus features or the bonus disc..only the movie itself and the menus.

I do like have having it in Japanese but that's JMO since I have the original set.

[punisher]

Originally Posted by OSHAN

How is the JP 4K UHD, anyway? I don't think I've read any reviews for it.

Outstanding for both the 4k and the blu rays..here's a review from a short time ago


https://thedigitalbits.com/item/godz...-toho-2024-uhd



A must own !

[starsteam]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

I’m truly not being sarcastic or hostile at all when I ask this: why? What am I missing? What good are bonus features you literally can’t understand?

You can still appreciate the footage of the film coming together. Some of the extras may not even be that dialog driven.

Boots for the classic Godzilla films usually didn't have subs for the extras either - but they would basically be 20 minutes of suit actors performing on set, no subtitles were really needed. That's not the case for this film, but you should get my point.

But if raw extras are as useless as no extras when why not take them anyway?

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

I’m truly not being sarcastic or hostile at all when I ask this: why? What am I missing? What good are bonus features you literally can’t understand?

The cost would've been significant, and let's face it, a lot of people simply don't care about extras. At best, they're one-and-done things. My guesstimate is that printing the books and adding professionally translated subs would've added at least $25 to each set, and quite possibly more. I remember when Synapse released Wild Zero almost 25 years ago. They couldn't be bothered to sub the audio commentary because, IIRC, it would've added $5 to the retail cost. Assuming rates haven't changed or have gone up with inflation, multiply that by 2-3x, and then add in the costs of translating the book and printing it. The whole endeavor would've taken significant time and would've been a big gamble. As somebody else mentioned, all they had to do for the set they're selling was take timed subs that they already had and put them on the disc, and maybe convert the menu text to English. Easy peasy.

Also, it takes effort but fans have unofficial options if they must comprehend the extras. I can use my phone to translate the book using Google Translate or ChatGPT/Claude/etc. (GT used to be crap but it appears that, in the past month or so, Google has given GT some much-needed love. The translations seem better now.) Even with the audio, it's still a bit hit-or-miss but programs like whisper-ctranslate2 can work incredibly well for audio. I've unofficially translated a couple of extras this way and have synced the resultant subs. Minimal complaints on my end, at least when weird hallucinations don't occur.

[Geese1]

Just got a text message with the code for free shipping. Had signed up last night, but didn't get a code until just now, so I'm not sure why there was a delay. The KAIJU15 code also wasn't working so I just signed up for their newsletter and they sent me an email right away with a code for the 15% off. As others have mentioned, I was able to stack the codes so my preorder has been placed!

[timfitz99]

The package is beautiful but I can't justify that cost for extras I can't use. I'd be in if the extras were subtitled... for now I'll wait for a barebones 4k release with english subs. Assuming we ever get one.

[Herry Dunston]

Originally Posted by Geese1

Just got a text message with the code for free shipping. Had signed up last night, but didn't get a code until just now, so I'm not sure why there was a delay.

Happened to me just this second as well. I guess patience pays off.

[starsteam]

Remember that the 4-disc set is the only way to get the 4K disc in Japan. While there's nothing stopping Toho from releasing a standalone 4K disc in both countries at a later date, you're taking a risk by holding out for another release.

[lazerface]

Finally got my free shipping promo code, stacked it with the 15% off and paid just under $60 shipped, not terrible for a luxury set like this

[s2mikey]

I went ahead and took the plunge. Pre-order complete!!! I dont care about extras anyways. I used some PayPal balance too so I didnt even "pay" for this, LOL. 15% code worked too.

So happy to get a legit version of this with English subs.

[CWCprime]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

I’m truly not being sarcastic or hostile at all when I ask this: why? What am I missing? What good are bonus features you literally can’t understand?

Look at it this way. If Toho isn't going to put subtitles on the bonus disc at all, their only other alternative would be to just axe the disc completely from the release and make it a 3-disc set. In that scenario, people would probably be even more confused and upset that the bonus disc isn't included. Not saying having an untranslated bonus disc is ideal, but it's a lot more transparent and honest on Toho's part than the alternative.

[samuelkhan999]

Why couldn't they simply add English in the first place on the standard Toho edition

[prkchopexpress]

Originally Posted by CWCprime

Look at it this way. If Toho isn't going to put subtitles on the bonus disc at all, their only other alternative would be to just axe the disc completely from the release and make it a 3-disc set. In that scenario, people would probably be even more confused and upset that the bonus disc isn't included. Not saying having an untranslated bonus disc is ideal, but it's a lot more transparent and honest on Toho's part than the alternative.

and you know if they did that, then people would just be complaining about we didnt get the version that was released in japan.

i want the subs too. but who knows if that ever comes out. how long has godzilla vs biolante been out of print? we keep waiting for that one too and nothing has come out.

we wanted a version stateside. we have a version stateside now.

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

In all likelihood, the only reason the bonus disc (and the Japanese booklet) is included is because it was already in the version sold in Japan. Producing any kind of different version potentially has its own costs, so if Toho changed the physical product, possibly even down to removing the bonus disc as opposed to just including it, they would have to cover those costs by raising the price. Otherwise, Toho could have simply used the three-disc Japanese Deluxe Edition Blu-ray package and swapped out the bonus disc there for the 4K UHD disc. They didn't do that, so it must be cheaper for them to just sell us the Japanese 4K UHD version, bonus disc, booklet and all, while making minor changes to the three film discs.

In other words, it could be a situation where you would pay more to get this release without the bonus disc than with it.

lets be real. if this happened, the complaint would then be “why is it more expensive and not coming out until later? this is unfair.”

cant remember which thread it was, but one member said “bunch of veruca salts you are” and sometimes that is all i hear when i say some complaints that miss the bigger picture.

Originally Posted by suspiciouscoffee

By that logic, if you don't like all us ingrates not kissing Toho's feet, don't read our posts. No one's forcing you. Two weeks ago it would have been a perfectly sensible opinion that people should be able to actually watch discs they spend upwards of $60 for.

you know, toho doesnt have to release it at all, right? they didnt have to put it on VOD or streaming either.

this should be seen as a victory to get a physical copy without having to import or get lesser packaging.

it doesnt matter though, because even if it had the subs and was more money, the complaints would be about “why is this taking so long and why is SO expensive?”