Hello!

A couple of notes today. This should be unnecessary for most readers, but after another letter from someone who didn’t understand, the highlighted words and titles in CineSavant reviews are links, mostly to other reviews but sometimes to material outside the site. I like to leapfrog to related material in what has become a 5600-entry review matrix.

I miss not doing footnotes, and every once in a while might drop something in brackets ‘[ ]’ that should probably be a footnote. I haven’t mastered doing footnotes in wordpress yet (I might take a class next Spring).

And finally, helpful correspondents write in from time to time to tell me that I’m reporting aspect ratios incorrectly, that ‘2:35’ is correctly written ‘2.35:1’. I’m well aware of this. I first learned ratios projecting for Hollywood types (mostly Mike Frankovich but also singer Barry White and dailies for Close Encounters). Projectionists back then just wrote ARs on film leaders in shorthand, as I do — 2:35 is just easier. Anyway, when people write in to correct me, it’s a chance to make a new contact, so I’ll keep doing it my way.

I announced some Powerhouse/Indicator titles last time. I thought I was pretty clear but a helpful reader has suggested that I reiterate that the two Universal-sourced movies, The Border and Charley Varrick were listed as Region B locked. The other two Columbia films The Fortune and The Border are region-free.

Gary Teetzel and other Kaiju fans are excited that Criterion has announced that they’ll be bringing out the entire Toho Showa collection of Godzilla films for Region A. The merry monster honor roll will include Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, Godzilla Raids Again, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Invasion of the Astro-Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Gary explains further: “So that gives them all the Showa-era Godzilla films except for King Kong vs. Godzilla, Ebirah Horror of the Deep (Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster) , Godzilla vs. Hedorah (/The Smog Monster) and Godzilla on Monster Island (Godzilla vs. Gigan). Universal, of course, controls KK vs. G; the other three were released on U.S. Blu-ray a couple of years back by Kraken Releasing.

If we do get a Zatoichi- or Lone Wolf and Cub– style boxed set, I hope they include the commentaries and featurettes from the Classic Media releases. And why not look into the rights to all those Toho sci-fi titles released years ago by Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock: The Mysterians, Atragon, Dogora, Varan, Matango, Latitude Zero and Yog? – – Gary.”

Yes, why not indeed!

Thanks for reading — Glenn Erickson