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Criterion Collection Has Obtained Most of the Shōwa Era ‘Godzilla’ Films!
This could be real good news for your home video collections, Godzilla fans.
The timeline spanning from the original Godzilla in 1954 to Terror of Mechagodzilla in 1975 is referred to as the Big-G’s “Shōwa era,” and it included a total of fifteen Godzilla films produced and distributed by Toho. To date, Godzilla (’54) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (’56) are the only films from that era to join the prestigious Criterion Collection, but that may soon be changing.
As reported by Godzilla-Movies.com, Janus Films and the Criterion Collection have obtained the rights to most of the Shōwa era Godzilla titles!
“Janus Films and the Criterion Collection have the rights to these Godzilla films and Starz is licensing them from us,” Criterion’s Jon Mulvaney told the site. “We hope to make them available on other platforms in the future. Please stay tuned!”
The films currently streaming on STARZ under Janus Films/Criterion are:
- Godzilla (1954)
- Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956)
- Rodan (1956)
- Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
- Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster (1964)
- Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
- War of the Gargantuas (1966)
- Son of Godzilla (1967)
- Destroy All Monsters (1968)
- All Monsters Attack (1969)
- Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
- Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)
- Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975)
At this time, we can’t be sure that these films will be released on home video by Criterion, but it seems to us like there’s a pretty good chance of that soon happening!
For now, reports Godzilla-Movies.com, “some of the Godzilla films streaming on STARZ use prints never before seen in North America as well as new subtitles.”
After scaring up a strong theatrical run, Oddity director Damian McCarthy’s Hokum heads home to Digital this week.
Settle in for a spooky supernatural chiller as Hokum arrives on all Digital platforms to rent or own beginning June 2, followed by a Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD Combo and DVD release on August 11, 2026.
Adam Scott (“Severance”) stars in Hokum as reclusive novelist Ohm Bauman. When he retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, the staff’s tales of an ancient witch haunting the honeymoon suite take hold of his mind. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance draw Ohm into a nightmarish confrontation with the darkest corners of his past.
Peter Coonan (“The Alienist: Angel of Darkness”), David Wilmot (“Station Eleven”), Florence Ordesh (“Departure”), Michael Patric (“Frontier”), Will O’Connell (“Game of Thrones”), Brendan Conroy (“Bodkin”), and Austin Amelio (“The Walking Dead”) also star.
Get a peek at the upcoming physical media release below, including a few special features.
Spooky Pictures’ Roy Lee (Weapons) & Steven Schneider (Insidious) produce alongside Image Nation’s Derek Dauchy (Late Night with the Devil), Tailored Film’s Ruth Treacy, Julianne Forde, & Mairtín de Barra, and Cweature Features’ Ken Kao & Josh Rosenbaum.
I wrote in my review for Bloody Disgusting, “A quaint Irish hotel with a deeply haunted history awaits an American writer in McCarthy’s third outing, continuing his streak for folkloric tales of supernatural karma and spine-tingling terror with a dark sense of humor.”
What’s next from Damian McCarthy? He’s currently writing a haunted house movie, but recent comments suggest he may be moving into other genres beyond that upcoming project.
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