In all the talk of Blu-ray this and Blu-ray that, we forget that some of the classic films will see a huge benefit in their transition to the high definition format. Digital remastering, improved audio mixing, and all other sorts of neat things come out of it. And so, Toho is kicking things into high gear with a couple of collections they'll be releasing in Japan.

First up is their Tokusatsu collection, featuring Godzilla, Godzilla Final Wars, Godzilla vs. Biollante, Rodan, and Mothra are in their lineup. Besides that, they've got an Akira Kurosawa Master Collection coming up. The first titles in there are Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, Sanshiro Sugata (Part 1 and 2), The Bad Sleep Well, The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, and Sanjuro.

The Tokusatsu films are all retailing by themselves for 5,985 yen a piece once they come out in September, while the Kurosawa box comes in for a total of 29,800 yen in October. I hate to say it, but the discs don't seem to have English language subtitles.

I highlight this, though, because this means that the American distributors will be able to do their own Blu-ray versions of these films now that Toho is putting the discs out. I wonder if Criterion will move these up in their queue for Blu-ray films.