Toho Godzilla 60th Anniversary DVD & Blu-Ray Releases

[GodzFire]

For the 60th Anniversary of Godzilla, Toho re-released DVD versions of their Godzilla movies on May 14, 2014 and will be releasing Blu-Ray versions on two upcoming dates:

• June 18th: Godzilla, Godzilla VS Mothra, Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla 1984, Godzilla VS Biollante, Godzilla VS King-Ghidorah, Godzilla VS Mothra (aka Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth), Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla VS Spacegodzilla, Godzilla VS Destroyah, Godzilla VS Megaguirus, Godzilla, Mothra, King-Ghidorah: All-Monsters All Out Attack, and Godzilla: Final Wars.
• July 16th: Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong VS Godzilla, Invasion of Astro-Monster (aka Monster Zero), Godzilla VS the Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack (aka Godzilla’s Revenge), Godzilla VS Hedorah, Godzilla VS Gigan, Godzilla VS Megalon, Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla 2000, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and Godzilla (1998 – U.S.).

My question is, are the DVDs as well as the Blu-Rays new transfers, or just the Blu-Rays? I'm really interested to see the quality of some of the releases, like King Kong Vs Godzilla, which desperately needs restoration.

[Cookie]

Are they releasing these in box sets? Assuming nit, but thought id ask.

[Dr Kain]

Anyone seen any reviews for KKvsG and 2000? Those are the two I am most curious about.

[Hybrid Gojira]

Yeah, I'm wondering if the blu rays will eventually be a box set. Does anyone know? I'm primarily looking for special features on the discs since the US DVDs don't have much in the way of behind the scenes footage.

[MFS-3]

I have the KKvG re-issue BD courtesy of Amazon Japan. Managed to pre-order back in the spring and pleasantly suprised to have it in my hands the day after its official 7/16 release date. Can't stomach the English version and don't mind watching the original Japanese version without subs. Seen a fan-subbed DVD version multiple times.

Don't claim to be a professional critic so please go easy on my choice of words and bad grammar. Overall, it's worth the hefty price tag for the PQ/AQ, the multiple audio tracks including Ifukube's epic score and extras. There are brief moments in which the picture quality will briefly shift to a lesser, pixelated image. My guess is that footage from the original film negative had been lost and material from existing film prints or previous video masters had been used to fill in for the lost original negative footage. While the brief picture quality transitions from fine grain to pixelated are noticeable the DTS HD tracks are seamless. It doesn't distract from the overall viewing experience especially on a 50" flatscreen.

Haven't watched all the extras included on the disc but found several of the original trailers including the studio english-dubbed trailer. Includes a short video from a Godzilla exhibit in the early 90's.

I have to watch this gem the way god had intended for the no-brainer original Ifukube score, pristine picture quality and more footage involving Tako and his comedic shenanigans. Even as a kid I never liked the stock Universal film music replacing Ifukube's score which often made my eardrums want to bleed or shriek in terror as if my 5th Grade teacher came back to haunt me by scraping his finger nails on the blackboard to keep silence the classroom.

A treat to watch a Japanese Godzilla BD disc on an American Blu Ray player which doesn't require doling out the cash for a modded BD unit, even if I am fronting more cash for Japanese discs. Having this title in my Godzilla library was worth it!

Hope this helps!

[Dr Kain]

Not sure. How does it compare to Toho's DVD? Because the picture quality on that thing is atrocious.

[GodzFire]

Can you take some screen caps of the BR?

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I'm highly considering getting KKvsG BD. How hard would it to be to reburn a copy with subbs?

[Shokara]

Although MFS-3 already gave a review for Toho's recent King Kong vs. Godzilla BD, I just got my hands on this and numerous other releases over the weekend, and I intend to give my two cents on it. Alright, it's not exactly the actual BD. It's an English subtitled BD-R bootleg, so take this review somewhat with a grain of salt. Before I go into details I'll say that this release is not without its flaws, some of which MFS-3 previously mentioned. Despite that being said, saying this BD is an improvement over Toho's previous DVD would be a gross understatement. I'll be going into details about the picture quality and film print source, the available audio options, and the bonus features.

What most are likely wondering first thing is the picture quality as opposed to the DVD. If I remember correctly, someone on here told me the reason that the original Japanese theatrical cut of the movie had to be recreated was because Toho removed numerous scenes in order to shorten the movie down for the annual Champion Festival movie fest for kids. Apparently they used substandard elements, possibly from video and laserdisc sources, resulting in the DVD we're familiar with including all its murky colors, soft, pixalated images, and glaringly obvious dissolves where the various sources were spliced back together. There was even some brief footage near the end of the movie which was lost, a quick shot of some soldiers stumbling back from a cliff during the earthquake after Kong and Godzilla fell into the ocean after trashing Atami Castle. That shot was replaced with a repeat shot of a tree falling down the cliff. This brief but lost shot, which could be seen in the American version, has thankfully been restored on this BD.

Toho has mostly provided us with a whole new film source for this BD. Unfortunately, as MSF-3 said before, some of the theatrical release footage that was spliced back into the movie is still the soft and pixalated elements we remember, upscaled to HD with no real improvement to their quality. I'll go into specific detail which scenes these are a little later. What I can say is that is that these moments are relatively few and are all within the first fourteen minutes of the movie. It seems that the film source Toho used is a fairly decent print of the shortened Champion Festival version which is available to view in its entirety among the bonus features. Before I comment on the new print from the Champion Festival version I must say that Universal's print for their BD of the American version is still the superior. None the less, the quality from this new Champion Festival print is staggering compared to what we saw from Toho's DVD.

A departure from Toho's usual soft transfers without a great amount of detail, this new transfer from the Champion Festival print is crisp with loads of sharp detail and a nice amount of fine film grain. Another thing that's different from the usual Toho transfers is this print is a little on the dark side especially during night scenes. Some of the darker scenes are the giant octopus, Kong's subsequent intro on Faro Island, and Godzilla attacking the train. You will still make out mostly everything, but it is darker than what most of us are used to. The film also has an overall brownish/yellowish tint which is perhaps due to the aging of the print? Its contrast also seems to be a little high, but this in no way detracted from my viewing experience. Unfortunately I'm unable to provide screenshots to go with this review since I don't have the means to make screen captures from a BD. Below is a list of all of the still existing sub-standard theatrical release footage that was reinserted to the film.

00:01:39 to 00:02:19 - The intro to Wonderful World Series.

00:02:51 to 00:03:03 - Mr. Tako chewing out his employees.

00:03:31 to 00:04:17 - Tako gets chewed out by his boss over the phone and Wonderful World Series segues to the submarine Seahawk.

00:06:56 to 00:07:01 - Although this is in HD, the frame rate is choppy. Dr. Makino first talking to Tako, Sakurai, and Furue about the Faro berries.

00:08:56 to 00:09:18 - When Sakurai arrives at his apartment and realizes Fumiko isn't at home.

00:11:41 - One second of substandard footage at the very beginning of the scene where the Seahawk collides with the iceberg.

00:12:12 to 00:12:16 - Very beginning of Pacific Pharmaceuticals' gala sendoff for the Faro expedition.

00:12:53 to 00:13:36 - Fumiko and Tamiye talking to Sakurai and Furue at the Pacific Pharmaceuticals party.

00:13:52 to 00:13:57 - Tako chews Obashi out for not inviting the press to the expedition sendoff.

For the audio options we have Monoraul PCM, a 4.0 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track, the 2001 5.1 channel remix in DTS-HD Master Audio, a music only 4.0 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track, and an audio commentary. Unfortunately I don't know who did the commentary. It wasn't English subtitled, and I don't speak Japanese. Now on to the extras. All of the trailers that were previously available have returned with the exception of the black and white TV spot. Most are the same standard definition videos from before, but the main theatrical trailer, and the trailer for the Champion Festival version are both in HD. As I mentioned earlier, the whole shortened down Champion Festival version is included. There's a twenty minute interview with monster suit builder Eizo Kaimai whom reminisces about his work on King Kong vs. Godzilla and numerous other Toho special effects movies. There's also a sixteen minute video tour of Atami Castle and the surrounding area as seen today in comparison to its miniature appearance in the movie. As mentioned by MSF-3, there's a brief video montage of a 1994 Godzilla exhibit that features movie props and a large King Kong vs. Godzilla poster display. Also included is audio from a short vinyl record apparently made to promote the movie. Then there's a video gallery of several of the newspaper headlines featured in the film. Finally, there's an image gallery of what is apparently the film pressbook.

Despite the flaws in the picture quality I'm really glad I picked this up. It's not a complete restoration, but the vast majority of the original Japanese theatrical version looks far better than it ever has in years. This is also so far Toho's sharpest and most detailed HD transfer for a Godzilla title. I don't know how the other new BD releases look as I haven't gotten around to them yet. Anyone that's fed up with the front to end foggy, pixalated transfer from Toho's DVD needs to see this BD. For now it's the closest we'll get to a definitive restoration.

[GodzFire]

So super potentially dumb question here, but if Universal's print of King Kong Vs Godzilla is superior, why couldn't Toho just request that print and then splice in the scenes that were cut for US version. Wouldn't that essentially be a pristine as possible print?

[Shokara]

[MouthForWar]

Wait.. so is the new Toho BD for KKvG any different from the old one?

[Shokara]

[Dr Kain]

Maybe MFW means the print is different from their Region 2 DVD?

Because yeah, this was the first time Toho had released KKvsG on BD.

The only Showa movies were the original, Mothra vs, and GTTHM and they are all the exact same disc just rereleased.

[MouthForWar]

Huh... I guess I thought they already released most of them. My bad.

[Dr Kain]

[John Schuermann]

[Shokara]

Of course. They had to find the missing footage now. Less than three months after they already put their BD for King Kong vs. Godzilla out. Life is hilarious sometimes.

[canofhumdingers]

So I recently bought the Toho blus for Godzilla vs Mothra and Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster. I think we can pretty much assume at this point that the crappy softness an video noise that is so prevalent on some of the Toho HD masters is NOT a problem with their Showa titles. I'm one happy camper with this realization. Both of these titles look great. Nice sharp (for the most part) images with beautiful, natural film grain. I'd hazard a guess these transfers look as good or maybe even better than had you been able to see a release print in the theater in 1964. Now that's not to say they don't show they're age (optical composites take a serious hit in clarity and sharpness) but the issues that exist are inherent by products from the time they were shot, not issues introduced in the transfer. If all of Toho's Showa HD masters look as good as these (and the DAM and Megalon transfers) then, yay!

Still not sure why other Toho masters like G84, Biollante, and GMK are so soft with so much video noise but at least it looks like the classics are in much better shape.

[John Schuermann]

[Henry88]

think they need to go back and look at what they did with this

"Godzilla 4k Project"
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=20723

[canofhumdingers]

I might aught to clarify that neither of the '64 films' transfers will blow you away. They aren't reference quality discs by any stretch of the word. But they are decent looking HD transfers and significantly better than what I had initially come to expect from Toho's HD Godzilla transfers. I'd say Mothra, Ghidrah, DAM, and Megalon are all about equal in terms of the quality of the transfer (notable exception given to the image ghosting in Megalon, but I'm pretty sure that is strictly an error in the Media Blasters blu ray disc and not inherent to the master). So if you have one of those you have a good idea of what to expect in terms of picture quality from the others.

Sad to here the monster zero disc is not so great. Any chance you can post some screenshots? I'd do it with these but I don't have the ability to play blu rays on my computer.

Sucks 'cause I was thinking I might order a few more some time in the future and Monster Zero was one I was strongly considering (KKvsG will absolutely be the next one I get, but it makes more sense to wait and place a larger order at once).

[John Schuermann]

[Legion]

I actually think Toho's HD masters of the Showa films look great. I've always thought the colors on the Sony and Krakken discs were too ramped up. Way too many "Crayon box" blues, greens and reds. The colors looks more natural on the Toho discs. I received Sea Monster (as well as Raids Again) this morning and I think it looks terrific.

The prints of Mothra vs Godzilla and Ghidrah aren't perfect, but they're far better than what Classic Media offered, and it's easy to notice little details that you might never have seen before.

[canofhumdingers]

@ Legion -

I think the US blu rays of Sea Monster and Gigan look spectacular. Haven't actually even opened Smog Monster yet, but I expect it to be equally nice. If you're watching the Japanese discs on an American TV without adjusting your calibration, then the image you're seeing is significantly faded and washed out looking compared to how its supposed to be due to the differences in calibration standards between the US and Japan. Mothra and Ghidrah are both very vibrant and punchy and beautiful when seen properly calibrated (as any film from the 60's should be... the color processes used back then, even Eastman color which would subsequently fade terribly, were very vibrant and "crayola-esque". Just look at any properly restored Hollywood film from the same time frame. Or even the recent '60's Batman TV set!)

@ John -

I did notice the splice marks on Megalon and found it annoying but not a total deal breaker. The ghosting can bee seen throughout the film when something moves at high speed. I noticed it very early on in a close up of Godzilla's head and neck as he moved across the frame rapidly when Monster Island was blowing up during the intro. It's also very visible when the main characters find their house broken in to and encounter the Seatopian agents for the first time. When they fight, watch the Seatopian's arm as he pistol-whips one of the main characters. What I find more annoying is the fact that this ghosting is present on the blu-ray but not the DVD from the same master, which indicates it's strictly a problem with his pressing but lord knows we'll never get corrected copies after all the hullabaloo over the "oops edition"...