ALL THINGS 'GODZILLA' ON DVD AND BLU-RAY!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Tony J Case]

I did the same thing. Anything else just seemed like a waste of money, particularly since there are no additional features. Thankfully it doesn't bother me to watch SD. I'm finding it's saving me a crap-ton of money.

While the picture quality may not be that much of an upgrade, it's still worth buying the discs. We get both Japanese audio track and the Toho intentional track, some of the Sony discs were pan and scan (They're all wide screen here), the subtitles are more accurate (instead of using "dubtitles" like the previous releases) and they're all uncut (the credits are intact on all the movies).

So yeah, they may not look better but they're worth upgrading.

 

[Lord Dalek]

The prints are still edited and the sound is still 2.0 only. Surprising how Mill Creek can do Biollante right and yet Sony's barely made any progression for these films (I think the subs are still dubtitles too).

 

[mdnitoil]

Yeah, that's kind of what I was trying to say. I love the fact that they fixed the OAR in the one double feature and found that to be a worthy upgrade. The rest of them, not so much. I mean more power to the folks who got something out of them, but it was just flushing money down the drain for me. I don't really get the impression that these releases are particularly targeted to hardcore fans. They're obviously dumping these out there with as little investment as possible at a nice bargain SRP. Basically a cash grab while Godzilla is hot. Nothing wrong with that, but as a hardcore fan, there's literally nothing new here outside of higher resolution on most of these titles. Sort of a missed opportunity since it'll be years, if ever, before these titles are revisited. Regardless, I never had a problem with the lower resolution so I chose to save my money, outside of the set with the OAR fix.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I guess its worthy at least to have Japanese (albeit 2.0 only, AFAIKToho didn't start doing the Heiseis in 5.1 until Rebirth of Mothra) tracks on the Sony-controlled Heisei films finally. But then...dubtitles.

 

[Tony J Case]

The prints are still edited and the sound is still 2.0 only.Surprising how Mill Creek can do Biollante right and yet Sony's barely made any progression for these films (I think the subs are still dubtitles too).

Really? All the bits that I know were edited in the original discs (like the end credits of Destroyah) seem to be intact and all the reports I read said that the movies were intact.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I've had the opportunity now to view one of the Blu-ray double features. The audio for the Japanese tracks were a nice upgrade from the DVDs. But there was not much question that the provided English subtitles were derived from the dubbed English track. And that was a dissapointment. As for the video: My DVDs of these films (1992 Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah / Godzilla vs. Mothra) were just P&S so there was no comparison. BTW, I thought the SFX work for these two films looked outstanding on the Blu's. So, IMO, they're rendered at just the right resolution. (Better detail, and the special effects probably wouldn't have looked as good.)

 

[Lord Dalek]

According to Tokyo Kingdom, Ghidorah and Mothra are still cut. Haven't heard about Destroyah yet.

 

[TheSteig]

According to Tokyo Kingdom, Ghidorah and Mothra are still cut. Haven't heard about Destroyah yet.

The original end credits are missing, that's the cut scene. We get the Columbia tri-star credits instead of Godzilla and the score of Akira Ifukube ..Destoroyah looks like they left everything intact

 

[Vic Pardo]

To get the taste of the new Godzilla out of my head, I put in my DVD of MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA today. What a great film and filled with so much poetic imagery, something the makers of the new one will never understand.

How about these shots?







Check out my write-up on the new Godzilla on my blog:
http://briandanacamp.wordpress.com/

 

[JeffT.]

This brings to mind the twin Shobijin of Infant Island portrayed by Emi Itô (April 01st, 1941 - June 15th, 2012) and Yûmi Itô aka "The Peanuts".

The "original" Shobijin appeared in MOTHRA (1961), GODZILLA VS THE THING (1964) and GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964). Interestingly some other "dubbed" singing substitutes were seen in GODZILLA VS THE SEA MONSTER (1966) but no one will ever replace our beloved The Peanuts.



Considering its superior standing how about an upgraded bluray edition of GODZILLA VS THE THING (1964)?!

Jeff T.

 

[Vic Pardo]

This brings to mind the twin Shobijin of Infant Island portrayed by Emi Itô (April 01st, 1941 - June 15th, 2012) and Yûmi Itô aka "The Peanuts".

The "original" Shobijin appeared in MOTHRA (1961), GODZILLA VS THE THING (1964) and GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964). Interestingly some other "dubbed" singing substitutes were seen in GODZILLA VS THE SEA MONSTER (1966) but no one will ever replace our beloved The Peanuts.



Considering its superior standing how about an upgraded bluray edition of GODZILLA VS THE THING (1964)?!

Jeff T.

I have one album by the Peanuts in my collection: The Peanuts: Best Album (25 tracks) Apollon/rel. 7/21/92

A duo called W, consisting of two of my favorite J-pop performers, covered two of the Peanuts' songs in 2004, including "Koi no Vacance," the song featured in the video you linked to. Here's W's version:

 

[Tony J Case]

Good news everyone! We're getting more Sony Godzilla!

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/07/07/exclusive-sony-releasing-more-godzilla-and-mothra-blu-rays/

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has given SciFi Japan an exclusive first look at their second wave of “Toho Godzilla Collection” Blu-rays featuring both Godzilla and Mothra.

Scheduled for September 9, 2014, the lineup features the debut of three new Blu-ray sets featuring Toho films previously unavailable on Blu-ray in North America. The stand-alone title GODZILLA 2000 (1999) presents both the U.S. version of the film along with — for the first time in America — the original Japanese version. The Godzilla Double Feature contains GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (2001) and GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002), and the REBIRTH OF MOTHRA TRILOGY features REBIRTH OF MOTHRA (1996) plus REBIRTH OF MOTHRA II (1997) and REBIRTH OF MOTHRA III (1998), marking the first ever home entertainment release of REBIRTH OF MOTHRA III in North America.

Each film will be digitally remastered in High Definition and feature English and Japanese language audio options. All three Blu-ray releases come with UltraViolet.

GODZILLA 2000
Get ready to crumble! The king of all monsters is back and bigger than ever! The action heats up when a UFO releases Orga, a massive alien monster with awesome destructive powers, who faces off with the behemoth Godzilla for the battle of the millennium. But Godzilla’s furious heat beam may not be enough to destroy the death-dealing alien, and the future of humankind is in jeopardy.

Now, it’s a bang-up, three-way, no-holds-barred brawl as Godzilla, the alien monster and the courageous citizens of Japan fight an unprecedented battle for survival in this earth-shattering new sci-fi action adventure that will blow you away.

The U.S. version of GODZILLA 2000 has a running time of approximately 99 minutes, while the Japanese version has a running time of approximately 107 minutes; both are rated PG for monster violence and mild language.

Oooh, the original Japanese version! Most excellent. Mind you, the dub and edit job on the localized version isn't that bad, but getting the original version is defiantly a plus!

Godzilla Double Feature: GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK + GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA, GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK (2001)

Fifty years ago, the Japanese Defense Forces killed Godzilla or so they thought. When a series of terrifying natural disasters begin to plague Japan, including the inexplicable offshore sinking of a U.S. submarine, a mystic old man warns his nation that Godzilla has come back to destroy Japan as revenge for all the souls lost in the Pacific War. When mere military might cannot squash the monster, the mystic man awakens the Holy Beasts of Yamato — King Ghidorah, Mothra and Baragon, sleeping giants that protected Japan in ancient times. These untamed mammoth beasts take on Godzilla with frightening supernatural brute power that has been 2,000 years in the making. Tradition and technology collide in this chilling high-tech, cutting-edge fable.

GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK has a running time of approximately 105 minutes and is not rated.

GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002)

After four years of scrupulous preparation under the prime minister, a new invincible robot, Mechagodzilla, has now reached completion, armed with various weapons, including the most powerful gun in history that can destroy anything in the world. Akane Yashiro is transferred to join the Mechagodzilla team as an operator who controls the mechanical monster. As soon as Mechagodzilla starts on its test run, the huge shadow of Godzilla begins to rise from the depths of the ocean…The battle of the century is going to take place between Godzilla and Mechagodzilla.
GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA has a running time of approximately 88 minutes and is not rated.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA TRILOGY
REBIRTH OF MOTHRA (1996)
Mothra, one of Godzilla’s longtime allies (and sometimes foe) gets her very own movie series in this, the first of a trilogy. When the three-headed Death Ghidorah, an even fiercer cousin of King Ghidorah, begins to destroy the forests of Japan, Mothra leaves her island paradise to help save them.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA has a running time of approximately 107 minutes and is not rated.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA II (1997)
Two young kids inadvertently unleash a giant sea creature which is somehow strengthened from the abundance of modern-day pollution. Mothra’s keepers, the tiny twins Moll and Lora, quickly rouse the gentle giant in order to combat this latest threat to peace.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA II has a running time of approximately100 minutes and is not rated.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA III (1998)
In the final film in the new ‘Mothra’ trilogy, King Ghidorah, the most destructive of all the monsters, returns to destroy the Earth. In the end, Mothra is indeed triumphant and takes her place among the greatest of all monsters.

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA III has a running time of approximately 100 minutes and is not rated.

Of all the discs sofar, this is the one I'm least excited for. The monster action is pretty good, but actually getting there? The rest of the movie is such a chore to get through. And the Mothra II and Mothra III are even worse. I'll get it for completeness, but that's about it.

 

[Tony J Case]

Oooh - more information:

GODZILLA 2000GODZILLA 2000 U.S. VersionRunning Time: Approximately 99 MinutesGODZILLA 2000 Japanese VersionRunning Time: Approximately 107 MinutesCat.#: 44658UPC: 043396446588Street Date: September 9, 2014SRP: $19.99Discs: 2Total Runtime: 206 MinutesScreen Format: AnamorphicAspect Ratio: 2.40/2.35Languages: English 5.1, Japanese StereoSubtitles: English (US), French (Parisian)Close Captioned: YesSpecial FeaturesBehind The Scenes FeaturetteMichael Schlesinger and Editor Audio Commentary

Godzilla Double Feature: GODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK + GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLAGODZILLA, MOTHRA, AND KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACKRunning Time: Approximately 105 MinutesGODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLARunning Time: Approximately 88 MinutesCat.#: 44657UPC: 043396446571Street Date: September 9, 2014SRP: $19.99Discs: 2Total Runtime: 193 MinutesScreen Format: AnamorphicAspect Ratio: 2.35Languages: English (US) 5.1, Japanese 5.1Subtitles: English (US), French (Parisian)Close Captioned: Yes

REBIRTH OF MOTHRA TRILOGYREBIRTH OF MOTHRA (1996)Running Time: Approximately 107 MinutesREBIRTH OF MOTHRA II (1997)Running Time: Approximately 100 MinutesREBIRTH OF MOTHRA III (1998)Running Time: Approximately 100 MinutesCat.#: 44659UPC: 043396446595Street Date: September 9, 2014SRP: $19.99Discs: 2Total Runtime: 306 MinutesScreen Format: AnamorphicAspect Ratio: 1.85Languages: English (US) Stereo, Japanese StereoSubtitles: English (US), French (Parisian)Close Captioned: Yes

 

[Tony J Case]

Oh, and I found this too:

So, looks like 9/16 is the release date. Sweet.

 

[Tony J Case]

Here, the backs of the three upcoming discs, so we can get a good look at the specs and extras:

In short, pretty much what the first batch gave us: Letterboxed, original Japanese audio tracks, and no extras beyond a trailer (except for - presumably - the stuff on G2K, recycled from the original DVD release. Not a bad thing, since the commentary from the american director was actually pretty interesting - very clearly a fan, and it was cool to get the inside scoop on what needed to be changed for localization).

So, preorders in - cant wait!

 

[Lord Dalek]

Wow... Sony actually managed to release a film that was in 5.1 originally in 2.0 ONLY. Yet another in their ever growing pile of Godzilla related cock-ups.

 

[JeffT.]

Incredible! Tony you have certainly extended yourself tremendously in making known all the Godzilla franchise bluray releases that can be looked forward to. Your enthusiasm is infectious.

I would like to see more of the "older" Showa Era (1954-1979) titles also upgraded to the bluray medium as well.

I placed a preorder for what was listed as the DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968) bluray edition but it's rather vague (or indefinite) as to the actual (intended) release date.

Keep up the fine work!

Jeff T.

 

[Tony J Case]

*blush*

Aww, it's just knowing where to look for news!

I would like to see more of the "older" Showa Era (1954-1979) titles also upgraded to the bluray medium as well.

There's not much left to go, is there - just a handful of titles. Not counting the upcoming three, there's just nine left
Raids Again
Mothra vs Godzilla
Ghidorah
vs Monster Zero
Son of Godzilla
G's Revenge
vs Mechagodzilla
Terror of MechaG
Godzilla Returns

I believe that Classic Media are pretty small, so that's probably why the haven't jumped on the Blu Ray Bandwagon with the new movie. Seems a damn shame, this would be the perfect time. Why hasn't Columbia released Son and MechaG again though is a mystery. Do they not own the rights anymore?

Oh, and speaking of the new movie - here's the scoop on the G14 releases:

BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS
GODZILLA Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack and 2-Disc Standard Definition DVD Special Edition contain the following special features:
• MONARCH: Declassified – Discover explosive new evidence not contained in the film that unravels the massive cover-up to keep Godzilla’s existence a secret.

o Operation: Lucky Dragon

o MONARCH: The M.U.T.O. File

o The Godzilla Revelation
• The Legendary Godzilla – Go behind the scenes with filmmakers and cast for an even deeper look at the larger than life monsters in the film.

o Godzilla: Force of Nature

o A Whole New Level Of Destruction

o Into The Void: The H.A.L.O. Jump

o Ancient Enemy: The M.U.T.O.s

Aspect Ratio: 16 X 9 LETTERBOX
Product Language: English
Subtitles: Cantonese, Spanish, French, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese, Thai,

Indonesian, Chinese Traditional, English SDH
Sound Quality: DOLBY DIGITAL SURROUND 5.1 – English, Spanish, Thai,

Canadian French

DTS HD-Master Audio 7.1 – English

So a normal Blu, a 2 disc DVD version plus a 3D Blu version with a gimmick version in a steel casing where you push a button and the Godzilla roar plays (plus a couple of stripped rental versions). The steel Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack for $44.95 and on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 - no word on the DVD version.

So probably the bog standard Blu for me, although the 35 bucks is a little steep. I wish they would stop bundling in the DVD version in the Blu and drop the price some.

 

[Tony J Case]

Oh, and the cover art for G14:

 

[CarlLaFong]

I just noticed the release date of "Destroy All Monsters" was pushed from July 29 to August 26. Has anyone heard why?