Best picture quality releases of each G-film?

[tymon]

I apologize if this thread already exists, I can't seem to recall it though.

What are the best DVDs/BRDs in terms of picture quality for each film? I figured it'd be nice to have a list in one place so that people (such as myself) know how to get the highest quality versions possible. (EDIT: Looks like we got em' all. I'll update this thread whenever we get future releases that are improvements in quality)

Godzilla/Godzilla, King of the Monsters - Criterion Blu-Ray
Godzilla Raids Again/Gigantis the Fire Monster - Classic Media DVD
King Kong vs. Godzilla (US) - Universal DVD
King Kong vs. Godzilla (JP) - Tamura's restoration, all official disc releases are poor
Mothra vs. Godzilla - Toho Blu-Ray
Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster - Toho Blu-Ray
Invasion of Astro-Monster - Classic Media DVD
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster - Sony DVD
Son of Godzilla - Sony DVD
Destroy All Monsters - Media Blasters Blu-Ray
All Monsters Attack - Classic Media DVD
Godzilla vs. Hedorah - Sony DVD
Godzilla vs. Gigan - Sony DVD
Godzilla vs. Megalon - Media Blasters DVD
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Sony DVD
Terror of Mechagodzilla - Classic Media DVD
The Return of Godzilla (JP) - Toho Blu-Ray
Godzilla 1985 (US) - Unavailable on DVD/Blu-Ray
Godzilla vs. Biollante - Toho Blu-Ray
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - Toho Blu-Ray
Godzilla vs. Mothra - Toho Blu-Ray
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Toho Blu-Ray
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla - Toho Blu-Ray
Godzilla vs. Destroyah - Toho DVD
Godzilla 2000: Millennium (JP) - Toho DVD
Godzilla 2000 (US) - Sony DVD
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus - Sony DVD
Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack - Sony DVD
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla - Sony DVD
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. - Sony DVD
Godzilla: Final Wars - Sony DVD

[Tamura]

You could also throw in the Millennium Sonys. The Universal DVD of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA is the best way to view the US version of that film.

[Rockzilla]

That pretty much sums it up. I wish other companies would actually care about picture quality.

[Goji]

Glad to not see any of the Toho BD's on your list, tymon.

[tymon]

^That's because I hear mostly bad things lol. But I'm sure at least a few of them are good, right?

You could also throw in the Millennium Sonys. The Universal DVD of KING KONG VS. GODZILLA is the best way to view the US version of that film.

Ah, thanks. Are all of the Sony's DVDs of Millennium films really better than their R2 HD counterparts? And what are the best options for the rest of Showa/Heisei films? I wanna get all 28 films on the list if possible.

[Goji]

Tamura would know, because he's seen most of them. I hear that BIOLLANTE actually looks pretty good, and (randomly) SPACEOGODZILLA as well.

Not sure about RODAN, THE MYSTERIANS, ATRAGON, and SUBMERSION OF JAPAN. I heard that there was some wire-removal done for RODAN, but I'm not sure if that's true or not.

[Legion1979]

Tamura would know, because he's seen most of them. I hear that BIOLLANTE actually looks pretty good, and (randomly) SPACEOGODZILLA as well.

Biollante is the only one of two Toho blu-rays I own. I think it looks fantastic, far ahead of the R2, easily.

[Tamura]

^That's because I hear mostly bad things lol. But I'm sure at least a few of them are good, right?

BIOLLANTE and SPACEGODZILLA look decent, like Goji said. THE MYSTERIANS, GHIDRAH and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS look superior to their murky DVD counterparts, but only comparatively. Nothing Toho Video has put out thus far holds a candle to Sony, Universal or Criterion product, and so long as they resist progress, I expect everything else they "remaster" to follow suit.

Are all of the Sony's DVDs of Millennium films really better than their R2 HD counterparts?

Pretty much. I'm not that big of a fan of the Millennium series and hardly watch them, but I do remember the HDTV Millennium films looking basically par for the course as far as Toho Video transfers go (muted/greenish-yellow discoloration, low contrast, etc.). G2K looks the worst, being far grainier than I imagine it originally looking. Something about it just looks really wrong. GFW looks basically the same as the Sony DVD, only it's windowboxed and probably not as detailed as the Sony would look in its original resolution.

And what are the best options for the rest of Showa/Heisei films? (I wanna compile the best versions for all 28 films, just in case I didn't make that clear in my initial post)

GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN - Unfortunately, all the DVDs I can think of are sourced from the murky R2. Of all the identical-looking copies, I would say the Classic Media is the best option simply because it is NTSC and has English subtitles.

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (Japanese version) - Just download my restoration. Skip/throw away all other copies.

MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA - Like GRA, Toho seems to have a worldwide monopoly over transfers of the Japanese version, so everything you'll find on DVD looks like Toho's R2. The HD transfer used on Toho's Blu-ray looks very similar to the R2 to me. The Blu-ray is the best option, but not by that much of a long shot.

GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER - Toho's Blu-ray looks decent and is the best out there currently.

MONSTER ZERO - Again, it appears that all DVD transfers of the Japanese version originate from Toho's R2. The Classic Media is the best option simply because it is NTSC and has English subtitles.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS - Seemingly all DVD transfers of the Japanese version originate from Toho's R2. Toho's HD version has the exact same (bad) color timing as the R2. Of all the nearly identical-looking copies, the MB is the best simply because it has English subtitles.

GODZILLA'S REVENGE - There doesn't seem to be a transfer on DVD that doesn't look like the R2, therefore the best option is the Classic Media because it is NTSC and has English subtitles.

GODZILLA VS. MEGALON - Seemingly all DVD transfers of the Japanese version originate from Toho's R2. Toho's HD version has even worse color timing than the R2 but, despite being soft as sin, probably has a slight edge in terms of detail. The HD also slightly improves upon its R2 counterpart by not being overframed as much or windowboxed. The MB Blu-ray/DVD will be the best option.

TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA - Seemingly all DVD transfers of the Japanese version originate from Toho's R2. So, the Classic Media wins by virtue of being NTSC and having English subtitles.

RETURN OF GODZILLA through GODZILLA VS SPACEGODZILLA - The Toho Blu-rays are the best option. They look different from the Region 2s, sometimes in a good way.

GODZILLA VS DESTROYER - Toho's HD version put out on Blu-ray looks horrible. I haven't seen the R2 before so I can't tell if it looks better or not.

[Goji]

Sadly, I think all of the international versions of DESTOROYAH from broadcasts aren't in their OAR. However, it may not be as cropped as say, VS. KING GHIDORAH and VS. MOTHRA.

[Tamura]

Are you sure? I swear there was a clip on Youtube of the ending credits off Starz and it was in widescreen.

[tymon]

Updated the list, thanks for the help Tamura! Let me know if I should correct anything.

[Goji]

Are you sure? I swear there was a clip on Youtube of the ending credits off Starz and it was in widescreen.

I checked it out on Verizon's on demand service about a year or so ago, and it was pan and scan. It's also up on Crackle right now (also as free app on Xbox 360), and even that version looks the same. Sucks. It's entirely possibly that it has been broadcast on Starz/Encore in it's proper AR. I know that CT Himes has a recording of it, so I'll have to verify with him.

[G1985]

Godzilla 1985 - Unavailable on disc format

It's worth pointing out that G85 *is* available in one disk format - laserdisc. The video quality of a laserdisc is about half-way between VHS and DVD, and it doesn't degrade over time.

[Goji]

I wish the LD release of G'85 had at least been in some form of widescreen.

Actually, I think all of the home video releases from around the world are pan and scan. It's pretty unfortunate.

[Tamura]

One addition should be the Criterion Blu-ray for GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS.

[tymon]

^Oh, of course! Dunno how I forgot GKOTM.

Thanks G1985, totally forgot about the laserdisc release.

[G-Matt]

Personally, I think the video quality on the Toho DVD of GFW is a little bit better than the Sony one. When you compare the two, the video is a bit softer and slightly cropped on the Sony DVD. Plus, the end credits scene is in way worse condition than the rest of the movie.

[Goji]

^ The print damage is probably inherent to the international version being used.

[G-Matt]

^ The print damage is probably inherent to the international version being used.

Exactly. It definitely looks like it's a different print during the end credits.

[Tamura]

I remember a screenshot comparison of the Sony and the Region 2 of GFW and, besides the ending credits, they looked almost exactly the same. This isn't surprising since the film was shot and seemingly finished digitally. I assume both transfers originate predominantly from the Digital Intermediate files, with small adjustments in framing (The R2 is windowboxed, while the Sony is slightly cropped and without windowboxing).