The Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster reconstruction is available now!
The 1080p HD reconstruction of Ghidrah is completed and available to download! Send a private message for details.
Notes on this release:
- The Toho transfer had its contrast and saturation boosted slightly in order to alleviate its rather flat appearance.
- While a “first draft” of the project was prepared using the Classic Media DVD recreation of the US version as a reference, it was revised using a VHS rip, meaning that the numerous errors in the CM version are corrected here.
- A sound synchronization error, present in all available versions of the dub, that affected much of the scene of Naoko and Shindo at home and extended into the What Are They Doing Now?/”Call Happiness” scene, has been corrected.
- The audio for the US version was largely sourced from a PAL DVD released by an Australian company called Siren. This DVD featured an original scan of a 16mm TV print, meaning it had higher sound quality than any other available source, all other releases being made from an old videotape master. However, the Siren version is full of splices and gaps in the audio as well as some audio distortion, so many small portions of the soundtrack had to be carefully patched using the audio from the Classic Media DVD.
- The Walter Reade Organization logo was reinstated before the title card. The version used here was in effect a collaborative effort: The icon and text were recreated by Video Collector from OriginalTrilogy.com, and placed/scaled using an actual image of the logo. The recreation made by goji1986 for his Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster reconstruction was used as a reference for the starfield; I made the background.
- The original “The End” title card was recreated using the Siren DVD as a reference; its “stretched” appearance (similar to the opening credits) is apparently how it really would have appeared in a scope print.
Original post:
Well, now that I've decided I'm officially done with Godzilla 1985, it's time for me to move on to my next project, an HD reconstruction of the original US version of Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster.
I'll be using the Classic Media DVD as my base/reference, and my bootleg copy of the Toho Blu-ray as my source for the HD Japanese footage. I'll also be accurately recreating the original ending title, as well as reinstating the Walter Reade-Sterling logo if I can find a reference for it. (I've read things that imply that it appeared at the beginning before the title card, but it's not clear to me whether any existing home video releases have retained it.)
All in all this should be a pretty simple project, certainly simpler than Godzilla 1985, so right now I'm aiming to have it out in time for Christmas. After that, I'll be moving on to Monster Zero in (hopefully) January, followed by Godzilla vs. the Thing, Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, the US TV version of Son of Godzilla and (just for shits and giggles because Great Hierohpant sent me the Simitar DVD) Godzilla's Revenge throughout the rest of next year.
As I write this, I'm about to start ripping the Japanese version and then grab some dinner. I'll probably set up the project and get started later tonight.