Toho Blu-Rays-so good you can see the strings?

[Gojira-Fan]

What movies were you watching?

I just Just watched G vs Mechagodzilla. These scene where MG fights Anguirus, the Strings are blatantly obvious especially when MG picks up Anguirus.[/quote]

The wires were even clearly visible on the SONY R1 DVD.

Generally, though, these movies actually do a very good job at hiding the wires. I don't think there is really any reason to digitally remove them.

[Goji]

Oof..that photo comparison just goes to show how crappy Toho's HD versions really are.

And people whine about how "barebones" the Sony disks, when really, it's the quality of the film that matters, and outside of Critereon's GODZILLA disk, their releases are still king. That Sony screenshot looks damn good, and that's a 7 year old DVD upscaled on a Blu-ray player.

If Sony is allowed to release their transfers on BD, they'll most definitely look almost infinitely better than those horrendous looking broadcast versions.

[Tamura]

The only real problem with the Sonys is the cropping and that most don't represent any existing version of a film.

[Goji]

The only real problem with the Sonys is the cropping and that most don't represent any existing version of a film.

Yeah, that's probably their only downside. Are all of their Showa releases slightly cropped?

[Legion1979]

Yeah, that's probably their only downside.

It'd be nice to get the TRUE Japanese version as well, or at least the original International versions without fake trademark and copyright logos plastered on the film titles.

Better subs would be nice too. Maybe even alternate dub options. If MB was able to do it...

[tymon]

^Agreed, but I'm not sure if MB could get the same video quality that Sony does. Sony seems to have some pull with Toho..

[omgitsgodzilla]

They own more than half the films, so they've given Toho a good deal of money, that much is clear.

[Goji]

Yeah, that's probably their only downside.

It'd be nice to get the TRUE Japanese version as well, or at least the original International versions without fake trademark and copyright logos plastered on the film titles.

Better subs would be nice too. Maybe even alternate dub options. If MB was able to do it...

I agree, it would be nice if all of the copyright stuff wasn't on there, but I have a feeling it's Toho that forced them to do it.

I'm actually a fan of the "recreated" international versions Sony did (minus the copyright stuff, and the few lines of missing audio/on screen text). In comparison, they make MB's hack job on FCTW look even worse than it already is. What's interesting to me is that MB has never realized any of Toho's international versions (all of them are the JP versions), and Sony has never released a JP print of any of the films they have. It seems that Toho doesn't "force" one or the other to be used, and that companies may have a choice.

The only reason I prefer for Sony to be releasing the international versions is because they're relevant to my interests (I collect Toho SPX films in general, but I've been on a crusade to locate all of Toho's export versions, and some of them, like SUBMERSION OF JAPAN, THE VAMPIRE DOLL, etc. are still MIA), but I do realize that I'm the minority.

What some people don't realize is that the international versions are in fact, uncut, and exactly the same as the Japanese versions other than the English credits. Most of us don't read Japanese, so it's not a big loss. I know some people miss seeing the cool Japanese title screens, but high-res screen caps of them can be found all over the internet, for those that really want to see them.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Yeah... I can see what you're saying. For me, on some level, it's just that it's a Japanese movie, so it seems to me it should be in Japanese, the way it was originally made. It's nothing I obsess over, it's not as if they pulled some George Lucas gratuitous CGI and revisions shit, it's just a preference.

[Legion1979]

I know some people miss seeing the cool Japanese title screens, but high-res screen caps of them can be found all over the internet, for those that really want to see them.

Play the main title to DAM from the Japanese version back to back with the International version and tell me which one is cooler. Sometimes a screen shot just doesn't cut it.

Sony's horrendously ugly white title overlays on the imaginative Millennium title screens are another huge crime. What the hell was wrong with just subtitling the main title.

[Tamura]

The best way to go for all of Sony's titles would be to have the Showa US versions seamlessly branched with the international and Japanese versions, since none of them are heavily edited, and to have the international and the Japanese versions (sans the annoying Japanese subtitles which are so plentiful as to waste disk space) of the Heisei and Millennium stuff seamlessly branched together. The Heisei and Millennium international title screens are horrible, I know we can all agree on that, but with seamless branching there's no room to complain.

I know this may not be the most likely or feasible option for Sony to do if or when they reissue these films, but it would definitely please both the Japanese version purists and people like Goji and I who are actually concerned about these English versions nobody cares about.

Sony's horrendously ugly white title overlays on the imaginative Millennium title screens are another huge crime. What the hell was wrong with just subtitling the main title.

Toho's international department created those.

[Goji]

Oh, don't get me wrong. When they started overlapping the English credits over the cool Japanese title sequences from the 90's-onward, it was just ugly. The International title screens for VS. KING GHIDORAH and VS. MOTHRA are easily the absolute worst I've ever seen. The 80's films didn't do this, so I'm not sure what the hell happened there..

omgitsg, Toho's international versions are created specifically for English speaking countries. Considering that's the primary language in the U.S., it's probably why Sony prefers to use them. It also lets them be more lazy, because they don't have to translate any of the credits.

If one really wants the JP versions, the R2's are an option. Granted, you get no subs, so it's kind of a shitty trade off.

I agree with everything Tamura has suggested, but I fear that's something Sony just doesn't care about, unfortunately. I expect the BD releases (for the Showa releases) to be basically exactly the same, whenever we finally see them happen.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Oh, don't get me wrong. When they started overlapping the English credits over the cool Japanese title sequences from the 90's-onward, it was just ugly. The International title screens for VS. KING GHIDORAH and VS. MOTHRA are easily the absolute worst I've ever seen. The 80's films didn't do this, so I'm not sure what the hell happened there..

omgitsg, Toho's international versions are created specifically for English speaking countries. Considering that's the primary language in the U.S., it's probably why Sony prefers to use them. It also lets them be more lazy, because they don't have to translate any of the credits.

If one really wants the JP versions, the R2's are an option. Granted, you get no subs, so it's kind of a shitty trade off.

I agree with everything Tamura has suggested, but I fear that's something Sony just doesn't care about, unfortunately. I expect the BD releases (for the Showa releases) to be basically exactly the same, whenever we finally see them happen.

Yeah, GvsKG and GvsM were just horrible. I can see why Sony chose to keep the subtitles title cards for the Crackle versions of those. As for the International versions, I know that. I'm not saying what they should do, I'm just saying what I'm looking for. And it goes farther than the credits, sometimes they don't actually translate anything... Which is another major issue for me with Sony's discs.

[Goji]

I don't follow you..Toho's international credits translate all of the Japanese credits. You're not missing out on anything.

[Ethan]

It will interesting to compare the stock footage in Godzilla vs. Gigan (whenever Sony puts it on BD) to Toho's transfer of Destroy all Monsters.

[Goji]

It will interesting to compare the stock footage in Godzilla vs. Gigan (whenever Sony puts it on BD) to Toho's transfer of Destroy all Monsters.

I agree, it will be interesting to see the difference in quality.

Actually, I'm curious what the DAM BD looks like when compared to DAM footage from Sony's GIGAN DVD release.

[CheetoKamper]

It will interesting to compare the stock footage in Godzilla vs. Gigan (whenever Sony puts it on BD) to Toho's transfer of Destroy all Monsters.

I agree, it will be interesting to see the difference in quality.

Actually, I'm curious what the DAM BD looks like when compared to DAM footage from Sony's GIGAN DVD release.

I'm not sure how well that'd work out unless you darken your tv when your watching DAM since that's what they did with the DAM footage in Gigan.

[Goji]

Pfft, wow, I'm silly. I completely forgot about that.

I think BD quality will still make some of the footage used, comparable, even with the tinting involved.

[Tamura]

The DAM stock footage in GIGAN isn't darkened, Toho's HD transfer of DAM is just utter crap. The fact that it's washed out is only one of its many flaws. The stock footage in GIGAN as seen on Sony's DVD is more accurate as to how the film originally looked, as far as I'm concerned. I'll trust Sony's color timing over Toho's any day of the week.

EDIT - There is some stock footage from DAM's final battle that Toho in 1972 definitely darkened to match GIGAN's final night time fight scene. I was thinking of the other stock footage from DAM of tanks and stuff going by, which was left unaltered.

[Goji]

It would be hilarious to see if the footage of King Ghidorah attacking Anguirus from the Sony GIGAN DVD, upscaled, had more detail than the Toho's HD master of the same scene in DAM. It wouldn't surprise me, actually.