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The third, and last, "Double Feature" Toho
DVD from Tristar. This disc contains Rebirth
of Mothra (1996) on side 1, and the film's sequel,
Rebirth
of Mothra 2 (1997), on side 2. Like other DVDs
of this nature, the disc is primarily a budget item,
costing a little less than $30 for a DVD containing
both films. It should be noted, though, that this is
"Tristar's version" of the two films; meaning
that both feature the, horrendous, international dub
track (people familiar with the dubbing for the Heisei
era Godzilla films will notice a lot of similar voice
work) along with Tristar's butchering of the credits,
meaning their noticeably short, English, credit sequence
replaces the Japanese one and cuts out the ending melody
from each film. The disc does, on the one hand, present
excellent video and audio transfers of the two films;
however, the title is really devoid of extras and, at
heart, is a bare bones release.
Video:
The video quality, excluding some minor nuisances, is
otherwise superb. The colors are very vibrant and the
brightness and contrast are set at just the right level.
The picture quality is very sharp, with no noticeable
traces of artifacting from either films. Scratches do
appear during the course of both films, but are nearly
unnoticeable. The problem, though, occurs in both films'
aspect ratios. Much like the Godzilla
vs. SpaceGodzilla/Godzilla vs. Destoroyah DVD,
this disc is reportedly, according to the back of the
case, presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, both of the
films' "original aspect ratios." However,
this is not the case, as in actuality the film has been
cropped on the sides. This is not as apparent on the
Rebirth of Mothra/Rebirth of Mothra 2 disc, but
is painfully obvious during the title sequences in Godzilla
vs. SpaceGodzilla/Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, in
which the titles travel off screen.
Audio:
Audio quality, ignoring the lack of a Japanese audio
track, is overall pretty flawless, with no pops or scratches
to be heard. The audio is presented here in stereo,
both films' original audio format. Furthermore, the
DVD contains subtitle tracks for both films in English,
Spanish, and French, what some might consider a "special
feature," and the closest this DVD gets to having
one.
Extras:
Nope, not even some random trailers here. The DVD does
have a still related to each film as a menu, and chapters,
placing it above ADV's Destroy
All Monsters, but nothing that would
qualify as a real extra.
Overview:
In the end, its a nice budget release of two films backed
together as one item. If one can get past the lack of
a Japanese audio track, and the lack of any "special
features" for that matter, it's a rather good DVD.
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