Extras |
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Menus (English) |
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Chapters (12/12) |
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Trailers: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster |
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Commentary on the US version with David Kalat
(English) |
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Eiji
Tsuburaya Biography (7 Minutes) |
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Poster Slide Show |
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Image Gallery |
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Captures |
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Review |
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Anthony Romero |
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Highly anticipated, as this would mark the
first time the movie would be legitimately released
on region 1, Classic Media has done a fairly nice
job with this release of King Ghidorah's introductory
picture. Boasting good video and audio quality,
and a decent selection of extras, the overall
package does well to overshadow some of its more
minor problems in those three areas. |
Video: |
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Although not perfect, Classic Media has done
a respectable job with the video tracks here,
especially considering that they were both sandwiched
on a single disc. Of the two, the track for the
Japanese version is clearly the superior one.
It has some minor problems, such as a constant
small number of speckles and some "rough",
in terms of print damage, transitions. The movie also looks fairly sharp, with a nice
amount of detail and a natural looking amount of grain
through out. The colors are also distinct, although
there is a very slight brown and yellow tint to
some of the scenes, which was a common mishap
on many of Toho's early region 2 DVD releases,
which is likely the source of this track. The
overall brightness does appear to be set too high,
though, as it does drown out the details in a
few scenes, although its far from a major problem.
As for the US version, it again gets mixed results,
although it's a clear step in the right direction
compared to what was available on the company's
releases of Godzilla
Raids Again and Mothra
vs. Godzilla for their respective US cuts.
Once again, it appears that Classic Media didn't
have a great source for this version, as can be
seen from a very murky looking opening credit
sequence. Rather than just settling for a clearly
poor print, though, the company actually used
the Japanese source already available on this
release for the rest of the feature. Now I recently
gave flack to another company for doing this same
practice, which was Tokyo Shock for Frankenstein
Conquers the World. However, that release
contained additional footage, which made replacing
the US version cumbersome, while Ghidorah,
the Three-Headed Monster has no such "problem".
As many know, though, Continental, who released
the film in the US, did a lot of editing, moving
sequences and generally tightening up the pacing.
To Classic Media's credit, they have done a near
flawless job in matching this editing with Toho's
restored footage, ending up with a pretty satisfying
final product. They also revert to their source
for the US cut during any scenes that feature
something different, such as the opening titles
and "The End".
As for a direct comparison, they unfortunately
highlight some problems introduced in the US version
found on this release:
Japanese
- US,
Japanese
- US
As is apparent, the US version looks very soft
in contrast, losing a lot of the detail available
in the Japanese cut. This is a sad byproduct of
lots of compression being applied to the source,
which was inevitable considering how much the
company tried to place on a single DVD. What isn't
so apparent is that the aspect ratio is ever so
slightly smaller than the original 2.35:1 found
in the Japanese cut. The discrepancy is so small,
though, that it's more of just something to note
than be upset about.
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Audio: |
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The DVD features two mono audio tracks with
one in Japanese and the other dubbed into English,
and both attached to their respective versions
of the production. In terms of the quality, the
Japanese audio track sounds good, as its devoid
of any type of obvious flaws. There isn't anything
particularly remarkable about it, but it maintains
the movie's original audio presentation and all
of the dialogue sounds clear.
The English track, though, is lacking in some
regards. First off, there is a slight skip in
the audio from the transition of the "Toho
Scope logo" to the "Ghidrah" title
screen. The audio in general has some faults too,
as the quality dips in some parts, with even Godzilla's
roar sounding a little muffled on occasion. It's
generally serviceable though, and everything about
the audio, including the additional stock music
that was added in, is included. The soundtrack,
though, does sound a little "warped"
at times, in particular during the opening titles,
and especially during the final sequence where
it sounds simply wretched for a few moments.
The Japanese version can be accompanied with,
removable, English subtitles.
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Extras: |
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This disc mimics the content found on the
company's previous two Godzilla DVDs, while also
making some slight improvements to the formula.
Once again, this release does include a small
documentary, this time on the life of special
effects director Eiji
Tsuburaya. This feature is once again done
by Ed Godziszewski, who is still a little dry
in his presentation, but provides a wealth of
information while the feature also presents a
number of excellent production stills and private
photographs of Tsuburaya.
Following this is a "Poster Slide Show".
This DVD improves on previous releases, though,
in not tying this feature to a video track. Instead,
the posters are now viewable as a selection of
images that can be moved through with the remote.
This allows for the viewer to take their time
with the pictures, while background information
is also provided on each screen. This general
formula is repeated for a new feature as well
that focuses on black and white production stills
from the movie. The release also contains the
movie's original trailer, preserved in its 2.35:1
aspect ratio.
Now the last feature on the disc is an audio
commentary track for the US version done by author
David Kalat. Unfortunately, to be brutally honest,
I found myself mostly unsatisfied with Kalat's
commentary. On the plus side, he knows his stuff,
providing a lot of great information, with only
a few minor slip ups. The slip ups are also fairly
common mistakes, usually attached to "every"
or "always" types of remarks that make
for easy pitfalls. For example, stating that the
birth scene of King Ghidorah would be recycled
"pretty much every time" the three-headed
monster reappears in future movies, while the
scene in question would only ever be used again
briefly in Destroy
All Monsters (1968) on a monitor. Errors
like these are small and easy to overlook. Sadly,
the fault of this commentary mainly falls in the
delivery. On one hand, Kalat clearly sounds enthusiastic,
adding a sense of energy in his delivery. Unfortunately,
he goes way overboard in this respect, rushing
his overall speech while also placing emphasis
on sometimes peculiar words. His biggest "sin",
though, is simply his love of digression, which
is best summed up in a word for word quote from
the commentary:
"Now what of King Kong vs. Godzilla?
Ya know, it's kind of too bad that film wasn't
a part of this package from Classic Media because
it really could used a commentary track to go
through the tortuous, complex labyrinth that was
its root from concept to screen. I'll digress
to give some high points here, cause, ya know,
I feel like it. "
Keep in mind that this digression also comes
on the heels of a lengthy summary of the influence
of the original 1933 King Kong, primarily
focusing on its impact in the United States. To
be fair, Kalat is a fountain of information, but
his talent doesn't seem to lend itself well to
the commentary track format, as too infrequently
does he connect his information with what's happening
on screen.
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Overview: |
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Bottom
line, Classic Media is improving, and have
certainly come a long way from their emergence
on the scene with their 2002 releases. Suffice
to say, this DVD, despite its minor faults,
more than merits a purchase from fans of the
King of the Monsters, especially at it's fairly
easy to swallow price tag.
This disc is also featured in the DVD box
set: The
Godzilla Collection. |
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