Extras |
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Menus (English) |
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Chapters (28) |
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Trailers: Returner
(US), The Medallion, Tokyo Godfathers (US),
Tube (US), Vampire Effect (US) |
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Captures |
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Review |
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Anthony
Romero |
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After an exceptionally well done Returner
DVD, Tristar returns to their usual release
standards for Toho films with their release
of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla on
DVD. The disc does boast exceptional video
and audio quality, however, its lacking severally
in the extra department. |
Video: |
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The video quality found on this
DVD is, in most regards, pretty great. The
colors are very vibrant, showing off well
what can be done with the DVD format, while
the brightness and contrast are set at just
the right level. The film appears very sharp
on this DVD, but there are signs of edge enhancement
at play. The print used in the transfer is
in good condition, only containing a few scratches
which likely won't be noticeable to the casual
viewer. There is a lot of noise, though, on the video track which is possibly
thanks to the firm's previously mentioned
edge enhancement to the source impacting the film grain. This is especially noticeable on several of the
day time scenes on the blue sky, as well as
against the clouds in the footage from The
War of the Gargantuas (1966).
Like Tristar's previous two Godzilla DVDs
in 2004, the print used is of the international
version of the film; what this means is that
all Japanese text will have been removed,
including the credits, in favor of English
text. The real blemish with the international
version, however, is that the title screen
is tampered with, placing plain white English
text over the elaborate CGI created title
sequence for the film. Overall though, the
video presentation is handled very well here.
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
is presented in its original aspect ratio
of 2.35:1, and is Anamorphic for widescreen
TVs.
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Audio: |
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The disc features both the original Japanese
audio track as well as the international English
dub track which Toho routinely commissioned
for their more popular productions. Both audio
tracks are presented in a 5.1 channel surround
pretty faithfully, with good speaker distinction
on the numerous sound effects while the rousing
score also comes through great.
The audio is complimented by removable subtitles,
both in English and French. It should be noted
that the subtitles present correspond with
the Japanese audio track, not the English
dub track like the two previous Godzilla releases
from Tristar. Fans should be very thankful
for this as the international dub track here
is noticeably off in depicting a particular
scene numerous times. The most notable offenders
in the dub track being when the Prime Minister
states that Mothra was killed by the Atomic
Heat Ray and when the council questions why
Akane Yashiro missed Godzilla with the Maser Cannon, despite the fact that Yashiro
hit him numerous times, instead of asking
why she didn't avoid the Type 73 vehicle.
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Extras: |
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The extras found on this disc return to
the usual stock fare that people have come
to associate with Tristar's Godzilla releases.
The film features two of the same trailers
found on their previous two Godzilla DVDs,
the US trailer for Returner
and a slew of others. This collection of five
trailers, unfortunately, makes up the only
extra to be found on the disc. What's worse,
though, is that the DVD automatically plays
the Tube and Vampire Effect
trailers upon inserting DVD before going to
the menu. The trailers can be skipped, but
its still a nuisance to have to sift through
these every time one wants to watch the film.
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Overview: |
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Bottom
line, the disc at the time was Tristar's best
to date for the Godzilla films, and probably
the best region 1 Godzilla DVD upon release.
Thanks to modern efforts, that title has long
since been past on to others, but this is
still a good release for those who don't mind
the lack of extras while the proper subtitling
is a very thankful correction on the company's
part.
This disc is also featured in the DVD box set:
50th
Anniversary Godzilla Collection.
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