Out of print for almost a decade in the United
States, Classic Media has finally released another
of Godzilla's more highly regarded productions
to DVD with their best release yet. Sporting a
great video presentation, a solid audio offering,
and a familiar variety of extras, there is a lot
to praise about this particular disc that leaves
high hopes for future offerings from the company. |
Video: |
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Quite simply the best video quality from Classic
Media to date, this disc offers a great presentation
of the movie. From the minute the Toho logo appeared
on the screen, with a wonderful array of colors
and with a good level of detail, I knew I was
in for a treat. This impression stuck through
most of the feature as well, as the source was
devoid of scratches, featured a natural amount of grain without smearing from artifacting and
boasted a very distinct level of colors. To be
fair, there are moments in the movie where the
color is a little off, typically tinted slightly
brown or yellow which was a common trait on Toho's
earlier region 2 releases, but it's fairly minor
problem when all is said and done.
In terms of the US release, there are some mixed
things to note. First off, like the firm's Ghidorah,
the Three-Headed Monster DVD, the US version
here has primarily been reconstructed from the
restored Japanese print already available on this
release. Classic Media has done the right thing,
though, in including sequences which differ from
that print from the original US version, such
as: the opening titles, the riot sequences with
overlapping English headlines and "The End".
Unfortunately, the US print used appears to be
in fairly awful condition, as it's discolored,
has a lot of print damage and the frame is also
sometimes unstable. Still, it's preferable that
it try to keep with the presentation of the original
cut as much as possible, and in that regard they
succeeded, even editing the movie to directly
match the removed scenes from the US version.
As for the quality, it's, expectantly on par
with the Japanese version already present, sans
the few scenes taken from a US version source.
The main difference is the level of compression
apparent in the two, as the US one looks very
soft in contrast:
Japanese
- US
It's not a deal breaker, although just the same
it's still clear that of the two the Japanese
one found in this set is clearly superior.
Invasion of Astro-Monster is presented
in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 across
the two versions, and is Anamorphic for widescreen
TVs.
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Audio: |
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The disc boasts two different audio tracks,
both tied to their respective versions. The first
is the Japanese track, which is also available
in its original mono format. The quality is more
or less superb, given the limitations of the format,
as the dialogue is clear while there are no overt
inconsistencies. The track can also be accompanied
with, removable, English subtitles. Unfortunately,
the subtitles are a little "iffy" in
places, and could certainly have done with another
proof reading before release, as it features things
like: "Plane X" and "Deploy Monster
Zero and mount strongest attack". Thankfully,
the errors are generally of the typo variety,
so they shouldn't interfere with the enjoyment
of the movie too much.
As for the English dub track, it also gets fairly
high marks, again taking into consideration the
limitations of a mono track. Overall, dialogue
is clear while nothing stands out as being particularly
off in the track, which is a solid improvement
over the dubbed track available on the company's
Ghidorah,
the Three-Headed Monster release.
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Extras: |
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This disc continues with the variety of supplemental
content found on previous releases from Classic
Media. This includes a short video feature biography,
this time of producer and one time Toho president
Tomoyuki
Tanaka. Like before, this feature is voiced
by Ed Godziszewski, who covers a lot of detail
on the life and career of Tanaka leading up to
his death in 1997. Also, like with previous biographies
in this line, the feature is complimented with
a number of production stills, poster and other
images.
Next up are a pair of galleries, the first of
which focuses on posters, both from initial and
re-releases, and the other on various production
stills and promotional images. Both of these features
also come with a brief amount of text to explain
the current picture, which is navigated with the
remote.
The disc also has the movie's trailer in its
2.35:1 aspect ratio. Unfortunately, the quality
of the trailer is pretty lacking. Apparently,
they decided to go with a trailer for the movie's
re-release, as the advert sports the "King
Ghidorah vs. Godzilla" subtitle that
was added later. In terms of what's off with the
trailer, well a multitude of things, including
a noticeable brown tint, a ton of print damage
and a very apparent blue line to the left of the
image. For whatever reason, the trailer is also
not anamorphic.
Anyway, the last supplement on this DVD is an
audio commentary track, again attached to the
US version of the movie. This time, the commentary
is done by author Stuart Galbraith, who provides
a great deal of insight into the production with
a good paced delivery through out. My only problem
with the audio track was a fairly awkward minute
plus break, which starts around the 23 minute
mark and takes awhile to pick back up again. At
first I thought it might have been a mistake,
but it seems to be intentional.
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Overview: |
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Bottom
line, this release is the best from the company
to date for the Godzilla films. Something
that can be attributed largely to the superior
video quality compared to other offerings
from the firm, and one that easily blows the
Simitar Godzilla
Versus Monster Zero release out of
the water. Hopefully, the four remaining Toho
titles from Classic Media maintain this level
of quality.
This disc is also featured in the DVD box
set: The
Godzilla Collection. |
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