Released simultaneously as Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S., Tristar's release of Jun
Fukuda's Son of Godzilla is another solid
release in the company's roster. The video presentation,
despite a minor flaw, is great, while the audio presentation
is superb; unfortunately, those looking for any extras
beyond a brief collection of trailers will be disappointed,
but this is pretty standard for most of Tristar's Godzilla
DVDs.
Video:
Son of Godzilla's video presentation is, more
or less, amazing. The colors on this DVD are really
its only fault in this regard. Granted, they are very
vibrant here though. There is a great distinction seen
in the film, as even the range of coloring on the monsters,
like Kamacuras and Kumonga, is now very easy to spot.
However, the colors themselves are slightly off, with
the magenta level being a little too high. This gives
the film a slight purple tint throughout, about on par
if not slightly worse than what's seen on the company's
Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. release. Beyond this minor error,
though, the disc's video presentation is superb, especially
considering the age of the film. Unlike Tristar's October
releases, the brightness level here is just right, with
every scene in the film being very easy to spot details
during. As for the amount of digital inconsistencies,
they are kept to a minimum here, with the film looking
incredibly sharp and without a sign of shimmering throughout
the entire film. In regards to the noise levels, this appears to have been
greatly reduced, far less noticeable when compared to
the print Tristar used for the Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. release, believe it or not.
As for the print used in the transfer, Tristar got
the International version of the film, although, once
again, the old Toho logo was replaced by the new English
one done for the Millennium series. As for the quality
of the print, it's nothing short of fantastic. There
are some scratches present, a couple of faintly seen
lines do appear on screen during the film, while (as
with other Showa entities) any scenes that involve superimposition
do contain some more noticeable wear. Overall,
for a film this age, the print is in excellent condition.
As a final spot of good news, the film's original aspect
ratio of 2.35:1 is maintained on this DVD and is Anamorphic
for widescreen TVs.
Audio:
There are two audio tracks found on this DVD: the film's
original Japanese audio track, and Toho's International
English dubbed track for the film. Both tracks are presented
here in mono, and while some of the dialogue does get
drowned out a little by the film's sound effects, it's
the film's original audio format so considering the
source material it's handled well here. The Japanese
audio track here is complimented by English, removable,
subtitles that, unlike the recent Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. release, correspond to the Japanese
dialogue in the film. The subtitles are a loose interpretation
of the actual lines sometimes, and there is a slight
delay in when the subtitles appear on screen vs. when
the actor speaks the lines, but overall I guess one
can just be thankful that they didn't opt to simply
subtitle the dubbed track.
Extras:
As expected, the extras here are nothing to write home
about. All that appears on this disc is the same assortment
of extras found on Tristar's Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. release, save the exclusion of
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid.
This marks the fifth Tristar DVD to contain the Japanese
teaser trailer for Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S., which is really starting to make
one wish the company would opt to get another Toho film's
original trailer to stick on these releases. Also included
on this disc is a "Godzilla Compilation Trailer",
which is simply a two minute advertisement for the other
Godzilla titles available from Tristar, minus the Heisei
series ones, while footage from Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
plays. Sadly, this "Compilation Trailer" plays
automatically when one sticks the Son of Godzilla
DVD into a player, meaning one will have to skip past
it every time in order to get to the disc's main menu.
Overview:
Bottom line is that Son of Godzilla has rarely
looked or sounded better than on Tristar's release here.
However, the lack of any significant extras is disappointing,
but after Tristar's Godzilla:
Tokyo S.O.S. I'm personally willing to sacrifice
bonus features if it means more care is placed into
the video and audio presentation as it is here. If your
a fan of Godzilla, or monster films in general, Son
of Godzilla is an excellent addition into one's
collection.
This disc is also featured in the DVD box set(s): Godzilla
DVD Collection (3 pack)
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