"Mothra vs Godzilla" and "Invasion of astro monster" theatrical version restoration

[MONSTER MANIC]

While I'm waiting for rips of the new 4K transfers to finally surface online I thought I would take matters into my own hands and attempt to combine the "matsuri" transfers with other sources restoring the theatrical versions in rather decent quality.


I already own the criterion set and I've got my eyes on a bootleg box set which features the champion scans I'm also hoping to use the classic media DVDs as the main audio source I've yet to get my hands on that one though
all of these sources combined to create the definitive version of these amazing movies.


I'll bump this thread with more information soon
And thanks a lot guys for your interest!

[goji1986]

I’m not trying to discourage you, and I wish you the best of luck on this, but with all due respect I must ask —why?

The “best possible version” has only until recently been, sadly, the HiVision masters that have been used by both Toho and Criterion. Using DVD video from a completely different and even more archaic scan is not going to get the best possible results either. Same goes for the audio - you’re better off using the audio from the Toho Blu-ray. I would say it’s better to be patient and wait for a TV rip of the 4K remaster to surface or even hold out for the eventual home video release, both of which would kind of make all this effort of yours a moot point.

Again if this is something you just wanna do, have at it, but for me the reconstruction “movement” (if that’s what you wanna call it) is about recreating versions of these films that are possibly lost forever in a format beyond VHS or DVD.

[Toby21]

While I'm waiting for rips of the new 4K transfers to finally surface online I thought I would take matters into my own hands and attempt to combine the "matsuri" transfers with other sources restoring the theatrical versions in rather decent quality.

I had exactly the same thought. I even tried a few 'test' samples. For me, the main issue was the disparity between the two sources, especially with Astro-Monster. Who knows what generation print they used for that Hi-Vision scan, but it just looks awful next to the new Champion scans. You might have better luck with Mothra vs Godzilla, but if you have the time and want to work on it, then why not. It would be interesting to check out. Keep us posted.

Godzilla Aikō-sha
@G_Aikosha (Twitter)

[MONSTER MANIC]

I’m not trying to discourage you, and I wish you the best of luck on this, but with all due respect I must ask —why?

The “best possible version” has only until recently been, sadly, the HiVision masters that have been used by both Toho and Criterion. Using DVD video from a completely different and even more archaic scan is not going to get the best possible results either. Same goes for the audio - you’re better off using the audio from the Toho Blu-ray. I would say it’s better to be patient and wait for a TV rip of the 4K remaster to surface or even hold out for the eventual home video release, both of which would kind of make all this effort of yours a moot point.

Again if this is something you just wanna do, have at it, but for me the reconstruction “movement” (if that’s what you wanna call it) is about recreating versions of these films that are possibly lost forever in a format beyond VHS or DVD.

I just thought of it as this little experiment you know

[MONSTER MANIC]

While I'm waiting for rips of the new 4K transfers to finally surface online I thought I would take matters into my own hands and attempt to combine the "matsuri" transfers with other sources restoring the theatrical versions in rather decent quality.

I had exactly the same thought. I even tried a few 'test' samples. For me, the main issue was the disparity between the two sources, especially with Astro-Monster. Who knows what generation print they used for that Hi-Vision scan, but it just looks awful next to the new Champion scans. You might have better luck with Mothra vs Godzilla, but if you have the time and want to work on it, then why not. It would be interesting to check out. Keep us posted.

Godzilla Aikō-sha
@G_Aikosha (Twitter)

Sure will!
Sorry for the late reply I don't check this account often

[goji1986]

I just thought of it as this little experiment you know

By all means, have at it. I'm not trying to dissuade you.

[MONSTER MANIC]

I just thought of it as this little experiment you know

By all means, have at it. I'm not trying to dissuade you.

Right now I'm taking screenshots of the hi vision s and colour correcting them I'm still pretty new new to this forum
do you know how to upload photos?
Thanks!

[Toby21]

Right now I'm taking screenshots of the hi vision s and colour correcting them I'm still pretty new new to this forum
do you know how to upload photos?
Thanks!

Check the post about "New Members" - you probably can't currently post images directly to the forum. Do you have a Twitter or or Tumblr account you can post to and share your handle? Would be interested to see what you've done.

You may also what to check a couple of my recent Twitter posts about some restoration work I did to the new Champion version of Astro-Monster.

Godzilla Aikō-sha
@G_Aikosha (Twitter handle)

[MONSTER MANIC]

Right now I'm taking screenshots of the hi vision s and colour correcting them I'm still pretty new new to this forum
do you know how to upload photos?
Thanks!

Check the post about "New Members" - you probably can't currently post images directly to the forum. Do you have a Twitter or or Tumblr account you can post to and share your handle? Would be interested to see what you've done.

You may also what to check a couple of my recent Twitter posts about some restoration work I did to the new Champion version of Astro-Monster.

Godzilla Aikō-sha
@G_Aikosha (Twitter handle)

I'm going to go there right now
I'm very curious to see what you've done!

[MONSTER MANIC]

Right now I'm taking screenshots of the hi vision s and colour correcting them I'm still pretty new new to this forum
do you know how to upload photos?
Thanks!

Check the post about "New Members" - you probably can't currently post images directly to the forum. Do you have a Twitter or or Tumblr account you can post to and share your handle? Would be interested to see what you've done.

You may also what to check a couple of my recent Twitter posts about some restoration work I did to the new Champion version of Astro-Monster.

Godzilla Aikō-sha
@G_Aikosha (Twitter handle)

I'm going to go there right now
I'm very curious to see what you've done!

I did take a look at some of your posts and wow they are amazing you did a great job at taking out film damage and spice marks

[MONSTER MANIC]

So I tried to upload the photos via Google drive links but I can't
(Thanks newcomer restrictions!)

[MONSTER MANIC]

Ok, some backstory
This is actually for my own personal Blu-rays the initial plan was to just include the champion versions with all the cut segments (including the frontier missile sequence) as a bonus feature instead I thought the good solution instead would to be just combine the two sources together to recreate the theatrical version.

[MONSTER MANIC]

I have acquired a screenshot of the title card from the 4K version much better than the hi-vision
I will be using this by simply stretching it to video and laying the film score over it

[MONSTER MANIC]

I have put together a little video showing some test screenshots I have done for astro monster
Just search up
"invasion of astro monster colour correction demonstration" and you should be able to find it.

Despite me not being an expert at colour correction I do think I did a pretty good job.

Here's the list of fixes that I made:
Turned up the colour saturation
Turn down the contrast
Added sharpness and brilliance
And applied a slight blue and green tint
To attempt to recreate that "healthy" look as seen in the 4K and matsuri versions.

[MONSTER MANIC]

For now I have finally decided to just do colour corrections of the hi visions, to see how well it will go in my showcase video on YouTube there is a lot of visible edge enhancement, which created white halos around different things, I will not be applying that process to be colour corrections, the image is very soft thanks to the elements used and the amount of DNR applied which is near impossible to fix of course you can use the previously mentioned edge enhancement, but that would create new problems in the process, and the image becomes much less of an eyesore with more natural colours, but one thing is I am having a problem finding good software to actually colour correct, some would say premiere Pro however, I already tried that with a little experiment on colour correcting Megalon, but when I exported the file I couldn't find it anywhere on my PC, does anyone have any other recommendations?

[MONSTER MANIC]

Oh my god (zilla), the hi-vision for astro monster is TERRIBLE comparing it to the matsuri and 4K transfers is like comparing dirty bath water to clean and pristine water right out of the tap, it's THAT bad, but I will continue to colour correct it till I arrive at a point where I'm comfortable with splicing it in with the matsuri.