Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

For the discussion of Toho DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs, streaming services, VHS, and other formats where Toho films and soundtracks can be found.
Post Reply
User avatar
Great Hierophant
Interpol Agent
Posts: 410
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:38 pm
Contact:

Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Great Hierophant »

In 1998 Simitar released five Godzilla DVDs :
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero
Godzilla's Revenge
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Then in 2002, Classic Media released five Godzilla DVDs :
Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Rodan
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla's Revenge
Terror of Mechagodzilla

No Japanese-language versions were released, only English-language versions were released at this time.

Now, the conventional wisdom is that the Simitar DVDs beat out the Classic Media DVDs for Godzilla vs. Mothra and Godzilla's Revenge because they included the widescreen versions of these films as well as the full screen versions (also Godzilla vs. Monster Zero shares this dual presentation). I have either bought bought or acquired DVD file directories of all Simitar releases except Godzilla, King of the Monsters.

But is there any value to the 2002 Classic Media DVDs, especially over the Simitar? I have read on a reddit post that the Classic Media DVDs may have superior audio to the Simitar DVDs, so they may be better presentations of the "video/TV versions" of these films cobbled together by UPA back in the early 1980s. Some folks have nostalgia for those, can anyone give more detail on this?

But let us go on. Neither Simitar nor Classic Media's 2002 or 2006 releases of Godzilla, King of the Monsters can hold a candle to what Criterion has released. Classic Media re-released Rodan with War of the Garguantuas in 2008 and the Toho Kingdom review says the video and audio of the English language version is essentially the same as on the 2002 disc.

As far as the other films go, the 2006 Classic Media releases were either Japanese-language based reconstructions (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Godzilla's Revenge, Terror of Mechagodzilla) or taken from a different source (MonsterHD's 16:9 version of Godzilla vs. The Thing). So the video/TV versions as found on the Simitar and 2002 Classic Media discs have some amount of distinctiveness to them still.

User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Terasawa »

The 2002 Classic Media release offers better transfers of those masters than the Simitar DVDs. Simitar also crammed too much material onto its discs and the movies are compressed to hell as a result; actually, for this reason in particular, the 2002 CM release of Rodan is superior to the presentation of the U.S. version on CM's 2008 release (which shares disc space with the Japanese version and a feature-length documentary).
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

User avatar
Great Hierophant
Interpol Agent
Posts: 410
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:38 pm
Contact:

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Great Hierophant »

Excellent information

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3227
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by o.supreme »

Fun Fact. Simitar's 1998 DVD of ToMG was my first DVD ever! It was a snap case. I got a Gateway computer with a DVD Drive as a college graduation gift, and wanted something to watch on it. Of course I foolishly got rid of the Simitar ToMG DVD a LONG time ago, but I have no regrets. Copies of the Bob Conn edited theatrical release are easy enough to find online. The CM 2006/7 DVD has the version with the 10 minute monologue, as I remember watching as a kid on TV. 8-)
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
Terasawa
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5841
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 10:06 am

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Terasawa »

^ The Simitar set with their five Godzillas and the "Art of Illusion" special effects documentary and Godzilla 2000 were my first DVDs. My family got its first DVD player at Christmas in 2000 and those were my two big Xmas presents. Those DVDs were the first time I saw movies I'd known as "Godzilla vs. Mothra" and "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" as Godzilla vs the Thing and Monster Zero.
Last edited by Terasawa on Tue Nov 23, 2021 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
寺沢. He/him/his, etc.

User avatar
Mac Daddy MM
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5044
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2017 5:27 pm

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

You also got to give credit for Simitar's artwork, cause damn. They had some GREAT artwork.


Quote of the Year:
plasmabeam wrote: Tue Dec 05, 2023 3:03 am Hear me out on this. What if Godzilla is actually Suko’s father? In GvK when Godzilla defeated Kong and they were roaring at each other, what if Godzilla inseminated Kong at that moment and that’s why they were screaming?

User avatar
Spuro
Keizer
Posts: 9528
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:34 pm
Location: Monster Island

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Spuro »

Mac Daddy MM wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 2:22 pm You also got to give credit for Simitar's artwork, cause damn. They had some GREAT artwork.
King of the Monsters and Monster Zero in particular.
eabaker wrote: You can't parse duende.
Breakdown wrote: HP Lovecraft's cat should be the ultimate villain of the MonsterVerse.

User avatar
o.supreme
Futurian
Posts: 3227
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:51 am
Location: Born in the Bay Area, but stuck in Sacto

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by o.supreme »

Terasawa wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 1:08 pm ^ The Simitar set with their five Godzillas and the "Art of Illusion" special effects documentary and Godzilla 2000 were my first DVDs. My family got its first DVD player at Christmas in 2000 and those were my two big Xmas presents. Those DVDs were the first time I saw movies I'd known as "Godzilla vs. Mothra" and "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" as Godzilla vs the Thing and Monster Zero.
Yeah I remember getting Godzilla 2000 in December of 2000 on DVD, and several anime DVD's in the first couple years. I refrained form getting most mainstream movies I already had on VHS. because I didn't want to double dip back then heh...I got a PS2 with my tax return in Spring 2001, and that was my DVD player for a while. I don't think we got a proper stand alone DVD player until after I was married in 2002 :lol: .

Now here I am 21 years later, my stand alone Sony Blu ray player just stopped working a couple of months ago, so I'm watching everything on my PS4. I'm looking for a good black Friday deal on a 4K player, but we shall see.
To all you dub preservationists, my friends, you have my eternal thanks 8-) . Never stop what you do, you are amazing!

User avatar
Great Hierophant
Interpol Agent
Posts: 410
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:38 pm
Contact:

Re: Simitar vs. 2002 Classic Media DVDs (and beyond)

Post by Great Hierophant »

One thing I discovered about the 2002 Classic Media DVDs, as opposed to the 1998 Simitar DVDs or the 2006 Classic Media DVDs, is that they may be using a different method of converting 24fps film into 30fps film than the standard 3:2 pulldown. I had difficulty trying to do anything other than play back an MKV converted from the VOBs of the disc. I had to leave it out of this comparison video I made : https://youtu.be/yrNMhZVBFgQ

Post Reply