German "Mothra" Blu-ray coming 4/12/19

[Joseph Goodman]

For the multi-region capable, this was posted by Ivo Scheloske of Anolis Entertainment at https://dirtypictures.phpbb8.de/post297716.html#p297716:

MOTHRA THREATENS THE WORLD

I do not need to introduce you to the storyline, the hint that Ishiro Honda has staged a safe hand here again and was supported by trick specialist Eiji Tsuburaya is a perfect match.

So what does the edition offer?

First of all, a novelty: It's a Blu-ray on board . This is due to the fact that licensor Sony has allowed us here a station wagon. And so it will probably not be repeated. Sorry!

But now to the technical details and features:

Packing : Futurepak
Order No : ACE026
EAN-Code : 404 1036 31086 8
FSK : 12 Picture

format : 1: 2,35 (16: 9)
Sound Format :
German / Japanese / DD 2.0 Mono (Japanese Theatrical Version)
German / English / DD 2.0 Mono (German Theatrical Version)
Subtitles : German (fade-out)

2-Disc Edition

Blu-ray :
- Japanese Theatrical Version (about 100 min.) Incl Audio commentary by Jörg Buttgereit, Bodo Traber and Ingo Strecker & audio commentary by Florian Bahr
- German theatrical version (about 90 min.) Including audio commentary by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski

Further bonuses: US trailer, Jap. Trailer, Jap. Super 8 Version, Image Gallery

DVD :
Features identical to the Blu-ray

20-page booklet written by Ingo Strecker

The edition is as always limited to 1500 pieces.

And when does MOTHRA finally appear? VÖ-Date is April 12, 2019 . So perfectly timed to put you big egg in the Easter basket.

ATTENTION : The information is only from Tuesday to all dealers out. Nevertheless, the title should be available for pre-order at all shops during the week.

[goji1986]

That is fantastic. I'm guessing they'll be using Sony's 4k transfer.

[Joseph Goodman]

Sony has no 4k transfer as far as I know; it'll probably be the same 2k master the old DVD and their theatrical DCP is based on.

[goji1986]

I'm fairly positive they do have a 4k master. It's what Rifftrax used when they live riffed the movie a few years ago.

[omgitsgodzilla]

Did they specifically say it was 4K? Lots of stuff shown in theaters is only 2K. Hell, Kong: Skull Island was finished at 2K.

[goji1986]

I used to have an account on the Sony Pictures Repertory website and I vividly remember a banner for a 4K remaster of Mothra. Unfortunately they’ve since required all accounts to re-register and provide more detail on their business purpose for using the site (it’s technically meant for theater owners to book screenings) so I can’t access it anymore.

[GodzillaBurgh]

It'll probably be VOD like BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE with the 2K transfer.

[canofhumdingers]

Regarding Mothra in 4K, I vaguely remember something about that too. I haven’t found any definitive proof (yet), but I did find this old post of mine from 7/22/2013 on monsterzero after I saw a DCP of Mothra at an Alamo Drafthouse.

Mothra (1961) - The Alamo Drafthouse does it again! This was screened via a brand new digital print. And when they say brand new, they mean it! The manager introducing the show said it had just been made 2 weeks ago. I know they did that restoration a few years ago that was put on DVD. Not sure if this was something in conjunction with that or something entirely new. Either way, it looked fantastic!

I believe this is the first 1960's "golden age" Toho film I've ever seen in a theater and it was GLORIOUS. The spectacle is just spellbinding when seen on such a large scale. At the height of their skills, Tsuburaya and his team worked pure magic. And seeing it on such a large format is amazing and (cliche as it may be) absolutely THE way it was meant to be seen. The amount of detail in the Mothra Larva's destruction of Tokyo is just crazy!

And of course the movie is great too! The crowd really seemed to be enjoying it, laughing at all the humor and revelling in the city smashing monster action.

I NEED to see more golden age Toho on the big screen. NEED. Pacific Rim was totally incredible, but this... This was sublime.

As you see, I mentioned the theater manager specifically said that *this* DCP has only been made 2 weeks earlier which was well after the Sony dvd set came out in 2009. So maybe there is a 4K Mothra?

[goji1986]

Regarding Mothra in 4K, I vaguely remember something about that too. I haven’t found any definitive proof (yet), but I did find this old post of mine from 7/22/2013 on monsterzero after I saw a DCP of Mothra at an Alamo Drafthouse.

As you see, I mentioned the theater manager specifically said that *this* DCP has only been made 2 weeks earlier which was well after the Sony dvd set came out in 2009. So maybe there is a 4K Mothra?

That would line up with the timeframe of when I had access to Sony Pictures Repertory's website. Was it the US cut or the Japanese cut?

[Joseph Goodman]

When I saw the Mothra DCP back in the summer of 2013, I asked Sony Repertory for more details, and they told me this (the other title referred to was Jason and the Argonauts):

Neither of these DCPs are actually “digital restorations.” Work was done in the analog realm (35mm) on both of these titles. We were able to create DCPs based on the video masters we had created from the 35mm work.

...which jibes with the description of the restoration process in this article: http://tinyurl.com/qzlbh6

What we did for the Honda films follows a standard pathway for restoration. We began by identifying the best available film elements. We did not have access directly to the original negative but we got high quality interpositives from Tokyo and we used the old Columbia IPs that exist in our library, and made the best possible internegative from the two sources. Then we scanned that internegative at 2K (or 2048 horizontal lines) to .dpx files, which were then restored digitally.

Also, Park Circus, a company that handles repertory bookings for several studios, Sony included, does not list Mothra with the 4K DCP's available for Sony films, just as "DCP".

As for the Rifftrax version being anything new, I doubt it, it has the same overall look as the DVD and DCP.

[canofhumdingers]

Regarding Mothra in 4K, I vaguely remember something about that too. I haven’t found any definitive proof (yet), but I did find this old post of mine from 7/22/2013 on monsterzero after I saw a DCP of Mothra at an Alamo Drafthouse.

As you see, I mentioned the theater manager specifically said that *this* DCP has only been made 2 weeks earlier which was well after the Sony dvd set came out in 2009. So maybe there is a 4K Mothra?

That would line up with the timeframe of when I had access to Sony Pictures Repertory's website. Was it the US cut or the Japanese cut?

Japanese with English subs.