Genius Products [2009] $29.96
Region Free / Single Layer BD25
feature: 1080i HD
supplements: 480i SD / 1080i HD [trailer]
subtitles: English [non SDH]
audio: Japanese [linear PCM 2.0]
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Toho’s 1954 production of GOJIRA should really need no introduction. The first true Japanese monster film, it is a substantively rich science fiction drama about the threat of nuclear destruction from a nation that experienced it first hand – twice. Important and influential, the film itself comes highly recommended.
The same cannot be said of this Classic Media / Genius Products [referred to as CM/GP for the duration of this article] Blu-ray rendering, the beginning of whose problems can be traced all the way back to the same companies’ preparations for their 2006 DVD.
GOJIRA was in something of a limbo at the time CM/GP set their minds to releasing it to domestic home video. The original negatives had not been cared for by Toho in their time, considerably limiting the quality of available sources to begin with. While the film had been released numerous times to home video in Japan and elsewhere and even to theatres in the United States and the United Kingdom, no serious effort had yet been undertaken to restore it.
CM/GP took a good initial step in their efforts to release the film the American public, opting to transfer it in HD. Given the storage issues and lack of restoration, their transfer presented with all the worrisome signs of age that one might expect. GOJIRA is riddled with everything from minor dirt and speckling to prominent scratches and jump cuts. Much of the damage present during the extensive special effects optical work had been there from the beginning due to the working environment at the time of production, and I doubt anyone with prior knowledge of GOJIRA’s history was expecting the transfer to be pristine.
More troublesome is what followed after the transfer process. CM/GP look to have processed their image considerably in a well-intentioned if downright inept attempt at improving upon it. No effort went into the obvious, like digitally repairing the extensive visible damage on display throughout. Instead the image was boosted in both brightness and contrast to [badly] cover for the inconsistencies of the source material in that regard, making much of the minor damage to the source more obvious than before.
Worse, CM/GP actually edited the film – replacing several of the early fades with crisp new digital ones. Several seconds of footage was excised and that around it simply pasted together with no attempt made to cover for the alterations in the flow of the soundtrack. In the most egregious example, found when a downward pan over a radio tower fades to the bustling communications room of the Nankai Shipping Company after the first ship is sunk, Akira Ifukube’s score is cut short by several beats. The practice is thankfully put to an end by the time the first ten minutes of GOJIRA have passed with the rest of the original fades appearing intact, leaving one to wonder just why the few alterations on display were ever made at all.
It is this boosted and slightly altered transfer of GOJIRA that, with the addition of a bit of edge enhancement, made its way to US shores via CM/GP’s dual disc DVD in September of 2006. Those of you who read this site at the time undoubtedly recall how appalled I was with the presentation on that set. This new Blu-ray improves upon it in that it doesn’t appear to have been artificially sharpened [fine details actually appear softer than on the DVD in many instances], but it’s really a downhill slide from there.
In the three years that have passed between the two releases, GOJIRA has undergone a full HD restoration at the hands of Toho [who released their own Blu-ray on the 18th of this month], not that you’d be able to tell here as CM/GP have stuck to their guns and provided US audiences with precisely the same transfer, sans edge enhancement, as was utilized for their original DVD release. The results aren’t pretty. The mastering is undeniably HD, but presented in interlaced 1080i as opposed to progressive 1080p. The faults of the transfer are more readily apparent here, especially the jitteriness of the frame. Detail is minorly improved upon but the image has a soft, untextured look to it – even with the omnipresent speckling and scratches it hardly ever feels like film. The only upsides are the strong linear PCM 2.0 audio and the fact that the subtitles, still an ugly yellow, are easier to discern from the background.
The supplements are all carry-overs from the two disc DVD: A feature commentary track from Ed Godzizewski and Steve Ryfle, two featurettes [4:3 SD] on the suit creation and story creation aspects of production, and the Japanese theatrical trailer [1080i HD]. Missing from that package are the American cut of the film – GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS! – and its associated commentary track and trailer, making this new release even less of a bargain at just under $30 retail.
I feel it important to note that I have no real hard feelings towards CM/GP, who have done a fine job presenting their other Godzilla series offerings – all of which come highly recommended for US customers. Still, their initial DVD of the original GOJIRA was a bust and this Blu-ray is even worse. Avoid.
