Toho Kingdom

Tamura wrote:Here's what my friend Michael had to say about the BIOLLANTE screening in Hamburg:

Just arrived back in Berlin. I went to see the 2 Godzilla films in Hamburg at the Metropolis cinema, so here are some impressions (WARNING: long text following):

After buying the tickets I booked, I went downstairs to the lounge and waited for the screening of BIOLLANTE to start. After some time the cinema's elevator opened and some Japanese looking individuals stepped out. I immediately recognized Mr. Kazuki Omori (and I wondered if anyone else did). Anyway, about half an hour later it started getting more crowded and we went down another flight of stairs to the screening room.
Before the screening Kazuki Omori was introduced and said a few words.
Then, finally, the film started.

So here's what most of you are probably interested in, the quality of the International print of BIOLLANTE. Well, the beginning and some small parts in between looked really scratched or damaged, but overall I'd say it looked pretty good for its age! However, there was one part where it seemed like a little bit was missing, right before it cuts to the scene with Colonel Gondo and Kuroki talking about Miki Saegusa.
Sound-wise, it had the same imperfections as the other prints I've seen, that is, some parts the sound got off pitch for a short period of time, e.g. the scene where the Super X is on the runway and there was a scene with a short drop out (I don't remember the exact scene).

Overall, it was really impressive to see this on the big screen. It also made me realize again how much I love the English dub of this film. Besides the awesome combination of the character Colonel Gondo and the voice of Rik Thomas, I enjoyed most of the voice acting in this. I think most of the voices also fit the characters, with the exception of some minor characters. And of course, the large cast was just voiced by about 6 or more people, so characters like "Johnny Foxtrott" were voiced by Rik Thomas as well. Which I, due to Rik Thomas' awesomeness, didn't mind.

mxg744 wrote:Well. I guess I should post here more often. I just got an email minutes ago from Miramax letting me know that the HDCAMSR will be at FotoKem today and ready for us to start working with next week.
From what I can interpret, it is an exact clone of the Japanese BD source with original Japanese language stereo and re-mastered Japanese language 5.1 legs.
We are getting an English stereo track that was found separate from the HDCAMSR checked to see if it conforms to this new master, and if it does we will have everything to start working on the disc!

mxg744 wrote:For clarification, we will do both a DVD and BD for this film... sorry if I didn't explain that earlier. I am not sure what the exact differences will be at this point, but we usually put more 'effort' and quality into our BD releases right now. I won't let the company completely destroy the DVD, but our marketing and product development team may only approve a basic DVD release with few to no bonus features and then pack all the bonus content on the BD.

wataru wrote:Why?

KeizerKing81 wrote:Nice to hear about a release for the film on both formats. So I'm guessing Toho has approved the extra content for the disc or is that still in the negotiation process?

wataru wrote:what extra features are you thinking on the BRD?

mxg744 wrote: But also on this point... What do you guys think of the magazine Japanese Giants? A representative from there contacted us about the upcoming release and offered to assist in making bonus features, probably for a fee, so we would have to fight the marketing & product development team to approve of that expense, but is it worth exploring or do they have no credibility?

wataru wrote: Why?

If the BRD covers all the same that's on the DVD, just by the BRD and rip it to your hard drive and you can compress is with DVDFab and double scan it and it'll be the exact same thing the DVD is except on a DVD-R and you can make as many as you want if the DVD-R 'laser rots'. (not to distribute or sell, but in case youre in a car with a DVD player or whatever..)

Tamura wrote:^ Funny that you should mention that, because if you compare the Classic Media DVD of RODAN to the Toho DVD, they are identical transfers (surprise, anyone?) except the CM has contrast and color alterations.

Ethan wrote:

Tamura wrote:^ Funny that you should mention that, because if you compare the Classic Media DVD of RODAN to the Toho DVD, they are identical transfers (surprise, anyone?) except the CM has contrast and color alterations.

For the better or worse?

wataru wrote: But it makes no sense to buy the same movie on more then one format at the same time. It's like buying Planet of the Apes on DVD and Blu-Ray at the same time. Why? The BRD is superior.

I could understand if the DVD came out first, then the BRD months or years later..

..and BTW it's not illegal to back up your own BRDs and DVDs. You can even do it legally at Walmart.