Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

[Terasawa]

I had a feeling (so far) heisei wouldn't have as much of an impact seeing as the type of film they were filmed on.

I don't understand this.

[Chrispy_G]

I had a feeling (so far) heisei wouldn't have as much of an impact seeing as the type of film they were filmed on.

I don't understand this.

Yeah, as far as I know they were all shot on 35mm film....you're just dealing with 35mm film that would have been shot decades after some of the Showa films.

I don't think there was anything about the finishing process that would have resulted in Heisei footage being softer or more degraded/processed.

[Legion1979]

Maybe with the stock footage itself, but all the newly shot stuff should look just as good as anything else.

[Chrispy_G]

Maybe with the stock footage itself, but all the newly shot stuff should look just as good as anything else.

Indeed, the Millennium films are the entries that will have some nasty results.

With any CGI/VFX shots...the film would have had to be scanned into the computer, altered, then printed back onto film(how any VFX process works)....the only thing is that whatever resolution they scanned the film at and finished the effect at....it stays lost even when printed back onto film.

Just like how, if you watch a 4K disk of a CGI heavy film of the 90s...the VFX shots, not just the FX but the overall shot...sometimes look flat and lacking in detail. Those VFX shots being scanned and finished at a lower fidelity means that when they get worked back into the film, they stand out.

On a DVD or Blu Ray presentation...it often all feels fairly consistent. In a 4K presentation though, if you are scanning a 35mm print of the film....well, all of the footage that was shot and finished on film and never scanned digitally...all of that footage will look as good as any 35mm image can look. The VFX shots though...they will stand out with a lot of digital noise or lack of detail/fidelity in the image, etc

The Heisei films used very minimal CGI, so it won't be much issue there as they were mostly shot and finished on film with traditional techniques....but the Millennium films that brought in more CGI...when those get the 4K restoration treatment....you will see all of the non-CGI/non-VFX stuff restore and clean up VERY well, and all of the CGI/VFX shots will stick out like even more of a sore thumb.

[Legion1979]

Luckily I'll never find out. I've already bought Toho/Japanese releases on DVD and bluray over the past 20 years. I'm not triple dipping to buy the Heisei and Millennium series again.

[canofhumdingers]

Weren’t at least some of the Millennium films (I want to say GxM in particular) filmed with one of the earlier digital cameras? If so, any that were will really struggle to show any significant improvement on a 4K release seeing as those early-mid 2000’s digital cameras were pretty low resolution (some of them weren’t even as high as 1080p from what I understand). It’s basically the same thing as the digital vfx Crispy was talking about above. Except, rather than specific shots, the entire “film” is locked into that lower resolution.

The one millennium film I’m really curious about is GMK. The Blu ray’s image is abysmal and really detracts from a very fun movie. I’ve no idea if that was shot on film or digital, but I’d sure love to see a better home video transfer of it!

[airforce111]

I had a feeling (so far) heisei wouldn't have as much of an impact seeing as the type of film they were filmed on.

I don't understand this.

it already looked soft and grainy, these new stills aren't too significant a change. Literally nothing hard to understand

[goji1986]

Weren’t at least some of the Millennium films (I want to say GxM in particular) filmed with one of the earlier digital cameras? If so, any that were will really struggle to show any significant improvement on a 4K release seeing as those early-mid 2000’s digital cameras were pretty low resolution (some of them weren’t even as high as 1080p from what I understand). It’s basically the same thing as the digital vfx Crispy was talking about above. Except, rather than specific shots, the entire “film” is locked into that lower resolution.

The one millennium film I’m really curious about is GMK. The Blu ray’s image is abysmal and really detracts from a very fun movie. I’ve no idea if that was shot on film or digital, but I’d sure love to see a better home video transfer of it!

Only Final Wars was shot on digital. Everything else was shot on film.

[Rando Yaguchi]

Really? I could have sworn Megaguirus was shot digitally.

[MONSTER MANIC]

A little comparison of the Ghidorah 4k.

Hi-vision:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C_fHo0 ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ClvVaZ ... p=drivesdk

4K:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CmRaMy ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut my fav
Hi-vision least fav (p u r p l e s k y)

Added in 36 minutes 34 seconds:
I would do one for the others as well, but screenshots or any actual rips of these recordings are extremely scarce and hard to come by.
(If anyone knows how to acquire a copy please send me a pm)

[canofhumdingers]

A little comparison of the Ghidorah 4k.

Hi-vision:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C_fHo0 ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ClvVaZ ... p=drivesdk

4K:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CmRaMy ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut my fav
Hi-vision least fav (p u r p l e s k y)

Added in 36 minutes 34 seconds:
I would do one for the others as well, but screenshots or any actual rips of these recordings are extremely scarce and hard to come by.
(If anyone knows how to acquire a copy please send me a pm)

I’d be interested in seeing your galleries, but even after logging in to my google account it says I can’t access them?

[GodzillaFan1996]

A little comparison of the Ghidorah 4k.

Hi-vision:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C_fHo0 ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ClvVaZ ... p=drivesdk

4K:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CmRaMy ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut my fav
Hi-vision least fav (p u r p l e s k y)

Added in 36 minutes 34 seconds:
I would do one for the others as well, but screenshots or any actual rips of these recordings are extremely scarce and hard to come by.
(If anyone knows how to acquire a copy please send me a pm)

Can I get access pls, it says that I need approval.

[MONSTER MANIC]

A little comparison of the Ghidorah 4k.

Hi-vision:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C_fHo0 ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ClvVaZ ... p=drivesdk

4K:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CmRaMy ... p=drivesdk

Champion cut my fav
Hi-vision least fav (p u r p l e s k y)

Added in 36 minutes 34 seconds:
I would do one for the others as well, but screenshots or any actual rips of these recordings are extremely scarce and hard to come by.
(If anyone knows how to acquire a copy please send me a pm)

I’d be interested in seeing your galleries, but even after logging in to my google account it says I can’t access them?

That's strange..
EDIT: turns out I need to give access myself whenever the notification pops up, should be working now.

[Malchik]

I had a feeling (so far) heisei wouldn't have as much of an impact seeing as the type of film they were filmed on.

I don't understand this.

I think he's referring more to production values than film stock. The Heisei era isn't as colourfully lit or dynamically shot. The films look like the style of the eighties and nineties, really.

[Legion1979]

I had a feeling (so far) heisei wouldn't have as much of an impact seeing as the type of film they were filmed on.

I don't understand this.

I think he's referring more to production values than film stock. The Heisei era isn't as colourfully lit or dynamically shot. The films look like the style of the eighties and nineties, really.

Ive always thought the cinematography on these wasn't much better than a made for TV movie.

[MONSTER MANIC]

I am officially jealous...
The bastards at Toho need to stop teasing us and release these already!

[Angilasman]

Ive always thought the cinematography on these wasn't much better than a made for TV movie.

Feels like the 'TV Movie' look really starts with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. Of the '90s films I feel its Spacegodzilla that looks the most cinematic.

[Rando Yaguchi]

Feels like the 'TV Movie' look really starts with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

For sure. Gone was the atmospheric lighting and texture of the 80's films, and in came the direct-to-video-looking crap.

Hell, even the 70's films (made on a shoestring budget) had a richer cinematic look to them than the 90's stuff.

Of the '90s films I feel its Spacegodzilla that looks the most cinematic.

SpaceGodzilla has some good visual moments, but by the time it gets to the final battle, things look cheaper than ever, even worse than the other 90's films. Looks nothing like a city.

[MONSTER MANIC]

The cinematography of the 80s films are just plain phenomenal, I hope that 4K restoration of Biollante goes well and maybe they can have a UHD Blu-Ray out for Christmas!
I dunno, just my guess.

Added in 1 hour 11 minutes 31 seconds:
Oh, and that "certain Guy" has released a 4K Blu-ray of king Kong vs Godzilla looks like he was able to find a workaround!
"the video has been compressed to fit the bitrate and size but the resolution is intact and thus the complete chain of 4K uhd equipment is required for viewing."

[Great Hierophant]

Time has not been kind to the post-Biollante Heisei era. A real sense of cheapness and dullness permeates the films after Biollante.