Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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goji1986
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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DrBreakfastMachine wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:31 am Does anyone happen to know if the Millennium films were finished on film or as 2K DIs? Other than Final Wars, obviously, because that was shot digitally.

I caught the Fathom screening of GxMG last night and it was the first time I had seen it in a long while. They were showing the international version and I noticed that all the superimposed English text was clearly done optically, not digitally. I imagine the Japanese version is similar, aside from the CGI title sequence? The whole master used for the blu-ray and that screening looks like a scan (or I guess maybe a telecine) of a print, not a direct transfer from a DI. So it struck me suddenly, did that movie even have a DI?

I know that in the early 2000s certain movies, even VFX-heavy ones, were still getting finished on film like the first two Harry Potters, the Matrix sequels, and I believe the first two X-men movies, and all those movies have gotten true 4K scans in recent years while their counterparts finished as DIs are stuck in 2K like the LORT trilogy, or have to undergo a costly "rebuild" process like the first Spider-man. I have no idea what the timeline was like for Japan switching over to a full digital post workflow, but I'd imagine it was at least a few years later?

If the Millennium Godzilla titles were finished on film, they could be potential candidates for new 4K scans, and lordy do they need them. The only thing that would be stuck at 2K would be the CGI shots. I would love to see those suits and miniatures in 4K someday.
There’s no definitive answer as of yet, but since Japanese filmmaking at the time seemed to be a couple years behind the curve compared to Hollywood in terms of VFX and digital infrastructure, it’s a safe bet to say that the Millenium series was finished on film.
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DrBreakfastMachine
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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goji1986 wrote: Fri Nov 04, 2022 12:33 pm There’s no definitive answer as of yet, but since Japanese filmmaking at the time seemed to be a couple years behind the curve compared to Hollywood in terms of VFX and digital infrastructure, it’s a safe bet to say that the Millenium series was finished on film.
I really hope so. They have the potential to be some of the most impressive of all the Godzilla films on 4K. They weren't shot with funky 60s anamorphics like the showa films, or with lots of diffusion filters like the heisei films. They could be truly pin-sharp if remastered properly.

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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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I actually was checking this out during my last semester.
Final Wars was shot on the Sony HDW F900 for the actor scenes, and am Arriflex 435 Xtreme for the kaiju scenes. The 435 Xtreme was used for FX scenes throughout the millennium era, but Final Wars appears to be the outlier in shooting its actor scenes in digital. At the very least, all the FX scenes were recorded on 35mm to my knowledge.
Feel free to correct me if I'm talking out my ass!
Edit: I misunderstood the question, but judging by imdb specs they were all finished on film? I'm hungover as hell so maybe I shouldn't have weighed in in the first place :D
Last edited by Major sssspielberg! on Sat Nov 05, 2022 7:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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DrBreakfastMachine
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Major sssspielberg! wrote: Sat Nov 05, 2022 7:20 am I actually was checking this out during my last semester.
Final Wars was shot on the Sony HDW F900 for the actor scenes, and am Arriflex 435 Xtreme for the kaiju scenes. The 435 Xtreme was used for FX scenes throughout the millennium era, but Final Wars appears to be the outlier in shooting its actor scenes in digital. At the very least, all the FX scenes were recorded on 35mm to my knowledge.
Feel free to correct me if I'm talking out my ass!
Edit: I misunderstood the question, but judging by imdb specs they were all finished on film? I'm hungover as hell so maybe I shouldn't have weighed in in the first place :D
Interesting! It actually makes perfect sense that the FX scenes in Final Wars were shot on film because the F900 couldn't shoot at framerates higher than 30, which isn't enough for kaiju-scale slow motion. I haven't seen it since the DVD days though so I never noticed before. The slow motion scenes in David Fincher's Zodiac were also shot on film because the Thomson Viper had a similar limitation.

It definitely seems like all the other Millennium movies were finished on film despite including digital FX, just like the Tristar movie, which got an amazing 4K release a few years back (go figure). At the very least GMK and the Kiryu films deserve 4K remasters.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Having recently seen downscaled 4k masters of Mothra vs Godzilla, Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster and Destroy all Monsters (don't ask where, they're out there) everyone needs to pray to whatever god they believe in that Toho gets these on physical media sooner than later and that they eventually make their way to this country one day. These things are gorgeous, and truly look like they were made yesterday. Just the restoration work on the Tohoscope logos of the first two were enough to make my jaw drop.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Yup. They’re flipping gorgeous and it’s pretty much criminal that Toho is more or less just sitting on them.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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I wouldn't be shocked at if they they wait until next fall and release them as part of a marketing blitz for the new film.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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That’d be fine with me as long as they come out on disc. I still need to pick up the actual disc for KKvsG. It was on a pretty good sale on Amazon Japan a while back but I missed it and now it’s back to pretty much full retail. :-/

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Rody
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Honestly Toho's approach to these restorations has been very confusing to me, at least from the limited knowledge I have about them. These were broadcast, what, maybe twice on television and haven't been shown since? Are they available through some kind of streaming or on-demand service for Japanese audiences? Was Toho just testing the waters to see how many viewers were interested?
I absolutely want to see these restorations, and see them eventually hit home video in the West; but there's been so little news or coverage on them I've been left wondering if Toho has bothered promoting them at all (or if western sources just haven't been relaying most of it).

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Maybe they'll get shown theatrically in '24. And god willing, not just at Alamo Drafthouse.
What are the films that got restored again? '54, Mothra, KKvG, Mothra vs, Ghidrah, MZ, DAM, Hedorah, Mechagodzilla, Biollante?
I could see all of those being shown for the 70th throughout the year.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Not 74 Mechagodzilla, but all the other Godzilla films you listed are correct. They also remastered Rodan and Frankenstein vs Baragon in 4k. Someone let me know if I forgot any.

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Major sssspielberg!
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Oh man, Frankenstein vs Baragon in 4K? 🤤 Kinda surprising they didn't do Mechagodzilla.
Kaltes-Herzeleid wrote: Thu Jan 06, 2022 9:44 am I love Final Wars. I praise Final Wars. Simple as.

goji1986
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Rody wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 8:26 am Honestly Toho's approach to these restorations has been very confusing to me, at least from the limited knowledge I have about them. These were broadcast, what, maybe twice on television and haven't been shown since? Are they available through some kind of streaming or on-demand service for Japanese audiences? Was Toho just testing the waters to see how many viewers were interested?
I absolutely want to see these restorations, and see them eventually hit home video in the West; but there's been so little news or coverage on them I've been left wondering if Toho has bothered promoting them at all (or if western sources just haven't been relaying most of it).
Some, but not all, have been given limited theatrical releases. Rodan is being screened very soon if not currently. Mothra, G54, and KKvsG have all had theatrical bookings.

The rest have been shown on a Japanese specialty cable channel, with some sporadic repeat airings.

There is a bevy of coverage in Japanese media and lots of info shared on Twitter by the restoration staff as well as “luminaries” such as Shinji Higuchi and Shinichi Wakasa.

Nobody knows for sure what the long term plan is for these masters but with the franchise’s 70th anniversary approaching it’s safe to say we’ll see them on disc soon.
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Criterion were able to negotiate with Toho to release G54 as a standalone 4K, since they already released it as a standalone blu.

It would be presented as an upgrade for the standalone rather than a partial upgrade for the Cereal Box. It's also unarguably the most historically significant of all the films.

What would surprise me is if they managed to get away with the KOTM cut in 4K too. What would surprise me even more is if they did any of the other films. Maybe Universal could be convinced to do a standalone release of KKvG with both cuts?

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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My pipe dream right now (pipe dream, mind you) is precisely that Universal and Toho can come to an agreement (maybe with Janus's help?) and give us a 4K KKvsG release sometime in 2023. It's the 60th anniversary of the film releasing in the US, the 90th anniversary of the original Kong film, and the year we get a brand new Japanese Godzilla feature. The time seems ripe to me!

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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True, but Universal doesn't care.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Legion1979 wrote: Mon Nov 28, 2022 10:38 am Not 74 Mechagodzilla, but all the other Godzilla films you listed are correct. They also remastered Rodan and Frankenstein vs Baragon in 4k. Someone let me know if I forgot any.
I think Matango got one as well.
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Legion1979 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 4:44 pm True, but Universal doesn't care.
They cared enough to put KKvG in the Criterion Godzilla Showa Blu-ray set, so I wouldn't count anything out.
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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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John Pannozzi wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 9:06 am
Legion1979 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 4:44 pm True, but Universal doesn't care.
They cared enough to put KKvG in the Criterion Godzilla Showa Blu-ray set, so I wouldn't count anything out.
Criterion had to come to them and make a deal. Universal has yet to prove they'd do anything significant on their own.

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Re: Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

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Legion1979 wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 9:27 am
John Pannozzi wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 9:06 am
Legion1979 wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 4:44 pm True, but Universal doesn't care.
They cared enough to put KKvG in the Criterion Godzilla Showa Blu-ray set, so I wouldn't count anything out.
Criterion had to come to them and make a deal. Universal has yet to prove they'd do anything significant on their own.
Then I guess our best bet is to hope that Criterion might put out a 4k Blu-ray release of KKvG.
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