Toho's Godzilla 4K Restoration Project

[goji1986]

The Mysterians is getting the 4k treatment, with a series of theatrical screenings bowing this August.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10 ... 8214888184

[Legion1979]

God they really need to announce some physical media releases of this stuff.

[airforce111]

God they really need to announce some physical media releases of this stuff.

exactly, its been almost 10 years since this thread was made, godzilla 2014 released, and we still only have 1 film in kkvsg 4k released on physical media? insane

[EvaGhidorah01]

God they really need to announce some physical media releases of this stuff.

exactly, its been almost 10 years since this thread was made, godzilla 2014 released, and we still only have 1 film in kkvsg 4k released on physical media? insane

What makes it worse. I don't think a lot of them have really been shown in their full fidelity. Since most of the Godzilla ones have been relegated solely to TV, aren't they all entirely downscaled to 2k (roughly 1080p)? Or does the BS movie channel also have a 4K channel?

From what I hear King Kong vs Godzilla's 4K might have underperformed? Disappointing if that's true, I've wondered if Toho decided to take a risk and lower the prices of their absurdly expensive blu-rays they could potentially set a trend for the Japanese market that is good for us as consumers and allows Toho (and other companies that follow in lowering prices) to rake in more sales overall.
I don't know very much about the market there (outside of the reasoning for the high prices being due to movie rentals still existing), but I imagine part of the reason something like this isn't happening is because buying movies to keep is reserved largely for Otaku; more so than in English markets now. With streaming being more prevalent now than ever, I imagine that this also exacerbates the issue.

[goji1986]

God they really need to announce some physical media releases of this stuff.

exactly, its been almost 10 years since this thread was made, godzilla 2014 released, and we still only have 1 film in kkvsg 4k released on physical media? insane

What makes it worse. I don't think a lot of them have really been shown in their full fidelity. Since most of the Godzilla ones have been relegated solely to TV, aren't they all entirely downscaled to 2k (roughly 1080p)? Or does the BS movie channel also have a 4K channel?

From what I hear King Kong vs Godzilla's 4K might have underperformed? Disappointing if that's true, I've wondered if Toho decided to take a risk and lower the prices of their absurdly expensive blu-rays they could potentially set a trend for the Japanese market that is good for us as consumers and allows Toho (and other companies that follow in lowering prices) to rake in more sales overall.
I don't know very much about the market there (outside of the reasoning for the high prices being due to movie rentals still existing), but I imagine part of the reason something like this isn't happening is because buying movies to keep is reserved largely for Otaku; more so than in English markets now. With streaming being more prevalent now than ever, I imagine that this also exacerbates the issue.

BS movie channel did simulcast the restorations on their 4K channel, so they have aired in a presentation as close to their native resolution as possible.

Not sure where you got the idea that KKvsG’s release underperformed - it’s completely sold out on Amazon JP last I checked.

Remember, it took 6 years for Toho to put out the entire HiVision catalog on Blu-ray. They play the long game.

[EvaGhidorah01]

Hmm, I swear I remember hearing someone on twitter talk about it underperforming based on a quote from the SpaceGodzilla completion book. Could've been complete BS though admittedly.

Good to hear they have actually been broadcast in 4K, I wasn't sure about that/

[omgitsgodzilla]

Would've been an odd place to mention that.

Also probably worth mentioning that the price of those Japanese discs isn't just Toho being Toho; I think that's pretty typical with Japanese media of all kinds just because the market is so small.

[Legion1979]

I wouldn't be shocked at all if some 4k disc releases are part of the merchandise coming out in the fall for the new film.

[canofhumdingers]

We can only hope!

[alfredparker360]

Hopefully they can finally get a decent print of King Kong vs. Godzilla although from what I've heard, the film's condition is so terrible that might be too far gone for a truly intensive restoration. Then again, if they can remaster Manos they can remaster anything. It's just a question of if Toho is willing to shell out the money.

The condition of the film "King Kong vs. Godzilla" is reportedly in poor condition, which may pose challenges for a comprehensive restoration. However, considering the successful remastering of films like "Manos," it ultimately depends on whether Toho is willing to invest in the restoration efforts.

[Legion1979]

Uhhh, Toho remastered KKvsG in 4k years ago. They already released it on bluray and UHD in 2021. It looks gorgeous.

[canofhumdingers]

Also the ability to restore one obscure film (Manos) has absolutely nothing to do with the ability to restore another. It all depends on the quality of the film elements available.

KKvsG has some pretty well known issues with the available film elements. I don’t know all the details offhand but certainly the negative is in rough shape, some parts have had to be sourced from 16mm sources instead of original 35mm (though I think they did manage to dig up some of those bits on 35mm in the latest restoration?) and some frames are just flat out missing.

But none of these issues are completely insurmountable, especially with modern restoration tools. And this is evidenced by the generally good quality of the 4K restoration.

[omgitsgodzilla]

I believe they dug up all the 35mm negative trims, except for one shot that had to be sourced from the 2014 transfer of the US version.

[Jetty_Jags]

Where does one get these 4k releases and they don’t have subtitles right?

[Legion1979]

Where does one get these 4k releases and they don’t have subtitles right?

Got mine from CD Japan. No subs though.

[canofhumdingers]

No subs but these days it’s not hard to rip the disc and add subs from another source (though getting them timed right can be challenging if you don’t know how to do that properly). Thankfully there’s whole message boards full of people who can walk one through something like that if you do a little digging online.

[Gojira-Fan]

No subs but these days it’s not hard to rip the disc and add subs from another source (though getting them timed right can be challenging if you don’t know how to do that properly). Thankfully there’s whole message boards full of people who can walk one through something like that if you do a little digging online.

I remember hearing about this kind of thing when Tokyo Monsters (the website which is now defunct) was still around. It intrigues me but I also don't know how it works. Any good sources (like the forums you mentioned) for how to do this?

[canofhumdingers]

I got my start in the technical questions/how-to’s sub forum at originaltrilogy.com.

You may find enough info there or some users might point you to other forums. Some places can be invitation only, so be patient.

As a starter, once you rip a disc you own, tsmuxer and mkvtoolnix are some of the most common apps for manipulating things. Either will let you add or remove your own audio and subtitle tracks. I used to use tsmuxer a lot, but more recently I’ve found mkvtoolnix more advantageous.

[PuzzledAmphibian]

If your familiar with using command line programs I used the command line for ffmpeg to add sub options to my own 4K rips of Shin Godzilla and KK vs. Godzilla. I ripped them using MakeMKV which is technically free. I plan to do the same with the anime trilogy (just HD in that case) just haven't had as much motivation yet.

If you don't re-encode and just make lossless rips, adding subs and all will use very little cpu or gpu if you are on a fairly modern computer. Re-encoding 4K will take a beast of a machine though and legitimately might show up on your electric bill

Easiest and least taxing to stay lossless if you have the space for it (50 to 75 GB average for 4K lossless).

I could basically give you the commands you would need to add subs once you had your own copy of the film ripped. (As long as that is within forum guidelines... I'm not sure)

[UltramanGoji]

Yeah, go for it. It’s technically not pirating or anything.