SethDLH

I'll take the barebones disc over nothing, especially if it's blu. I'll definitely jump on it immediately since I doubt the SE will ever happen.

islandclaws

Not Megalon news, but G fans will want to know all the same:

Posted in the Toho Kingdom forum:

I probably shouldn't be here...
And I probably shouldn't reveal my identity...

But I work at Echo Bridge. I am the terrible person who makes all the BDs and DVDs you all seem to hate.

I know I can't win you all over, and I won't try, but I will tell you kpa is correct. We have been working with Miramax and Toho on getting new materials that will at least match the source materials used to create the Japanese BD for GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE. I can't guarantee that everything will go smoothly and we will get all the approvals we need to match their release, but I am fighting for it. (I really only get to herald 1 in about 1000 movies to get "special" treatment and not get smashed onto a multi-feature disc with no bonus features)

The current plan is to make sure GODZILLA VS BIOLLANTE gets as good of a BD release as we can manage based on the materials the new Miramax delivers to us. And they are working with whatever Toho will give them, so it is not an easy battle. This is why the release was cancelled last year. We got masters delivered in SD and they were terrible, so I told my bosses and Miramax that we wouldn't release a DVD that looked and sounded worse than the VHS.

I don't have any details on a release timeframe, but I will tell you we have all the video elements we need/want. The last thing we are looking into is english audio and subtitles. We will most likely use the existing english subtitles from the R3 DVD and try to get either the english audio track from the laserdisc or *possibly* a brand new english stereo mix created at Toho, but that's a long shot.

SethDLH

'Zilla vs Megalon dvd is up for pre-order with a 8/14 release date

islandclaws

DVD?

C'mon, MB, get that barebones BD up there, too!

Also worth noting re: my earlier post - that EB rep is taking A LOT of suggestions from the members at Toho Forums. It'll be very interesting to see how good the final product is. Sounds like it's shaping up to be one of their best releases yet, possibly ever.

The Valeyard

Hopefully, Toho will approve extras for that release!

Pizza

I just don't understand the issues with Toho and getting there movies released here in the states. I keep reading how they're a pain and very expensive to deal with, yet we're going to get a Godzilla movie from Echo Bridge. (A company that I assume wouldn't be paying big bucks for a release) So it's interesting that they seem to be able to pull off a Big G release and I'm glad they're putting their best foot forward on the title. I do wonder how many of these films will get re-released when the new Godzilla movie comes out down the pike.

Philzilla

That's cause EB isn't dealing with Toho

islandclaws

Says who? The EB rep posting in that thread said Toho has had final approval over everything they're doing.

milo bloom

When MB revealed on facebook that they weren't going to be able to release an SE of Megalon, and that they were just going to put out a barebones DVD instead, I was one of several voices asking for a barebones Blu also. The person posting from MB was very reluctant to even consider the idea, suggesting that the Blu would only be worth doing if they could make it an SE.

At this point I'm just going to wait for somebody to review the DVD when it comes out and if it's good enough to upscale on my 46" screen, I'll just settle for that.

islandclaws

Well, I should say that any DVD would be a start since the film has never had an official R1 release. I've had a widescreen bootleg for a number of years (not sure about the source), so unless this is a marked improvement, and it doesn't look like a BD is on the horizon, I'll pass.

MB should worry more about getting product out and less about what features they include. Do I want a fully stacked SE of Megalon? Fuckin' A, but if the only feasible alternative is to release it barebones then they should go that route.

Pizza

I don't get the reluctance of releasing a BD of Megalon. Didn't Destroy All Monsters sell out on Bluray? I know I quickly bought one. Then again, my wanting some hi-def Godzilla forced me to buy some of the titles from Japan a few years back. For those that were released here on DVD, I was able to link up the English audio from them while watching the video via the bluray. Godzilla 1985 and Biollante I just watch in Japanese. (I got the laserdisc for Biollante but with a side change it would make syncing the audio a little more difficult.) I think the other couple of ones that I got happened to the same length so syncing was pretty seamless. FWIW, I've watched all of them in their original Japanese audio too.

milo bloom

The DAM discs sold out because Media Blasters put extras on the discs that Toho didn't approve and its apparently out of print now. That's why the Megalon disc got held up and why it's going to be barebones.


ETA: I'm watching the old Hanna Barbera Godzilla cartoon while I'm posting. This shit is atrocious.

manicsounds

I'm really kicking myself for missing out on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 "Megalon"...

milo bloom

I was only a casual can during it's first run but for some reason I felt the need to start picking up the DVDs. I now have every officially released title on DVD and I'm glad of it whenever I see those eBay prices.

Philzilla

They got the rights to release it from Miramax, Toho approval is part of the Miramax contract, and presumably the use of Toho HD master, which while shitty for American standards is one of the better transfers for a Godzilla film, the best is SpaceGodzilla

Pizza

The blu-rays I got looked fine to me. Anyone know why they stopped releasing the rest of the series on blu?

islandclaws

Interesting note from the EB insider on Toho Kingdom forums re: Godzilla vs. Biollante:

"I just had the disc format changed a couple weeks back. We are definitely using a BD50 for this release. (Insider secret: The manufacturing cost difference between BD25 and BD50 is about 5 cents these days for any company producing large quantities) Another note for you guys who are interested in the dirty details, since you asked about what disc type we are using. We will be capturing the film at a professional lab direct from the HDCAMSR to an uncompressed HD AVI 4:4:4 10 bit source file that will be shipped direct to our authoring house that will use a separate for each release (BD & DVD)"

milo bloom

We need to make sure this Biollante disc sells like gangbusters. This guys putting his neck on the line for a "silly monster movie", and I'd hate to see it only sell a few copies and make this guy look bad.

SethDLH

It has a guaranteed day one sale from me.

The Valeyard

From Media Blasters:

B5Erik

Blu Ray of Godzilla VS Biollante? I'm in.

I don't have a problem with DVD for Godzilla VS Megalon. I'm so used to my crappy, worn out VHS that a clear widescreen DVD will look amazing in comparison. Blu Ray would be nice, though. Then again, with that title a less than pristine presentation is almost part of the charm...

MrStayPuft

Well it's been delayed almost an entire year, but yea, amazon just shipped my dvd of Godzilla vs Megalon.

Not too bummed it isn't available on blu ray, I would have bought the dvd anyways. Did so for Destroy All Monsters. As long as it gets remastered and with english subs, thats all I care about. I own the rest of the series on dvd, so I like to have them all on the same format.

islandclaws

Report back on it, if you don't mind. I might keep holding out hope for the BD, but if the DVD looks great I may just get it for now.

milo bloom

Watched the Megalon DVD last night. I'm not an expert judge of transfers and such, but I'll say that I was never distracted by any flaws. I watched on a 46" LCD Samsung, upconverted via Panasonic BDP-215.

Over at Tohokingdom forums, somebody posted a frame of a cropped scene, looks like there's a scene from the original Toho 16x9 HD cropped transfer, then matted it down further to 2.35. But I didn't notice any other issues. I don't have another widescreen transfer to compare it to, but just eyeballing it and watching for composition and framing.


First post here has the images.
http://www.tohokingdom.com/forum/vie...8947&start=570


Otherwise I thought it looked pretty good. It's sub and dub and 16x9. The nudie pictures in the truck cab are even there.

Even if they ever get a Bluray disc out, it would take a lot of really good extras for me to upgrade, the picture quality will do fine for me.

Edited source of cropped scene.

islandclaws

Hmmm... sounds like it's likely on par with the widescreen bootleg I've had. I think I'll wait for the BD, if it ever comes.