“The Return of Godzilla” Blu Ray Review

“The Return of Godzilla” Blu Ray has finally arrived! It’s great to be able to own, finally, a legitimate copy of this movie!

I watched the international dub version of the film recently and these are my thoughts:

The dub itself, it must be stated, is NOT the same dub done by New World Pictures in 1985. This is dubbed by a completely different set of individuals. With that said, the actual dub is pretty good. It’s a little weird, for those of us familiar with the New World dub, to hear different voices coming out of the actors, but the dubbers, for this international dub, do a very competent job. There are a few moments where the dubbing gets a little goofy, but nothing major. What’s better, though, about this dub is that the dialogue more closely resembles the actual Japanese dialogue.

It is great that it’s the full Japanese version of the movie that is dubbed as well. Many fans, who have had the misfortune of not being able to see the Japanese cut (at least legally), will get to see this movie in all of its glory. Those who are long-time listeners to our podcast know how much I love the original cut of this movie.

Now comes the question of just how good the HD is in the movie. My conclusion is that it’s hit and miss. There are moments where a lot of grain shows up in some scenes and it’s absolutely pristine in others. I was actually shocked where, during one moment of Godzilla’s rampage, that some mild discoloration appeared and it was obvious that the buildings in the foreground were inserted during post-production. In my many viewings of this movie, both the U.S. and Japanese cuts, I never noticed those buildings looking like they weren’t part of the original shot. They blended so seamlessly. With that particular shot, I was very disappointed that such flaws came through. To be honest, my (now) former copy of the Japanese cut had a better all-around presentation than this Blu Ray. I also purchased the DVD, but have yet to watch it to compare visual presentations.

In conclusion, I still highly recommend the Blu Ray. This long-awaited movie finally gets a legitimate release in the States–and it’s the Japanese cut, too!! But don’t be too anxious to get a great HD presentation through and through. Buy it for the movie. This needs to be on every Godzilla fan’s shelf!