Review: GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA/DESTOROYAH DVD
Ryuusei Productions
I got this DVD today. It's slightly better than the DVD for DESTROY ALL
MONSTERS (in that it has at least an index and chapter stuff), but just like
said DVD, it's just as great! The only thing that bothered me was that they
compressed the "GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA" title, and you don't see the
"Gojira" part!
But all in all, the DVD was very well done, as was Tri-Star's in-house
dubbing (which is up to par with even the best anime dubbing crew), and best of
all, it's in widescreen! The movie's aspect ratioes are 1.85:1, but when you
watch it on your computer screen in 1024 x 768 resolution, it looks even wider
(much like 2.35:1)! Hell, watch a 2.35:1 movie in that resolution and it'll
look like 20th Century Fox's CinemaScope 55 (2.55:1)! :)
I've only checked out some of SPACE GODZILLA so far, and the picture looks
very clear, just as great as seeing it on AMC! It's great to see Godzilla
walking around on the beach with very clear picture (a refreshing move from the
washed-out bootleg vids I own). I'm aiming to get the MOTHRA double feature
DVD in the future.
I can hardly wait for when G2000 comes out on DVD after its theatrical
release (probably sometime between late December and early 2001)!
John Cassidy (Daijirou Ryuusei),
Ryuusei Productions
Richmond, VA
JonR...@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/JonRyusei/index.html
"My music is for Phoenix! Only *she* can sing it! Anyone else who tries
DIES!!!" -Phantom of the Paradise
Bokman7757
dubbing (which is up to par with even the best anime dubbing crew) >>
They didn't use the international dubs that are on the VHS tapes?
Great, now I need a DVD player.
JSchuer416
Ryuusei Productions
jschu...@aol.com (JSchuer416) wrote:
>They are the international dubs on the DVD as well.
GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH and GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA were the international
dubs. I can tell that from GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA on, Tri-Star did their
own dubbing.
Bokman7757
own dubbing. >>
Then why wouldn't they be on the VHS versions?
JSchuer416
international dubs. Too many oddly pronounced words, too much poorly scripted
dialogue - and those voices sure do sound awfully familiar, with the exception
of the "Godziller" guy..
JOHN
Clay Holden
: The DVDs have the same dubs as the VHS versions - and I swear they are the
: international dubs. Too many oddly pronounced words, too much poorly scripted
: dialogue - and those voices sure do sound awfully familiar, with the exception
: of the "Godziller" guy..
Whaddaya mean? In DESTROYER, we get "Gawdziller and Destroyer. I can't
believe it. Now we've got two monsters." (Right at the beginning of
Chapter 19, in case you're interested.)
And of course, the ever-popular "But still, it is there, right in front of
our eyes."
Sounds pretty familiar to me too... (^_^)
Clay
Ryuusei Productions
jschu...@aol.com (JSchuer416) wrote:
>They are the international dubs on the DVD as well.
THEY ARE NOT!!!!!
Guys, you are jumping to conclusions!!! Have you even SEEN the DVDs or
VHS copies, or watched them on AMC!?! Just because they're "dubbed" means
they're international versions!?! Do you even know what "international
versions" mean!?! What makes you so frickin' sure that GODZILLA VS.
MECHAGODZILLA through GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH were international dubs!?! They
sound NOTHING like the international crew, more like a high-quality US anime
dubbing crew. If these were done by the "international crew," they would have
been in MONO and not STEREO (the SPACE GODZILLA/DESTOROYAH DVD had mighty clear
sound quality)!!! GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA was the last international dub (and
since then, there were no dubs of the subsequent movies). GODZILLA VS.
MECHAGODZILLA through GODZILLA VS. DESTROYER were in-house dubbings at
Tri-Star. Stop assuming that just because they were dubbed means that they're
"international versions!!!"
Clay Holden
: >They are the international dubs on the DVD as well.
: THEY ARE NOT!!!!!
C'mon, Jon, calm down a little, okay? Have you talked to *anyone* at
either Toho or TriStar about who did the dubs? If not, you are not in a
more authoritative position than anyone else expressing their *opinion*
on the matter. Doesn't make you wrong, but doesn't make you right either.
I'm not emotionally invested in being right one way or another as to who
did the dubs. They're not bad, but your arguments as to why they *cannot*
be "International" dubs [which to me only means "authorized by Toho for
International release", not "recorded by beta-minus ESL students in Hong
Kong" to me] on the basis of such arguments as their being in stereo rather
than mono, are totally unconvincing to me.
Now my personal take is that the dub sounds a lot like the ADV dubbing
team, but it also sounds like the so-called "International" dubs on
everything from BIOLLANTE on as well.
Whoever did the job, all of the older characters sound *way* too young,
and I get tired of hearing three or four voices doing all the characters.
If TriStar had bankrolled the dubbing job, don't you think they could
have afforded at least a couple more talking heads to do the job right?
And if they did, let's for God's sake hope they assemble a better crew
for GODZILLA 2000 MILLENIUM before they release it theatrically here!!!
And anyway, neither you nor anyone else has commented on the fact that
the "Godziller" guy is either still around, or maybe they hired a new Aussie
to tack "R"s onto the ends of words...
Anyway, please don't assume that just because some folks don't agree with
your opinions that they want to fight with you, okay?
I enjoy your posts a lot, I just don't agree with you this time, okay?
Peace,
Clay
JSchuer416
>been in MONO and not STEREO
Hey hey hey! What's the big deal? Geez! Even if I'm wrong I don't know why
you're jumping down my throat!
Again, even if I'm wrong, a) I DO know what "international versions" are, b) I
would not in ANY WAY refer to these dubs as "high quality," c) I am not
"assuming" that just because they are dubbed they are international versions,
and d) in reference to your statement above, whether or not they are
international dubs has NOTHING to do with whether or not they are stereo. I
probably have posted something to this effect on this NG before, but I do music
scoring and post-production sound for films and video. The music and effects
tracks that I produce for foreign films can be either mono or stereo, depending
on what the distributor asks for. The music and effects tracks are COMPLETELY
INDEPENDENT of the dialogue tracks - which is why I never understood why films
like G 85 and BIOLLANTE were mono. It is just as easy to supply stereo M & E
tracks as mono to whomever does the dubbing - easier, even, since they don't
need to be mixed down. Dialogue tracks are invariably mixed mono, anyway, so
that they will be sent to the center channel in a Dolby Surround system.
I do not have any proof that these are the "international versions," only my
own belief that the odd phrasing and weird pronunciations are the same as any
of the previous dubs. Do you have evidence that they are genuinely produced
in-house by Tri-Star? If so, I dread the release of G-2000. These dubs don't
even hold up to the worst of the TITRA jobs.
I have always considered you one of the more sane posters to this NG - which is
why the intensity and insulting tone of your post is most disturbing.
I think I have proved in previous posts that I do know what I am talking about.
JOHN
Ryuusei Productions
To Clay Holden and John Schuer:
I assure you that just because I lost my temper in these posts, doesn't
mean that I'm harboring any hatred or ill will against you or anyone else
concerning this matter. I was trying to make my point, even if I did lose my
temper, and since I did, I apologize.
I understand that you don't agree about my conclusions concerning the dubs
for MECHAGODZILLA through DESTOROYAH. I'd like to find the facts myself, but
even if I don't know if Tri-Star dubbed these movies or not, I still think they
did, partly because I know my international dubbing crews. Have you seen any
Hong Kong movies, especially recent ones? They're now mostly done by another
crew that sounds almost like a Filipino English dubbing crew (I've seen at
least one Filipino movie dubbed in English, and that would be BIOKIDS). I
haven't heard much of the "but still" crew in years (the last I heard of them
was when they did GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA). Also, some of the Godzilla movies
(including DESTROY ALL MONSTERS) was dubbed for Toho by Bill Ross (August
Ragone proved that), who did international versions for many anime movies since
the 70s. He also dubbed THE LITTLE PRINCE AND THE EIGHT HEADED DRAGON (Toei;
1963).
Don't forget that the "but still" dubbing crew doesn't just pronounce it
as "Godziller," but also "Gidzilla." :)
And believe you me, for years, I've been looking around for "international
versions" of MECHAGODZILLA through DESTOROYAH, especially on this newsgroup,
but the fact is that they never came out with any (and sometimes, some dealers
would mistake subbed bootlegs of them for "English Dubbed" versions). Since
then, nobody has made any reports or anything. And since there weren't any
English dubs in existence, I suspect that Tri-Star had to make their own. If
the International dubbing crew ever did it, the quality wouldn't have been that
good. The quality of Tri-Star's dubbed prints really surprised me. But yes,
even US dubbing crews can be as bad as the International versions everyone
criticizes, and a lot of people criticize dubbing as a whole (the same die-hard
fans that prefer subbed versions)!
NOW does this make any sense? If not, I'll understand.
But this wasn't the first heated argument. A now-funny example was when
Aaron Smith's Godzilla News showed photos of the "prototype" G2000 figure from
Bandai in an article called "Hyper Hobby," which some people mistaked for a new
toyline from Bandai (in which you have to put it together like a model kit)!
Jim Cirronella and I tried to convince everyone that it was just a molding
model for the actual figure!
If I get any evidence to support either claim, be it by experts like
August Ragone, Jim Cirronella, and such, all will be settled.
Again, I apoligize for losing my temper, and understand that you don't
agree, even though you're not sure either.
bcm...@my-deja.com
jonr...@aol.com (Ryuusei Productions) wrote:
>Guys, you are jumping to conclusions!!!
With all due respect (:)), you seem to be the one that began jumping to
conclusions. It seems as though you are assuming that they aren't
International dubs just because they don't sound like previous ones.
>What makes you so frickin' sure that GODZILLA VS.MECHAGODZILLA through
>GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH were international dubs!?!
Here's what I know. MECHAGODZILLA, DESTOROYAH and at least one MOTHRA
film were dubbed in Hong Kong in late 97/early 98. Since about 1971 Toho
has had all of their dubs done in Hong Kong. I admit I'm not sure
whether or not Tristar is using these voice tracks, but I hear enough
vague similarities (a couple of Aussie accents, some "But still..."
lines) to believe it's possible. Given time I can confirm whether
they're the same or not.
>They sound NOTHING like the international crew,
Some of the "The International crew" voices can be heard in films dubbed
in the early 60's - isn't it possible that after almost 40 years that a
lot of them are going to retire, move on and make way for new talent? I
also know that at some point between the 80's and mid 90's that Toho
changed HK dubbing houses - perhaps it was after dubbing GvsKG and
GvsMOTHRA 92?.
>If these were done by the "international crew," they would have
> been in MONO and not STEREO
You've got me here, as I know the HK dubs I mention above were done in
mono. However, I have to believe that the technology exists to
artificially seperate them. I can also imagine that if they were
given access to Toho's surround tracks that Columbia Tristar is a big
enough video conglomerate to be able to affordably remix these films in
stereo.
Come to think of it, I thought the main reason Japanese English dubs
were still mono had more to do with the Japanese surround tracks - i.e.
the fact that Japanese dialog was mixed into them. The fact that such
dialog isn't heard in surround US dubs of G:GOTU and the Tristar's
Heisei films suggests that there's a way to get around this.
>(the SPACE GODZILLA/DESTOROYAH DVD had mighty clear sound quality)!!!
I know, a lot of the older Int. dubs sounded pretty muffled. Again, I
have to believe that at some point they HAD to improve the sound quality
in order to stay competitve in this day & age.
> GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA was the last international dub (and since then,
>there were no dubs of the subsequent movies). GODZILLA VS.
>MECHAGODZILLA through GODZILLA VS. DESTROYER were in-house dubbings at
> Tri-Star.
Do you have anything with which to back up this claim, or are you just
assuming because they don't sound like previous Int. dubs?
>Stop assuming that just because they were dubbed means that
>they're "international versions!!!"
Agreed, if you stop assuming they AREN'T based soley upon how they
sound. As I said before, given a few days I can confirm whether or not
the Tristar videos have the same dub tracks that were done in Hong Kong.
Brian C.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Greasyfries
"Bokman7757" <bokma...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000219160637...@ng-fo1.aol.com...
> One thing I've also noticed on these low-quality dubs- it seems to me
everyone
> speaks at the same volume regardless of their distance from the camera.
Hey, I thought I was the only one anylizing the dubs that closely! But still
(hehe), you're absolutely right! Also, witness how even older characters are
given voices of much younger people (like Kenji Sahara's characters getting
the voices of actors who are the age he was when he was in RODAN!).
Clay Holden
: >mono. However, I have to believe that the technology exists to
: >artificially seperate them. I can also imagine that if they were
: >given access to Toho's surround tracks that Columbia Tristar is a big
: >enough video conglomerate to be able to affordably remix these films in
: >stereo.
: It'll be pleasantly surprising if international dubbing crews ever got a
: hang of stereo technology. It could be a possibility, though.
Well, I can confirm that the Cantonese dub on the Hong Kong DVD of
MECHAGODZILLA is in 5.1 Dolby Stereo, so it's safe to assume that Toho
gave them the surround tracks to work with. Probably did the same with
the English dub. Whether the same house did them or not is uncertain, but
I would say the likelihood is strong, wouldn't you?
Best wishes,
Clay
bcm...@my-deja.com
I got this information from Steve Ryfle. His sources are "Joe Tofu" and
related contacts. For those who don't know, about 2 years ago someone
posted several times to amm under the name Joe Tofu claiming to be a
Hong Kong voice actor who had recently dubbed some of the Heisei G
films. Though many of us suspected this was a prank, Steve checked into
it and found out that he was for real. So believe it or not, here's the
straight dope from what I believe to be a reliable source.
The three "Rebirth of Mothra" films and all the Heisei Godzilla films
since GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH were dubbed by Omni Productions, the
Hong Kong based dubbing company that Joe Tofu works for. It's in dispute
as to whether Omni dubbed BIOLLANTE or any earlier Japanese films with
the signature British & Australian accented voices of Hong Kong dubbing.
A spokesperson for Omni claims the company has been dubbing Godzilla
films since the 1970's; Joe Tofu can't verify this because it was before
he worked there.
GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA II, GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA and GODZILLA
VS. DESTOROYAH were all dubbed either in late 1997 or early 1998.
REBIRTH OF MOTHRA was also dubbed then. It's not clear when ROM II & III
were dubbed, but I could find out if anyone's interested. Joe Tofu did
voices on most if not all of these films.
The Tristar versions all use Omni's dubbing, and Joe Tofu is pretty sure
that Toho was the client for these. To me this qualifies them as
international dubs. One potential explanation for their different sound
is that the recording sessions for these dubs were on the cheap - done
very quickly and using very few voice actors.
Now for some bad news. According to Joe Tofu, Omni just recorded the
voice tracks for GODZILLA MILLENIUM 2000 in the span of a single day. We
can hope the rumors are true that Tristar is going to dub the film
stateside for US release, but with Omni's voice track already in the
works it seems questionable.
TwoZbar
>
>One thing I've also noticed on these >low-quality dubs- it seems to me
everyone
>speaks at the same volume regardless of >their distance from the camera.
>VS. MOTHRA: their voices are soft and >"small" in the Japanese language
version,
>loud in the dubbed.
It gets worse--just check out REBIRTH OF MOTHRA and REBIRTH OF MOTHRA 2. The
Alias' voices are at the same volume as all the normal-sized characters and all
the children (boys or girls) sound like grown women.
- Jim C.