Godzilla 2000 (Gojira ni-sen mireniamu) (1999)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1999
Running Time	98:37
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (44:07)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	?
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Takao Okawara
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Takehiro Murata Hiroshi Abe Naomi Nishida Mayu Suzuki Takeshi Ôbayashi Shirô Namiki Sakae Kimura Bengal Kenichi Nagira Kenichi Ishii Yoshimasa Kondo Kôichi Ueda Yoshiyuki Omori
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Takayuki Hattori Akira Ifukube J. Peter Robinson

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Godzilla has been rampaging through Tokyo since 1954 in the ever growing series of films from Toho Studios. The most recent series of these films are known as the Millennium Series, which began with this 1999 production, Godzilla 2000 aka Godzilla 2000 : Millennium or in Japanese Gojira ni-sen mireniamu. These followed on from the critically mauled American film, Godzilla (1998) and have now totalled 6 films which are all included in the newly released box set from Madman Entertainment, Godzilla, The Millennium Series. There is also a new American film on the horizon for release in 2014, also to be called simply Godzilla.

     Godzilla films are certainly a lot of fun and should not be criticised in the same way as other films. Sure the acting is bad, the stories can be confused and the effects are generally pretty obvious but this all adds to their charm as escapist entertainment which is generally suitable for kids and provides something different for adults to enjoy. A while ago my kids and I watched an older one of these films featuring Mothra in a deadly battle with Godzilla; they loved it and I enjoyed it too. Accordingly, we have started the journey of working our way through this new box set from Madman. I am not a scholar of the Godzilla series or a fan boy so I will just report on these films as I see them, focusing on their entertainment value.

     This particular Godzilla film sees Godzilla returning to attack Japan after some years of not doing so. He is trying to destroy Japan's energy sources. He is being tracked by the Godzilla Prediction Network led by Professor Shinoda and his precocious daughter. They ride around in a four wheel drive trying to study Godzilla during his rampages. They are accompanied by a young female reporter. Meanwhile, the Crisis Control Agency, led by Katagiri have found a meteorite beneath the ocean and are bringing it to the surface. Once they do however, this gigantic rock breaks the cables they have around it and flies off of its own accord. They realise it is actually a UFO which eventually morphs into the monster Orga who then provides opposition for the final monster battle with Godzilla.

     As you can tell from this plot description, this film is quite silly and makes little sense, however, that doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun and the monster battles are pretty well done. The version included here is the shorter International Edition running 98:37 and features only the US dub not the original Japanese dialogue. The US dub is famous/infamous for this film including such lines as 'Gott im Himmel' from a Japanese chef as the UFO flies over and somebody mentioning that Godzilla will go through them like 'crap through a goose' which is supposedly a reference to Patton. This film was directed by Takao Okawara, who was responsible for three of the Godzilla films in the previous series.

     Delightfully silly and entertaining!

Video

     The video quality is quite ordinary.

     The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced. This transfer appears to be a NTSC to PAL conversion rather than a native PAL transfer as the run time is the same as the theatrical version.

     The picture was quite soft throughout affected by colour bleeding and grain. Shadow detail was decent.

     The colour was quite dull and as I mentioned above colour bleeding was quite prevalent.

     Artefacts include shimmer, motion blur, some minor blocking, MPEG grain and white spots.

     There are no subtitles, although there is a subtitle stream which can be turned on or off (with little effect).

     There is a layer change at 44:07 however it is not overly noticeable.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is quite good.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1, although it is marked as Japanese on the disc. The soundtrack is the US dub.

     Dialogue sounds fine generally taking into account sometimes difficult accents.

     The music is suitably exciting and suits the nature of the film.

     The surround speakers are used regularly for action scenes , however the surround effects tend not to be overly well defined.

     The subwoofer supports the music and adds bass to explosions and crashes.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu included music.

Theatrical Trailer (1:03)

    Original Japanese trailer with subtitles.

Other Trailers 

    The US edition of this DVD includes what sounds like a better video transfer (native NTSC) and also has an English audio commentary, some behind the scenes footage and text based extras. Region 1 wins here.

      GODZILLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!    

    The video quality is ordinary.

    The audio quality is quite good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall