Reviewed by Colin Jacobson
| Title: | Godzilla 2000: Special Edition (2000) |
| Studio Line: |
Columbia TriStar - Get ready to crumble!
Godzilla 2000 pits a 180 foot-high Godzilla against an alien life form aroused from its 6,000 year sleep. Two hundred meters wide and shaped like a rock, the alien attacks Godzilla, who has just crushed the city of Nemuro, Japan. Can Godzilla destroy the UFO? Is this alien lifeform an enemy? The stage is set for a battle between Godzilla, the UFO and the citizens of Shinjuku. |
| Director: | Takao Okawara |
| Cast: | Takehiro Murata, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki, Hiroshi Abe, Shirô Sano, Tsutomu Kitagawa |
| DVD: | Widescreen 2.35:1/16x9; audio English Dolby Digital 5.1 & Dolby Surround, French Dolby Surround; subtitles English, French; closed-captioned; single sided - single layered; 28 chapters; rated PG; 99 min.; $24.95; street date 12/26/00. |
| Supplements: | Audio Commentary from US Version Producer/Writer Mike Schlesinger, Editor Mike Mahoney, and Supervising Sound Editor Darren Paskal; “Behind the Scenes” Footage; Theatrical Trailers; Talent Files; Production Notes. |
| Purchase: | DVD | Score soundtrack - Takayuki Hattori |
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Picture/Sound/Extras: B+/A-/C+
Right off the bat, I suppose I should admit that I’m not a fan of “old school” Godzilla flicks. Actually, I can’t say that I feel negatively toward them either, as I simply haven’t logged enough viewing hours to have an opinion. It’s been a long time since I last watched a Japanese Godzilla film, and I was admittedly curious to discover how I’d feel about this newest release. Full disclosure time: along with four or five others, I actually enjoyed 1998’s Godzilla from director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. Not for a second will I claim that it’s a great piece of work, but - as with their similarly-maligned Independence Day - I thought it delivered enough excitement and thrills to overcome a variety of flaws. Most of the latter revolved around poor performances and lack of character development, but since one generally doesn’t expect stellar acting in a monster movie, I wasn’t especially dismayed by these issues. In any case, Godzilla 1998 has gone down as a bomb; yes, it took in almost $140 million, but since some industry “experts” stupidly predicted it might outperform then-current phenomenon Titanic at the box office, the gross was quite disappointing. I guess the relative lack of success experienced by the new franchise caused dismay back in Japan. According to the DVD’s production notes, the folks at Toho Studios - the originators of the character and the ones who’d nurtured him through a bazillion sequels - had killed off the Zil in 1995’s Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah to set the stage for his “rebirth” in the then-upcoming American version. Apparently Toho hadn’t abandoned the franchise, but they’d planned to give Godzilla a rest until at least 2005. However, probably since his American cousin underachieved, the Japanese version was resurrected for a brand-new adventure. Titled Gojira Ni-Sen Mireniamu, the film appeared in Japan for a winter 1999 release and apparently did some nice business. We wouldn’t see it on American shores until the summer of 2000, when it had been creatively retitled Godzilla 2000. This follows the also-imaginative naming of the last Japanese Godzilla flick to receive a widespread US release, Godzilla 1985. Whatever Sony pays the folks in this department, it’s too much.
For many long-time Zil-fans, that’s a good thing. Those partisans were in the forefront of the anti-Devlin/Emmerich crusade, and I’m sure they’re darned happy to see their hero back in action so soon after his apparent demise. If you’re expecting any mention of the events depicted in the last Japanese film, keep dreaming. He just pops up as usual, with no explanation of how he came back into being. At least the 1998 film attempted to relate the creature’s origins; this one just pretends he never went away. Not that I expect any of the series’ fans really cared. After all, one doesn’t watch Godzilla fare for crisp realism or sparkling continuity. Nor should one anticipate much of a plot. In G2K, the Zil just stomps around and destroys things until an ancient alien ship is discovered. Before long, the participants find that its intentions are evil, and it inevitably ends up in a tussle with the Big G. Much mayhem ensues - the end! Frankly, G2K didn’t do much for me. I can forgive the weak special effects. The film was made on a budget of only $11 million - which is insanely low for this kind of movie today - and the limited money shows. In addition to the guy in the suit, we get some very poor CGI effects that would have looked weak a decade ago. I can also forgive the absence of story and the lame acting. However, I can’t get past the film’s overriding campiness. It’s all so cheesily over-the-top that I found the results off-putting. For many of the series’ partisans, this sense of camp is part of the charm, but I didn’t care for it. The weak English dubbing didn’t help. Jokes about poorly-dubbed Asian films have been around for years, and movies like G2K won’t dispel them. Honestly, I think those in charge of the re-recorded dialogue tried to play up this side of the production; it’s become such a well-known aspect of the movies that I suppose people get something of a charge out of the cheesy dialogue. If that’s you, then you’re almost certain to enjoy Godzilla 2000. It seems to include everything that a fan of “old-school” Godzilla desires, from campy action to cheap effects to poorly-dubbed speech. Personally, I thought the movie had some moments but it generally was a chore to watch. The DVD:
Most of the movie’s problems arise during its opening act. When the film begins, we find Godzilla and all of the others in a foggy nighttime atmosphere. This inclement weather rendered much of the image murky and hazy - inappropriately so, I thought. I felt the picture’s problems during this period were more significant than I’d expect simply due to the fog. The image seemed too thick and heavy and I had difficulty making out the action much of the time. However, once we get past the opening act, the picture became much cleaner and presented a more satisfying image. Sharpness still appeared slightly soft at times, but it generally looked nicely crisp and detailed. Moiré effects and jagged edges presented few concerns, and I saw mild artifacts from the anamorphic downconversion on my 4X3 TV. Print flaws also didn’t cause many problems. I detected some light grain - mainly during special effects shots - and a few speckles also cropped up, but more significant defects like scratches, hairs, tears, blotches or dirt seemed absent. Colors often came across as nicely vivid and bright. G2K isn’t a Technicolor extravaganza, but it presented some appropriately-bold hues at times, and the DVD replicated them accurately. Even after the opening scenes, black levels still looked slightly drab during nighttime shots, and shadow detail suffered at those times; a few of these scenes appeared a little too heavy for my liking. However, most of the low-light segments became appropriately clean and thick after the first act. Ultimately, I found the beginning of the film to present some visual problems, but once we got past that point, the image cleared up well enough to merit an overall grade of “B+”. More consistent was the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack of Godzilla 2000. The soundfield seemed broad and engaging throughout most of the film. All five channels received a nice workout as they blasted action that effectively conveyed the onscreen affairs. While much of the audio blended together well and also displayed some adequate panning, at times I found the track to seem too “speaker-specific”; the environment appeared less seamless than I’d like. Nonetheless, it’s a robust mix that matches the action. Audio quality seemed generally strong. Dialogue appeared artificial but accurate and distinct; I felt the speech didn’t blend well with the action, but I can’t criticize the intelligibility and clarity of the lines. Music was bright and crisp and displayed solid dynamic range, while effects sounded vivid and nicely hyperrealistic. All of the fight sequences came across without distortion; they blasted the action cleanly and with strong fidelity. Bass response sounded deep and rich. All in all, I found the soundtrack of G2K to offer a very engaging experience. While it won’t qualify as a true special edition, G2K includes a few supplemental features. First up is an audio commentary from some of the American filmmakers who modified the movie for US audiences. We hear from writer/producer Mike Schlesinger, editor Mike Mahoney and supervising sound editor Darren Paskal. To my surprise, this was a pretty interesting track. Frankly, I never knew that so much effort was put into adapting films for American distribution; I’d thought they just translated the dialogue, dubbed it and left it at that.
We also find two minutes and 10 seconds of “Behind the Scenes” footage. I expected a featurette here, but instead I got some very entertaining raw shots from the set. These were all effects pieces, most of which concentrated on Godzilla as he stomped around the city. If you’ve seen Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and remember the part in which Pee-wee bicycled through the big lizard shoot, you’ll find very similar footage here; looks like that film’s depiction of this kind of filmmaking was quite accurate. In any case, I really enjoyed these pieces, especially when we see the director (I guess) give advice to the actor in the suit. I couldn’t understand what he said, but it didn’t matter - bad acting is universal. The DVD adds a few other minor extras. We get “Talent Files” for director Takao Okiwara and Godzilla himself. The latter is cute, but neither provides more than very rudimentary information. We get trailers for G2K, the 1998 American Godzilla, and Anaconda. The booklet includes brief but informative production notes. Godzilla 2000 offers a campy experience that’s sure to please fans of the original Japanese films. Will it be compelling for anyone else? That’s more of a problem. The movie did little for me, as I found myself put off by its many flaws. The DVD offers generally very solid picture and sound plus some decent extras. If you already love the franchise, you’ll likely be satisfied with this DVD. Others who think it might interest them should probably rent it first.
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How come the Japanese can produce some of the world’s finest electronic products but they still can’t make a Godzilla that doesn’t look like some dork in a suit? This question stumped me throughout Godzilla 2000, the latest chapter in the now-46-year-old Japanese franchise. I also wondered how a movie this cheesy could possibly exist in this day and age.
Anyway, G2K hit America and instantly caused confusion. Many thought that it was a sequel to 1998’s Devlin/Emmerich effort. Many may still believe that. If you’ve gotten to this point in the review and still aren’t certain, let me spell it out: this film has nothing to do with the 1998 Godzilla.
Godzilla 2000 appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. As a whole, the movie looked pretty good, with only a few flaws to mar the presentation.
However, as I learned during this commentary, the transformation is much more complex than that. In the case of G2K, the film was partially rescored and edited, and dialogue was changed to recast the movie in some different ways. Schlesinger dominates the discussion and he does a nice job of describing all the ways that the American version differs from the original film. He also clearly is a big fan of the franchise, and his enthusiasm makes the commentary more enjoyable. In fact, he’s so worked up about the movie that it’s often difficult for Paskal and Mahoney to get a word in edgewise. Nonetheless, I thought this track offered some interesting information and I enjoyed it.