Classic Media's Blu-ray "Godzilla" Worth Getting?

DVD Talk.com reviewed Classic Media's new Blu-ray disc of the original Japanese version of Godzilla (Gojira) from 1954. They recommend a pass.

They wrote:

Classic Media's Blu-ray of Gojira is a major disappointment that can't really be recommended. The HD encoding is interlaced (1080i) instead of progressive (1080p), which leads us to suspect that the source is the same used on the earlier standard def release -- billed as mastered in "Native Hi-Def".

Every comparison with the existing Deluxe Collector's Edition DVD makes that release seem a better purchase option. That disc's variable contrast and odd ghosting issues that were undoubtedly in the tape element provided by Toho. The new Blu-ray looks identical except in the monster destruction scenes, which are timed much darker. Under these conditions the added resolution of HD adds nothing whatsoever to the visuals -- the Blu-ray looks like the standard DVD but with additional problems.

Personally, I haven't purchased a Blu-ray machine and I really am not compelled to do so anyway. Standard DVD is just fine as far as I am concerned. Who needs to see every pore or blemish on an actor's face anyway? I resisted going into the DVD format at the beginning as I really didn't want to bother going into another video format from VHS tape. But, as time went on, releases on VHS became fewer and fewer and colleagues urged that I switch. I bit the bullet and bought a DVD player. In retrospect, it was a wise decision as there are now virtually no VHS releases. If Blu-ray becomes "the standard" for home video as DVD did, then I would be forced into jumping in, but kicking and screaming.

I have Classic Media's DVD set of the Japanese and American versions of Godzilla along with a Region 2 DVD that I purchased in Japan at the "Since Godzilla" exhibit in Koriyama during G-TOUR. The Region 2 version is much cleaner than Classic Media's DVD. I am satisfied with them.

On the other hand, I am hearing that Toho remastered their Godzilla movies in HD and their Blu-ray Godzilla completely blows Classic Media's right out of the water. One nice thing about Blu-ray, so I'm told, is that Japanese Blu-rays have the same region coding as American's. The only drawback is a lack of English subtitles.

To read DVD Talk's full review, go here.