Is This Shin Godzilla's Roar?

I woke up this morning in a usual routine which includes checking in to see what the Godzilla community was up to late into the night, and I was pleasantly surprised. Fans were discussing and arguing about whether or not a part of the soundtrack had been leaked and included a snippet of Godzilla's new roar from the upcoming 2016 film. The video in question and the answer to our click-baity headline is below.

If that is the roar for Shin-Goji, I actually wouldn't mind at all. Not because it sounds particularly good, but because it would show that they're going even further with setting their Godzilla apart, without throwing tradition out the window. 

Unfortunately, this is definitely a fake. The Japanese title reads "My idea for Shin Gojira's roar." Also, if you listen, the dialog in the clip is from a much older film, and the roar itself is a heavily modified sound bite.

I still wanted to post it because the discussion around Godzilla's new roar and the possibilities are endless, and I want to know what noise you think will come out of this undead behemoth.

Hopefully, we'll get another trailer that actually answers this question before Shin Godzilla releases on July 29th in Japan.

Sony and Toho Announce 'Godzilla Resurgence' Video Game Demo for Playstation VR

With this year's Sony E3 conference over and done with, my list entitled "reasons to avoid getting the PSVR headset" is shrinking drastically. Now Sony and Toho have activated their "Wonder Twin" powers to bring us our first Kaiju meets VR experience.

Yesterday, Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia and Toho announced the mouthful of a tentative title 'Shin Godzilla Special Demo Content for Playstation VR.' I scoured both our source and our source's source, but the only gameplay detail I can find is that you will "confront a 118.5 meter tall CG Godzilla." Does that mean you will be fighting Godzilla? With so little to go on right now all we can do is speculate. Though it has been reported that the game will use the exact 3D model from 'Godzilla Resurgence,' which is being supplied by Toho directly.

'Shin Godzilla Special Demo Content for Playstation VR' will be available October 13th, which makes it a launch demo for the PSVR. If you are getting a PSVR day one, make sure you pick up this demo on the Playstation Store as it is currently the only Godzilla content heading to any video game platform in the near future.

Fukuoka Art Museum Features Massive Godzilla Exhibit

It seems that Toho is pulling out all the stops for the upcoming 'Godzilla Resurgence.' In the past few months alone, they have organized product crossovers with the massively popular 'Evangelion' series and "Gudetama," a Japanese company's popular lazy egg mascot.

Now, from July 15 through August 31, the Fukuoka Art Museum will honor Godzilla's past and promote the future by hosting a massive exhibit featuring the entirety of the Toho roster called "Godzilla at the Museum: Creative Tracks of Daikaiju" 

The exhibit will be a guided tour through Toho history lead by the voice of Shiro Sano, an acting veteran in the Godzilla franchise. It will feature a vast library of memorabilia including such things as notable props, concept art, production notes and photographs, character moldings and some of the original suits worn in the classic movies. I'm only scratching the surface here, though; all in all, there will be over five hundred items from Godzilla history for fans to see!

Some special events throughout the duration of the exhibit will keep Kaiju fans coming back week after week. On July 24th the original film will be shown. If that wasn't cool enough, Toshio Miike, the art director and special effects expert for Godzilla, is stopping by to chat with fans on August 11th.

So, if you're a Godzilla fan with some free time and a few grand lying around this might be the perfect time to take that jump over to the land of the rising sun for a month or two and check out the exhibit.

'Return of Godzilla' Releasing On Blu-Ray And DVD For The First Time In America

Breaking news! Kraken Releasing (the company behind the recent Bluray/DVD releases of 'Godzilla vs Hedorah,' 'Godzilla vs Gigan,' and 'Ebirah Horror of the Deep') has just acquired the rights to release the uncut Japanese version of 'The Return of Godzilla' (some of you may know this film by the name 'Godzilla 1985'). This is huge news, as this uncut version of the film has never made it over to U.S. shores. Fans rejoice!

 'The Return of Godzilla'  served as a reboot to the Godzilla franchise after poor box office returns from the last Showa Godzilla film, 'Terror of MechaGodzilla.' Godzilla came back in 1984 with better special effects and returned to the serious tone of the original 'Gojira.' The US version of the film ('Godzilla 1985') was heavily re-edited and had many new scenes added superfluously into the film. There were about twenty minutes of footage from the Japanese release removed to add in the new scenes with Raymond Burr reprising his role of Steve Martin from the American version of 'Gojira' ('Godzilla King of the Monsters').  

Most of us die-hard fans have previously had to import 'The Return of Godzilla' because of a major rights issue with the film. New World Pictures still owns the rights to the American version of the film due to a strange contract that was signed when the film was originally released in North America. The company has since gone out of business, and due to the rights of 'Godzilla 1985' still being in their clutches, we have not had a DVD version of the film, much less seen the original unaltered version natively.

The new Blu-ray and DVD from Kraken Releasing will include a Japanese language track with subtitles and the English dubbed version. Interestingly enough, I do not think the dubbed version will be the American cut due to the aforementioned rights issue with 'Godzilla 1985.' I think that the dub being used for this release may be from a different English-speaking country where the film was not re-edited on release.

The new Blu-ray and DVD finally arrive in America on September 13th, 2016.

'King Kong Vs. Godzilla' 4K Remaster Coming In July, First Images Revealed

News has been slowly breaking over the past week that a "complete version" of the newly restored 1962 film 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' will be premiering on the Japanese Nihon Eiga Senmon Channel in July to celebrate Toho Pictures upcoming 'Godzilla: Resurgence.' This remastered version will be aired alongside of a Godzilla retrospective titled 'Godzilla: First Impact,' that hosts several Japanese celebrities talking about the franchise's influence on them personally and which film was their introduction to the King of Monsters. This also marks the second time that 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' will be shown with added footage that was either lost or incomplete from the original theatrical release that has been completely restored for the first time from a 35mm print of the film. Check out some new comparison shots of the 4K transfer below.

Flipping between images of the restoration that premiered last year and the one coming in July, you can clearly see the effort Toho put into bringing back this classic. Here's a sampling of shots that are ripped straight from a teaser trailer that the NESC has been running:

The remaster is beautiful, so far, and I can't wait until they release the whole trailer. 

I have to imagine that this is not only a nod to the upcoming Toho Godzilla film, but finally being realized in preparation for an updated blu-ray and 4K release of the film internationally. This would be perfect timing with a new American King Kong film on the way next year, and a future remake of 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' just around the corner in 2020. Hopefully, I'm right and this leads to more stunning remasters coming out of Toho in the next few years to take advantage of Legendary's American releases and the nostalgia that comes with them.

Either way, we'll keep you updated on when any of these might hit stateside.