Godzilla 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Godzilla 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Sony has once again released the 1998 film 'Godzilla,' directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Matthew Broderick, to the UHD format. The film was first released to UHD in May 2019 with HDR color grading. This new UHD includes Dolby Vision color grading. The film was originaly released to Blu-ray in 2009. That disc is also included here. At time of writing, this UHD is available exclusively in SteelBook packaging. This is the second UHD SteelBook release of the film; the first released alongside the UHD in 2019.

Godzilla 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony once again releases Godzilla to the UHD format with 2160p video but, here, with Dolby Vision color grading rather than the previous issue's HDR color grading. In terms of the clarity, detail, grain, and the like, there appears to be no discernible boost or gain from one image to the other. There remain some softer shots, grain appears slightly spiky at times, but the filmic elements are firmly in place and look, oftentimes, quite excellent in terms of overall definition and cinematic accuracy.

The Dolby Vision grading isn't a radical departure from the HDR colors. The image is brighter, especially in those early daytime exteriors where Nick and company first encounter the Godzilla footprint. Greens appear fuller and livelier, for instance. However, much of the movie takes place at night or under cloudy skies and rainy conditions, so blacks, blues, grays, and greens tend to dominate. The Dolby Vision grading adds some tonal nuance and separation even beyond what the HDR could bring to the table. The Dolby Vision grading amplifies black level depth and perfection, bolsters whites, and settles skin tones to a slightly more realistic shading. The mild improvements to blacks stand as one of the big selling points here given the propensity for the film to go dark and stay dark, whether outside or in Madison Square Garden. Dolby Vision brings out the absolute best of the colors, but the previous HDR grading certainly came close. Audiences won't be disappointed with either UHD image, but this one definitely brings some added fine tuning and color accuracy that make it the slight, but nevertheless clear, winner between the two dueling UHD images.

Godzilla 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It appears that Sony has made no change to the Dolby Atmos soundtrack included with this UHD. See below for the text from the review from the 2019 disc's Atmos audio review:

Even dating back to DVD (and probably even LaserDisc), Godzilla's soundtracks have been monstrous achievements in sonic excellence. The 2009 Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack was heretofore the standard for the film and also one of the torchbearers for 5.1 lossless excellence. But this Dolby Atmos presentation takes things to a whole new level, quite literally, in fact. The opening title music presents with organic width and complimentary depth, excellent clarity, and the following nuclear explosion rumbles with quality low end push. In the following scene, thunder cracks and rolls throughout the stage while a steady, heavy barrage of falling rain -- a sonic signature throughout the film -- saturates the stage with unusually impressive immersion and a tangible top end component. A blaring alarm emanates from the back but with a healthy feel for spacial immersion beyond the rears. As the ship rocks and rolls in the storm, objects fall, the ship creaks and moans, and sonic chaos reigns. Water spills through as Godzilla tears into the hull. It's simply the first example of a full-on sonic assault that leaves no speaker anything but breathlessly worked and pushed to their limits.

The real fun begins when Godzilla makes landfall in New York. The track is everything one would expect it to be, offering the ultimate in low end response, chaotic yet balanced and immersive crashes and slams, and plenty of amazing Godzilla screeches and roars. Apache helicopters rush about the stage with seamless directional detail and flow and tremendous zip and depth to spinning rotors, which sometimes sound as if they are above the listener as the scene allows. A barrage of small arms and rocket fire delivers a startling full-stage assault when the creature is ambushed after being served a mountain of fish. The scene is defined by organic shot movement and flow and powerful impacts. Falling debris and another Godzilla bass-fueled rampage extravaganza follows. There is plenty of overhead engagement throughout, even if it's just a feel for roar and rumble and general atmosphere. The movie's components are always in perfect working order. There's no shallowness, no timidity, nothing standing in its way. Add in perfectly balanced and detailed atmospherics and precision dialogue reproduction and there's nothing to call this track but "reference."

Godzilla 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplementally speaking, Godzilla's UHD disc only contains a few trailers for the film, the same from the original UHD disc. The bundled Blu-ray, which is identical to the disc Sony released in 2009, includes supplements as listed below. For full coverage of these extras, please click here. In addition to the UHD and Blu-ray discs, a Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships in exclusive SteelBook packaging that, one the front, depicts Godzilla looming over the city, bent over, looking towards the camera. It appears to be from the scene where Godzilla is "baited" with a pile of fresh fish. There is no text on the front but there are some fun reflective accents in the colors. The rear panel depicts a couple of helicopters firing tracer rounds through a broken building. The spine is black with the film's title in the familiar green outline center. A small white TriStar logo appears at the bottom.

Inside, the digital copy code is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs. The two discs, one UHD and one Blu-ray, are situated on the right in staggered-stacked formation. The inner print is a two-panel spread that features a blurry image of Godzilla's foot about to stomp on the cameraman in one of the film's more iconic shots.

UHD:

• Teaser Trailer 1 (1080p, 1:36).
• Teaser Trailer 2 (1080p, 1:56).
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:46).

• The Ultimate Godzilla Multi-Player Trivia Game
• 2012 Sneak Peek
• Audio Commentary: With Visual Effects Supervisor Volker Engel and Associate Visual Effects Supervisor Karen Goulekas.
• Behind the Scenes of Godzilla With Charles Caiman
• All Time Best of Godzilla Fight Scenes
• Music Video: "Heroes" by The Wallflowers.
• Previews: Ghostbusters, The Da Vinci Code, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Year One, The Sky Crawlers, and Monster House.

Godzilla 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For the most part, this new Dolby Vision UHD release of Godzilla outclasses its predecessor, by just a little bit, with amplified Dolby Vision colors. There's nothing else here that's new, and the upgrade probably isn't worth the premium considering that the previous image looked fairly good as it was. The audio track appears to be the same and the extras are identical as well. For new buyers this is the way to go, and packaging collectors have a new SteelBook to add to the collection. Repeat buyers will have to weigh the cost-benefit of modest color amplification for this release versus everything else being a wash.