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- MST-HD Remaster Project Vol. 2: Godzilla vs Megalon, The
MST-HD Remaster Project Vol. 2: Godzilla vs Megalon, The
Featured
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1973
Original Running Time:
97
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
97
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
An ongoing project that seeks to remaster classic episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000 using the best available HD film sources in their original aspect ratio.
Intention:
My goal is to give these classic episodes new life with a true HD remaster – not simply upscaling or a syncing the show audio to the HD movie, but applying the original silhouettes to the latest and best version of the movie. At the same time, I want to hold on to every element that made these classic episodes so great (...and at times., eh, not-so-great,,,) so not a word of dialogue has been removed.
Other Sources:
Godzilla vs. Megalon [International Titles] by ironhandz1 (youtube)
Curtains closing by Jurassic Films (youtube)
Green Screen curtains opening by Yuriy Tsymbaliuk (youtube)
Curtains closing by Jurassic Films (youtube)
Green Screen curtains opening by Yuriy Tsymbaliuk (youtube)
Special Thanks:
Thank you to INIGHTMARES who has been a champion of this project from the start and is always there with technical and moral support, Riffling for upscaling the footage, and ArtIsDead for producing the new cover art.
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
The film is sourced from the Criterion Collection Godzilla box set. I intentionally built the edit in 2.35:1 so that the image expands when we move from SD TV show and enter the new HD theater. I took inspiration from some of my favorite local theaters which show previews in 1.85:1 before expanding for the main feature into cinemascope. The show is a show; the movie is a movie. For the silhouettes, a light gamma halo was applied so that Joel + the bots are always the blackest element onscreen (even if it’s just barely perceptible at times), while the Criterion transfer of the film was regraded for better saturation and contrast, even going shot-by-shot for the night scenes. Silhouettes and host segments were deinterlaced and upscaled by Riffling. Some light saturation and contrast boosting was applied to the host segments.
Cuts and Additions:
Star field added around the SD host segments.
Rotoscoped the final countdown door so that it opens/closes on the new, expanded HD theater.
Red curtains used to cover Joel and the bots entering/exiting from within the frame. This is done 3 times in the episode. The last countdown door covers the rest.
Reframed about 6 shots to fit Joel's interaction with the screen.
00:00 – Updated “Turn Down Your Lights” logo
8:43 – Replaced the Japanese titles with American ones. Sourced from a low quality youtube clip, upscaled by iNightmares, and framed and graded to better match the surrounding footage, I then added a clean, transparent png title over the flat SD original.
8:52 - Added "Produced by TOHO EIZO CO. LTD.' title card to match the episode. Film grain added to both titles.
1:30:50 - Filled out and animated Joel's silhouette as he moves closer to the camera to show his impression of a giant kaiju.
1:36:55 – Recreated the Best Brains logo with HD movie footage.
Rotoscoped the final countdown door so that it opens/closes on the new, expanded HD theater.
Red curtains used to cover Joel and the bots entering/exiting from within the frame. This is done 3 times in the episode. The last countdown door covers the rest.
Reframed about 6 shots to fit Joel's interaction with the screen.
00:00 – Updated “Turn Down Your Lights” logo
8:43 – Replaced the Japanese titles with American ones. Sourced from a low quality youtube clip, upscaled by iNightmares, and framed and graded to better match the surrounding footage, I then added a clean, transparent png title over the flat SD original.
8:52 - Added "Produced by TOHO EIZO CO. LTD.' title card to match the episode. Film grain added to both titles.
1:30:50 - Filled out and animated Joel's silhouette as he moves closer to the camera to show his impression of a giant kaiju.
1:36:55 – Recreated the Best Brains logo with HD movie footage.
Titles Comparison
User reviews
4 reviews
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0(4)
Audio Editing
10.0(4)
Visual Editing
10.0(4)
Narrative
10.0(4)
Enjoyment
10.0(4)
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
This edit goes above and beyond restoring a classic episode of MST3K. I have never seen the host segments look so good even on their official dvds. The movie itself looked amazing. It was such a wonderful experience to watch an old favorite episode with an actual HD movie. Watching the movie in widescreen really helps to give it a modern experience and I didn't even notice the transitions between widescreen and full screen when entering and exiting the theater. The surgically enhanced episodes MST3K has been creating are amazing, but this is a better experience in my opinion. Amazing work! Hoping your make more!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
C
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
If you're a MST3K fan, then the work SeaComb is doing here should be more than applauded, it should be recognized as a groundbreaking next step in the preservation and respectful enhancement of old MST3K episodes, many that frankly are suffering when viewed on modern entertainment systems. Hopefully through the assistance and encouragement of other faneditors and preservationists, his methods can be used by others to continue this process on other episodes as well.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
G
(Updated: November 16, 2023)
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
I'm a huge fan of MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000). I own every DVD set spanning the original run. For those unfamiliar with this series, it began as an obscure UHF show in Minneapolis, MN. The video library of the UHF station included many b-movies and Japanese monster flicks common to non-network channels. Series creator Joel Hodgson came up with the idea of broadcasting the movies with humorous running commentaries featuring a silhouette overlay resembling theater seating. The series was later picked up by the Comedy Channel, a newly-launched network that needed to fill large segments of scheduling while keeping overall costs down. Since many of the films utilized in MST3K were either public domain or of little commercial interest, and given that the show could fill two hours of timeslot scheduling, it was a match made in heaven.
Over the course of many years, the episodes of MST3K were slowly released to DVD. One of the Godzilla films made it to DVD, only to be removed shortly thereafter due to a licensing dispute. In all, twelve movies never made it to DVD due to similar disputes:
Ep #201 Rocketship X-M
Ep #212 Godzilla Vs. Megalon
Ep #213 Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster
Ep #309 The Amazing Colossal Man
Ep #311 It Conquered the World
Ep #416 Fire Maidens from Outer Space
Ep #418 The Eye Creatures
Ep #807 Terror from the Year 5000
Ep #809 I Was A Teenage Werewolf
Ep #905 The Deadly Bees
Ep #906 The Space Children
Ep #913 Quest of the Delta Knights
I own all the official DVDs; they are a treasured part of my collection. At this time, I have poor vhs-quality copies of the missing episodes. What SeaCom has done here is nothing short of ASTOUNDING. These are higher-quality than the official DVD releases of the other titles. SeaCom has combined High Definition copies of the films with the original segments and rendered overlays, cleverly incorporating widescreen with the original full-frame elements. The quality is simply AMAZING.
This is MORE than a "fanedit," this is full-on PRESERVATION of episodes that would NEVER see an official DVD release, and that makes this work absolutely ESSENTIAL for both historical reasons while providing maximum enjoyment. I cannot recommend this enough; you simply MUST have a copy!
Over the course of many years, the episodes of MST3K were slowly released to DVD. One of the Godzilla films made it to DVD, only to be removed shortly thereafter due to a licensing dispute. In all, twelve movies never made it to DVD due to similar disputes:
Ep #201 Rocketship X-M
Ep #212 Godzilla Vs. Megalon
Ep #213 Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster
Ep #309 The Amazing Colossal Man
Ep #311 It Conquered the World
Ep #416 Fire Maidens from Outer Space
Ep #418 The Eye Creatures
Ep #807 Terror from the Year 5000
Ep #809 I Was A Teenage Werewolf
Ep #905 The Deadly Bees
Ep #906 The Space Children
Ep #913 Quest of the Delta Knights
I own all the official DVDs; they are a treasured part of my collection. At this time, I have poor vhs-quality copies of the missing episodes. What SeaCom has done here is nothing short of ASTOUNDING. These are higher-quality than the official DVD releases of the other titles. SeaCom has combined High Definition copies of the films with the original segments and rendered overlays, cleverly incorporating widescreen with the original full-frame elements. The quality is simply AMAZING.
This is MORE than a "fanedit," this is full-on PRESERVATION of episodes that would NEVER see an official DVD release, and that makes this work absolutely ESSENTIAL for both historical reasons while providing maximum enjoyment. I cannot recommend this enough; you simply MUST have a copy!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
K
(Updated: November 15, 2023)
Overall rating
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Once again, Seacom comes through with another banger. If you're a diehard MST3K fan like myself... wait, no, if you're a fan AT ALL of MST3K then you need to see this. Seacom wonderfully has blended the film in beautiful HD with custom made animated silhouettes of Joel and the robots.
Seacom has spent much time and care with these edits. This is the second in a series of riffs Seacom is working on. And he has told me you can make your own versions of the films MST3K has riffed by emulating the way Seacom has made these. He tells me you can work with the assets he has been using and working with to recreate the magic he has made here.
Make sure you turn the lights down and remember to circulate the tapes.
Well done Seacom. See you on the next one space cowboy...
Seacom has spent much time and care with these edits. This is the second in a series of riffs Seacom is working on. And he has told me you can make your own versions of the films MST3K has riffed by emulating the way Seacom has made these. He tells me you can work with the assets he has been using and working with to recreate the magic he has made here.
Make sure you turn the lights down and remember to circulate the tapes.
Well done Seacom. See you on the next one space cowboy...
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
I