Toho and Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One” had this incredible commercial success — over $55 million domestically and a worldwide total of just over $115 million. The film was made on a $15 million budget with a combination of practical effects and CGI. Hollywood could learn a thing or two from the Japanese VFX industry.
As you know, a black & white version of the film, titled “Godzilla Minus One Minus Color,” was released in very limited fashion in January. Here’s the trailer.
It turns out that the monochromatic version of Godzilla Minus One has set its sights for an August 1st, 2024 release on Netflix. What’s on Netflix’s Kasey Moore was the first to repot on the release date. The physical Blu-ray and 4K release will be available a month later, in September 2024.
Has anyone seen the monochrome version? Is it superior?
It does make sense to have a black and white version of this film — it’s indelibly old-school and takes place in war torn ‘40s Japan. This re-release doesn’t sound like a cash grab either, but something Yamazaki has been working on for a while. Here’s his statement about this new version:
Rather than just making it monochrome, it is a cut by cut, I had them make adjustments while making full use of various mattes, as if they were creating a new movie. What I was aiming for was a style that looked like it was taken by masters of monochrome photography. We were able to unearth the texture of the skin and the details of the scenery that were hidden in the photographed data. Then, a frightening Godzilla, just like the one in the documentary, appeared. By eliminating color, a new sense of reality emerges.
This is the 37th film in the franchise, and Toho's 33rd Godzilla film. Recently, Guillermo del Toro gushed over “Godzilla Minus One,” writing that it’s one of the “Top 3 Godzilla films of all time (actually top two). Theatre-sized ambition and fulfillment. A Miracle.”
“Godzilla Minus One” takes place in a devastated post-war Japan where Godzilla goes on a rampage. This is the second of the live-action Reiwa era ‘Godzilla’ films, the first being 2016’s “Shin Godzilla”.
Boyle's answer was met with a shout of "Never do that shit again" from the crowd, and the TIFF moderator swiftly brought the Q&A to a close, thanking everyone for coming.