In 1998, the duo of director/writer Roland Emmerich and writer Dean Devlin (Stargate, Independence Day) once again teamed up to bring the iconic Godzilla back to the big screen in an epic spectacle that depicts the iconic creature in a way unlike anything audiences had seen before. Now, for the film’s 25th anniversary, Sony has re-released the 4K disc, this time with Dolby Vision, and new SteelBook packaging.
Over the decades, the French and other nations have conducted atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, not knowing what the effects would be on the wildlife nearby. One stormy evening, a commercial Japanese fishing vessel comes under attack by some massive, mysterious creature, killing nearly everyone on board. The sole survivor of the incident only has a single word to say, “Gojira!” Soon, there are more sightings of the creature, which has made its way onto land and appears to be heading towards the Eastern coast of the United States at a rapid pace. The U.S. military is trying to keep the situation under wraps, ordering a media blackout, but when you’ve got a massive creature causing havoc in Manhattan, that’s easier said than done. Colonel Hicks (Kevin Dunn) enlists the help of Dr. Niko Tatopulous (Matthew Broderick) of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Dr. Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) of the National Institute of Paleontology to figure out what this creature is, and how to stop it. While Dr. Chapman believes it is a long lost prehistoric creature thought to be extinct, Dr. Tatopulous has another theory—that the fallout from nuclear bomb tests has created a mutation, and a brand new species of creature—one that is rapidly growing at an alarming rate. Niko believes that the creature is using the buildings and sewers of Manhattan to hide, as it nests and prepares to lay its eggs. If they don’t find and destroy this creature soon, the asexual reproduction cycle could repeat over and over again, and these massive lizards could quickly replace humans as the Earth’s dominant species.
As the scientists and military try to come up with a plan to lure the creature out of hiding and trap it, a mysterious man named Philippe Roaché (Jean Reno), who claims to be from an insurance company, keeps lurking around, seemingly up to something and knowing more about the situation than he lets on. The press are also getting antsy for answers. Aspiring news reporter Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo) has been working as an assistant to TV news anchor Charles Caiman (Harry Shearer) for the past three years, but she’s still not taken seriously and it doesn’t look like her career is going anywhere. When she confronts her boss, he just makes inappropriate suggestions as to what she could do for him in order to get a promotion. As Audrey is watching news footage of the military’s arrival in the city, she notices her old boyfriend Nick (Niko) in the background. The two had been in love for years, and he even proposed, but their career aspirations were on two different trajectories, and she left to become a big time reporter…though that never happened. However, this could finally be her chance—if she could get a scoop, some exclusive inside information from Nick, she could prove herself.
Is this the end for New York City and the rest of the world? Can the scientists and military figure out a way to stop this creature before it either tears the city apart, or reproduces and brings about the end of humanity?!
Godzilla is a highly entertaining popcorn film, and the usual type of fare that fans have come to expect from the duo of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. People love a good disaster movie, and what’s better than a giant lizard wreaking havoc in Manhattan?! Rather than the going with the classic man in a suit look for the creature, the filmmakers have given Godzilla a brand new, more menacing look more akin to a dinosaur—a cross between a raptor and a T-Rex. And like any good monster movie, the audience is initially just given teases of the creature—a talon here, a giant footprint there—before Godzilla is finally revealed in all his glory. As the creature causes mayhem and destruction, there’s lots of fun and exciting set pieces and action sequences. Even though there is a lot of CGI effects, the film still hold up quite well 25 years later.
While the core of the film is following the military and these scientists as they try to stop the creature, the filmmakers have also woven in lots of interesting character drama. There is this second chance at romance between Nick and Audrey—even as they face a potential armageddon. Nick never really gave up on Audrey—he still carries her photo with him seven years after she left. And Audrey is realizing that she possibly made a mistake, choosing her now non-existent career over a loving, happy relationship. There’s also this mystery that plays out as to who Philippe Roaché really is, and what he is up to. In addition to the talented main cast, the film is also filled with a lot of fun, quirky characters and some very recognizable actors. Some of these include the sleazy and despicable TV news anchor who has you hoping he’ll end up a snack for Godzilla; Audrey’s wild best friend Lucy Palotti (Arabella Field) and her beau, cameraman Victor ‘Animal’ Palotti (Hank Azaria), who’ll do anything to get the shot; soldier Sergeant O’Neal (Doug Savant), who’s always at the front line of the operation; and Mayor Ebert (Michael Lerner) and his sidekick Gene, who are obvious send-ups of the famous movie review duo who tend to give two thumbs down to these types of fun popcorn movies.
In addition to the main story and characters, the filmmakers like to have fun throwing in these more comical short vignettes with various townsfolk as they have their run-ins with Godzilla—such as some crooks whose robbery is interrupted by the lizard, or a fisherman on the dock being made fun of by some friends because he never catches anything—you can see where this is going next. While these don’t further the plot, they end up being some of my favorite moments in the movie. But in the end, this is a big monster/disaster film, with lots of over-the-top action and destruction. Sure a lot of this doesn’t make complete sense, and it gets more and more ridiculous as the film goes along, but that’s what makes it so much fun and enjoyable to watch!
Sony had previously released Godzilla on 4K disc in 2019, but now it comes in SteelBook packaging, and also with a new Dolby Vision option in addition to the original HDR10 color grading. The picture looks fantastic, with an excellent level of detail, especially in faces, and the texture of the creature. Colors are beautiful, both in the sunnier scenes at the beginning of the film as well as when the skies get gray and rainy. Even in these darker sequences, the picture remains clean and detailed. The disc’s Atoms soundtrack is also stunning, providing an incredibly immersive viewing experience. Whether it’s the sound of rain and helicopters above, the boom and explosions of the military unleashing their guns and rockets at the creature, or Godzilla’s destruction and roars. It’s a booming track that can be felt in the room.
This release features beautiful new SteelBook packaging, which can be seen below. The 4K and Blu-ray discs reside on the right side of the case, while an insert provides instructions for redeeming a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the film. The 4K disc only includes three trailers for the movie, while the Blu-ray disc (which is identical to the 2009 release), contains the rest of the bonus material—a visual effects commentary, a trivia game, a music video, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and some trailers/promos for some other Godzilla/Sony films.
What’s Included:
Film: (2:18:43)
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.40:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Czech 5.1, French (Parisian) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French (Québécois) 5.1, German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Hindi 5.1, Hungarian 5.1, Italian 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Polish 5.1 VO, Portuguese 5.1, Russian 5.1, Spanish (Castilian) 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish (Latin American) 5.1
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian
- 1080p / Widescreen 2:40:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1, Portuguese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
- Commentary Subtitles: Spanish, Portuguese
- 4K digital copy, redeemable via Movies Anywhere or Vudu
- Teaser Trailer 1 (1:36)
- Teaser Trailer 2 (1:56)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:46)
- The Ultimate Godzilla Multi-Player Trivia Game
Choose between Single Player and Multi-Player, and then try your luck answering either 10, 15 or 20 trivia questions about the film, with just 15 seconds to select each multiple choice answer. Some questions include a clip from the movie. - 2012 Sneak Peek (2:32)
Sneak peek at the Roland Emmerich-directed film 2012. - Visual Effects Commentary (2:18:43)
Visual Effects Supervisor Volker Engel and Associate Visual Effects Supervisor Karen Goulekas provide an interesting behind-the-scenes audio tour of the visual effects of the film, explaining where and how effects were used in the movie. Subtitles are available in Spanish and Portuguese. - Behind the Scenes of Godzilla with Charles Caiman (6:58)
News reporter Charles Caiman (Harry Shearer) presents this behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with director/writer/executive producer Roland Emmerich, producer/writer Dean Devlin, creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, and stars Jean Reno (“Philippe Roaché”), Hank Azaria (“Victor ‘Animal’ Palotti”), Matthew Broderick (“Dr. Niko Tatopoulos”) & Maria Pitillo (“Audrey Timmonds”). Presented in Full Frame 4:3 format. - All Time Best of Godzilla Fight Scenes (10:14)
Clips from various Godzilla movies from across the decades. Presented in Full Frame 4:3 format. - “Heroes” Music Video by The Wallflowers (4:11)
Presented in 4:3 letterboxed format. - Previews
Select from trailers for “Blu-ray Disc is High Definition!”, Ghostbusters, The Da Vinci Code, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Year One, The Sky Crawlers, and Monster House. - MovieIQ Mode (2:18:43)
When enabled, while watching the film, use the remote to check out facts about the movie. Requires BD-Live.
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4K UHD:
Blu-ray:
Digital (Limited time offer):
Extras:
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4k Disc:
Blu-ray Disc:
(This disc is identical to the 2009 Blu-ray release)
Final Thoughts:
1998’s Godzilla is a really fun monster/disaster film that often get forgotten or ignored. Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin know how to entertain an audience, and they’ve once again made a highly entertaining popcorn movie. It features an excellent cast, and some interesting characters/drama to go along with all the monstrous mayhem and destruction. Sony’s 4K release looks and sounds amazing. This 4K re-release features new Dolby Vision color grading as well as a great new SteelBook case. This is certainly the version to get if you don’t already own a 4K copy of 1998’s Godzilla, and may be worth a double-dip for die-hard fans who already purchased the standard 2019 4K release.
Godzilla (1998) 25th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD SteelBook [Blu-ray]
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