Godzilla (2014) – Gareth Edwards' Reboot in 4K

In 2014, Gareth Edwards undertook an operation of cultural recovery even more than spectacle. After Roland Emmerich's controversial 1998 experiment, this reboot chooses to restore order, ideally reconnecting with Japanese tradition and, above all, with Ishirô Honda's 1954 progenitor. It's a clear declaration of intent: Godzilla is not just any monster, but a primordial force, indifferent to humanity.

The film adopts an extended structure, almost stubborn in delaying the complete appearance of the King of Monsters. Edwards prefers to suggest, to hide, to build the event through the human perspective, fragile and ineffective. Humans are not heroes capable of changing the course of events, but witnesses to an inevitable disaster. In this sense, the link with his Monsters is evident: the catastrophe is observed from below, amidst evacuations, rubble, and silences charged with tension.

Closer to Ishirô Honda's Classic

When Godzilla finally enters the scene, he does so with a mythological weight rare in contemporary blockbuster cinema. A design faithful to the original spirit, a re-elaborated but iconic roar, high-level CGI: everything contributes to restoring dignity to the character. Not perfect in its pacing and perhaps excessively restrained, Godzilla works because it reminds Hollywood of a simple thing: telling the story of the King of Monsters requires respect, not irony. At the time, there was a 3D release in theaters which then also came to Home Video, never to be replicated.

Shot digitally (Arri Alexa Plus) at a native 2.8K resolution, it resulted in a final 2K master, which at the time was necessary to prevent the budget from escalating exponentially due to CGI. Original image format 2.39:1 (3840 x 2160/23.97p), HEVC encoding on a triple-layer BD-100. We are therefore looking at a UHD upscaling operation, where the low luminosity that pervades almost the entire work certainly didn't help.

Despite the mention of Dolby Vision “remaster” in 2021 (reported by IMDB), here only HDR-10 is present, which on one hand aligns with artistic choices but doesn't particularly favor darker transitions. The grain inserted to integrate digital effects, compression, and some less solid moments in the blacks didn't help. Overall, a more solid spectacle than in the past, enjoyable with a native 10-bit digital chain.

The Italian DTS-HD MA 7.1 track (16 bit) is very good, engaging, rich in effects, and with strong sub and rear channel engagement. The original Dolby TrueHD 7.1 with ATMOS objects is close to reference, increasing immersion with the introduction of vertical elements.

Extras are only on the included BD-50, with the 2K version, the same as in the past but interesting. A series of 3 videos totaling about 14 minutes uses archival footage to retrace humanity's attempts to destroy Godzilla, delving into the origin of the M.U.T.O.s and hypothesizing the possibilities of new creatures emerging in the future.

This is followed by just under 20 minutes with director Gareth Edwards and the creative team, 8 minutes dedicated to the natural disasters that inspired the film, 5 minutes of analysis of the spectacular HALO jump sequence, and 7 minutes on the design and realization of the M.U.T.O.s. Italian subtitles are included.