Godzilla Minus One is making a spectacular comeback to the big screen, paying respect to the 1954 blockbuster with an exquisite black-and-white outfit in place of its brilliant color scheme, a throwback to the golden age of Toho movies.
The news was made along with a teaser clip that featured Godzilla Minus One in all of its monochrome magnificence on the social networking site X. On January 12, 2024, Godzilla-1.0/C (Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color), the revised edition, will make its theatrical debut in Japan, according to Toho.
#山崎貴 監督からの
コメントも到着しました。◆山崎貴監督コメント
長い間作業してもらっていた『ゴジラ-1.0／C』を発表できることとなりました。
ただモノクロにするのではなくそれこそカット単位で、
新たな映画を創り上げるくらいの勢いでさまざまなマットを駆使しながら調整してもらいました。… pic.twitter.com/z0OtH5hRKm— 『ゴジラ-1.0』【大ヒット上映中】 (@godzilla231103) December 19, 2023
A limited edition “70th Anniversary Original Art Board” containing both Japanese and North American images will be given to moviegoers during the Japanese showings; there are only 300,000 of these boards available, giving a collectible touch to the viewing experience.
The concept of Yamazaki
The creator of this cinematic séance, director Takashi Yamazaki, reassures viewers that this is more than simply a grayscale trick. Instead, it’s a labor of love that has been painstakingly created to reveal Godzilla in a whole new way.
He places a strong focus on the laborious edits and the use of different mattes to reconstruct the movie, cut by cut.
We’ve been working on Godzilla-1.0/C for a while now, and we can finally unveil it. Instead of just turning it all black and white, I asked them to tweak each clip individually and use every available matte as though they were shooting a brand-new film. I wanted my photos to have the appearance of being taken by monochrome photography experts. We were able to uncover the skin’s texture and the scenery’s fine features that were obscured by the picture data. And then there was a terrifying Godzilla that looked exactly like the one in the documentary. When color is removed, a fresh perspective on reality arises. Please stay alive and avoid seeing more terrifying plays.”
The fact that this version of Godzilla Minus One has been in production for such a long time shows how committed Yamazaki is to creating a unique cinematic experience. On the day of its premiere, the movie is scheduled to open in 340 theaters around Japan.
Minus One is the monarch of the world.
This monochrome reimagining attempts to be more than just a shadow of its former self, even as Godzilla Minus One flexed its box office muscles in the Land of the Rising Sun, breaking records and scaling the ranks to become the sixth highest-grossing Japanese film in the United States and the highest grossing live-action Japanese film in American history.
「ゴジラー１.0オルソ」
「ヤツが、来る。―」 pic.twitter.com/Bkl6c4FYPa— Akira Nakazawa (@Nakaz52648Akira) December 20, 2023
In addition to its economic success, Godzilla Minus One has received positive reviews from critics and is a 2024 Academy Award nominee for Best Visual Effects. With three more nominations for the picture and a win for Best Director at the Hochi Picture Awards, director Takashi Yamazaki has already been acknowledged.
One can’t help but wonder: is this only an encore, or the beginning of a new Minus One movie world, when the monochrome curtain rises in Japan on January 12, 2024, and people writhe in their seats?
After realizing a Godzilla-scale fantasy, Yamazaki teases that there could be more, saying, “I playfully but earnestly hope I can make about one more.” The narrative continues, with and without color, in appropriate homage to the King of the Monsters.
