The quality of the Classic Media disc is just a notch below Toho's R2 DVD, IMHO. Toho just doesn't see the point of video restoration (modification) of these films, and don't really see the point of the expense. SEVEN SAMURAI and GODZILLA had about equal problems before, because both were edited in the same editing room with the same editing equipment -- but, because of all of the process shots in GODZILLA, the film had to be passed that many more times through Movieolas, optical printers, etc., causing more damage.

Sure, we would like all film companies to be philanthropic with their own pictures, but the bottom line is that it is a business, and restoring old films just doesn't make the same kind of return as newly produced films do. While I see both sides of the coin, the bottom line is that it's a business, first and foremost.

Conversely, Tsuburaya Productions and Panasonic decided to remaster ULTRAMAN (and several other series) over the last few years, using the same kind of equipment used by Celestial to restore the Shaw Brothers' catalogue. The results have been phenomenal. But, Toho just doesn't see the point of the expense of restoring a small number of films, out of the hundreds they have produced in their overall history.
August Ragone
kaijupro@yahoo.com