When Godzilla was released on DVD, studios faced a dilemma. Many consumers still had 4:3 CRT televisions (the square boxes). While "widescreen" DVDs existed, many retailers stocked "Full Screen" versions because average viewers hated "black bars."
The Open Matte version emphasizes how much of the film relies on humor and human reaction shots. Because you see more of the ground, you see more New Yorkers running. Because you see more sky, you see more of the military helicopters. Some argue this makes the film feel more like Emmerich’s Independence Day (a disaster film) than a traditional Kaiju film. Godzilla 1998 Open Matte
There are scenes in the Open Matte version that contain genuine content cut off in every other release. For instance, during the final chase sequence, the widescreen cuts off the top of the Chrysler Building. The Open Matte restores the iconic spire. For film historians, this is a time capsule of late-90s VFX layout. When Godzilla was released on DVD, studios faced a dilemma
You experience the film differently. You see the puppeteers slightly off screen, the standing room above the actor's heads, and the terrifying scale of the monster scraping the sky. Because you see more of the ground, you
For the 1998 Godzilla , the "Full Screen" DVD was a pan-and-scan job (where the editor chooses which 1.33 portion of the 2.39 image to show). Instead, Sony Pictures chose to produce an Open Matte transfer. They went back to the original camera negative and scanned the full 1.33:1 frame as it was shot, then simply centered it for 4:3 televisions.
However, if you are a , a completionist , or someone who loves the artifact of home media history, the Godzilla 1998 Open Matte is essential viewing. It is a time capsule of 35mm filmmaking. It reminds us that what we see in the theater is not the whole picture—literally.