Customer Reviews

Godzilla: King of Monsters [VHS]

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This review is for the Blu-ray edition, and I am going to focus on the technical aspects of the release, not the movie itself, the movie is a great classic and should be seen in its Japanese original form, whether through this BD or the previous Classic Media DVD, that's your choice.

First of all, the movie is not 1080p is 1080i, which might be because it's not comming from a direct filmscan, but through an HDCAM tape, since it's a film, not TV, the fields show half and half of the frame and when a projector or the TV does the conversion to progressive you have the original frame, if you have your BD and TV/Projector properly set up you won't see any interlaced images.

The film is not presented in it's original 1.33 aspect ratio, the width is perfect but there is a slight loss in the upper and lower parts of the image (it is clearly seen in the original GODZILLA title, look at the lower right logo), therefore the aspect ratio might be around 1.45, still and improvement from the previous DVD release, it was 1.33 but because it lost both width and height.

There is also another HUGE problem: the Noise Reduction. Since it's a pretty old film, film stocks from the original movie are in pretty bad shape, and CM instead of performing a full restoration (a-la Criterion), simply applied an inmense quantity of automatic Noise Reduction, resulting in lots of jittering and screen tearing. To tell you the truth, when checking the DVD versus the BD, I found hard to decide wich was poorer in Image quality, but I guess that MPEG-2 is quite an old codec now, and the Standard Definition makes everything look slightly blury, so all in all I prefer the BluRay since it's coded in AVC. The sound only includes the original Japanese audio in PCM linear, wich is fine in my book (I hate dubs), and the subs are more than ok.

The extras are the same that on the DVD, nothing new, and they are presented in their original MPEG-2 codification.

I would never recommend this BD to any Godzilla fan if already own the CM DVD, since I truly believe that this movie will eventualy get a proper release. However if you have never seen the original Godzilla, and don't care about the american version... Hey! It's a Blu-Ray and IT'S REGION FREE! (tested on a PS3 region "B")

This review is mainly concerned with the original, Japanese version of Gojira (not dubbed). I find that inserting Raymond Burr's character and removing some of the original to do so takes a great deal away from this movie and what it represents.

Godzilla rises from his long sleep due to the effects of the hydrogen bomb. With each attack, the creature becomes more bold until Tokyo suffers a devasting attack, and only a miracle can save the country from another tragic visit by this risen giant.

The love affair plays a secondary but important part in the film. Emiko has been promised in marriage to a brilliant young scientist but has fallen in love with another man. It is the old world traditions clashing with modernity. Her father is a paleontologist who is probably the only person sharing empathy with Godzilla, feeling that destroying the beast will be depriving science of its one and only chance to study a creature from the prehistoric past.

What is often overlooked (and not really stressed in the American version) is the terrible dilemma the young scientist faces when he is begged to use his oxygen destroyer weapon against Godzilla. Only the viewing of the destruction and sadness make him realize there is only one course to take. I feel he is the most crucial and yet saddest character in the entire movie. He actually loses on a number of counts--his life's work (he destroys his formula so it could never fall into the wrong hands), his fiancee has decided to wed another, and in true samurai-like tradition, ends his life nobly. The scene of Godzilla's painful death at the same moment that this brave but troubled researcher ends his own is poignant in the extreme.

This film is not just about humans against an ancient monster awakened from the past. It is about the universal emotions of love, dedication and the dangers to which science can lead us. It is also about sacrifice and triumph over impossible odds.

It is important to remember that the original movie was produced not that many years after the devastation wrought on Japan by the atomic bombs. It does not take much of the imagination to see the same destroyed cities, dying and injured people and the heartache produced by an attack, whether monster or man-made, on such a massive scale. The burning buildings, high levels of radioactivity, the melting metal all conjure up the effects of the atomic bomb, and in many ways this movie is an illustration of what Japan experienced, as well as providing a cathartic effect to a nation that suffered perhaps the greatest horror of this century.

The underlying message here is that, like the oxygen destroyer, atomic weapons are the most destructive device ever invented by man. This movie, besides being a very scary monster film (it gave me nightmares when I was a little girl) is an anti-nuclear weapon vehicle which gets its message across through the characters of a enormous beast, a scientist faced with a moral decision, and a people bent on surviving. Godzilla is more then a movie; it is a social statement against any weapon that has the power to alter our world, and the people in it, forever.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the old gentleman who was encased within the Godzilla costume. A very short man playing a huge monster (he was about 5 feet tall), he was nevertheless delighted and surprised that his portrayal of the beast has continued to draw audiences even after all these years. It was an honor to meet him.

My advice is the best way to see this movie is in the original, uncut Japanese version without dubbing. I am not a big fan of dubbing anyway, and feel that since people know the story and what is being said, the language barrier disappears and the emotional impact of the film is felt on a much higher scale.

To me, this is one of the best movies produced and has stood the passing of time. It holds many lessons for those who are open to the warnings and human tragedies, both physical and emotional, that we are forced to face in a world that has advanced to the point of self-annihilation.

HA! Imagine that, I'm the first one to get to review one of the old classics! HA! Finally, today is my day.

First of all, I like all these old monster movies, especially the really big monsters. Godzilla is somewhere between 300 and 400 feet tall (I got that from the dialogue in the movie), that constitutes BIG. So you can expect my review to be a half star to one star higher than most others.

So lets get with it. (I'm watching it again as I review it).

PROS:
1. Stars Raymond Burr, that's a star.
2. Great music, four notes on a piano and three notes on a clarinet--works just fine. That's a star.
3. Special effects, everybody knows the Japanise did the best scaling on cities and toy cars and things than anybody else. Though you can in several scenes (where godzilla is jerking around) tell it's just a man in a rubber suit...so what. It's all shot in that great old Black and white film. They get a star.
4. The acting, directing, writing are just fine for an old popcorn movie, that's a star.
5. The idea. That's another star because of the way it is handled. A very big lizard is waken up, or resurrected, or frankensteined together, because of H Bomb Test. And what's a big lizard to do when woke up from a 200 million year sleep?...go find the guys who did it and stomp their city to rubble. Yes sir, NOBODY does it better or equal to godzilla! The story starts off with Raymond Burr's plane flying several miles above the ocean just as the big lizard decides to sink its first ship. He is questioned by the authorities--he was asleep and spends some part of the movie running around with the scientist and military as they try to figure out what is going one. It helps that godzilla stomps his way onto one of the islands late night and smashes a rather large village, small town. Of course it has to be the one Ramond is sleeping on. He doesn't see the monster but everybody hears it coming. I guess the whole world knows THOSE foot steps. We don't get to see it either except for the bottom part of its' left leg. But that's okay, the next time it comes stomping ashore it does so in full day light.

Welp...there's no doubt now!

Yea know, godzilla has just about the same amount of respect for a military tank as a tornado does for a trailer...something about those two just don't get along!

Moving along: There a few incidents, all of them seem well done, the scaling continues to be the best out there...no need for computer graphics in these old movies. They must have had background actors in the high hundreds to low thousands to shoot some of these scenes.

Well, I don't want to giveaway all the story to those of you who have never seen this movie before--all three of you. I will say, it is a clean movie through and through. It is the stuff that used to give me nightmares when I was a young kid 45 or more years ago. Some of the scenes actually look real. I do recomment it to all the growing popcorn crowd and all of you who like to watch 'old' classics. For all the old giant monster type movies this is probably the best one to ever come from overseas.

CONS:
1. I could set here and pick this or any popcorn movie to pieces...but why do it? It is a fine movie. It is a monster movie. It is a BIG monster movie. I've seen better, I've seen worse. It is a BIG MONSTER movie that demands popcorn and soda. Remember, it is a classic and is the original godzilla from which all the others came from.

Buy, don't rent the classics.

Bye!

NOTE: This review was written in 2004 for the now discontinued American version of Godzilla. That version did NOT include the Japanese version. Amazon links all versions of the DVD, so my review is now showing up for the newer DVD version.

The original version of this film, entitled "Gojiro," was a huge hit in Japan, and was even nominated for their Best Film award. However, American distributors apparently thought that it would not play well in the U.S. So they sheared about 20 minutes from the original and added new scenes featuring Raymond Burr, fresh from the success of "Rear Window."

Burr plays Steve Martin, an American reporter visiting Japan. When Burr arrives in Tokyo, he receives news that a giant monster named Godzilla has attacked a ship and is wreaking havoc. His friend, Dr. Kyohei Yamane, is one of the preeminent scientists trying to solve the mystery of Godzilla, giving Burr a front seat view to the proceedings.

Unfortunately, the new scenes with Burr are not well-integrated, with many scenes featuring Burr standing with a few Asian extras. In addition, by deleting scenes, the action becomes rather incomprehensible, and the Japanese stars are reduced to minor characters. In particular, an important love triangle featuring Dr. Yamane's daughter, Emiko, is completely stripped of context. All the tension is drained from this version as the audience doesn't connect with the Japanese stars. Although the original version is now available, this one is what you're likely to catch on TV. A real abomination.

I bought the 2 disc dvd of Gojira that was released a few years ago. I definitely prefer the original Japanese version of the film versus the U.S. cut. I was very excited to find out that this monster movie/horror classic was coming to blu-ray. I eagerly awaited getting this disc home and watching it. BE WARNED: this blu-ray only displays up to 1080i. The picture is not that bad but it could have been better. This film is in dire need of a full restoration; if it is possible. The video is a notch better than the dvd; but not breathtaking by any means. In Japan, Godzilla movies are coming out on blu-ray. Let's hope that some of them come out on blu-ray over here: preferably "GMK-Giant Monsters All-Out Attack", "Godzilla Final Wars", "Mothra vs. Godzilla" (1964), "Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla" (1974), "Destroy All Monsters", "Godzilla vs. Hedorah", "Godzilla vs. Biollante", "Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster" and other Toho mammoth hits like: "Frankenstein vs, Baragon", "War Of The Gargantuas" and "Rodan". And hopefully they will be full restorations. After all the money we pay for blu-ray discs, we should not accept half-done, half-job upgrades. If anyone does not believe old films can not be totally digitally restored, watch "Live And Let Die" (1973), "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951) and "In The Realm Of The Senses" (1976) Criterion Collection.

It's bizarre and frustrating that, considering DVD technology, no one has released a disc of the ORIGINAL un-cut Japanese movie "Godzilla" with subtitles. The film on this DVD is "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!", an American re-edit of the original film with insert footage of Raymond Burr to "Americanize" the Japanese footage. This edited and re-shot version is the only way the film can currently be seen in the U.S., and it's high time for the original to finally make it stateside.

That being said, the Americanized "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" is pretty good for what it is. The original film isn't ruined, but it is a lesser experience. It's worth a three-star rating at least, but the uncut Japanese version is a five-star classic and it's unfortunate that most Americans haven't had a chance to experience it.

For non-Godzilla fans, a bit of explanation of exactly what is on this disc is necessary. "Godzilla" (the Japanese title is actually "Gojira," a fanciful combination of the words for "gorilla" and "whale") was released in 1954 and was a huge hit in its home country. It was a frightening vision of radioactive horror returning to mainland Japan, and director Ishiro Honda poured his heart and soul into the terror and sorrow of the story. The original film is devastating in its impact, and Eiji Tsubaraya's effects are startling in their intensity: shots of Godzilla's immense shadow lumbering over a Tokyo in flames, helpless victims cowering in the destruction, are images that cannot be erased from memory, and the pounding, threatening score only heightens the sense of doom.

A group of American businessmen picked up the film to distribute to U.S. audiences in 1956, who at the time were lining up to see "big bug" and monster flicks like "Them" and "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (which actually inspired the original "Godzilla" in the first place). The distributors recognized a potential hit, but knew there would be no money in it if it were released in subtitled form: they wanted to get the matinee and drive-in teen crowd. So they re-edited the film, removing around 30% of the Japanese footage and replacing it with footage of Raymond Burr (who, no kidding, shot all his scenes in a single twenty-four hour period), who plays a reporter named Steve Martin (no snickering, please) who is in Tokyo during Godzilla's rampage. Other footage was juggled around and rearranged, and some of the context and story were altered, much of which dampened Godzilla's radioactive nature.

The new footage is actually quite clever, and fits in well with the Japanese footage. Using extras shot from the back actually allows Raymond Burr to "interact" with the film's stars in a few scenes. Burr gives a serious performance that is respectful to the original film. Because a guide translates much of the dialogue for Raymond Burr, many scenes are able to stay in Japanese (this means less dubbing, good news for everybody, since the dubbed scenes are horribly synced.) The American producers obviously were trying to manufacture the best film they could, and I think they succeeded.

But, no doubt, it is an inferior "3-star" version of the movie. Godzilla himself is still there in all his terror and majesty, and the central Tokyo rampage remains a stunning piece of work. Banish thoughts of "heroic" Godzilla; this is the embodiment of radioactive horror and man's own destructive impulse. But the story surrounding Godzilla, about tragic scientist Dr. Serizawa and elder scientist Dr. Yamane, and the love triangle between the three young leads, is severely weakened. Serizawa's story no longer packs the punch that is required for the real human element of the story to work. Scenes of Japanese citizenry reacting to what amounts to a second atomic bombing of their country have also been cut out. The Americanized version is a darn good monster flick, but not much more. (And, sadly, the quality of the print on this DVD isn't the best.)

So understand what you are getting on this disc: a pretty good Americanized version of the film, but not the Japanese masterpiece that needs to get its own special edition DVD one of these days.

The movie that started it all was also the best. Although much has been written of the splicing-in of select scenes for Raymond Burr to "Americanize" the movie for its release in the USA, this movie, nonetheless is a classic. Any discussion of this movie is not complete without mentioning the haunting and throbbing musical score; right from the beginning of the film when we are shown a destroyed and burning downtown Tokyo, the music only enhances the "horror" aspects of this film. This is one of the few pre-80's Godzilla movies in which the monster looks and acts likes a monster rather than some guy in a suit, for 1950's technology, the "special effects" in this film are way ahead of their time. Subsequent Godzilla sequels never came close to the atmosphere and tension of this first classic. Many sequels showed Godzilla as the defender and friend of humanity, but here in the original, he is the fearsome beast of destruction.

Don't waste your money on this terrible 1080i transfer. The only version of this title worth owning is the BFI UK Import DVD which sports a far better transfer of Gojira (with English subs). It's a R2 PAL DVD but one of the few DVD's that actually looks better than its Blu-Ray counterpart.

This is the original Japanese 'man in a lizard suit' movie, and is still very respectable despite being 48 years old. This movie is a gritty, darker type of Godzilla movie than the films that follow in the series. In this one Godzilla is clearly the bad guy (not so in many later incarnations) and obliterates Tokyo. As is virtually always the case in films of this genre from Japan of that era, the movie is essentially an anti-nuclear cautionary tale, and as such is vastly more effective than most of the films that followed in its footsteps.

Originally a 100 minute (or so) movie made in Japan with an all Japanese cast, the film was edited to its present 78 minutes and Raymond Burr was added as a reporter to position it better at the American box office. Although this was probably unnecessary, Burr acquits himself well, and it is not jarringly edited like some films in which additional scenes have been added later.

It's a given that the special effects are cheesy, but that does not denigrate this as a meritorious film. The acting and script are quite good, and the scenes generally are done quite dramatically, using the actors and sets to good effect. No fan of sci-fi should be without this, the original, and still best, Japanese monster movie.

Godzilla King of the Monsters. The title says it all. Not the first, nor the last, not the biggest but certainly the baddest. In this movie we see no cuteness, no fun and games, no friggin cutesy wootsey with little bumbling Japanese kids. In this film we see a walking, stalking city destroying nightmare. Walking armageddon with atomic breath. For the first and last time we see the human consequences of having a firebreathing dragon destroying one of the largest cities in the world. People burned, maimed, irradiated and over it all the thunderous sound of his footsteps and the savage cry of a beast born of nature and man's twisted science of destruction.

Sigh if only the DVD were worthy of the subject matter. Why in Heaven's name are we stuck with what looks like a copy of a print someone used to grate cheese. It's full of pops, streaks and the dubbing good lord. Why can't we get the undubbed original without Raymond Burr???!!!! Is anyone listening?