Customer Reviews

Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

VIDEO QUALITY:
Once again a two sided disc from Simitar. Side 1 contains the full screen TV version of "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" and Side 2 contains the original 2.35:1 widescreen version. Sadly, Side 2 is not anamorphically enhanced. Side 1's image is as you would expect - rubbish. You loose over half the image, the print has bad colouration and print damage. It will still hold some nostalgia for those that grew up with is though. Side 2 looks reasonably good, with vivid colours and a generally sharp image. At times there can be quite a lot of grain on screen though, and during some of the effects sequences it looks like someone dropped the print, stepped on it a could of times, attempted to rub it clean with a dirty sweatshirt and rammed it back in the machine... I'll stop drinking so much coffee... As with all Simitar discs, there was also quite a lot of artifacting, most notably on Side 2 unfortunately. There was also the occasional rainbow effect, though it was very rare on this disc, and you wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it.

AUDIO QUALITY:
Side 1 comes packed with the original mono track, which sounds like it was kept in very good condition. There wasn't any trace of crackling, hissing, fuzzing or any other kind of wear. The only problem I could really notice was a little distortion when the sound became slightly loud, but then I doubt this mono track was exactly designed for home cinema systems with such huge subwoofers. Side 2 contains both the original mono track and an all new 5.1 track designed by Simitar. The mono track on this side is on par with Side 1, if not slightly better. The 5.1 track is pretty much the same as the mono, in fact I hardly noticed anything different about it at all. Some of the sound effects during the battles had a little more bass, and there were some new sound effects during the military battles that really sounded odd and didn't blend well with the film, though that's really the extent of this track's differences.

EXTRA FEATURES:
Again, it carries the same basic features as all Simitar discs: There are several Godzilla screen savers included for DVD-ROM users, which are only compatible with Windows® 95 machines. There are also some custom trailers Simitar designed for their Godzilla releases, which are made in a cheesy 1950's American monster movie style. There is a video art gallery, and for DVD-ROM users a printable art gallery, which is fairly interesting, as well as a short trivia game to rest your knowledge on the film.

OVERALL:
This is probably one of the better Simitar releases. Simitar claim to have remastered this from the original source (presumably they mean the American source), which doesn't give you much comfort that we'll ever see anything better than this. Despite that, you're getting the film in widescreen with a reasonably good image and some very nice audio - add to that some quirky trivia games and some orchestrated image galleries you've got a reasonably good disc.

This is one of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time. Monster Zero (better known as King Ghidorah) is to my eyes the most impressive foe Godzilla ever fought. Maybe it's just me, but the special effects of Ghidorah are stellar, much better than those of Godzilla himself. The plot features about everything I want in a good old-fashioned monster movie: weird aliens, a foe with an evil laugh, wanton destruction, and some funny poses and gestures from Godzilla. Of course, the whole story about a planet being discovered just on the other side of Jupiter is sort of silly, but who really cares? This is Godzilla we are talking about. One thing I could not figure out was why the aliens went to the trouble of transporting Godzilla and Rodan to their planet, only to bring them right back to Earth; it seems like they could have taken control of the monsters right here, especially since they had already set up a secret base in Japan.

There are a few drawbacks to the film. A regular red-headed American is featured prominently in the story (as opposed to being pasted in after the fact a la Raymond Burr), and he does a very good job of showing why Americans just do not belong in Godzilla movies. He really got on my nerves, to tell the truth... All in all, this movie is great fun for all. As an added bonus, at least on my copy, there are trailers from about five other Godzilla movies at the end of the tape.

Firstly, in this movie, Godzilla and Rodan are shown attacking humans a lot towards the end. They don't do anything 'heroic' except fighting with King Ghidorah, but, King Ghidorah is a planet-killing space dragon, so when Godzilla and Rodan fight him, I think its more because they want to stay alive than because of any 'heroic' motives, and, as anyone who's seen a movie from this series (meaning, not the Heisei or Millenium series) will know, if either of them fought King Ghidorah alone they would probably be killed off very quickly.

This is a movie where King Ghidorah is shown as he should be (well, he was debuted in the last movie for the purpose of being the main villain of the series). From movies like this, its clear that King Ghidorah is a considerably considerably greater threat than the later G-villains, such as Mechagodzilla for example.

Although, there is some corny stuff here, keep in mind that in Japan, G-movies are designed so that a very general audience(in Japan, obviously) can relate to them. Because that means there will always be some kids in the audience they throw corny stuff into G-movies at various points throughout the movies.

Rodan is my favorite kaiju, and I would recommend the movie to most people who are fans of Rodan.

Finally, I've heard random sources saying that about 45 minutes of this movie were editing out and similar things. This is not true because the American version of this movie is 92 minutes long and the Japanese version is 94 minutes long.

King Ghidorah is back! Unfortunately the three headed dragon is hanging out on Planet X, a desolate place run by a bunch of humorless guys in cheesy costumes and razor thin sunglasses (Devo?). Seems that they want to "borrow" Godzilla and Rodan to protect themselves from this tri-headed pest. But if they can capture and control Godzilla and Rodan then why can't they guide the Golden One into the nearest black hole or something? This thought occurs to no one on Earth, so we gladly hand over our only defensive kaiju. Duh. Planet X then sweeps in and takes over Earth. Whoops. This entertaining b-movie contains Godzilla's infamous victory dance on Planet X, as well as Nick Adams, who fits in surprisingly well as the only English speaker of the bunch. The letterboxed edition is an essential for all diehard G-fans and recommended to those just looking for goofy fun. Pefect for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

This movie was a good movie that I thought was good for Godzilla fans to watch.My only complaint is that there wasn't alot of fighting.

Planet X lurks behind Jupiter and spawns wily aliens who want to conquer the Earth by mind-controlling Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. This low budget movie is either a sci-fi thriller targeted at kiddies under seven, or a campy venture in chuckle-headed humor for older viewers. Suit yourself. As usual with Japanese sci-fi flicks, it is a mixed blessing. It has immortal dialogue. Note the above quote from Nick Adams in the role of Astronaut Glenn. The movie has some real excitement when the alien controlled monsters wreak havoc on the Earth. Buildings crumble, bombs explode, and rocket launchers and massed tanks fire. Some scenes from the original "Rodan" flick were spliced in showing the devastation caused by the typhoon-like wind from Rodan's tremendous wing span. Godzilla is his usual city destroying self. King Ghidorah manages to look scary and awkward all at once. Irony and paradox abounds. From the complaint department, it takes this movie forever to get to the "monsters on the rampage" part. The script wastes excessive time on the evil aliens and their dastardly schemes. Toy space ships fill the skies. Plastic rocket ships blast off for outer space. Things get laugh-out-loud funny when Ghidorah spits lightning bolts and makes Godzilla tap dance. Nick Adams stands around with his hands on his hips, looking grim and determined. As motivation for his role, he probably was thinking of busting his agent's chops for finding him this gig. As wacky as it is, you've gotta' love this film for it's bizarre presentation. Preposterous fun, indeed. ;-)

For the longest time I was not fond of "Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero," mainly because I thought the plot was unoriginal. Aliens from outer space try to take over the earth using monsters under their control. If someone wanted to conquer the world this hardly seems a conventional method with which to do it. I really started warming up to this film when I began to appreciate it more from a comical standpoint. Whether it be the cheezy looking aliens from Planet X, some terrific over-acting by "Slick Nick" Adams, or Godzilla's unforgettable victory dance after defeating Ghidorah, this film shows that Godzilla movies have a sense of humor about themselves. I strongly recommend watching this one with some friends and a couple cases of beer.

Spectacular special effects, X aliens, Godzilla, Rodan and Ghidorah make this one a winnner!!! It all starts when two astronauts(Nick and Glenn)one being Nick Adams(!)travel to Planet X in P-1...Buy this great movie to find out what else happens!

Only time an American actor lands the lead role (Nick Adams). This one is one of my top 10 favorite Godzilla movies. Its not the best, but their is a nice feeling to it. Aliens from Planet X trick the people of the earth and monster-nap Godzilla and Rodan in order to take over the planet. Includes the infamous Godzilla victory dance! Nicely done.

Ghidra, my favorite evil monster! I remember hopping all over the familyroom whenever he battled Godzilla! In MONSTER ZERO, we've got tricky aliens from planet X who try using Godzilla (Monster Zero 1), Rodan (Monster Zero 2), and Ghidra (Monster Zero) to take over the earth. They control Godzilla and Rodan's tiny minds, and almost succeed in their nefarious plot, if not for the kooky invention of one goofball scientist. With his machine, the aliens lose control of Godzilla & Rodan, who turn on Ghidra for a rubber-suited battle-royal! I just watched this with my 7yo and loved watching him bounce around like I once did...