Customer Reviews

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

What a weird movie! Bowing to the spy craze of the 1960's, director Jun Fukuda has Godzilla fighting the SPECTRE-like Red Bamboo and a giant crab named Ebirah. Inoshiro Honda's previous films in the series delivered their message about the dangers of nuclear weapons well, but Fukuda turns the series 180 degrees and goes for sheer entertainment instead. Eschewing the city smashing of the previous films, in Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster we get beautiful island girls, tropical locations, a bank robber turned hero, mysterious hideouts and, best of all, a hilarious victory dance by Godzilla. Add in Mothra and the Peanuts (the two little girls who control Mothra) and you have one entertaining and strange hybrid. If you're a Godzilla purist, you'll hate this movie. But if you give it a chance, you'll be surprised at how enjoyable it is.

As with the Son of Godzilla DVD, this edition presents a cyrstal-clear widescreen image that restores the film to what it originally was. The VHS version is blurred with terrible sound and pan-and-scan, but the DVD version contains none of those flaws. In addition, the DVD edition puts back many elements that were edited out of the VHS version, including the opening credits. The film makes a lot more sense in this format and presentation and, unlike the VHS version, doesn't make you feel you're missing something. There are no extras to speak of, but the movie itself gets an A+ for image and sound quality. Most importantly, however, the DVD offers the original dialogue track in Japanese (with subtitles option) that eliminates the horrible dubbing of the previous versions. It's amazing how much better the film is when you realize it's the actual actors' voices and not those of some poor quality American voice-over actor trying to sound Japanese.

Saturday, February 12, 2005 / 4 of 5 / Island hopping fun.
One of the wackier Godzilla films, this one doesn't see the big G until quite far in. In the meantime we're treated to a yellow cardigan wearing criminal/thief tagging along with some teens looking for a third guys brother who was lost at sea. Eventually the boat meets up with Ebirah, the giant lobster and title antagonist. They're crashed onto an island where the amusing baddies are manufacturing nuclear material for nefarious purposes. The beautiful Kumi Mizuno is tanned nicely as a displaced native of Mothra's Infant Island. When Godzilla is finally awakened, he dispatches Ebirah with the kind of crunching we're all used to at seafood restaurants, but not before playing some kick *ss volleyball with boulders. I saw Godzilla's Revenge long before this and now the stock footage used in that film makes more sense seeing it here and Son of Godzilla. Overall a good DVD, I really like Columbia's decision to include the original Japanese soundtrack. Although the suit was getting a bit `ragged' it's still a fun Godzilla outing. Recommended.

Yes, this movie has never looked better. Like other reviewers, I had the VHS and it was sad. If you're into Godzilla and have been waiting for a great print of this to become available, now is he time to snatch this up.
This was originally written as a follow up to King Kong Escapes and was to feature King Kong, but when the owners of Kong backed out, Toho inserted Godzilla. Some footage from previous movies here, but they are hard to notice and overall the film is well done. The Sea Monster is kind of lack luster and isn't much of a challenge for Godzila. Basically, your average Godzilla movie.

This new release is superior to the previous versions in many respects (clearer picture, wide-screen, restored scenes, restored japanese soundtrack) but the dubbing. This version is the international dub, an english soundtrackj recorded in japan in the 60's. It blows. The otherwise inferior American TV version, called GODZILLA VERSUS THE SEA MONSTER on the title card, is definately worth tracking down
for its great vocal performances by Peter Fernandes of Speed Racer fame and Hal Linden from Barney Miller as the bank robber. Also the corney music during the jet battle was excised in that version.

For the kids: WHAT MONSTERS DID GODZILLA FIGHT????
here is a list of the monsters he faught in his movie series .. The # after each monster indicates the number of times Godzilla faught them. a "K" indicates if Godzilla, or an ally of his, killed the monster. If there is no K that means that they away. Sometimes Godzilla will kill an enemy and another of the same species will show up later. Like Anguirus, who was killed by Godzilla. Later a new friendlier Anguirus showed up and faught side by side with Godzilla. Still later, another Anguirus faught against Godzilla. Same goes for Mothra, Spiga and others. Rodan faught Godzilla but was convinced (telepathicaly) by Mothra to join forces with him. Godzilla himself seems immortal. One dies and another always appears. The first Godzilla was killed in 1954. Some part of his body, possibly his cells, but likely his heart, grew into the Godzilla from GIANT MONSTERS ALL-OUT ATTACK. His bones were collected and turned into the KIRYU in GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA. A second Godzilla appeared in GODZILLA Raids again in 1955. Godzilla disintegrated in GODZILLA VS, DESTOROYAH in 1996, but reapeared at the end. This was probably Godzilla's son, now fully grown. Godzilla was back alive again in GODZILLA 2000, this may also have been one of Godzilla's sons. If one counts, there may have been as many as eight Godzillas or there may be only one. By now we don't really have to know how Godzilla keeps coming back, only that he always does The same goes for his fellow monsters, like Mothra, King Kong, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Jason and Freddy. It sort of falls into the same catagory as "How can James Bond still be young and still a spy, when we know he was a commander in World War II ?" Or, "How can Superman or Wonder Woman or Captain America still be around since we read of their adventures fighting Natzis in the 40s and Communists in the 50s? " Answer: They just are. Or better yet. "How can Peter Parker have been in high school and collage for the better part of thirty years?" Answer: He just was. Thats all. Its better not to think about it, and in the end its not important. If Godzilla gets killed its for dramatic purposes. and when he returns, even if its not explained, it to make us fans, and millions of childre, happy. That said here is the monster list.

1) ANGUIRUS a spikey armored quadreped dinosaur. 2 K
2) KING KONG the giant lightening charged ape 1
3) MOTHRA a giant web spitting telepathic insect. 5 K
4) RODAN the agile flying reptile. 3
5) KING GHIDORAH- The Three Headed Monster from space. 6 K (killed by Godzilla with help from six other monsters)
6) EBIRAH- The Sea Monster. A giant lobster. 2
7) GIANT CONDOR self explanitory. No match for Godzilla. 2 K
8) KAMAKIRAS (aka GIMANTIS) a trio of giant mantises. 3 K
9) SPIGA (aka KUMONGA) a giant web spitting spider. 3 K
10) GABARA a gargling horned blue skinned electricity shooting biped cat/toad monster. 1
11) HEDORAH- The Smog Monster. an shape changing alien that swallows pollution. 1 K (Killed with help from humans)
12) GIGAN (aka GAIGAN) a cyborg bird/dinosaur witha buzzsaw in its body. 3 K (killed by Zone Fighter)
13) MEGALON a cyborg beetle with drills for hands. 1
14) MECHAGODZILLA (aka MG) The Cosmic Monster. A missle firing cyborg duplicate of Godzilla. 1 K
15) TITANOSAURUS a cackling, finned, long necked biped dinosaur. 1
(Unconfirmed kill. might have escaped.)
16) MECHAGODZILLA 2 (aka MG2) a more advanced/more deadly version of MG. 1 K
17) BIOLLANTE an enormous genetically engineered monster that is part plant, part human and part Godzilla. 1 K
18) MECHA-KING GHIDORAH a three headed cyborg created from a genetically engineered King Ghidorah from the future. 1 K
19) BATTRA an insane mutated version of a Mothra. 1 K
20) FIRE RODAN a mutated radioactive Rodan. 1 K (Killed by SMG and absorbed by Godzilla)
21) SUPER MECHAGODZILLA (aka SMG) an updated version of MG with a flying weapon attached to its back. 1 K
22) SPACE GODZILLA an evil Godzilla clone created by Godzilla cells that floated into space from Biollante and were sucked through a black hole. 1 K
23) DESTOROYAH a shape changeing monster crab created by micro oxygen atoms. 1 K (killed by Japanese Army while fighting dying Godzilla)
24) ORGAH (stands for Organizer, aka Millenian) an alien who can mutate and adapt its body by absorbing Godzilla's cells. 1 K
25) MEGAGUIRAS a mutated dragonfly, possibly from another dimension. 1 K
26) BARAGON antlered and armored subterranian dinosaur. 1 K
27) KIRYU (aka KIYU) an updated version of Mechagodzilla created from the skeleton of the original 1954 Godzilla. 2
28) KAMEBAS Godzilla killed this giant Turtle off camera. 1 K
29) FINAL GIGAN an ancient version of Gigan with chainsaws for hands. 1 K
30) KING SEESAR an ancient stone Shisa statue brought to life. 1 K
31) ZILLA (aka GODZILLA) skinny biped relative of Godzilla from the 1998 american movie and cartoon series. 1 K
32) MONSTER X / KAISER GHIDORAH a biped alien creature that transformes into a quadreped version of KING GHIDORAH. 1 K

In addition Godzilla faught at least seven other alien monsters while protecting the earth in five guest appearances on the japanese TV series Zone Fighter, which has never been released here in the US. Godzilla faught SPYLAR, WARGILGAR, ZADLAR, JELLAR, NEEDLAR, JAKIRO and a few others. Also in the animated american series from Hanna Barbera Godzilla faught at least 40 different monsters
mostly mutated animals and mostly nameless. A few that had names are..T-REX, AXOR, GREAT WATCHUKA, MEGAVOLT, MOONLODE, SUB-ZERO, GUARDIAN, BREEDER BEAST and FIRE-BIRD.
In an audio only adventure from Wonderland Records Godzilla battled
the finned and clawed mutant reptile monster AMPHIBION.
In comic books from Marvel and Dark Horse Comics Godzilla battled
giant bat like creatures BATRAGON, a sort of mutated hairy flying dragon, and BAGORAH a space monster. CENTIPOR a giant many legged worm. YETRIGAR a giant sasquatch, RED RONIN a samurai robot. CYBERSAUR AND ALL-TERRAINTULA two huge robot weapons, and other assorted aliens, mutants and walking statues..

Which monsters faught on Godzillas side? Answer. Alot of the same guys he first faught against. Aint it funny how things change. Here is a list of Godzilla's buddys....
1) RODAN
2) MOTHRA
3) MINYA (aka MINILLA) Godzilla's first son.
4) ANGUIRAS
5) GOROSAURUS a giant allosaurus like creature.
6) SPIGA
7) MANDA a long clawed sea dragon.
8) BARAGON
9) VARAN a flying marine iguana like lake monster.
10) JET JAGUAR a flying, size changing android.
11) KING SEESAR
12) ZONE FIGHTER
13) FIRE RODAN
14) GODZILLA JR. an updated version of Minya.
15) MOGERA (aka MOGUERA) a tranforming mole robot.

Since the late 1960s, when Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Nankai no Daiketto) first aired on U.S. television--there was never a domestic theatrical release--the movie opened with footage from later in the film of the title's sea monster (uber-lobster Ebirah) destroying a yacht, ostensibly owned by Yata, the brother of our young protagonist Ryôta. However, it's clear that it's the same yacht later commandeered by Ryôta because its name, Yahlen, is clearly visible on the hull. The film then cuts to a dance competition, where Ryôta hopes to win a boat so he may go and rescue his lost brother. Missing is the actual opening from the Japanese version, in which the siblings' mother goes to a medium, who tells her that her son cannot be found in the land of the dead, which is what motivates Ryôta to embark on his quest. Thankfully, this Sony release offers the full-length Japanese version, in anamorphic widescreen, with a choice of subtitles or English audio. The English dub, however, is the horrendous made-in-Hong-Kong international version; it's not the superior Walter Reade-Sterling TV version (which featured Hal Linden, TV's Barney Miller, as the voice of Yoshimura, the bank robber played by Akira Takarada), since it would not have fit the full-length film.

The increasing financial hardships that had begun to plague Japanese movie studios in the mid- to late-'60s--which would eventually lead to a near-total collapse of the Japanese film industry--began to reveal themselves in the production of Sea Monster. Rather than the intricate city sets that effects director Eiji Tsuburaya had crafted so painstakingly in earlier films, most of the monster action takes place on the much sparser Letchi Island set. Still, most of the monster scenes are well directed and include a few superlative moments, such as Godzilla's attack on the base of the Red Bamboo--the military organization, presumably communist, that has enslaved the natives of Infant Island and is secretly building nuclear weapons on Letchi--and the MIG jet assault on Godzilla himself.

To this time, most Godzilla movies--and the bulk of Toho's daikaiju and science fiction releases--had been scored by Akira Ifukube. For Sea Monster, Composer Masaru Sato provided the musical score, which made for a very different experience for those accustomed to Ifukube's familiar style. Sato had scored Godzilla Raids Again (Gigantis, the Fire Monster) and The Abominable Snowman (Half Human), but his greatest claim to fame was having provided the the musical soundtracks for numerous films by Akira Kurosawa. His work for Sea Monster is highly enjoyable on its own, yet as a Godzilla movie score, it oftentimes seems too playful--particularly during the MIG attack on Godzilla. It's a rocking, guitar-driven piece, its riffs reminiscent of the Ventures. Some of the incidental music for scenes on the island has a Mondo Exotica feel, reminding one of Martin Denny and Les Baxter's lounge lizard compositions (not that this is a bad thing, said the confirmed old lounge lizard). Sato would go on to score most of the Godzilla films directed by Jun Fukuda, and while the mood his music sets deviates significantly from anything Ifukube might ever have imagined, it in its way, it certainly keeps the scores from coming across as stale retreads.

This DVD release is pretty much bare bones, with just a few trailers as extra features, but the very nice, anamorphic print of the original full-length film is certainly a coup for Godzilla completists.

I let my grandson (a fellow Godzilla fan) pick this one for us. Makes for a good use of a rainy afternoon along with some pizza.

In this, the seventh Godzilla film the Big G battles a giant lobster(named Ebirah) in order to save a group of people from evil terrorists. Mothra appears to rescue the frightened people in the nick of time. I liked the monster action for this Godzilla movie had good battles even though nothing good happens for an abnormally long time.

For a Godzilla movie, this is one of the best!
As you may know- sometimes these giant monster
films suffer from lack of monster scenes, and too
much boring plot.

In "Godzilla VS The Sea Monster" we get
a fairly interesting plot- and a bunch
of cool monster scenes!

I definitely recommend this one to giant monster fans,
who can appreciate watching a man in a rubber-suit
beat up a giant shrimp- and blow fire at a giant
moth!

For anyone who doesn't like cheesy Godzilla films,
stay far away from this one- you might get hurt.

This is one of my favorites Godzilla is great in it some humor of course along with action and typical characters. The last battle with Ebirah (The Sea Monster is great) Godzilla making crab legs out of him and then taunting him with the claws by banging them together I love that part. I just enjoy this movie although I usually enjoy any Godzilla's this is one is at the top of my list.

This is a fun departure from the normal Godzilla formula which results in a truly unique picture. Its the little things that make it what it is.

Godzilla does not attack a city nor does he even go to Japan.
Godzilla is niether hero nor villian in this film. He just simply is.
There are three othr monsters in the film who battle Godzilla.
The human drama takes center stage with Godzilla part in the story almost becoming a secondary plot.
One of the heroes of the story is a criminal which adds an intersting dynamic to the drama.
The main villian of the picture is not a monster (Red Bamboo terrorist organization)

If you add the fact that this DVD gives you the option of watching the original Japanese version then I would say that you have a pretty good bargain. The only thing missing is some more special features.