Product Details

• Actors: Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura
• Directors: Terry Morse
• Format: Collector's Edition, Black & White, NTSC, Full Screen, Subtitled
• Language: Japanese (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Classic Media
• DVD Release Date: September 5, 2006
• Run Time: 175 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000FA4TLQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,175 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 09/05/2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 190 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The original, and the best, April 29, 2006

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters (DVD)

If you are like most Americans, you have probably never seen the original, unadulterated "Godzilla" (Original title "Gojira." the name being a mix of the Japanese words for "gorilla" and "whale.") More familiar with the campy, badly dubbed and edited version that graced TV screens in the 70s, we have seen Raymond Burr awkwardly inserted into the plot, anti-American political sentiments removed, and a horde of mismatched dialogs and ridiculous translations. Well, we are in for a real treat!

The Japanese "Godzilla" is a serious film, starring Kurosawa veteran Takashi Shimura ("Seven Samurai," "Ikura"). (In fact, two of Shimura's films, "Godzilla" and "Seven Samurai" competed for the 1954 Japanese Academy Award for Best Picture.) Only nine years after the atomic bombs devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the threat of nuclear power was very much in the minds of the average Japanese citizen. Contamination, mutation, radiation...this was far from science fiction. This is the fire from which sprang the King of Monsters.

In a now-familiar plot, American nuclear testing has given rise to a 150-foot tall engine of destruction, breathing atomic fire and hell-bent on destroying Tokyo before taking on the world. Assembling the army, and all of the modern science Japan can muster, they battle the rampaging monster to the inevitable conclusion.

Standing along side the original 1933 "King Kong," "Godzilla" is a classic monster movie, as well as a fine film in its own right. A suspenseful horror-drama, the acting, filming and special effects are all far above other entries in the genre. The black and white filming is used superbly, with the fire-cast shadows making the monster all the more menacing.

What is great about this set, is that not only do you get a restored and beautiful version of the original classic, you get an additional disk with the American edit complete with the stuffy professor Raymond Burr and the additional footage thought necessary for American audiences. It is a rare chance to compare the two versions, and see how politics in the US affected what audiences were allowed to view in the 1950s.

I have been waiting a long time for the original "Godzilla" to get a DVD release, and it is great to see it finally being treated with the respect it deserves.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The way Toho intended for Gojira to be seen., July 19, 2006

By 

Asian Mack "Art" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters (DVD)

Bottom line: If any of you grew up watching or watched recently: "Godzilla, King of the Monsters", the chopped up "U.S." version, take it out of your mind and forget about it. You are in for a cinematic masterpiece when this DVD releases. I had the honor of watching the original "Gojira" at a theater in my town. This is the film that started it all. When it was relased in the U.S., it was butchered, altered and changed into an average science fiction film with Raymond Burr fill-ins. He wasn't even in the original film. The original "Gojira" is a sci-fi/horror masterpiece. The film creates feelings of dread and sorrow. The "original" version is a much darker, sinister film. AWESOME! The film also focuses more on the suffering of the Japanese people during the atomic age. The film makes you feel their tension and suffering. There is one scene where Gojira is staring at a big ben style clock. He is staring at it for no apparent reason. The scene makes you wonder what Gojira is thinking at the time. Then, for no reason, he tries to take a bite out of it. That scene alone changes the feeling of the film to something more than a lumbering beast destroying everything. MUST SEE! MUST BUY!

99 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars finally, after 52 years, May 27, 2006

By 

Jason Long (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters (DVD)

After 52 years, the US finally receives an official home release for the original Gojira. Please forget everything you remember about the horrible US butchering and purchase this product.

The film is a scathing political commentary on the United States' practice of nuclear testing (and certainly the previous use) in the Pacific. The film is NOT a silly sci-fi about a giant angry monster attacking cities at random. There is a reason that the doomsday weapon used to kill Gojira is called the "Oxygen Destroyer" in perfect English.

Takashi Shimura, best known for his work with Akira Kurosawa, is terrific as usual. The musical score by Akira Ikifube is my personal favorite of his compositions.