Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A great Godzilla film and a terrible one in an O.K. package, February 18, 2004
Sony/TriStar does a better job on this double-feature disc of two of the 1990s Godzilla films than they did on the awful disc of "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah/Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth." This time the films are in widescreen and stereo. Unfortunately, they are still dubbed (and very poorly, too), and the end credits are still chopped off, but I can at least recommend buying this disc for its improved visual and audio quality. (In a side note, Sony/TriStar has just made available three of the recent Godzilla films in widescreen editions with 5.1 sound and a choice of English dub or Japanese with subtitles: "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus," "Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack," and "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla." They may also release the two film on the this DVD in individual, deluxe packages, so you may want to wait a bit before deciding to pick up this disc.) However, I can only recommend one film on this disc, the terrific "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah," which brings a conclusion to the 1990s `Heisei' series of Godzilla films in an apocalyptic story that links back to the original 1954 "Godzilla." Godzilla's radioactive heart has started to melt down, a condition that threatens to destroy the entire planet. The military scrambles to find a way to prevent the end of the world, while psychic Miki tries to track down Godzilla's son, now a tough teen who looks like a half-sized Godzilla. And on top of all this, a new creature has suddenly appeared, born out of the weapon that killed the original Godzilla back in 1954: the mutating crustacean/dragon beastie Detoroyah. The action is plentiful, as are the effects, and the film just thunders along. It's everything you want in a Godzilla film. Godzilla Jr. facing the crab-leg version of Destoroyah is one of the great monster fights, the finale at the airport is brilliant, and the ending is heartbreaking. It's a great way to end the second Godzilla series. If this film stood on its own, I'd give it five stars, easily. In fact, it's best that you don't think of this disc as a double-feature at all, but a single disc containing "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah," with "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" as a bonus feature. Because "SpaceGodzilla" is AWFUL. Made right before "Detoroyah" by a new director who came out of Japanese teen films, "SpaceGodzilla" is boring and utterly silly. Godzilla Jr. looks like Barney the dinosaur, SpaceGodzilla is a ridiculously lumbering thing, and the military's new super-robot, MOGUERA (based on a robot from the 1957 film "The Mysterians"), looks like some kid's transformer toy, only not as well constructed and with Woody Woodpecker's head. The plot is sloppy -- something about SpaceGodzilla imprisoning Godzilla Jr. while a conspiracy almost wrecks the anti-Godzilla team called G-force -- and the performers look bored. The big action sequences seem to go on forever while nothing happens. The finale is just Godzilla and SpaceGodzilla standing far away and roaring at each other, while the military fiddles endlessly with their useless machines. The special effects are awful and lazy as well. Not even Godzilla fans will be able to tolerate this film for long. On it's own, "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla" is worth only one star, easily. So I'll have to average my rating out and give this package three stars. I recommend this disc for "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah," which is great even in dubbed format. Watch the other film, sure, but think of it as a bonus not factored into the price. You'll feel better that way, and $16.99 is a pretty fair price for a good, widescreen, stereo Godzilla film. (But keep your fingers crossed for even better editions in the future.)
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sony DVD, April 3, 2001
VIDEO QUALITY:
The release contains 2 films on one disc - on Side A 1994's "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla", and on Side B 1995's "Godzilla vs. Destroyer" (using the title "Godzilla vs. Destoryah" since "Destroyer" can't be copyrighted). Both sides were pretty even when it came to video quality. I'll start with the positive which is, unlike Sony's previous attempt with "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah/Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth", that the disc presents the films in their original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, and features anamorphic enhancement. Sadly however, both films, especially "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla", contain a heavy amount of grain and print damage, and a fair bit of artifacting too. There was also a lot of discolouration and brightness issues too. You've gained one thing, but lost another.AUDIO QUALITY:
One very basic setup, Toho's international English dubbing in Dolby 2.0. Like Sony's previous release, it generally sounds pretty good, with no distortion or other issues. It would have been nice to see a new 5.1 remix or the original Japanese soundtrack, but alas. EXTRA FEATURES:
Absolutely nothing, unfortunately. OVERALL:
For everything Sony did right with "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah/Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth" they did wrong with this, and vice versa. This release has the bonus of being in anamorphic widescreen, but looses extra features and the vivid image quality the previous release had. It's a simple barebones disc for those that want the film on DVD, but perfectionists will really need to look elsewhere.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Print and Great Kaiju Fun, don't miss it!, February 5, 2000
The release of Godzilla vs Space Godzilla and Godzilla vs Destroyer marks the first High Quality American release of these two films. The previous VHS versions of these films were poor quality SLP and badly cropped, destroying the original composition. The DVD is both widescreen and enhanced for 16/9 high definition Televisions. The surround sound is well done, though lacks the punch of the original Import laserdiscs . The picture is excellent, with only a little artifacting occasionaly noticable. The only demerit would be the poor dubbing job for both films , that makes them seem cheaper than they are. Tri-Star should have re-done the dubbing, or better yet, Provide the original Japanese language tracks for people who would prefer subtitles. The films are the last 2 of the HEISEI series, and are both greatly enjoyable. SPACEGODZILLA is a lighter movie, filled with great action sequences and a clever, if sometimes confusing plot. Visualy the film is a treat. The effects are more stylized than realistic, something common to Japanese films, and sometimes off putting to American viewers. The weakest effects are a space battle between The MOGERA robot and Space Godzilla, but it's so well edited and colorful that it can be forgiven. The final battle is great. The film can best be described as a 1970s Godzilla film that was GOOD! (unlike the real 1970s films that were pretty bad. Some people have disliked this film, but most seem to have understood that this was a FUN film, and went along for a great ride! Godzilla vs Destroyer is the last Godzilla film of this series, and is a dark, apocoliptic film, capturing much of the mood of the original GODZILLA movie. The effects supervisor, Kochi Kawakita, actually had less money and time than any Godzilla film since 1989s BIOLLANTE, (less than 3 months! )which make the effects even more impressive. Godzilla's attack of Hong Kong and his death are the visual highlights. The plot is well done, with nice echos, both thematically and visually. The movie proves a fitting end to Godzilla, and a must have for any Kaiju fan. After screwing up the previous DVD release of GODZILLA vs GHIDORAH and GODZILLA vs MOTHRA (both were mono and cropped! ) Tri star should be congratulated for not making the same error. I hope to see MECHA GODZILLA on DVD Soon!
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