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| All Monsters Attack : 3 of 5 | |
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5.06.2008
7:56 AM | Link |
 After a long pause in their release schedule, Classic Media is back with more definitive Godzilla DVD releases, which I bought as soon as they were available! I decided to watch All Monsters Attack first, even though it has a bad reputation as the worst Godzilla movie ever made, and I can see why. This particular film was actually targeted at kids, so it has a young boy as the main character Ichiro, who lives his life as a latchkey kid who has a scuffle with some bank robbers. All of the monster action takes place in Ichiro's fantasy world (on Monster Island), where he dreams of watching huge battles with his pal Minilla (the goofy son of Godzilla), and then uses various fighting techniques he observes to outwit the robbers (and a bully who has been giving him trouble) in a kind of Home Alone style! To top it off, most of the monster battle footage was lifted from previous Godzilla films, so there are crazy inconsistencies like three different Godzilla costumes (the changes are subtle, but you can definitely tell!). Thankfully, Classic Media can make even a so-so movie like this one into a fantastic experience, since it's always fun to see these movies in the original Japanese, and their commentary tracks simply cannot be topped. This time the commentary discusses where all of the reused footage comes from, and talks directly about each scene as we watch it, mentioning lighting, sets, and so on. There's also a brief documentary on director Ishiro Honda included. Actually, I still had a blast watching this film - the child acting is pretty amazing to me, and I certainly don't mind a silly movie from time to time. I'm just glad there are new DVDs for a Godzilla fan like me to devour!
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| Invasion of Astro Monster : 4 of 5 | |
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7.10.2007
8:58 PM | Link |
 With the first King Ghidorah movie fresh in mind, I couldn't wait to check out this next Godzilla masterpiece from 1965, better known in the US as Monster Zero. This is the first of many plots to involve aliens from space controlling the monsters, starting with the race of people from Planet X (actually a moon of Jupiter). It turns out Ghidorah is attacking their planet, so the X-ians ask to "borrow" Godzilla and Rodan to fight him off. Eventually this turns into a plan to take over the Earth, of course! There are some great flying saucer effects (with excellent tractor beam animation), and the three monster battle on Planet X is short but cool (even though it includes the first controversial Godzilla "victory dance"). Later when the monsters battle on Earth the excitement is even greater, although some of the footage is borrowed from previous Toho movies. This film features a mix of Japanese and American actors, who were filmed speaking in their native language (so the English lines are dubbed in the Japanese version and vice versa), which is pretty fascinating. The commentary track is much better than last time, since it actually comments on the movie, but it still gets a little bogged down in lengthy biographies of some of the actors, even ones with small roles. I really enjoyed Invasion of Astro Monster, and the time just flew by while watching it - I'm really looking forward to Classic Media's next DVD releases! I need more Godzilla!
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| Ghidorah / The Three-Headed Monster : 4 of 5 | |
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7.05.2007
5:11 PM | Link |
 I just can't get enough Godzilla lately, and Classic Media has definitely come through again with this wonderful DVD release of another essential monster spectacular, including both the original Japanese version as well as the American dub and re-cut. This movie represents an important turning point for the Godzilla genre, since this is the first film where he becomes a kind of "hero" that helps save the Earth by fighting off another giant creature, in this case, the huge flying dragon from space, Ghidorah. He's joined by both Rodan and Mothra (still in caterpillar form), after Mothra convinces Godzilla and Rodan they should join forces in a famous scene that really humanizes these characters. Mothra's tiny princesses sing another cool song, Ghidorah's lightning mouth effects are really cool, and the huge battle at the base of Mt. Fuji has such an amazing set (reported to have took nearly a year to build, and even containing real bonsai trees!). On the other recent Classic Media releases, the informative commentary track has been my favorite feature, but this time I can't say the same, since they used a different Godzilla scholar with a much different style. While he does provide some interesting information, he almost never directly comments on what is happening on-screen! Instead he presents a kind of documentary, and even includes stories about his kids that get a little annoying. It's still a pretty good commentary, though, and it definitely doesn't overshadow the enjoyment of this monster classic!
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| Mothra vs Godzilla : 4 of 5 | |
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6.07.2007
7:02 AM | Link |
 I absolutely love these new Classic Media releases of the original Godzilla films! It's so cool to watch both the Japanese and US versions and compare their differences, and the commentary track is by far the most scholarly discussion of this genre that you will ever hear. This time I enjoyed the 1964 release of Mothra vs Godzilla (released in the US as Godzilla vs the Thing, since they wanted to sell more tickets by keeping the other monster a secret!), which is considered by many to be one of the best Godzilla movies (and one of the last where Godzilla is a destructive force, rather than a kind of hero for Japan). I'm sure I saw this ages ago, but I completely forgot the story of Mothra's egg washing ashore, the death of the current Mothra, and then the birth of the caterpillar twins! The scenes with the "small beauties" (played by an old pop group called The Peanuts) speaking in unison are always great, and it's fun to hear them sing to Mothra. Godzilla does some great damage (using his tail much more in this movie), including destroying Himeji Castle, and there are some dramatic electrocution scenes before his eventual fate in Mothra's sticky webs. The visual effects are so cool for the 60s (thanks to one of only two optical printers in existence at the time!), and the music is fantastically dramatic, which is discussed in a short biography of the composer Ikufube. Besides the dubbed voices (some done by the Speed Racer crew), the US version includes an additional missile attack scene, which is really interesting. I totally cannot wait for the next round of DVD releases - seeing these movies in their original form is making me a huge Godzilla fan!
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| Godzilla Raids Again : 4 of 5 | |
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4.19.2007
6:20 AM | Link |
 I'm pretty excited about these new Toho Master Collection DVDs, so I really hope the series continues for a long time! I completely enjoyed their excellent treatment of the original Godzilla, and now they've done it again with the very first Godzilla sequel from 1955, Godzilla Raids Again (which was released in the US as Gigantis the Fire Monster!). The original Japanese version does a great job of explaining that this is a second Godzilla in this movie, since the original was definitely disintegrated by the Oxygen Destroyer (I had always wondered about that). Godzilla's first monster opponent Anguirus is introduced, and there is some fantastic fighting footage. Godzilla finally kicks his butt by throwing him right into Osaka Castle (which was cool to see since I've been there!) and then violently biting his neck. Even though this is only a single DVD, the complete American release is included, which is great to compare. It contains nearly non-stop narration, additional stock footage, and even stock musical score, giving the film an entirely different feel. The audio commentary is simply fantastic, combining tons of interesting facts with a great dose of humor. My favorite fact was that one of the monster fighting scenes looks speeded up because of a camera operator error, but they had to use the footage anyway! I love the drama of these original Godzilla movies, and I'm looking forward to watching the next one soon.
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| Gojira / Godzilla / Special Edition : 5 of 5 | |
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2.13.2007
12:53 PM | Link |
 This fantastic DVD set, containing both the original 1954 Japanese version and the 1956 American version, has really increased my appreciation for Godzilla! Watching the original version (which I enjoyed at the theater a couple years ago) was incredible, especially with the fantastic audio commentary (one of the best I've ever heard), which discusses the story, effects, music, and even cultural background, answering questions such as "What would a Japanese audience be thinking when they saw this scene?" I discovered many new effects that I hadn't noticed before, including flawless matte paintings that were used to show Godzilla's footprints and other destruction. Seeing the American version, which was completely re-edited to include Raymond Burr playing a reporter named Steve Martin (oddly enough), was also really interesting. Even though they only used less than an hour of the original film, they really made some creative choices (such as starting the film in the middle of the story) that helped bring this movie to the US, and without this version, I'm sure Godzilla would have remained unknown and this DVD set wouldn't have been made. There are also some short documentaries about the making of the film, including the fact that this was the first Japanese movie ever to use storyboards, and of course, lots of anecdotes about the creation of the Godzilla suit, with originally weighed over 200 pounds! This DVD really respects Godzilla as one of the greatest monster movies ever made, and I'm thrilled it's finally been released in its original form.
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| Destroy All Monsters : 3 of 5 | |
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9.16.2006
10:36 PM | Link |
 I've always liked giant monster movies, and when saw Godzilla: Final Wars recently I thought it would be cool to start watching more of the classics! So when I saw that ADV Films had Destroy All Monsters for super-cheap during their Labor Day sale, I decided to order it. Granted, this is definitely a low-tech DVD - there are zero special features, no chapter stops, and not even a menu! This is pretty much a DVD pretending to be a VHS tape, but for five bucks, I'm not complaining. The movie itself is really fun - only the English dub is available on this DVD, but it's so funny that it's worth it (especially the terrible voice of an old British scientist), and that's part of the charm of these movies anyway! The story starts in the amazing future (year 1999!) when all of the earth's monsters have been rounded up on an island. Of course, that's convenient for the Kilaaks, an alien race (with good ol' flying saucers) who controls the monsters using transmitters so they attack all over the world! All of the best monsters are here (although Mothra is only a larva), plus a bunch of obscure ones that are from movies I haven't seen. Eventually the good guys get the monsters to switch sides and attack the alien base (set up near Mt. Fuji), so the aliens bring in King Ghidorah for a big battle, and they beat the snot out of him (it's actually kind of sad watching everyone gang up on poor Ghidorah and stomp on his body). Overall, it's a totally fun movie that I really enjoyed seeing again - I still want to rent more monster movies like this!
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| Godzilla / Final Wars : 4 of 5 | |
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3.06.2006
7:13 PM | Link |
 It's been a long time since I've watched a Godzilla movie (besides seeing the 1954 original lately), but I've been interested in seeing Final Wars after seeing the cool Godzilla PS2 game at A-Kon last year, so I rented it from Netflix. I had a fantastic time watching this two hour kaiju masterpiece, and now I'm itching to rent more Godzilla movies! This movie manages to put Godzilla up against nearly every monster from all of the other movies, including the most famous, Rodan, Mothra, and King Gidorah (and plenty more that I hadn't heard of)! He even fights the crappy Godzilla from the US remake (which looks hilarious since they did it in CG, just like the movie, while all the other monsters are in rubber suits, of course), and he takes him out in two seconds flat. The plot involves an alien race called the Xilians who need humans to be their cattle, and they control all the other monsters to destroy civilization. Our heroes awaken Godzilla to do their fighting for them, but thanks to a fun appearance from Son of Godzilla, he goes away peacefully when the battle's over. I totally had a blast watching this movie! The effects are fantastic and "modern" (but still keep that kaiju charm), the actors are totally into their roles (there's a funny American captain who speaks English), and the battle action is incredible. Gojira wa kakkoii desu!
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| Godzilla : 3 of 5 | |
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6.10.2005
12:24 PM | Link |
 Sometimes there's just nothing better than a rubber-suit monster movie, so when I saw that the newly-restored original Japanese version of Godzilla was playing at the Paramount, I had to go! Most people know that when Godzilla was released in the US, several scenes were cut and replaced with new scenes of a young Raymond Burr as a reporter narrating things. I had never seen the true original, and it's definitely much better without the editing! I liked the stark opening credits (all kanji!) that roll over nothing but several minutes of Godzilla roars, and then the cool music kicks in (definitely a good score). I think Godzilla looks a little funny here, because sometimes his head seems a little squashed, but overall the effects are pretty cool considering it was made in 1954. Of course the miniatures look silly, but they are still super-detailed, and I also like the way Godzilla glistens in the moonlight. Some of my favorites scenes are when hundreds of high school girls sing a song for peace, and another when some guy says "Kuso!" ("Damn!", or worse) about seven times in a row while he's watching Godzilla trash things. This movie actually shows Godzilla die, since he's turned to a skeleton by the amazing Oxygen Destroyer (whose creator kills himself so it can never be used for evil), but then the main scientist gives the moral - if we keep testing H-bombs, another Godzilla will appear!
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| Godzilla 2000 : 3 of 5 | |
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5.28.2000
7:15 PM | Link |
 There's nothing like the real thing - a guy in a rubber suit stomping cardboard buildings, lots of terribly great dubbed voices, and some weird philosophy as a bonus. Thankfully Toho is still cranking out these movies so we don't have to settle for Ferris Bueller fighting a boring pregnant lizard! Godzilla looks way meaner in this movie, more scaly with a tougher nucleo-breath, and he fights a space alien who morphs into something that looks like a cross between our American yuck Godzilla and the Rancor from The Empire Strikes Back. The final scene is the best in the movie!
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