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Gojira: The Original Japanese Masterpiece/Godzilla, King of the Monsters [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC) | ![Gojira: The Original Japanese Masterpiece/Godzilla, King of the Monsters [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HEXHBZ4VL._SL160_.jpg)
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| Actors: Raymond Burr, Kokuten Kodo ... The Old Fisherman, Fuyuki Murakami ... Professor Tanabe, Momoko Kochi ... Emiko Yamane
Studio: Sony Wonder (Video)
Category: DVD
Buy New: £7.07
New (14) Used (2) from £7.07
Rating:  3 reviews
Format: Collector's Edition, Colour, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language), Japanese (Published), English (Published)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.8
MPN: LVD684559
UPC: 828768455999
EAN: 0828768455999
ASIN: B000FA4TLQ
Theatrical Release Date: May 7, 2004
Release Date: September 5, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: ******BRAND NEW****** THE EXPERTS IN RARE MOVIES, ALL MOVIES ARE ONLY IN NTSC FORMAT AND REGION 1 - CHECK OUT OUR THOUSANDS OF MOVIES ON VHS AND DVD IN OUR ZSHOP, SHIPS DIRECT FROM CANADA (4-7 DAYS DELIVERY)~~~
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| Customer Reviews:
Gojira :: Godzilla - where it all begins November 10, 2006
DangermouseZilla (Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK.)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is a great DVD. Up until this release I had only ever seen the US cut of Godzilla. The US version infamously edited huge chunks out of the film and added scenes starring Raymon Burr to Amercianise the viewing experience.
This meant that some of the scenes did not make sense - or rather; the context of some scenes shifted outrageously.
This film is ultimately an anti-war film, a film that uses Godzilla as a tool to warn against the use of nuclear/atomic weapons. The American verion wanted all anti-war references removed. These removals leave a pretty soul-less film, and I personally find it disrespectful given that less than 10 years previous the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombings had blighted the world.
But now you can see this film as is was meant to be seen. It really is a masterpiece. At the time it was the biggest ever budgeted Japanese film.
I recommend you watch the Japanese Version, and then watch the US version to see how the doctoring of such a classic ruined a brilliant piece of cinematic history.
The original Gojira and his American makeover on one great disc November 21, 2006
Trevor Willsmer (London, England)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
It's a strange and almost unnoticed fact that the two Japanese films of 1954 that put Japanese cinema at its most poetic and its most populist on the international map both starred Takashi Shimura. The same year he led a group of Ronin to defend a poor village for Akira Kurosawa he was also trying to unravel the mystery of Gojira, only to get sidelined in the US version of the film in favor of a not exactly seamlessly edited in Raymond Burr. The new Region 1 NTSC DVD of Godzilla in both its incarnations is a nice presentation of a movie that isn't quite as good as you'd like it to be but still isn't bad for all that.
While the Japanese version, with its heavy Hiroshima and Nagasaki allegorical overtones, is the better film, the American version isn't exactly negligible. Restructuring the film's timeframe, beginning in the aftermath of the destruction of Tokyo and framing much of the film as a flashback to explain the need for narration, it sidelines the nuclear subplot but still offers much of the flavor of the original, as well as offering a couple of bizarrely charming moments of camp from Raymond Burr: it's almost worth it for the little look he gives the security officer in the helicopter.
Picture quality on the Japanese version is sadly not as good as the US version, but it's more than acceptable for all that. Be warned that the BFI's UK release of the film only includes the Japanese version and is nowhere near as lavishly packaged as the US edition in its hardback book-style case.
Commentaries worth it alone December 3, 2006
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Natural (yeah really) disasters are overtaking the small island. The fishing is bad and there are footprints all over the pristine beach. The natives know or pretend it is their old nemesis Gojira. Only the island elder knows that you can not stave off Gojira with a mock-ritual; you have to toss in some native girl snacks if you do not want everyone eaten.
Meanwhile back in civilization fishing boats are getting eradiated. Reminiscing of the real tragedy just a year before the film. Soon Tokyo will be minced by that indiscriminate beast that was conjured from the depths by "H" bomb testing.
They gave the beastie ears so he could hear and destroy the famous clock tower. Can height voltage strategically placed power lines stop him?
Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) has a possible weapon against this creature that looks quite docile in its underwater habitat. However if someone was to find the secret of his weapon it could wipe out all life. He only told this secret to his betrothed Emiko (Momoko Kochi). You guessed it Emiko throws hem over for a young navel officer and spills the beans. What consequences will result?
The film with a working title of "G" which did not stand for Gojira was not in the category of Hollywood "B" monster movies. This DVD's set takes you from the beginning concepts of a story with a message and carries you through the conversion to an almost Hollywood "B" movie with the addition of a more popular actor and some fancy splicing.
I must have watched the Raymond Burr version dozens of times. I listened to people that touted Gojira over Godzilla and fluffed them of as video snobs. Little did I know what I was missing. And until I listened to the commentary on Godzilla I did not know what I was watching. It is like having someone say your laces are untied or your fly is open; speaking about open this was a real eye opener.
In any event we must remember the words of Kyohei Yamane-hakase, "I can't believe that Godzilla was the only surviving member of its species... But if we continue conducting nuclear tests... it's possible that another Godzilla might appear somewhere in the world again. "
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