Reviews (53)

Hardboiled Egg Salad
A giant egg floats into Japanese waters after a hurricane. Twin miniature fairies plead for its return to Mothra Island. In a Shakespearean twist of fate, Godzilla attacks and the Japanese enlist Mothra's help. Godzilla's rampages are fine, building toppling fun. The military fights back and the battle rages. As juvenile sci-fi epics go, this one is worth the price. The production values are better than usual. Chuckle-headed humor asserts itself, but plenty of Godzilla screen time keeps the action moving. The Mothra song, as vocalized by the twin fairies, is enshrined in fantasy film folklore. Watching the giant egg hatch is exciting, and recalls a similar scene in "Rodan." Lightening flashes and thunder roars as cracks shoot across the egg's surface. The movie falters somewhat after two gigantic baby caterpillars take over for the first Mothra. Godzilla, who shrugged off rockets, bombs, and super-charged electrocution, has trouble with a rough-hewn silk shroud. Go figure. The Peanuts of the first Mothra flick portray the twin fairy girls. With all of the tiny women's mystery, one still lingers over their little faux-fur hats. The script doesn't explain the headgear. The special effects are unsophisticated by modern standards. The monsters are more lovable than today's ice-cold, computer-generated eye-candy. The Harry Potter generation can suit themselves. The venerable I. Honda directed this classic TOHO production. Saturday matinees and popcorn forever! ;-)

Godzilla Vs Mothra Sony 2002 release
Godzilla Vs Mothra (1964)(Sony 2002) 2/5
This is my first time seeing this film in the godzilla series but this review is about the dvd not the film. The picture is quite clear without much damage, the colour is okay to, pretty much it is an okay print not bad but not great. It is not in it's original widescreen format either. It shows signs of compression but not to the point of pixelisation. The frame rate is 24 fields 24 frames this improves on the King of the Monsters dvd as that was done in a standard NTSC VHS format of 60 fields 30 frames with a frame doubled every 4 which isn't as nice a picture. This has the same 'extras' as King of the Monsters which are the advert for the tie-in GameCube game and another 5.1 remix which makes everything sound like it's in a bathroom.
Good Points: It has a little fun animated menu, it also has quite a few chapters at good points.
Bad Points:It hasn't been remastered or restored, it's not in widescreen, the 5.1 sucks and not even a trailer as an extra??
The rating above is for this DVD not the film, I rated it 2 stars because it is watchable as a bog standard version of the movie but more dedicated fans should save their money for a future release.

Dreadful Monster on Monster Action
First the bad: The photographers and the director of this movie were sleeping and in their place they found a bunch of kids with ADD and gave them the cameras. Well that is my theory because of all the Godzilla films this movie has the worst fight scenes. They are analogous to a adult movie when the camera in the middle of the action goes and focuses in on the guy;s butt. Basically when Godzilla was fighting Mothra we saw one random part of Godzilla moving then another part moving then switch over to Mothra and see a part of Mothra moving. All in all it was what made this movie not get a good rating.
Now the Good: The movie was hilariously ironic. Let's say that the evil Happy Enterprises happened to return the egg to Mothra's Island, well then Japan would have been doomed. So maybe evil businesses are capable of good in the long run. Also Happy Enterprises is probably one of the greatest names for a business. All the dialouge was classic. Where did the twins come from; nobody knows.
Also the movie shows a strong anti-nuke message in a not so subtle way. For example the characters on the ravaged island say "this island is reason enough to stop nuclear testing." HINT HINT! The plot like all other Godzilla movies was full of holes and it is also obvious that the Japanease military never learns that tanks are worthless against Godzilla.
For all the Godzilla fans this is a must have, but for the casual viewer pick up a different video.

Never Come Between a Moth and Her Grubs!
'Godzilla vs. Mothra' is one of my favorite in the Godzilla series. It is still early enough (1964) to be serious, yet more decidedly less dark in tone than the original. In this one Godzilla is still a bad guy, and Mothra, a giant moth, is summoned from Monster Island with the help of two miniature singing muses and some natives. Ultimately Mothra almost overcomes Godzilla with some great rubber monster fights along the way (and all the toy airplanes, tanks, boats, etc., that comes with them), but it is a 'Lion King' (or "Circle of Life", if you prefer) moment as Mothra dies atop her egg, which is being coaxed to hatch by some very imaginative chanting. The two grubs that emerge from the egg are out for vengeance and taunt Godzilla with several wily maneuvers before cocooning him in silk and dumping him into the ocean. The sight of the two grubs swimming off into the sunset is particularly delicious for fans of the series.

The movie is well made for the era, and I think the English dubbing is better than in most of the Godzilla films. Likewise the script is more mature than the bulk of the Godzilla series, which in general I like, although it becomes a bit preachy about the anti-nuclear stuff (Ishiro Honda is the greatest director of the Japanese monster movies, but subtlety is not one of his more admired filmmaking attributes.) The film does, however, serve its desired function as a comment on greed and avarice admirably.

I recommend 'Godzilla vs. Mothra' highly, and no fan of Japanese cinema or monster movies should be without it. It is available as a single DVD or part of a Godzilla five-pack, which I recommend highly: it's a bargain at any price!

Classic.
Back in the 60s the first ever Godzilla VS Mothra came out, and this is it.

There is not TO much to say about this film, it is a good film, how ever it does have some problems, for Example, Mothra is just a flying moth, it does not really have that much attack options, just flying, and releasing bowel movements on the enemy. There fore the battles are not ultra spectacular, but are still good. The overall DVD quality is good consdiering its a film from the 1960s, how ever I wish there was Japanese audio track with optional subtitles, but its better then nothing.

One MAJOR flaw I feel with this movie is the ending, it is a major open ended end, and has very little clouser.

Overall would I suguest it to people? Yes. ESPECIALY Giant monster fans! ... Read more

Reviews (47)

One of the best Godzilla's....
As an obsessed Godzilla fan, this film (along with Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla & Godzilla vs Gigan) is my favorite of the series, including the heisi(sp?) series. Do not get me wrong, all the godzilla films are my favorite 23 films ever (Yeah, even Godzillas revenge) but this one might just be my favorite. So we have 2 astronauts (One american one, by the way) launched into space and stumble upon a 'hidden' planet the inhabitants call Planet X. Theese aliens have really cool costumes and the dubbing is not really that bad, although the controllers silly hand motions are sort of laughable, and they do seem to be a bit threatining. Now theese aliens happen to be every so often raided by the huge monster Monster Zero (everything is numbered on this planet, but Monster Zero is known as King Ghidra as mentioned by Glenn on Earth). The aliens want to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to defeat Ghidra. Earth and X at first are peaceful, but then Earth really realizes that Planet X is no friendlier that Ghidirah himself. Now this film is fun! Godzilla - the best character of the best movies there ever will be, and then Rodan - my second favorite ally next to Angirius(sp?) battles, then teams up with him! Then we have Mothra, who i really could have done without, is thrown up with the two monsters. Then my 3rd favorite Godzilla foe of ALL TIME (Next to Gigan and Mecagodzilla) = King Ghidirah the Three HEaded Monster HIMSELF in ALL of his golden scaled glory! The film i think is well acted, and has good special effects for its time. I mean come on, some of the movies out today dont feature as cool looking villians as Ghidirah, let alone the Big G! I think that the inventor character is some what annoying, but OK. I reccomend this to anyone with a VCR/DVD player. I assume alll Godzilla fans have seen it, if you havent, you arent a fan and HAVE to pick this one up - for you sake!

This one is just plain fun
This is one of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time. Monster Zero (better known as King Ghidorah) is to my eyes the most impressive foe Godzilla ever fought. Maybe it's just me, but the special effects of Ghidorah are stellar, much better than those of Godzilla himself. The plot features about everything I want in a good old-fashioned monster movie: weird aliens, a foe with an evil laugh, wanton destruction, and some funny poses and gestures from Godzilla. Of course, the whole story about a planet being discovered just on the other side of Jupiter is sort of silly, but who really cares? This is Godzilla we are talking about. One thing I could not figure out was why the aliens went to the trouble of transporting Godzilla and Rodan to their planet, only to bring them right back to Earth; it seems like they could have taken control of the monsters right here, especially since they had already set up a secret base in Japan.

There are a few drawbacks to the film. A regular red-headed American is featured prominently in the story (as opposed to being pasted in after the fact a la Raymond Burr), and he does a very good job of showing why Americans just do not belong in Godzilla movies. He really got on my nerves, to tell the truth... All in all, this movie is great fun for all. As an added bonus, at least on my copy, there are trailers from about five other Godzilla movies at the end of the tape.

Simitar DVD
VIDEO QUALITY:
Once again a two sided disc from Simitar. Side 1 contains the full screen TV version of "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" and Side 2 contains the original 2.35:1 widescreen version. Sadly, Side 2 is not anamorphically enhanced. Side 1's image is as you would expect - rubbish. You loose over half the image, the print has bad colouration and print damage. It will still hold some nostalgia for those that grew up with is though. Side 2 looks reasonably good, with vivid colours and a generally sharp image. At times there can be quite a lot of grain on screen though, and during some of the effects sequences it looks like someone dropped the print, stepped on it a could of times, attempted to rub it clean with a dirty sweatshirt and rammed it back in the machine... I'll stop drinking so much coffee... As with all Simitar discs, there was also quite a lot of artifacting, most notably on Side 2 unfortunately. There was also the occasional rainbow effect, though it was very rare on this disc, and you wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it.

AUDIO QUALITY:
Side 1 comes packed with the original mono track, which sounds like it was kept in very good condition. There wasn't any trace of crackling, hissing, fuzzing or any other kind of wear. The only problem I could really notice was a little distortion when the sound became slightly loud, but then I doubt this mono track was exactly designed for home cinema systems with such huge subwoofers. Side 2 contains both the original mono track and an all new 5.1 track designed by Simitar. The mono track on this side is on par with Side 1, if not slightly better. The 5.1 track is pretty much the same as the mono, in fact I hardly noticed anything different about it at all. Some of the sound effects during the battles had a little more bass, and there were some new sound effects during the military battles that really sounded odd and didn't blend well with the film, though that's really the extent of this track's differences.

EXTRA FEATURES:
Again, it carries the same basic features as all Simitar discs: There are several Godzilla screen savers included for DVD-ROM users, which are only compatible with Windows® 95 machines. There are also some custom trailers Simitar designed for their Godzilla releases, which are made in a cheesy 1950's American monster movie style. There is a video art gallery, and for DVD-ROM users a printable art gallery, which is fairly interesting, as well as a short trivia game to rest your knowledge on the film.

OVERALL:
This is probably one of the better Simitar releases. Simitar claim to have remastered this from the original source (presumably they mean the American source), which doesn't give you much comfort that we'll ever see anything better than this. Despite that, you're getting the film in widescreen with a reasonably good image and some very nice audio - add to that some quirky trivia games and some orchestrated image galleries you've got a reasonably good disc.

Camp you wouldn't believe!
OK, we got a newly discovered planet X that tricks the Earth into giving up Godzilla(?). The aliens are left over rejects from Flash Gorden forty years before. The people in these monster costumes certainly earned their money on this one. Kudos to the man who actually made Godzill do his Russian style celebration dance. I know there are a whole lotta Godzilla fans out there. But when it comes down to it, this is one of the hokiest movies ever dreamed up. Rock on Godzilla.

Planet X
Not a bad godzilla film I mean we get to Godzilla,Rodan,and Gidorah on the same side!!!recking hell.Like usual the aliens plans on controlling Godzilla never works so he and rodan ends up turning against them and defeat King Gidorah and the Aliens.
But overal its a alright G flick in my book. ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Hardboiled Egg Salad
A giant egg floats into Japanese waters after a hurricane. Twin miniature fairies plead for its return to Mothra Island. In a Shakespearean twist of fate, Godzilla attacks and the Japanese enlist Mothra's help. Godzilla's rampages are fine, building toppling fun. The military fights back and the battle rages. As juvenile sci-fi epics go, this one is worth the price. The production values are better than usual. Chuckle-headed humor asserts itself, but plenty of Godzilla screen time keeps the action moving. The Mothra song, as vocalized by the twin fairies, is enshrined in fantasy film folklore. Watching the giant egg hatch is exciting, and recalls a similar scene in "Rodan." Lightening flashes and thunder roars as cracks shoot across the egg's surface. The movie falters somewhat after two gigantic baby caterpillars take over for the first Mothra. Godzilla, who shrugged off rockets, bombs, and super-charged electrocution, has trouble with a rough-hewn silk shroud. Go figure. The Peanuts of the first Mothra flick portray the twin fairy girls. With all of the tiny women's mystery, one still lingers over their little faux-fur hats. The script doesn't explain the headgear. The special effects are unsophisticated by modern standards. The monsters are more lovable than today's ice-cold, computer-generated eye-candy. The Harry Potter generation can suit themselves. The venerable I. Honda directed this classic TOHO production. Saturday matinees and popcorn forever! ;-)

Godzilla Vs Mothra Sony 2002 release
Godzilla Vs Mothra (1964)(Sony 2002) 2/5
This is my first time seeing this film in the godzilla series but this review is about the dvd not the film. The picture is quite clear without much damage, the colour is okay to, pretty much it is an okay print not bad but not great. It is not in it's original widescreen format either. It shows signs of compression but not to the point of pixelisation. The frame rate is 24 fields 24 frames this improves on the King of the Monsters dvd as that was done in a standard NTSC VHS format of 60 fields 30 frames with a frame doubled every 4 which isn't as nice a picture. This has the same 'extras' as King of the Monsters which are the advert for the tie-in GameCube game and another 5.1 remix which makes everything sound like it's in a bathroom.
Good Points: It has a little fun animated menu, it also has quite a few chapters at good points.
Bad Points:It hasn't been remastered or restored, it's not in widescreen, the 5.1 sucks and not even a trailer as an extra??
The rating above is for this DVD not the film, I rated it 2 stars because it is watchable as a bog standard version of the movie but more dedicated fans should save their money for a future release.

Dreadful Monster on Monster Action
First the bad: The photographers and the director of this movie were sleeping and in their place they found a bunch of kids with ADD and gave them the cameras. Well that is my theory because of all the Godzilla films this movie has the worst fight scenes. They are analogous to a adult movie when the camera in the middle of the action goes and focuses in on the guy;s butt. Basically when Godzilla was fighting Mothra we saw one random part of Godzilla moving then another part moving then switch over to Mothra and see a part of Mothra moving. All in all it was what made this movie not get a good rating.
Now the Good: The movie was hilariously ironic. Let's say that the evil Happy Enterprises happened to return the egg to Mothra's Island, well then Japan would have been doomed. So maybe evil businesses are capable of good in the long run. Also Happy Enterprises is probably one of the greatest names for a business. All the dialouge was classic. Where did the twins come from; nobody knows.
Also the movie shows a strong anti-nuke message in a not so subtle way. For example the characters on the ravaged island say "this island is reason enough to stop nuclear testing." HINT HINT! The plot like all other Godzilla movies was full of holes and it is also obvious that the Japanease military never learns that tanks are worthless against Godzilla.
For all the Godzilla fans this is a must have, but for the casual viewer pick up a different video.

Never Come Between a Moth and Her Grubs!
'Godzilla vs. Mothra' is one of my favorite in the Godzilla series. It is still early enough (1964) to be serious, yet more decidedly less dark in tone than the original. In this one Godzilla is still a bad guy, and Mothra, a giant moth, is summoned from Monster Island with the help of two miniature singing muses and some natives. Ultimately Mothra almost overcomes Godzilla with some great rubber monster fights along the way (and all the toy airplanes, tanks, boats, etc., that comes with them), but it is a 'Lion King' (or "Circle of Life", if you prefer) moment as Mothra dies atop her egg, which is being coaxed to hatch by some very imaginative chanting. The two grubs that emerge from the egg are out for vengeance and taunt Godzilla with several wily maneuvers before cocooning him in silk and dumping him into the ocean. The sight of the two grubs swimming off into the sunset is particularly delicious for fans of the series.

The movie is well made for the era, and I think the English dubbing is better than in most of the Godzilla films. Likewise the script is more mature than the bulk of the Godzilla series, which in general I like, although it becomes a bit preachy about the anti-nuclear stuff (Ishiro Honda is the greatest director of the Japanese monster movies, but subtlety is not one of his more admired filmmaking attributes.) The film does, however, serve its desired function as a comment on greed and avarice admirably.

I recommend 'Godzilla vs. Mothra' highly, and no fan of Japanese cinema or monster movies should be without it. It is available as a single DVD or part of a Godzilla five-pack, which I recommend highly: it's a bargain at any price!

Classic.
Back in the 60s the first ever Godzilla VS Mothra came out, and this is it.

There is not TO much to say about this film, it is a good film, how ever it does have some problems, for Example, Mothra is just a flying moth, it does not really have that much attack options, just flying, and releasing bowel movements on the enemy. There fore the battles are not ultra spectacular, but are still good. The overall DVD quality is good consdiering its a film from the 1960s, how ever I wish there was Japanese audio track with optional subtitles, but its better then nothing.

One MAJOR flaw I feel with this movie is the ending, it is a major open ended end, and has very little clouser.

Overall would I suguest it to people? Yes. ESPECIALY Giant monster fans! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The title says it all: The world's most famous radiated iguana in a grudge match against the winged personification of nature with the planet's ecological future at stake! While lacking the major narrative advancement of the superb, previous entry (Godzilla vs. King Ghidora), this is an entrancing fantasy by any standard, with moments of genuine beauty (helped immeasurably by the exquisite score by veteran G-composer Akira Ifukube), a surprisingly effective eco-message, and a final battle in an amusement park that ranks among the very best in the series. Although three more films in the revamped cycle were made by Toho Studios, none had been released in the United States at this writing. --Andrew Wright ... Read more

Reviews (42)

No curtains remaining intact.
Living in the UK, where releases of decent Toho Godzilla films are very thin on the ground indeed, I've never seen the original Mothra films and so can't say whether this '92 re-make is better or worse than them.

This re-make involves two giant moths, Mothra and Battra, and two tiny guardians of Mothra who are kidnapped and brought to Tokyo, whereupon Mothra follows to rescue them.

Whilst there is some excellent scenery, some good effects and an okay (if rather slow-moving) plot, there are just as many bad points to this film as good ones. The twin guardians are extremely twee and irritating, the opening is a rip-off of an Indiana Jones film and Mothra's egg being transpoted looks like an easter-egg on a dinky toy. Dubbing is also pretty laughable, and the showdown seems to be taking place in a Jean Michel Jarre concert, Godzilla also being fought by the army who have apparently come to the conclusion that military hardware is no good against G and as such are resorting to the use of what look like Christmas decorations.

Not a bad Godzilla film overall, but I would have prefered the powers-that-be to have released one of the better of the series. The original 1950's Godzilla would be nice.

I love this tape!
Originally titled Godzilla vs. Mothra in Japan, but in the US Godzilla vs. Mothra was already around as a title so they changed it to the lengthy Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth. Yes, the battle for Earth indeed. The plot is simply amazing, a meteorite hits the Earth, wakening Godzilla. Battra, a fearsome (and UGLY!) villian Mothra fought thousands of years before also rises again. I think Battra was stronger as a larva rather than an adult. Mothra gains a new power: lasers shot from the attennae!

This movie has action all around, if the shot changes to a new area it is still action-packed. The bottom line is BUY THIS VIDEO! Or DVD.

MOTHRA
Actually I rate this so I because mothra is new an improve i mean wow we went from a moth that looks like cheap moth you swat with your hand to this motha that kicks butt with some new weapons up its sleeve.Battra was really cool even larva stage he can do damage.Of course the twins are introduce again and of course act the same but overal this movie is a good G flick.

The lean, mean, killing machine Godzilla is back!!
I love this movie alot. Even though I get confused, at times, I love this movie. But the story is confusing. This is the key to understanding the story: Battra was created to protect earth. Mothra was created to protect earth`s people. The reason they were enimies is because people were endangering the earth. Why would they be enimies that way? I have no idea!!! But the plot is good, and the monsters look awesome. I really think it was cool on how Battra and Mothra took down Godzilla. Battra uses electric prism lasers. And Mothra uses a combination of poison and wing lightning. Goddzilla moans and falls over. Mothra and Battra pick up Godzilla and fly him out to sea. Must have been several miles. But Godzilla tears a hole in Battra`s neck. Mothra lets go and Godzilla and Battra fall into the sea. Their drop must have been several thousand feet. Then Mothra goes into space to destroy a Meteorite. I do enjoy this movie but I just wish that someone could just strangle those two annoying twin faries!!!

Elias and a cool evil monster turns good? WHAT THE @@#$#**!?
This is one of the worst monster movies ever. Why? Because
1. The plot's terrible.
2. Those twin elias are soo anoying, you'd hope Godzilla kills them.
3. Battra(dark Mothra) turns GOOD!
4. Godzilla's the "Bad Guy".
5. IT'S A RERUN OF GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Basicly, without Battra, I would give this movie a 1. ... Read more

Description

For two hundred years, no other story has captured the hearts and imagination of the Japanese people more than "Chushingura." When Lord Asano is forced by a corrupt lord to commit hara kiri, forty-seven loyal samurai seek vengeance. Often referred to as the "Gone with the Wind" of the Japanese cinema, "Chushingura" is an unparalleled example of the true samurai spirit. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

One Of The Two Best Samurai Films Ever Made!
This film is one of the two best Samurai films of all time, the other being Kurosawa's SEVEN SAMURAI. CHUSHINGURA ("loyalty") is based on a real incident in 18th century Japan, wherein 47 loyal retainers of a disgraced lord take a vow of vengeance on the corrupt nobleman who caused his downfall and death. The story is timeless, the acting is uniformly magnificent, the camera work is so gorgeous that any frame of this film could be hung in an art gallery, and the music is exciting and heart-lifting. It's a complex plot, following many separate individuals as their vengeance unfolds, so first-time viewers may get confused. No matter -- it all comes together at the end. Watch for the late great Toshiro Mifune in a cameo role as a Master Spearman who becomes drinking buddies with one of the 47, and who takes it upon himself to hold off the cops in the final showdown so that his pal and the other 46 won't be interrupted before they can find and behead the bad guy and fulfill their vow. I have watched this movie many, many times, and I always find something new and wonderful in it. Now that it's FINALLY available on video, don't miss it!!

Samurai honor, political intrigue, romance, brilliant cinema
I first saw this film in the 60's in a small theater over 3 hours with one intermission. I never left my seat, in fact I started out sitting in the aisle at the back because the theater was full.

The photography is gorgeous with brilliant winter scenes backing up intense sword fights in which you aren't sure what happened until someone keels over dead.

Political betrayal is revenged while honor ultimately prevails. You are immersed in the feudal Japanese world and yet reminded of much the same thing happening today.

Definitely worth seeing and buying once you've seen it.

The Quintessential Japanese Saga
Chusingura (the 47 Ronin) is a tale that is as popular in Japan -and as often produced - as The Christmas Carol is in the U.S. - and just as revealing of cultural assumptions about right and wrong. There are many versions, each focusing on one of the "47 masterless Samurai" who refuse to surrender and face disgrace out of loyalty to their master. The theme (and story) will be familiar because it's been reworked many times ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado" to "From Here to Eternity."

If you want to gain insight into the Japanese concept of loyalty and the price of honor above all else this is the one movie you should not miss.

The color photgraphy and scene settings are well done and sound is excellent; the acting is also very good and does not lean heavily on over-emoting that is the sometimes "norm" for Japanese films. Sub-titles are a little light, but easy enough to see and this is one of the more accessible versions (many are not available to Western audiences as more recently they tend to be done for annual TV specfials. You won't need to know the history to follow the story - or get the point.

It's a true story of a proud, old fashioned country Samurai who puts the Samurai Code and personal integrity above politics of reality. He's summoned to the Shogun's castle to do his duty - service to the emperor whole messengers are coming through the territory. A corrupt court official expects and demands a bribe to tell the Samurai what he must know of intricate protocol and is outraged when our hero refuses to bend. The official goads him into drawing his sword in the castle - a capital offense, leading to his forced harikiri - suicide.

The remainder of the tale - most of it - is about how the 47 loyal retainers face disgrace and contempt, while biding their time until they can avenge their master. The film has everything: psychological drama, action, passion, greed and pathos - everything in fact that makes life worthwhile.

Don't miss this one!

Samurai Code in Jeopardy...
Corruption and the samurai code converge in a collision when an old man who favors greed and lust crosses the road with a young noble samurai. The collision triggers a chain of events that causes the young noble samurai to violate the laws of the Shogunate, which affects many lives. The issue of injustice remains unresolved after the unlawful event. However, for some life is insignificant when injustice remains. This epic story reveals that humans do know what is right from wrong, but fear and desire seem to influence each and everyone's choice.

A Flawed but Enjoyable Epic
Despite the film's division into two parts, I think the Chushingura is best understood as a complicated story told in three acts.

The first act, culminating in the seppuku of Lord Asano, details the conflict between the young lord and Kira, the Shogun's master of ceremonies, and is, in my opinion, the most interesting as it unfolds logically, tragically, and inevitably towards the spilling of blood in the Shogun's castle. Asano and Kira, at least in this stage of the film, are fully realized and three-dimensional characters, and their conflict can be understood on several levels: idealism versus pragmatism; rural versus urban; and, most centrally, a conflict between different conceptions of honor. Kira is slighted because Asano won't show him the deference he feels he deserves, and Asano cannot accept Kira's attempt to teach him a lesson without fatally wounding his pride. The characters feel real because the situation is developed so carefully, and we as viewers understand why the principal actors behave as they do.

I think the movie bogs down a bit in the second act where the retainers of Asana plot their revenge on Kira. I also feel it is at this point that those unfamiliar with this story may find it difficult to follow the plot. Like the assassination of Thomas Becket in 12th century England, the story of the 47 loyal retainers has left the historian with not only a wealth of primary documents but also of contemporary analysis of exactly how the events were interpreted. Whereas Becket's murder resonated because of the changing perceptions of the limits of temporal power in medieval Europe, the 47 ronin reflect the changing nature of samurai honor following the pacification of Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate. Unfortunately, the movie does little to clarify the issues involved despite a three and half hour presentation. The historical Oishi, for instance, worked patiently behind the scenes for years to restore the clan's honor and holdings under the leadership of Asano's younger brother whereas Horibe represented the more radical view that the ronin owed personal allegiance only to their dead lord. In the movie, by contrast, Oishi makes reference to restoring the clan and questions Asano's judgment at the castle, but it is absolutely unclear in the context of the film whether this represents his true beliefs or is simply part of the feint to divert attention from the plot to kill Kira. It is, in fact, hard to ever discern exactly what Oishi is planning, even in hindsight. Horibe, as the leader of the other wing of the retainers, fairs worse, emerging only as Toshiro Mifune's drinking buddy (Mifune, though always enjoyable to watch, is largely wasted in a sub-plot that is completely superfluous to the story). I don't expect complete historical fidelity, but I do expect the events to develop coherently and to address the main issues of the story. I'm not saying that it is a complete mess, just that it is hard to follow at times, and it is not always clear what motivates the characters, and, as film usually does, some of the subtleties of the real events are lost.

Thankfully, the exciting and famous battle in the snow largely redeems any momentary flagging of interest. My only quibble is that Kira has degenerated by this point into an absolute caricature of his previous self, becoming the embodiment of the man without honor. I suspect this is incorporated less from history and more from the popularizations of this story, e.g., the various kabuki stagings.

Others have spoken of the beautiful visuals, so I won't belabor the point. Suffice it to say this alone is a good reason to watch this film. Others have also spoken of the slow pace. This is also true, and if you demand a tight focus in your movies, this one probably isn't for you. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

One of the best Godzilla's....
As an obsessed Godzilla fan, this film (along with Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla & Godzilla vs Gigan) is my favorite of the series, including the heisi(sp?) series. Do not get me wrong, all the godzilla films are my favorite 23 films ever (Yeah, even Godzillas revenge) but this one might just be my favorite. So we have 2 astronauts (One american one, by the way) launched into space and stumble upon a 'hidden' planet the inhabitants call Planet X. Theese aliens have really cool costumes and the dubbing is not really that bad, although the controllers silly hand motions are sort of laughable, and they do seem to be a bit threatining. Now theese aliens happen to be every so often raided by the huge monster Monster Zero (everything is numbered on this planet, but Monster Zero is known as King Ghidra as mentioned by Glenn on Earth). The aliens want to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to defeat Ghidra. Earth and X at first are peaceful, but then Earth really realizes that Planet X is no friendlier that Ghidirah himself. Now this film is fun! Godzilla - the best character of the best movies there ever will be, and then Rodan - my second favorite ally next to Angirius(sp?) battles, then teams up with him! Then we have Mothra, who i really could have done without, is thrown up with the two monsters. Then my 3rd favorite Godzilla foe of ALL TIME (Next to Gigan and Mecagodzilla) = King Ghidirah the Three HEaded Monster HIMSELF in ALL of his golden scaled glory! The film i think is well acted, and has good special effects for its time. I mean come on, some of the movies out today dont feature as cool looking villians as Ghidirah, let alone the Big G! I think that the inventor character is some what annoying, but OK. I reccomend this to anyone with a VCR/DVD player. I assume alll Godzilla fans have seen it, if you havent, you arent a fan and HAVE to pick this one up - for you sake!

This one is just plain fun
This is one of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time. Monster Zero (better known as King Ghidorah) is to my eyes the most impressive foe Godzilla ever fought. Maybe it's just me, but the special effects of Ghidorah are stellar, much better than those of Godzilla himself. The plot features about everything I want in a good old-fashioned monster movie: weird aliens, a foe with an evil laugh, wanton destruction, and some funny poses and gestures from Godzilla. Of course, the whole story about a planet being discovered just on the other side of Jupiter is sort of silly, but who really cares? This is Godzilla we are talking about. One thing I could not figure out was why the aliens went to the trouble of transporting Godzilla and Rodan to their planet, only to bring them right back to Earth; it seems like they could have taken control of the monsters right here, especially since they had already set up a secret base in Japan.

There are a few drawbacks to the film. A regular red-headed American is featured prominently in the story (as opposed to being pasted in after the fact a la Raymond Burr), and he does a very good job of showing why Americans just do not belong in Godzilla movies. He really got on my nerves, to tell the truth... All in all, this movie is great fun for all. As an added bonus, at least on my copy, there are trailers from about five other Godzilla movies at the end of the tape.

Simitar DVD
VIDEO QUALITY:
Once again a two sided disc from Simitar. Side 1 contains the full screen TV version of "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" and Side 2 contains the original 2.35:1 widescreen version. Sadly, Side 2 is not anamorphically enhanced. Side 1's image is as you would expect - rubbish. You loose over half the image, the print has bad colouration and print damage. It will still hold some nostalgia for those that grew up with is though. Side 2 looks reasonably good, with vivid colours and a generally sharp image. At times there can be quite a lot of grain on screen though, and during some of the effects sequences it looks like someone dropped the print, stepped on it a could of times, attempted to rub it clean with a dirty sweatshirt and rammed it back in the machine... I'll stop drinking so much coffee... As with all Simitar discs, there was also quite a lot of artifacting, most notably on Side 2 unfortunately. There was also the occasional rainbow effect, though it was very rare on this disc, and you wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it.

AUDIO QUALITY:
Side 1 comes packed with the original mono track, which sounds like it was kept in very good condition. There wasn't any trace of crackling, hissing, fuzzing or any other kind of wear. The only problem I could really notice was a little distortion when the sound became slightly loud, but then I doubt this mono track was exactly designed for home cinema systems with such huge subwoofers. Side 2 contains both the original mono track and an all new 5.1 track designed by Simitar. The mono track on this side is on par with Side 1, if not slightly better. The 5.1 track is pretty much the same as the mono, in fact I hardly noticed anything different about it at all. Some of the sound effects during the battles had a little more bass, and there were some new sound effects during the military battles that really sounded odd and didn't blend well with the film, though that's really the extent of this track's differences.

EXTRA FEATURES:
Again, it carries the same basic features as all Simitar discs: There are several Godzilla screen savers included for DVD-ROM users, which are only compatible with Windows® 95 machines. There are also some custom trailers Simitar designed for their Godzilla releases, which are made in a cheesy 1950's American monster movie style. There is a video art gallery, and for DVD-ROM users a printable art gallery, which is fairly interesting, as well as a short trivia game to rest your knowledge on the film.

OVERALL:
This is probably one of the better Simitar releases. Simitar claim to have remastered this from the original source (presumably they mean the American source), which doesn't give you much comfort that we'll ever see anything better than this. Despite that, you're getting the film in widescreen with a reasonably good image and some very nice audio - add to that some quirky trivia games and some orchestrated image galleries you've got a reasonably good disc.

Camp you wouldn't believe!
OK, we got a newly discovered planet X that tricks the Earth into giving up Godzilla(?). The aliens are left over rejects from Flash Gorden forty years before. The people in these monster costumes certainly earned their money on this one. Kudos to the man who actually made Godzill do his Russian style celebration dance. I know there are a whole lotta Godzilla fans out there. But when it comes down to it, this is one of the hokiest movies ever dreamed up. Rock on Godzilla.

Planet X
Not a bad godzilla film I mean we get to Godzilla,Rodan,and Gidorah on the same side!!!recking hell.Like usual the aliens plans on controlling Godzilla never works so he and rodan ends up turning against them and defeat King Gidorah and the Aliens.
But overal its a alright G flick in my book. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Disappointed, it is not a sequel but the same movie.
Godzilla Fans: My son and I have recently made it a father and son event to order and watch Godzilla classics and I sincerely regard all of the movies as classics. When we saw the title Godzilla vs. Mothra 2, we immediately ordered the movie, believing it to be of course, the sequel to Godzilla Vs. Mothra. My son was very disappointed when he watched the movie and recognized that the only difference with the two movies described is simply the title and cover box. Would you please make the necessary changes to this advertisement because it is deceitful and deceptive. Just to show you what kind of Godzilla Fans we are, and to demonstrate that we do not foster ill thoughts about this purchase we decided to give the second movie as a gift to one of our family members. However, please correct this advertisement at your earliest convenience...Luis...

A well rounded movie
This movie was quite entertaining. The special effects were good, considering it being 35 years old. The dying mothra was impressive and fought Godzilla til its death. I would have to rank this movie in the top 10 of all of the Godzilla movies made. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Godzilla becomes James Bond
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.

One of Godzilla's more forgettable movies
This really isn't a very good movie, featuring a lame plot and perhaps the worst Godzilla fight scenes of the series. Some bad guys (we never learn who they are) are secretly building atomic weapons on an island in the South Pacific. This island is protected by a "sea monster" (basically a gigantic, goofy-looking lobster), but the bad guys have a secret liquid which repels the monster. Inhabitants of nearby islands, including Infant Island (home of Mothra), have been captured and enslaved in order to keep making this juice. A young man and two friends hijack a boat (along with a bank robber) to search for the lad's brother, whose ship was recently lost in the area. Their ship is destroyed by the sea monster, and they wash up on the island of the bad guys. It turns out that Godzilla is hunkered down inside a mountain on the island (don't ask me how he got there), and the protagonists eventually succeed in waking him up. He goes a couple of rounds with the sea monster and a giant bird (not Rodan) who comes out of nowhere, finds time to stomp around the secret military installation a little, and takes on the obligatory jets who try to take him out.

The two fights between Godzilla and the sea monster are quite unsatisfying. In the first one, they play volleyball with a boulder for a while, which looks as silly as it sounds. The fact that much of the fight takes place in and under water only adds to the distinct blandness of the struggle. To my eyes, Godzilla acted like he was half-drunk the whole time. The funniest part of the whole thing is when Godzilla decides to sit down and watch a native girl for a while--the MST3K guys are exactly right when they say he looks like he is sitting on a toilet.

In summation, the plot is banal, the fighting scenes are boring, and the sea monster is one of Godzilla's least formidable opponents. Any Godzilla fan can sit through this flick and get a morsel or two of enjoyment out of it, but it's not a movie you are going to want to watch very often. If you just want to see a good monster movie, you would do well to skip right past this one.

Here on Godzilla's Isle!
One of the better Godzilla films, centering more on the humans in the story than on the monsters, which seems to really bug some fans. Very different from the epic story and larger than life feel of the previous MONSTER ZERO, this is a simple story of castaways dealing with evil soldiers who are building nuclear weapons secretly on a south seas island. The shipwrecked teens discover Godzilla sleeping in a cave, and decide to wake him as a distraction and to get rid of Ebirah, the giant lobster guarding the island. The only thing that bothers me about this movie is the presence of Mothra, she just dosent seem to belong in this story. Otherwise, a fun Godzilla adventure. Many scenes from this one appear in the later GODZILLAS REVENGE.

A Hidden GEM
Godzilla - Ebirah - Mothra: Battle in the South Seas (aka "Godzila vs. the Sea Monster") is an underrated little film. It's one of the few Godzilla movies to focus more on the human element than the monster boppin' action. I found the idea of the man's search for his brother on an island inhabited by rogue terrorists (the Red Bamboo; never referred to by name in the English dub for some reason) quite interesting, and Godzilla is treated with a fair amount of dignity. The Red Bamboo jet squadron attack on Godzilla is pretty novel, too. Not for everyone, but if you can look past the relative lack of imposing monster battles and appreciate it's human touch, it's one of the better Godzilla films to come out of the decade.

Ebirah, is the new Prince of the Irish
Well, the mighty Gojira goes good and saves the world from the Red Bamboo and a giant shrimp named Ebirah.......sounds cool. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Who says filmmaking isn't dangerous? Writer-director Juzo Itami (Tampopo) found out the hard way. After the premiere of his 1992 film, Minbo, he was attacked and seriously injured by a knife-wielding yakuza (Japanese mobster).

Given the subject matter of Minbo, it's not surprising. This overly long film (123 minutes) paints an unflattering picture of the intimidation techniques of the Japanese mafia. They bully their way along a thin line that divides civil from criminal offense so they cannot be easily arrested, prosecuted, and jailed. One can only assume that Itami must have gotten pretty close to the truth or he wouldn't have been attacked.

Nobuko Miyamato (Itami's wife) plays minbo specialist Mahiru Inoue, a woman with a very personal reason for hating the yakuza. Tough on the outside but compassionate on the inside, she is employed to help the staff of the Hotel Europa rid themselves of a yakuza infestation so that they can host more respectable guests. It's an uphill battle for the large cast, and the story suffers along the way from Itami's characteristic meandering.

Instead of trying to cover the shortest distance between two points, Itami bounces after too many characters and weakens the impact of the story as a whole. Nobuko Miyamoto's performance is really terrific and she makes up for a lot, but it's too bad there's not more of her and a lot less of Yakuza 101. --Luanne Brown ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A dangerous comedy
Itami touched some serious nerves in Japan, when he filmed "Minbo: The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion" (Japanese title "Minbo Onna" - "Extortion Woman.") His choice to show the Yakuza as intimidating jerks, rather than the usual portrayal of the stylish, Robin Hood-like last remnants of the Samurai tradition, earned him a famously slashed face and possibly a murder. I admit that its history was the reason I sought the movie out.

In addition to its political bent and rather movie-like repercussions, however, "Minbo" remains an excellent film, showcasing Itami's biting wit and stinging satire of modern Japanese society. The same sharp eye he brought to Japanese family life in "The Funeral" is used to mercilessly let the air out of the yakuza's puffed shirts and throw back the curtain of the Great and Powerful Oz, revealing the scared little men for all to see.

Itami's skillful blend of comedy and drama is on strong display, and characters wax and wane between pathetic, noble, scared and ridiculous. His wife, Nobuko Miyamato is at her most beautiful and powerful in this film. Playing a lawyer who will not bow to the yakuza tactics, she is a lady full in command, it is hard to believe that this is the same scared woman behind the counter in "Tampopo."

Anyone who lives in Japan is familiar with the black trucks and their annoying, relentless loudspeakers, can appreciate the frustration felt by the characters in "Minbo." I for one am glad Itami made this film.

Great movie
What a great movie! I only wish I understood Japanese. I've heard the director was actually stabbed by a Yakuza wanna be who supposedly was taken care of by the real Yakuza.

Great Movie
One of the best movies out there.

How to fight the yakuza and win
OK, here's the film that so burned the yakuza like the hottest piece of tempura that they slashed director Juzo Itami's face. It's also been suggested that Itami didn't commit suicide in 1998 but was actually murdered by the yakuza. With this film, I'm not surprised if they did.

For those unfamiliar with the title term, Minbo is a Japanese acronym for MINji Kainyu BOryoku, or "criminal acts disguised as civil actions." It is a form of extortion that doesn't break criminal laws, and it gives the yakuza a strangehold over institutions too scared and unable to fight them. And the police cannot interfere in civil cases, so that gives the yakuza another advantage. Suzuki, accountant of the Hotel Europa explains that payments to the yakuza are listed as "unaccountables" and not expenses, because the yakuza don't give receipts. He thinks that people should refuse to pay, because paying them "makes the yakuza cockier. The staff pay them off because it's not their money."

Hotel Europa wants to fight them, because the yakuza have descnded upon their hotel like a swarm of locusts, blowing the hotel's chance of hosting the upcoming international summit. The reception manager tells the staff, "We want people of the highest calibre. They must be courageous, skilled negotiators, familiar with the law, quick-minded, tenacious, and decisive. I doubt we employ anyone like that [here]."

Management appoints the aforementioned Suzuki as Chief of Security against the Yakuza, making him a Special Aide To The Manager. However, the milquetoast Suzuki, assisted by go-getter bellboy Wakasugi (also promoted) is given firsthand education against the rough yakuza, who artfully yell at him till he ends up hiding under a table. He learns the hard way that the customers are too scared and keep to themselves rather than incur the yakuza's wrath.

Enter Mahiru Inoue, an attorney who is hired as a specialist and she turns things around as she trains Suzuki and Wakasugi. Don't be scared of the yakuza, don't call the manager, and never fight the yakuza on their home turf are a few lessons she teaches them. Her establishment of a VIP room to deal with the yakuza is a masterful step. Although a consultant, she's more of a nice big sister to her trainees, with a killer smile but with more than enough guts to hang on a barbwire fence.

The yakuza are indeed formidable villains. A boss named Ibagi sets up the hotel restaurant by pulling a variation on the Julie Andrews restaurant trick in Victor/Victoria: "I'm not an expert in Italian cuisine...is this a typical ingredient?" And when they appear to be conciliatory, they are actually setting up the next stage of their plan. A letter of apology written by Suzuki is delivered to the health department as "proof" of the restaurant incident. The thuggish underlings do shouting so intimidating even Sam Kinison would've soiled his pants. Meantime, the boss calms them down and offers the solution, i.e. payment amount. If the victim agrees, they go away happy, but if not, the boss becomes just as belligerent. But the one thing to remember is that the yakuzi act thuggish to the weak, but yield to the strong. And if one is strong, then they'll give.

What also made the yakuza attack Itami was the way they were cariacatured. Despite their tactics, he portrays them as oafs and overacting buffoons. Ridicule them and they seem like a joke.

Nobuko Miyamoto was Itami's wife and starred in all his films. Since his death, she appears to be inactive. Here, she gives the role of a lifetime as Mahiru Inoue. And Takehiro Murata (Wakasugi) would later play Shinoda in Godzilla 2000.

Minbo also gives the viewer a look at the teamwork concept that made Japan so successful. This outstanding film is also about confronting one's fears, finding out about and skillfully negotiating with one's enemies, but also, knowing oneself.

Darkly quirky Japanese comedy
What a great film. Writer/director Juzo Itami takes on the Yakuza, who extort money through both physical intimidation and the threat of public humiliation. Itami himself was stabbed by a member of the uyoku, the Japanese right wing, which is affiliated with the Yakuza, shortly after this film was released. He must have touched a nerve.

In this film, a posh hotel has been targeted by the gangsters. No longer able to support the outflow of cash paid to prevent the criminals from embarrassing the establishment, the management decides to take action. They are completely unprepared for the task. Finally, they turn to a plucky attorney played by the charming Nobuko Miyamoto, who teaches them how to use the law to their advantage. The real delight of this film is watching the various frightened hotelmen transform into an effective anti-extortion force. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

One of the best Godzilla's....
As an obsessed Godzilla fan, this film (along with Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla & Godzilla vs Gigan) is my favorite of the series, including the heisi(sp?) series. Do not get me wrong, all the godzilla films are my favorite 23 films ever (Yeah, even Godzillas revenge) but this one might just be my favorite. So we have 2 astronauts (One american one, by the way) launched into space and stumble upon a 'hidden' planet the inhabitants call Planet X. Theese aliens have really cool costumes and the dubbing is not really that bad, although the controllers silly hand motions are sort of laughable, and they do seem to be a bit threatining. Now theese aliens happen to be every so often raided by the huge monster Monster Zero (everything is numbered on this planet, but Monster Zero is known as King Ghidra as mentioned by Glenn on Earth). The aliens want to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to defeat Ghidra. Earth and X at first are peaceful, but then Earth really realizes that Planet X is no friendlier that Ghidirah himself. Now this film is fun! Godzilla - the best character of the best movies there ever will be, and then Rodan - my second favorite ally next to Angirius(sp?) battles, then teams up with him! Then we have Mothra, who i really could have done without, is thrown up with the two monsters. Then my 3rd favorite Godzilla foe of ALL TIME (Next to Gigan and Mecagodzilla) = King Ghidirah the Three HEaded Monster HIMSELF in ALL of his golden scaled glory! The film i think is well acted, and has good special effects for its time. I mean come on, some of the movies out today dont feature as cool looking villians as Ghidirah, let alone the Big G! I think that the inventor character is some what annoying, but OK. I reccomend this to anyone with a VCR/DVD player. I assume alll Godzilla fans have seen it, if you havent, you arent a fan and HAVE to pick this one up - for you sake!

This one is just plain fun
This is one of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time. Monster Zero (better known as King Ghidorah) is to my eyes the most impressive foe Godzilla ever fought. Maybe it's just me, but the special effects of Ghidorah are stellar, much better than those of Godzilla himself. The plot features about everything I want in a good old-fashioned monster movie: weird aliens, a foe with an evil laugh, wanton destruction, and some funny poses and gestures from Godzilla. Of course, the whole story about a planet being discovered just on the other side of Jupiter is sort of silly, but who really cares? This is Godzilla we are talking about. One thing I could not figure out was why the aliens went to the trouble of transporting Godzilla and Rodan to their planet, only to bring them right back to Earth; it seems like they could have taken control of the monsters right here, especially since they had already set up a secret base in Japan.

There are a few drawbacks to the film. A regular red-headed American is featured prominently in the story (as opposed to being pasted in after the fact a la Raymond Burr), and he does a very good job of showing why Americans just do not belong in Godzilla movies. He really got on my nerves, to tell the truth... All in all, this movie is great fun for all. As an added bonus, at least on my copy, there are trailers from about five other Godzilla movies at the end of the tape.

Simitar DVD
VIDEO QUALITY:
Once again a two sided disc from Simitar. Side 1 contains the full screen TV version of "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" and Side 2 contains the original 2.35:1 widescreen version. Sadly, Side 2 is not anamorphically enhanced. Side 1's image is as you would expect - rubbish. You loose over half the image, the print has bad colouration and print damage. It will still hold some nostalgia for those that grew up with is though. Side 2 looks reasonably good, with vivid colours and a generally sharp image. At times there can be quite a lot of grain on screen though, and during some of the effects sequences it looks like someone dropped the print, stepped on it a could of times, attempted to rub it clean with a dirty sweatshirt and rammed it back in the machine... I'll stop drinking so much coffee... As with all Simitar discs, there was also quite a lot of artifacting, most notably on Side 2 unfortunately. There was also the occasional rainbow effect, though it was very rare on this disc, and you wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it.

AUDIO QUALITY:
Side 1 comes packed with the original mono track, which sounds like it was kept in very good condition. There wasn't any trace of crackling, hissing, fuzzing or any other kind of wear. The only problem I could really notice was a little distortion when the sound became slightly loud, but then I doubt this mono track was exactly designed for home cinema systems with such huge subwoofers. Side 2 contains both the original mono track and an all new 5.1 track designed by Simitar. The mono track on this side is on par with Side 1, if not slightly better. The 5.1 track is pretty much the same as the mono, in fact I hardly noticed anything different about it at all. Some of the sound effects during the battles had a little more bass, and there were some new sound effects during the military battles that really sounded odd and didn't blend well with the film, though that's really the extent of this track's differences.

EXTRA FEATURES:
Again, it carries the same basic features as all Simitar discs: There are several Godzilla screen savers included for DVD-ROM users, which are only compatible with Windows® 95 machines. There are also some custom trailers Simitar designed for their Godzilla releases, which are made in a cheesy 1950's American monster movie style. There is a video art gallery, and for DVD-ROM users a printable art gallery, which is fairly interesting, as well as a short trivia game to rest your knowledge on the film.

OVERALL:
This is probably one of the better Simitar releases. Simitar claim to have remastered this from the original source (presumably they mean the American source), which doesn't give you much comfort that we'll ever see anything better than this. Despite that, you're getting the film in widescreen with a reasonably good image and some very nice audio - add to that some quirky trivia games and some orchestrated image galleries you've got a reasonably good disc.

Camp you wouldn't believe!
OK, we got a newly discovered planet X that tricks the Earth into giving up Godzilla(?). The aliens are left over rejects from Flash Gorden forty years before. The people in these monster costumes certainly earned their money on this one. Kudos to the man who actually made Godzill do his Russian style celebration dance. I know there are a whole lotta Godzilla fans out there. But when it comes down to it, this is one of the hokiest movies ever dreamed up. Rock on Godzilla.

Planet X
Not a bad godzilla film I mean we get to Godzilla,Rodan,and Gidorah on the same side!!!recking hell.Like usual the aliens plans on controlling Godzilla never works so he and rodan ends up turning against them and defeat King Gidorah and the Aliens.
But overal its a alright G flick in my book. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

One of the best Godzilla's....
As an obsessed Godzilla fan, this film (along with Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla & Godzilla vs Gigan) is my favorite of the series, including the heisi(sp?) series. Do not get me wrong, all the godzilla films are my favorite 23 films ever (Yeah, even Godzillas revenge) but this one might just be my favorite. So we have 2 astronauts (One american one, by the way) launched into space and stumble upon a 'hidden' planet the inhabitants call Planet X. Theese aliens have really cool costumes and the dubbing is not really that bad, although the controllers silly hand motions are sort of laughable, and they do seem to be a bit threatining. Now theese aliens happen to be every so often raided by the huge monster Monster Zero (everything is numbered on this planet, but Monster Zero is known as King Ghidra as mentioned by Glenn on Earth). The aliens want to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to defeat Ghidra. Earth and X at first are peaceful, but then Earth really realizes that Planet X is no friendlier that Ghidirah himself. Now this film is fun! Godzilla - the best character of the best movies there ever will be, and then Rodan - my second favorite ally next to Angirius(sp?) battles, then teams up with him! Then we have Mothra, who i really could have done without, is thrown up with the two monsters. Then my 3rd favorite Godzilla foe of ALL TIME (Next to Gigan and Mecagodzilla) = King Ghidirah the Three HEaded Monster HIMSELF in ALL of his golden scaled glory! The film i think is well acted, and has good special effects for its time. I mean come on, some of the movies out today dont feature as cool looking villians as Ghidirah, let alone the Big G! I think that the inventor character is some what annoying, but OK. I reccomend this to anyone with a VCR/DVD player. I assume alll Godzilla fans have seen it, if you havent, you arent a fan and HAVE to pick this one up - for you sake!

This one is just plain fun
This is one of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time. Monster Zero (better known as King Ghidorah) is to my eyes the most impressive foe Godzilla ever fought. Maybe it's just me, but the special effects of Ghidorah are stellar, much better than those of Godzilla himself. The plot features about everything I want in a good old-fashioned monster movie: weird aliens, a foe with an evil laugh, wanton destruction, and some funny poses and gestures from Godzilla. Of course, the whole story about a planet being discovered just on the other side of Jupiter is sort of silly, but who really cares? This is Godzilla we are talking about. One thing I could not figure out was why the aliens went to the trouble of transporting Godzilla and Rodan to their planet, only to bring them right back to Earth; it seems like they could have taken control of the monsters right here, especially since they had already set up a secret base in Japan.

There are a few drawbacks to the film. A regular red-headed American is featured prominently in the story (as opposed to being pasted in after the fact a la Raymond Burr), and he does a very good job of showing why Americans just do not belong in Godzilla movies. He really got on my nerves, to tell the truth... All in all, this movie is great fun for all. As an added bonus, at least on my copy, there are trailers from about five other Godzilla movies at the end of the tape.

Simitar DVD
VIDEO QUALITY:
Once again a two sided disc from Simitar. Side 1 contains the full screen TV version of "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" and Side 2 contains the original 2.35:1 widescreen version. Sadly, Side 2 is not anamorphically enhanced. Side 1's image is as you would expect - rubbish. You loose over half the image, the print has bad colouration and print damage. It will still hold some nostalgia for those that grew up with is though. Side 2 looks reasonably good, with vivid colours and a generally sharp image. At times there can be quite a lot of grain on screen though, and during some of the effects sequences it looks like someone dropped the print, stepped on it a could of times, attempted to rub it clean with a dirty sweatshirt and rammed it back in the machine... I'll stop drinking so much coffee... As with all Simitar discs, there was also quite a lot of artifacting, most notably on Side 2 unfortunately. There was also the occasional rainbow effect, though it was very rare on this disc, and you wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it.

AUDIO QUALITY:
Side 1 comes packed with the original mono track, which sounds like it was kept in very good condition. There wasn't any trace of crackling, hissing, fuzzing or any other kind of wear. The only problem I could really notice was a little distortion when the sound became slightly loud, but then I doubt this mono track was exactly designed for home cinema systems with such huge subwoofers. Side 2 contains both the original mono track and an all new 5.1 track designed by Simitar. The mono track on this side is on par with Side 1, if not slightly better. The 5.1 track is pretty much the same as the mono, in fact I hardly noticed anything different about it at all. Some of the sound effects during the battles had a little more bass, and there were some new sound effects during the military battles that really sounded odd and didn't blend well with the film, though that's really the extent of this track's differences.

EXTRA FEATURES:
Again, it carries the same basic features as all Simitar discs: There are several Godzilla screen savers included for DVD-ROM users, which are only compatible with Windows® 95 machines. There are also some custom trailers Simitar designed for their Godzilla releases, which are made in a cheesy 1950's American monster movie style. There is a video art gallery, and for DVD-ROM users a printable art gallery, which is fairly interesting, as well as a short trivia game to rest your knowledge on the film.

OVERALL:
This is probably one of the better Simitar releases. Simitar claim to have remastered this from the original source (presumably they mean the American source), which doesn't give you much comfort that we'll ever see anything better than this. Despite that, you're getting the film in widescreen with a reasonably good image and some very nice audio - add to that some quirky trivia games and some orchestrated image galleries you've got a reasonably good disc.

Camp you wouldn't believe!
OK, we got a newly discovered planet X that tricks the Earth into giving up Godzilla(?). The aliens are left over rejects from Flash Gorden forty years before. The people in these monster costumes certainly earned their money on this one. Kudos to the man who actually made Godzill do his Russian style celebration dance. I know there are a whole lotta Godzilla fans out there. But when it comes down to it, this is one of the hokiest movies ever dreamed up. Rock on Godzilla.

Planet X
Not a bad godzilla film I mean we get to Godzilla,Rodan,and Gidorah on the same side!!!recking hell.Like usual the aliens plans on controlling Godzilla never works so he and rodan ends up turning against them and defeat King Gidorah and the Aliens.
But overal its a alright G flick in my book. ... Read more

Reviews (85)

The Monster Flic of All Time
There is none better. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is for the spliced-in Raymond Burr scenes to "Americanize" the story. I have a VHS copy of the original JAPANESE ONLY release, not shown in the U.S. That versin is longer, the scenes are in different order and the story takes on a whole new look, focusing more on the characters. Oh for a DVD of that version!

That aside, this is the film by which I judge all 'creature features'. You forget the monster is a man in a rubber suit, stomping around a miniature set. The black & white photography, the attention to lighting details make this a winner all around.
I feel guilty for being sad at the end as Godzilla dies, but that's just how the story pulls you in. The 1995 movie of the same name was an insult to this near-masterpiece.

Godzilla Lives!
----As a note the American version of the DVD was edited a lot, and raymond burr was added in, the uncut version (Which I hear will be out on DVD some time soon) was a lot more dramatic, or at least for a country that at the time was still living in a post nuclear bombing phase. ----
Wow it sure is amazing. When I was kid back in 94 and beyond we would be watching dubbed tapes of Godzilla VS the Sea monster and other things, and let me tell you, those were great times. BUT I never got the cahcne to watch to classic motion picture "Godzilla: King of the monsters" till recently.

Now at the time this film came out, it was amazing, because at the time there were no computers, or anything to really do any amazing special effects, with that said and done everything actually looks pretty good, even though you can tell what millitary veichles and cars were models, everything is actually kind of conving. And for Japan this was kind of a hard movie to swallow, in the origanal version there were scenes when a mother held her child and said "Its okay, we will be with daddy soon." before Godzilla crushed them. Many scenes like that were edited or removed, and if you notice there is a scene on a train where people are laughing, but what they cut out was when a woman said "I survived the (I forgot what the city was called) bombing." and some guy laughed and said "Then you wont surive this." momets before Godzilla picked up the train and ate it (which is one of the MOST popular Godzilla images, Godzilla with that train in his mouth) It was probably very hard for the Japanese people to stomach seeing a monster spawned out of nuclear testing destroying their city, so shortly after millions died from atomic bombings.

One beef I have, is that sense the film was in black and white it was some times hard to see Godzilla during the night shots (That or my TV had low contrast or something). And the whole Raymond Burr thing.

But let me tell you, With the deep soundtrack (You can hear the original versions of many rememberal Godzilla songs here) and other things you seem to have a real sense of terror when Godzilla destroys the cities.

Overall I would suguest this film highly, even though it is in fact edited (Almost 30 minutes were removed, and 20 minutes added with Raymond burr) from the Japanese version, it is still a good watch, and afterthe uncut editon comes out, it will be interesting to have the "Old American" version. (I think they were going to put that on dvd, wernt they?)

It's been 50 Years - Retire the Round-Eye Version!
I won't claim this is a movie review - everything said previously about the glorious original Japanese version (which I have as a VHS dub from laser disc) is true.
For the 50th anniversary of "Gojira," and with the original film making the rounds of specialty theaters in a new 35mm print described as "beautiful," it's time to retire the "Steve Martin" farce of the Raymond Burr version once and for all. Then maybe we can concentrate on the REPEAT Steve Martin farce from "Gojira 1985," a film which I must say is every bit forgettable except as it elements from it have recurred at Toho Studio's occasional whim.

This is the WRONG Godzilla
I recently saw the ORIGINAL Godzilla released in 1954, which was directed by I. Honda. The AMERICAN version has"cut out" critical footage to make the film "lacking in writing and direction" by Terry Morse. This version is a rock solid lack of truth, because of the failure of Hollywood to "leave it alone".
All reading this review should see the original and not purchase the 1956 version which has been "cut to ribbons"
The film because of Hollywood is a disaster, and should be avoided at all costs

Godzilla or the U.S.
Obviously the U.S. appears to be a gigantic radioactive monster in this movie. It was what they potray the U.S. to be at that time, and I would have to agree with that.

Gojira rocks! ... Read more

Reviews (85)

The Monster Flic of All Time
There is none better. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is for the spliced-in Raymond Burr scenes to "Americanize" the story. I have a VHS copy of the original JAPANESE ONLY release, not shown in the U.S. That versin is longer, the scenes are in different order and the story takes on a whole new look, focusing more on the characters. Oh for a DVD of that version!

That aside, this is the film by which I judge all 'creature features'. You forget the monster is a man in a rubber suit, stomping around a miniature set. The black & white photography, the attention to lighting details make this a winner all around.
I feel guilty for being sad at the end as Godzilla dies, but that's just how the story pulls you in. The 1995 movie of the same name was an insult to this near-masterpiece.

Godzilla Lives!
----As a note the American version of the DVD was edited a lot, and raymond burr was added in, the uncut version (Which I hear will be out on DVD some time soon) was a lot more dramatic, or at least for a country that at the time was still living in a post nuclear bombing phase. ----
Wow it sure is amazing. When I was kid back in 94 and beyond we would be watching dubbed tapes of Godzilla VS the Sea monster and other things, and let me tell you, those were great times. BUT I never got the cahcne to watch to classic motion picture "Godzilla: King of the monsters" till recently.

Now at the time this film came out, it was amazing, because at the time there were no computers, or anything to really do any amazing special effects, with that said and done everything actually looks pretty good, even though you can tell what millitary veichles and cars were models, everything is actually kind of conving. And for Japan this was kind of a hard movie to swallow, in the origanal version there were scenes when a mother held her child and said "Its okay, we will be with daddy soon." before Godzilla crushed them. Many scenes like that were edited or removed, and if you notice there is a scene on a train where people are laughing, but what they cut out was when a woman said "I survived the (I forgot what the city was called) bombing." and some guy laughed and said "Then you wont surive this." momets before Godzilla picked up the train and ate it (which is one of the MOST popular Godzilla images, Godzilla with that train in his mouth) It was probably very hard for the Japanese people to stomach seeing a monster spawned out of nuclear testing destroying their city, so shortly after millions died from atomic bombings.

One beef I have, is that sense the film was in black and white it was some times hard to see Godzilla during the night shots (That or my TV had low contrast or something). And the whole Raymond Burr thing.

But let me tell you, With the deep soundtrack (You can hear the original versions of many rememberal Godzilla songs here) and other things you seem to have a real sense of terror when Godzilla destroys the cities.

Overall I would suguest this film highly, even though it is in fact edited (Almost 30 minutes were removed, and 20 minutes added with Raymond burr) from the Japanese version, it is still a good watch, and afterthe uncut editon comes out, it will be interesting to have the "Old American" version. (I think they were going to put that on dvd, wernt they?)

It's been 50 Years - Retire the Round-Eye Version!
I won't claim this is a movie review - everything said previously about the glorious original Japanese version (which I have as a VHS dub from laser disc) is true.
For the 50th anniversary of "Gojira," and with the original film making the rounds of specialty theaters in a new 35mm print described as "beautiful," it's time to retire the "Steve Martin" farce of the Raymond Burr version once and for all. Then maybe we can concentrate on the REPEAT Steve Martin farce from "Gojira 1985," a film which I must say is every bit forgettable except as it elements from it have recurred at Toho Studio's occasional whim.

This is the WRONG Godzilla
I recently saw the ORIGINAL Godzilla released in 1954, which was directed by I. Honda. The AMERICAN version has"cut out" critical footage to make the film "lacking in writing and direction" by Terry Morse. This version is a rock solid lack of truth, because of the failure of Hollywood to "leave it alone".
All reading this review should see the original and not purchase the 1956 version which has been "cut to ribbons"
The film because of Hollywood is a disaster, and should be avoided at all costs

Godzilla or the U.S.
Obviously the U.S. appears to be a gigantic radioactive monster in this movie. It was what they potray the U.S. to be at that time, and I would have to agree with that.

Gojira rocks! ... Read more