DVD REVIEWS: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN and MOTHRA VS GODZILLA

Classic Media Continues to Score with the Release of a Previously Lost Godzilla Film and One of the Greatest Godzilla Sequels Author: John “Dutch” DeSentis Source: Classic Media, Inc. Official site: Godzilla on DVD Special Thanks to Bob Johnson and Keith Aiken Before last September, Classic Media was a company whose efforts at releasing Godzilla films on DVD had fallen far short of expectations. All that changed, however, when the company took to heart what the fans wanted and released the superior GOJIRA/GODZILLA TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION DVD. Now, in 2007, the company continues its incredible line of Godzilla DVDs which put everything behind them to shame.

GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN

The first of the new wave of DVDs is GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (Gojira no Gyakushu, 1955). Produced and released no less than six months after the original movie, this movie picks up with a new Godzilla and another monster called Angilas engaged in deadly combat which rages from Iwato Island to Osaka, Japan. The movie was hurried into production after the smash success of the first film and as such looks rushed. The sequel, with a new director (Motoyoshi Oda) and composer (the up and coming Masaru Sato), takes on a noticeably different tone than the 1954 hit. The large scale, wartime documentary-type feel has been replaced with a more personal story that centers around three of the most ordinary of people placed in the center of another kaiju attack. Despite the film’s shortcomings, it is nonetheless an enjoyable and underrated entry in the franchise. It is common knowledge that GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN was given extreme ill treatment at the hands of its American distributors. Released in 1959 as GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER, this film holds the distinction of being the only movie in the Godzilla series where the titan was robbed of his name (and at some points in the movie, his roar!). The movie didn’t fare particularly well at the box office and faded into obscurity for many years until it resurfaced on VHS and on TV in the late 1980s. Although the video box art and TV listings had it as GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN, the print still had the GIGANTIS title card until Toho changed it in the mid-1990s. With the VHS version long out of print, however, the film was seemingly lost again. That is until now. So how does this new DVD fare with the GOJIRA disc? THE PACKAGING The main difference in the packaging is that the book-style casing is much slimmer than the GOJIRA/GODZILLA TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION. The casing doesn’t snap shut but is instead held in place by the bellyband which comes with it. The bellyband itself is just like the one from the first disc with a display of the DVD contents. On the front cover under the title is a great original release poster. Opening up the DVD package reveals a great picture of the Angilas suit above a tiny special thanks paragraph. Again, as with the first movie, the key word here is class. The packaging is classy and represents an attempt to present the movie with dignity. PICTURE QUALITY After my review of the GOJIRA/GODZILLA TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION, it was brought to my attention by Rob Storch that the picture in that DVD release was slightly cropped. It went right by me as it is not by much, but it is nonetheless tighter than normal. That problem seems to have been corrected on GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN.

Furthermore, the image is noticeably brighter than its Japanese counterpart (as was also the case with the first disc). This is to be applauded as now it is easy to see the monsters battling at night when it was difficult in the previous R2 Toho DVD. Also, as with the first disc, the brighter image brings out dust and scratches that are present on the print. Now to be certain, Classic Media never advertised a RESTORED version of any of the movies, simply re-mastered. The re-mastering is incredible in that regard as these two black and white movies have never looked sharper. There are many great details to be seen. So as far as delivering on what they promised, Classic Media did a fine job there. The American version actually fares quite well given its age. There is actually one thing that is a bit strange in the print. When Dr. Yamane is talking to the table of officials about the first Godzilla, there is a shot of one of the men looking at him. This shot, however, is actually a still shot! There is nothing moving in it. Perhaps this was done because that particular part in the print was damaged or perhaps it was always there (I cannot remember if it was as it has been quite a few years since I have seen it up until now). Other than that, the silly American version looks reasonably good.

SPECIAL FEATURES First up in the special features for this DVD is the wonderfully entertaining yet factual commentary by Steve Ryfle, author of Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: An Unauthorized Biography of “The Big G”. He is joined several times in his discussion by experts Stuart Galbraith IV and Ed Godziszewski. The commentary is over the American version only and pokes a fair amount of fun at it…rightfully so, given the poor treatment that the film was given in 1959. Of course, some might be inclined to get upset over what they might consider “disrespect” towards the film but let’s ask the real question here: Can anyone really take the American version seriously? Steve’s book was notable for its great sense of humor regarding the films and that carries over into this commentary. That is not to say that it is always poking fun at the film. There are plenty of facts and information about the people responsible for the making of the film and there is even a great snippet from Bob Burns in regards to the near filming of THE VOLCANO MONSTERS (the unmade project that was first considered with the movie). So for those of you who don’t take yourselves too seriously and can laugh at the hilarity that is GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER, the commentary will hit the spot. There is a cool featurette that was created by the team of Ed Godziszewski and Bill Gudmundson called THE ART OF SUIT ACTING. This is a nice look at a job that some have scoffed at and talks about the rigors that the actors must face. Indeed, getting into these heavy suits is more than just a matter of walking around with ones arms in the air (although the jury is still out on comparisons to pushing a wheel barrow). Also included in the special features is a slideshow of original movie posters. The DVD menu is in the same style as the ’54 disc as well with various stills and posters adorning it. The only minor complaint one could realistically find with either of the prints is that the American version does not include the original GIGANTIS title card. For historical purposes, it would have been great to have it but it was Toho’s wishes to keep the fixed card in. All in all, you simply cannot beat this disc. It is great to finally have this “lost” film preserved on this format and with both versions to boot. Classic Media should really be applauded for continuing the great work they have done here and for giving the fans what they wanted when other companies chose to go the “bare bones” route. Technical Information UPC Code: 28768-5680-9 Retail Price: $19.98 Discs: 1 Region Code: 1 (North America) Color System: NTSC DVD Format: Single Sided & Dual Layered Video Ratio: 1.33:1 Main Feature Runtime: 81:34 mins (Japanese version), 79:00 mins (US version) Main Feature Chapter Stops: 12 Main Feature Audio Tracks: Japanese and English Main Feature Subtitles: English _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA

Along with GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN, the second wave of Classic Media DVDs includes what is regarded by many as the best of all the Godzilla sequels, MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA (Mosura tai Gojira, aka GODZILLA VS. THE THING, 1964). It is not without merit that it gets that title either. The movie was the last great mean streak of Godzilla before he turned into a camp hero, and was the last movie devoid of the monster humor which would come to plague the series later on. It was also, with the lone exception of the original, arguably the peak performance of each of the founding Godzilla fathers. Armed with a wonderful story that deals with the current social issues of the time, awesome direction and performances, incredible special effects, a great Godzilla suit, and a thunderous musical score, this movie excels on so many levels. Released in the United States under the peculiar title GODZILLA VS. THE THING (sorry, no James Arness here), the American version of the movie is highlighted by one of the best dubs ever given to a Godzilla movie. The dubbing was done by Titra Studios and even features Peter Fernandez who would go on to be the voice of the popular Speed Racer. Obviously noteworthy is the inclusion of footage in the American version that was not in the Japanese version. Unlike the previous three films, however, this footage was not the result of tampering at the hands of the distributers but a rather elaborate effects sequence involving an attack on Godzilla using a weapon called The Frontier Missile. THE PACKAGING The packaging here is identical to the packaging of the GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN disc except of course with information about the film. A great Japanese poster adorning the cover, a cool bellyband with a content rundown, some nice pics, all these keep with the classy feel that these DVDs seem to possess. Not to sound redundant, but that truly is the only word for these great looking packages, class. It feels great to be able to equate these releases with that word instead of cheese. PICTURE QUALITY Now here is an area where there will be much heated debate among fans. First off, we have the Japanese version which looks gorgeous. It is a true experience to see the Tohoscope logo with the incredible bombast of Ifukube which leads into the great opening sequence. The picture looks so clean and clear that one cannot help but take in all the great vibrant colors that are present in any given area in the movie. Toho kept this print pristine and there is no reason that it shouldn’t satisfy even the most discerning fans.

Now the American version…well as Del Preston said; “That’s another story altogether.” Without mincing words, the print used for the American version is pretty dirty at times. Now of course, it’s not bad like something you’d find on a public domain disc of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD or anything like that, but there are times when the print shows some noticable wear which rears it`s head during optical shots such as with the twin faries. What will upset fans is that a better print does exist in the proper aspect ratio (it was used by Simitar years ago for their release). There are two main reasons, however, for selecting the print used. The first is that the good print is actually missing several seconds of special effects footage. In addition, the contrast on the print makes it difficult to enjoy the animation on Godzilla’s dorsal fins as he uses his heat ray (not to mention having them glow the wrong color). For this reason, Classic Media and persons involved with the presentation of this movie decided to choose what they felt was the lesser of two evils; a grainy, dirty print vs. an incomplete print. Which one you prefer depends entirely on you, the viewer. My preference probably would have been the cleaner print because despite having a few seconds of effects footage missing, having the proper aspect ratio means seeing more of what was filmed. In essence, having a cropped frame cancels out having a few seconds of footage back in. So unfortunately, the American version leaves does leave something to be desired in regards to picture quality. SPECIAL FEATURES

There is, of course, a commentary track by Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle both of whom had done commentary tracks on the GOJIRA/GODZILLA TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION as well as GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. This track is over the American version. While factual, there are times when the two simply talk about how much they love the movie personally. While some may not like this, it doesn’t detract from the commentary as much as one would think. True at times Steve and Ed do sound like eager kids in a candy store relishing over all the goods that this movie has to offer, but honestly who wouldn’t if they got the opportunity to do a commentary on a movie that had such an impact on them as a child. I could just imagine how much fun I would have if I got to do something like that on a movie like WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS. Sometimes you just get caught up in the moment. The commentary is FAR from unprofessional, however. There are many great things to be pointed out in the movie and having two experts who endear the movie so much helps to make those things known. Overall, a solid job done on the commentary. What really shines on this DVD is the featurette on composer Akira Ifukube (once again by Ed Godziszewski and Bill Gudmundson). In addition to covering the life and significance of the composer, there is also a great text tribute by Toho producer Shogo Tomiyama that was written for SciFi Japan shortly after the maestro died in early 2006. This is a very nice touch. Ifukube has done so much to define what these creatures sound like and affect our perception of them so it is great to see him get his own featurette. Rounding out the DVD special features is a theatrical trailer and a poster slideshow. Aside from the aforementioned problems with the English print of the film, this DVD holds up incredibly to the high standard that was set by the first two releases. The astoundingly clean print used for the Japanese version alone makes up for any misgivings with the American print although it would have been nice to have that in good shape as well. It does hold some significance in being a benchmark for how to properly dub and handle a film for the American market. In either way, thank goodness that one of the very best Godzilla sequels is available to be seen in such a respectable manner. Technical Information UPC Code: 28768-5679-9 Retail Price: $19.98 Discs: 1 Region Code: 1 (North America) Color System: NTSC DVD Format: Single Sided & Dual Layered Video Ratio: 2.35:1 and 1.78:1 Main Feature Runtime: 88:36 mins (Japanese version), 88:07 mins (US version) Main Feature Chapter Stops: 12 Main Feature Audio Tracks: Japanese and English Main Feature Subtitles: English _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For more screen shots and information on these DVDs, please see the previous coverage here on SciFi Japan: