Gojira set to reach U.S. in September!

[Sefton]

It seems that my original thread post was lost so here is the gist of it:

This September the original first Godzilla movie,Gojira (1954) will receive it's first official U.S. release on DVD. This is the uncut Japanese language version with English subtitles. It will be part of a two disc set. The second disc is the Americanised version with the added footage of Raymond Burr. There may be extra features such as a commentary track and documentaries. The final details haven't been announced yet. The full press release can be found at:http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/03/10/classic-media-announces-new-godzilla-dvds/
Other classic Godzilla titles are set to be released this year. This looks like the begining of a beautiful friendship...with GODZILLA!

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Oh, cool! I have been wanting to see that film and want to own it.

Sefton, have you seen other Godzilla films -- how are they? (Note, I am excluding the American film in the late nineties in which they made our Green Guy look like an Iguana with a T-Rex head).

Have you read the book Godzilla on My Mind? I do recommend it.

Thanks for the info. I can hardly wait.

karol

 

[Sefton]

Oh, cool! I have been wanting to see that film and want to own it.

Sefton, have you seen other Godzilla films -- how are they? (Note, I am excluding the American film in the late nineties in which they made our Green Guy look like an Iguana with a T-Rex head).

Have you read the book Godzilla on My Mind? I do recommend it.

Thanks for the info. I can hardly wait.

karol

The waiting is the hardest part! September yet!
I've only caught a few minutes of "Gino" on TV (That's Godzilla In Name Only--the U.S. picture with Mathew Broderick. What I saw was pretty bad!) I've seen every one of big G's films. I've been fortunate to have been able to travel to Japan each year at the time when they always premier a new Godzilla film...I caught the last 5 in theaters there. I liked them all with the exception of Godzilla Final Wars. That one is the very worst. It looked like a video game...just awful. I think that the best of the recent ones is GMK: Godzilla Mothra King Gidora Giant Monsters All Out Attack (How's that for a title!)

When it comes down to it my all time favorites are: Gojira (1954), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964), King Kong vs.Godzilla (1962), Ghidora The Three Headed Monster (1964),Monster Zero (1965),Son of Godzilla (1967), and Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (1971)

I've seen the book you mention although I haven't got a copy yet. My problem is never,can I find something that I want to buy and read...it's always, can I possibly afford all of the books that I want!

 

[LaMedicine]

"Gojira" was filmed at a movie studio not far from the high school I attended (before my days, of course), and apparently, some of the outdoor shots were also taken close by. One of our teachers, who also is an alumni, told us that she remembers seeing an actor in the Gojira suit, with the head off, taking a breather between scenes!

One scene from the 1954 Gojira was actually shot in the auditorium of our school. It's the scene where school girls are singing a requeim like song, and I can tell these school girls are not actresses, but real students from our school, because, while most girls are in the old uniform, there are girls here and there in the new uniform, which is still worn to this day. (The school was going through a uniform change at that time.) Unfortunately, the said auditorium was demolished and replaced by a new one several years ago, and the admittance ceremony of my daughter who attended the same school was in the old auditorium, but her graduation ceremony was held in the new one. The old wooden building didn't meet present day fire and earthquake codes (we need good strong ones to withstand earthquakes as well as godzillas ) and it was too expensive to renovate than to rebuild.

It's kinda cool to know that the auditorium both my daughter and I were familiar with, and had received my high school diploma in, is seen all over the world, in a film that captures the imagination of so many.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Sefton-- Thanks for the recommendations. Of the Godzilla figures that I have (most of them Bandai), my favorite is Godzilla 2000. Was wondering how that film fared -- I never did see it advertised here in the US, at least not in San Diego.

I have only seen Godzilla, King Kong versus Godzilla, and one other when I was much younger in which Godzilla battled another monster, but don't recall the title. I wonder if there is a set of Godzilla films I can acquire, will have to check on ebay.


LaMedicine -- Thanks, that is a very interesting story about your old auditorium. Now I will recall your story when I see the original Godjira.

karol

 

[Sefton]

K.D., It seems as if many of the titles that I mentioned will be getting a much better release here this year. I forgot to mention that King Kong vs. Godzilla is the original Japanese version. The Americanised version really ruins the film. Much original footage is replaced with seemingly endless, and boring scenes of dull American actors talking and talking... Large sections of the wonderful score by Akira Ifukube have been replaced with stock themes from the Universal library. It's almost comical to hear the familiar strains of the theme from "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" as Godzilla appears! There are sellers on that well known online auction site that have DVDs of the uncut Japanese version with subtitles. Godzilla 2000 is a decent film. The U.S. DVD is not too bad although the dubbing leaves much to be desired.

LaMedicine,
Thanks for the great story. That scene with the school children singing is a great moment in the film. I would love to see the inside of Toho Studios! The closest that I came was having my picture taken outside of their business offices in Tokyo... I remember some employees in suits entering the building while I posed by the name plate...they were probably thinking "Another American Godzilla otaku..."

 

[Sefton]

Another link for the upcoming DVD: http://www.godzillaondvd.com/