godzilla

THE FLICK: From the first thundering echo of footsteps over a black screen, you just know Godzilla is different from other films in the atomic monster genre. There’s an ominous sense of doom, dread and tragic destiny at work that’s at odds with your expectations of a man in a rubber suit crushing scale-model buildings. And the long-awaited release of the original Japanese version of Gojira (sans Raymond Burr and the re-shot American footage) only serves to prove this point further. Director Ishiro Honda may have been working in a B-movie domain, but he was delivering an A-movie message. Rising from the depths in a boiling fury of atomic age retribution, Godzilla himself is a fairly clear-cut embodiment of Japanese fears of reckless nuclear testing in the aftermath of their own personal losses during WWII. And unlike later films in the series, Gojira is a serious, somber metaphor of the consequences mankind may endure if he doesn’t smarten up. This is no light-hearted monster mash. Classic Media’s 2-disc special edition not only includes the Region 1 premiere of the original Gojira, but also presents the better-known Americanized Godzilla, King of the Monsters, which restructures the story to incorporate Raymond Burr as a reporter covering the monster’s destruction. Cleverly inserting new scenes with body doubles and trick photography, the U.S. version softens the message in favor of action and suspense, which makes it a valuable companion piece in it’s own right. Indeed, the Godzilla “experts” on the DVD commentary even admit that this version is the one responsible for the big G’s worldwide success. However, it’s Gojira with its newsreel intensity that turns the monster’s attack into a natural disaster of epic proportions, complete with hallways full of radiation burn victims and bodies buried in rubble. The Godzilla series wouldn’t see such serious treatment again until 1998’s All Out Monster Attack. Running nearly 10-minutes longer than its American counterpart, Gojira represents the defining cinematic image of a culture coming to terms with a national tragedy. THE FEATURES: Elegantly packaged with a classy set of liner notes by Steve Ryfle, the two-disc set features expert commentary on both versions of the film (by Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski) as well as two featurettes: Story Development and Making the Godzilla Suit. What the features lack in flash, they make up for in sheer content. I consider myself a bonafide Godzilla expert and I still found myself saying, “Really?...I never knew that!” several times during the proceedings. From the details of the original source material to scrapped scenes and storyboards, these fellas have done their homework. And their facts are backed up by some priceless photos, sketches and publicity shots that had my inner child drooling. The first wave in a series of Godzilla films to be re-released by Classic Media (Godizlla vs. Mothra and Godzilla Raids Again are scheduled for November), this is the sort of treatment fans have been clamoring for since DVD began!