Godzilla [Japanese]

Starring: Shimura, Takashi and Burr, Raymond

Product Description

A U.S. newsman in Tokyo recounts the story of a huge dinosaur roused from the sea by an atomic blast.

• Format: DVD
• Language: Japanese
• UPC: 715515089517
• Release Date: January 2012
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Criterion/ Distribution S
• Director: Honda, Inoshiro
• Starring: Shimura, Takashi, Burr, Raymond
• Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Number of Disks: 2
• Other Video Info: DVD
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

Commentaries are worth it alone.

Natural (yeah, really) disasters are overtaking the small island. The fishing is bad, and there are footprints all over the pristine beach. The natives know or pretend it is their old nemesis, Gojira. Only the island elder knows that you cannot stave off Gojira with a mock-ritual; you must toss in some native girl snacks if you do not want everyone eaten. Meanwhile, back in civilization, fishing boats are getting eradicated. Reminiscing about the real tragedy just a year before the film. Soon Tokyo will be minced by that indiscriminate beast that was conjured from the depths by “H” bomb testing. They gave the beastie ears so he could hear and destroy the famous clock tower. Can height, voltage, and strategically placed power lines stop him? Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) has a possible weapon against this creature that looks quite docile in its underwater habitat. However, if someone were to find the secret of his weapon, it could wipe out all life. He only told this secret to his betrothed Emiko (Momoko Kôchi). You guessed it, Emiko throws him over for a young naval officer and spills the beans. What consequences will result? The film, with a working title of “G,” which did not stand for Gojira, was not in the category of Hollywood “B” monster movies. This DVD set takes you from the beginning concepts of a story with a message and carries you through the conversion to an almost Hollywood “B” movie with the addition of a more popular actor and some fancy splicing. I must have watched the Raymond Burr version dozens of times. I listened to people who touted Gojira over Godzilla and fluffed them off as video s-n-o-b-s. Little did I know what I was missing. And until I listened to the commentary on Godzilla, I did not know what I was watching. It is like having someone say your laces are untied or your fly is open; speaking about open, this was a real eye-opener. In any event, we must remember the words of Kyohei Yamane-hakase, “I can't believe that Godzilla was the only surviving member of its species... But if we continue conducting nuclear tests... Another Godzilla might appear somewhere in the world again. “