Takarada, Akira

Gojira / Godzilla Deluxe Collector's Edition (Gojira/Godzilla [1954] / Godzilla, King of the Monsters [1956])

The first of the Godzilla movies, and the most somber and serious in tone, Gojiro was originally a 98-minute Japanese horror film, until a U.S. company bought the rights and reissued the film at 79 minutes, replacing sequences involving a Japanese reporter with new inserts of a dour, pipe-smoking Raymond Burr. Both versions appear together for the first time in this release from Sony Wonder.

Stills from Gojiro (click for larger image)

This package contains:

* Godzilla (1954 Japanese Edition-english subtitles)
* King of the Monsters (1956 U.S. Release Edtion-english v/o dub)

Featuring:
* Audio commentaries
* Original trailers
*"Making of the Suite" Featurette
*"Godzilla: Story Development" featurette

Godzilla - Final Wars

Godzilla's 50th Anniversary project and costliest adventure to date out of 28 films. Earth has been relatively peaceful since Godzilla was successfully buried deep in ice beneath the South Pole. Then - sometime a few years hence-several of his old nemeses return to wreak havoc on cities worldwide. A huge spaceship suddenly appears and neutralizes all the monsters in a blink. The visitors are "Xiliens," who take human form and announce they would like to negotiate a peace treaty that would replace the United Nations with a "United Universe". They are indeed too good to be true, however. It doesn't take long before their nefarious real purpose is exposed - conquering Earth. Greatly outmatched, Earth officials decide to de-freeze Godzilla as man's only hope to vanish the invaders, as well as the monsters they control. Only trouble is Godzilla is still mad at man for freezing him in the first place.

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster

Invasion of Astro-Monster (aka Monster Zero)

(Sci-Fi) Invasion of Astro-Monster/Godzilla vs. Monster Zero -- Aliens from Planet X borrow our monsters for a little extermination project, but they've got something else up their sleeves: world domination! Using mind-control technology, these vinyl-and-sunglasses wearing spacemen turn Godzilla, Rodan and King Ghidorah loose in Japan, demanding Earth's surrender! It's up to American astronaut F. Glenn, his galaxy-trotting buddy Fuji, and nerdy inventor Tetsuo to break the aliens' hold on the monsters and save our planet from certain doom.

Mothra vs. Godzilla

More visually splendid and imaginatively written than the other Godzilla sequels, this (the fourth in the series) starts when Mothra's gigantic egg washes ashore in Japan, having been dislodged from Mothra Island by a hurricane. Two tiny twin girls (sometimes singing like dual-diminutive Dorothy Lamours) from the island come to plead for the return of the egg by the greedy business guys who bought it for a tourist attraction, but to no avail. Radiation from nuclear testing revives Godzilla from the earth, who proceeds to threaten the egg and the cities, unless Mothra and his larvae hatched from the egg can stop him. The battle sequences between Mothra and Godzilla, and between Godzilla and the larvae, are spectacularly vivid and colorful. The DVD gives you a choice of cropped-frame or letterboxed in terrific Tohoscope, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or Mono, and some more extras. Oddly, the DVD contains no time code, so you never know how far into the movie you are at any given point. It is also available in a boxed set with four of the other best Godzilla flicks by director Inoshiro Honda. --Jim Gay

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

(Action) After a fierce typhoon, Mothra's gigantic egg washes ashore Japan. Meanwhile Godzilla reawakens and tramples across the land, heading straight for the big egg. Can Mothra save her offspring from Godzilla? Will Japan survive this epic monster battle?

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah / Godzilla & Mothra: The Battle for Earth

That's right, they didn't stop making Gozilla films in the mid-'70s like you thought, but resurrected the rubberized reptile in the mid-'80s and have continued making crazy, clear-your-Saturday-afternoon-schedule offerings to this very day. And here in this double-feature disc are two of the craziest from the early '90s.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidora involves some western folks in a flying saucer from the future who come back to warn Japan of its imminent demise by Godzilla. But their real aim is to aid in that destruction, thus keeping Japan from becoming an economic powerhouse. Along the way, some cute little creatures they've brought with them are transformed into King Ghidora, the not-so-cute nemesis of Godzilla, and the two inevitably battle it out as unwitting champions of their times. The special effects are tops, the action is silly and pulpish, and the plot is lifted partially from Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1968). If you don't watch this film with a silly grin on your face, you just aren't a Godzilla fan.

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth is a variation on one of the best of the old Godzilla films, Godzilla vs. The Thing (1964). When a meteorite hits the Earth, Godzilla is awakened, along with Mothra and his evil twin Battra, the Black Mothra! Mothra must save the Earth from these scourges, with the help of its minions, the Cosmos, those twin miniature girls who sing the eerily beautiful Mothra theme from the earlier film. And the special effects are even more impressive and hallucinatory than before, if that's possible.

The pleasure of seeing these rarities on DVD is only slightly hampered by their truncated aspect ratios; yes, Mothra's widescreen wings have been clipped down to paltry pan and scan, and thus denuded of its native Tohoscope. --Jim Gay

Latitude Zero (Dub Sub)

When a volcano erupts, a deep-sea vessel full of scientists suffers damage and begins to lose control. To their rescue comes Captain MacKenzie (Joseph Cotton, CITIZEN KANE), commander of Alpha, a high-tech atomic submarine. The captain takes the crew to a secret underwater utopia called "Latitude Zero" that is dedicated to the preservation and protection of mankind. With a completely opposite agenda, the evil Dr. Malic (Cesar Romero, The Joker from TV's BATMAN) wishes to kidnap and experiment on the scientists in order to add to his roster of super-intelligent freak minions. Now it's up to Captain MacKenzie and his crew to save the day. Another Toho classic from the legendary Ishiro Honda (GODZILLA, MATANGO), LATITUDE ZERO boasts an all-star cast that also includes Richard Jaeckel (GRIZZLY) and Linda Haynes (HUMAN EXPERIMENTS), and terrific model and
special effects work.

Chushingura

Chushingura means "loyalty," and that potent Japanese theme runs like hot blood throughout this stately samurai epic. It's often called the Gone with the Wind of Japanese cinema, and while that may be a fitting cultural parallel, it gives an inaccurate impression of the film, based on one of Japan's most enduring and oft-interpreted historical events. A simmering, deliberately paced drama set during the Tokugawa shogunate in 1701, it centers on 47 loyal samurai who seek vengeance against the arrogant elder statesman who caused their master's ritual suicide. The now masterless ronin let seasons pass (and the movie occasionally seems just as long) before executing a climactic raid that is both expertly fierce and lethally efficient. Featuring a who's-who of fine Japanese actors, including Kurosawa regulars Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, Chushingura bears little resemblance to Kurosawa's action-packed samurai classics. This is a thematically dense, politically complex drama, presented here at its fullest length (207 minutes) and best appreciated after multiple viewings. Masterfully composed with painterly precision, Chushingura weaves its intricate tapestry from time-honored tenets of Japanese culture, offering a challenging but grandly rewarding experience. --Jeff Shannon

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.

Godzilla vs. Mothra

More visually splendid and imaginatively written than the other Godzilla sequels, this (the fourth in the series) starts when Mothra's gigantic egg washes ashore in Japan, having been dislodged from Mothra Island by a hurricane. Two tiny twin girls (sometimes singing like dual-diminutive Dorothy Lamours) from the island come to plead for the return of the egg by the greedy business guys who bought it for a tourist attraction, but to no avail. Radiation from nuclear testing revives Godzilla from the earth, who proceeds to threaten the egg and the cities, unless Mothra and his larvae hatched from the egg can stop him. The battle sequences between Mothra and Godzilla, and between Godzilla and the larvae, are spectacularly vivid and colorful. --Jim Gay

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

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

The testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean triggers the awakening of a dreadful 400-foot-tall fire-breathing prehistoric lizard who commences to wreak havoc on the city of Tokyo. The original Japanese version of GODZILLA without the Americanized addition of Raymond Burr.Run Time: 78 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 796019797856 Manufacturer No: LVD54623