The Giant Lizard Returns!  On DVD, Anyway …

Okay, here’s what we get in this wave:  Godzilla Raids Again (The very first sequel, produced in 1955), Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster, Mothra vs. Godzilla, and Invasion of Astro Monster, each of them packaged in lovely hard board, metallic foil covered books, and each of them containing both the original Japanese versions of the film – from the recent Toho restorations – and the American recuts.

Stop right there and read that last sentence again.  Regardless of what else is on these discs, that last sentence is why no b-movie fan, monster movie fan, Japan-o-phile or self respecting pop culture whiz should be without these releases.  The packaging of these discs boldly claims that each contains two full feature films – a claim that would be an outright lie if applied to just about any other release that included two versions of the same film but one that is absolutely accurate in this case.  The Godzilla films have a strange history, the original Japanese films playing things a lot straighter than you might expect – particularly early in the series – while the later American releases were dramatically recut with major themes excised wholesale and “new” footage – often old stock military footage – inserted, dialogue rewritten, entire new characters added etc to play up the camp factor for American release.  Some US releases play it pretty close to the originals, some are DRASTICALLY different – probably none moreso than Godzilla Raids Again—but suffice it to say that if you haven’t seen the originals you haven’t seen these films at all.  Being able to go back and forth between the two versions on one release is a godsend for fans and that all versions are included in their entirety, in their proper aspect ratios and from such beautiful prints – the Japanese cuts are pristine, the American versions less so but still excellent – is a thing of beauty.

But the multiple versions aren’t the only things on offer here, each release boasting a generous assortment of special features.  The basic breakdown sees every disc including some sort of image gallery, a biographical featurette on one of the key players in the development of the series, and a commentary track on the American version of the film presented by a noted Godzilla scholar.  Why on the American rather than Japanese version?  Well, these are the versions the commentators saw first ad putting the commentary here allows them to personalize the experience while also pointing out in detail the changes made in the recuts and the histories of the various versions.  Entertainment value varies from commentator to commentator but all are incredibly knowledgeable and you’re sure to walk away from all of them with an impressive depth of new knowledge.

Features aside, you should just own these because they’re cool.  Hell, yeah.  Time to fire up the boy’s kaiju obsession again … it’s been quiet on that front since the last Ultraman box set released …