Gojira vs Godzilla

[ausf]

I picked up the DVD set on eBay for a steal, $10 shipped.

It's the uncut original Japanese movie and the recut American release. I realized I haven't seen the Raymond Burr version in over 30 years. I never saw the original.

I watched them back to back over two nights and as expected, theres a big difference between the two. The American version did a lot better job handling the two films than I remember. There was little overdub and whenever possible, it was done as discreet as possible. Burr's narration supplanted the need for dialog in most cases.

The major differences were obviously political. The Japanese version had the cause as the A bombs, American version was H-bomb testing awakening an old Japanese legend.

I was surprised by a lot of the war references in the Japanese version, especially considering it was just 9 years. Certain dialog like not wanting to go into shelters again or the mother hugging her children and saying they'll meet their father again soon is pretty stark reminders of the Tokyo fire bombing. Plus the fact that they made a popular movie with the burning of Tokyo 9 years after Tokyo burned was noteworthy.

One glaring thing is Dr Serizawa. He got the bum's rush in the US version. Gojira really developed his character, his research, reluctance to reveal the Oxygen Destroyer and the reason was human weakness, both that politicians will use it and even if he burns his notes, he'll succumb to torture, so if he uses it, he has the kill himself. That adds a bit to the others reactions at the end and the reason for him cutting loose, it wasn't guilt over killing Godzilla.

Theres also a scene debating the Dr. even getting in the water and him assisting which leads to his decision being obvious. Plus what sways him to commit the weapon is the children's choir on the radio, which to get the words with the subtitles of the Japanese version.

All in all, much better a movie (both) than I recall, except the Monster itself, which was much more hokey than the following movies, but considering it was the first attempt of a live action monster suit of the type, not too shabby.