Mothra vs. Godzilla
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Movie Reviews of Mothra vs. Godzilla
Movie Review: WOW!
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic Media does it again. If you are a Godzilla fan, buy this 4th film in the series(I hope they get the rights to King Kong vs. Godzilla). I've already pre-ordered the next two films because I've been that impressed with the bang up job Classic Media has done with this character. Bravo.Movie Review: Well made
Summary: 5 Stars
What can you say about 2 little bigs taking down the big guy??? Godzilla movies will never go out of fashion as long as I'm concerned!!Movie Review: Classic Godzilla.
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic Godzilla, one of the best Godzilla films ever. Much, much better than the 1998 Tri Star film, by miles...Movie Review: MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA REVIEW FOR THE APRIL 3/07 RELEASE
Summary: 4 Stars
FINALLY...this and GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN/GIGANTIS have been released, well, widely as opposed to just the Godzillaondvd website as they had been for awhile. There's not much to say about the plot, nor do I care to do plots on Amazon, lard knows there's about a million people rehashing the plots over and over here (or is this IMDB?hehe;-), so the product itself:
CASE: Like the GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN/GIGANTIS set that was released on the same day, this one, though it looks thicker in photos and like a silvery mate to the 2 disc GOJIRA set that came out, these are thinner being only one disc, no spine/hub like that one. MOTHRA: (and this applies to Gigantis, see my review for that one as well), the case is fairly thick cardboard...much like a book, overlayed with the silvery graphics. This is well done, and a treat for those of us who appreciate the super crowded Japanese packaging designs. When you take off the plastic from the store the case crackles open like a new book to reveal the trayed disc on one side (the right) which is a rather dull affair considering the design of everything else, but it's functional, being only title graphics. To the left being an oft-seen shot of Godzilla shooting his breath at Mothra. The cover speaks for itself being just a well executed piece of graphics featuring the poster art as its base, especially for DVD's which are usually nothing spectacular in my book, so kudos for creating such a cool looking package. This said, the downside of this is the case does not snap closed. Most 'book' style cases snap shut, but being that there's no other tray save for the disc tray to click into, this case will eventually weaken and not stay shut, so purchasers are advised to keep the paper band that rides on the outside of the case. And in this or RAIDS AGAIN, there is no booklet.
PRINTS: The prints are decent and certainly a HUGE step above the Classic Media release from a few years back that many of us already have (bright yellow with Mothra superimposed in the middle). It doesn't hurt that these are in anamorphic widescreen which was a treat since the other was a 4x3 and a pain to watch on a widescreen TV for obvious reasons. Without a doubt, the print here could've been cleaned up/repaired, but it is still quite nice to watch all points considered. For some reason, since it wasn't beaten over my head that these were going to be outstanding fresh-as-yesterday-prints, I'm more than willing to not complain. It's also a Godzilla film, which deserve good treatment, but I'm not going to expect a CASABLANCA or WIZARD OF OZ restoration.....at least in this lifetime.....especially if it wasn't such a focused point as was done with the GOJIRA release.....which when we got it, was kind of a mess. The JP version runs 88:36, and the US runs 88:07.
EDIT: I feel compelled to add, before anyone screams at me for not recognizing these are 'restored' prints, well....scratches, genral wear and jumps are still just that .....'restored' or not.......it's still not 'restored' to the original condition. So there...;-)
COMMENTARY: I hafta admit, between this and the RAIDS AGAIN commentaries, I've had the most enjoyable experience with the 'medium' (do commentaries count as a medium?). They are really informative, especially if you are not a full-on Godzilla academic like myself. It could be complained that they are oftimes dry and book read, but who else is gonna sit there for two hours and do this kind of stuff free-form? I enjoyed this commentary alot. The two hosts played off of each other quite well, and most importantly, they didn't come off as pretentious, though in a couple spots, the comments about the 'realism' of the scenes involved was a teeeeeeeny bit of an enthusiastic stretch....lol. I like commentaries on the rare occasions I watch with them on, when they don't beat me over the head with how wonderful everything is on the screen. These two are a good example of this...enthused but not over the top (KING KONG '33 commentary anyone?). They recognize the film's faults for what they are and the good points as well. A simple concept, but I've turned off quite a few gushing commentaries because the commentators devolved into gushing fanboys.
OVERALL: EXCELLENT RELEASE. This is defintiely a keeper and does not feel like a cheap stand-in like the original release of this title here in the US. That one always felt like it may as well have been a cheapie bootleg sitting on the shelf. This is finally the decent release I'd been wanting. And can't wait for the next titles from this company.
Movie Review: The best sequel of the Showa series
Summary: 4 Stars
There have been three "series" of Godzilla movies: the Showa series, which includes all films released from 1954-1975, the Heisei series, which includes all films released from 1984-1995, and the Millennium series, which includes all films released from 1999-2004. The Showa series holds all the classics, and excluding the original, nothing is more classic than 1964's MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA. Much like GOLDFINGER (released the same year), which was almost universally considered to be the finest James Bond film prior to the release of CASINO ROYALE, by all explanations MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA shouldn't be so good. Nevertheless, it is inexplicably the finest sequel in the Showa series.
The plot involves a mysterious giant egg that washes up on the shores of Japan, attracting the attention of greedy businessmen who "purchase" the egg. Meanwhile, a scientist, a reporter, and a rookie photographer are trying to discover what the egg really belongs to when they encounter two small fairies, who tell them that the egg is Mothra's egg. Mothra is, of course, a giant moth, who made her debut in her own kaiju flick, 1961's MOTHRA (also directed by the great Ishiro Honda). Though the trio tries to convince the businessmen to return the egg to Mothra, they will do no such thing. Then who emerges to liven things up but the Big G himself, looking more ferocious than he did before or did in any film afterwards. Can Mothra protect her egg and save Japan from the menace of Godzilla, or will Japan's worst (and biggest) enemy be having scrambled eggs for his next entree?
Ishiro Honda really knew what he was doing with this film. The pacing is perfect: not too rushed, but not slow to the point where one begins screaming for a monster to pop up and wreak some havoc. The screenplay is humorous and very fun, and Akira Ifukube's music is spectacular. The Godzilla suit used for this film, "Mosugoji", is a fan favorite due to its more nasty, reptilian look. Mothra herself is a seemingly silly opponent, but her battle(s) with Godzilla are surprisingly interesting. The best scene of the film is Godzilla's first appearance, sudden, with no foreshadowing. I won't ruin it for you if you haven't seen the film, but it's my favorite Godzilla entrance ever.
I cannot congratulate Sony Wonder enough for their recent Godzilla DVD releases. For a longtime fan like me, they're a dream come true - gorgeous packaging, delectable restoration, sumptuous bonus features, and both the Japanese AND English version (the English version of MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA, titled GODZILLA VS. THE THING, actually contains extra footage not in the Japanese version!). It's quite the package; if you're a Godzilla fan, don't hesitate to pick it up. MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA is the best sequel of the Showa series, and a reminder of just how fun "evil Godzilla" was before the series descended into silliness with the subsequent entries.