Gojira: It has finally come to Region 1 DVD and monster movie fans can rejoice. Gojira is arguably the best of the Japanese monster movies ever made and it's a shame that it has taken so long for it to arrive here. While I will concede that the film alone is worth the purchase, the DVD did not live up to my expectations.

Gojira, or Godzilla as he is better known, made his debut in this film. While it is somewhat of a Japanese retelling of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, he is instead of just being a prehistoric beast but one who has been mutated thanks to radiation from the H-Bomb tests. He then wreaks havoc on Tokyo and is only brought down by the oxygen destroyer. Of course he would be back for many more sequels but it is this one, and its 1955 sequel Godzilla Raids Again, that stand in my mind as the best and most watchable films.

The DVD is about as good as one can expect, I'm afraid. I was hoping for the moon but sadly the print hasn't aged well and if my memory serves me correctly, the Toho R2 release looked a lot better. On the bright side, this one has subtitles where the R2 does not.

The American version is also included but quite frankly I didn't bother to watch it as I have seen it a few times and while it's good, it is just not as good as the original uncut version.

So, my verdict is that if you are a fan, most likely you've already bought this. If not, you should.

Labels: Godzilla, Horror, Japanese, sci-fi