U.S. GOJIRA DVD

By: BRIAN THOMAS
Date: Sunday, March 12, 2006

Though the American version GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS has long been a staple on home video, there has always been speculation as to if and when the original 1954 Japanese version would become legally available in the USA. Speculation has heated up over a DVD release ever since Rialto Pictures release remastered prints of the original GOJIRA to theaters in 2004. Recently, the film was released on DVD in England and Australia, making U.S. fans even more impatient. On September 5, the wait will be over. Classic Media, the Sony-distributed independent that holds the current rights to KING OF THE MONSTERS and several other early Toho giant monster movies, have announced the release of a special 2-pack DVD of both the Japanese and American versions of the film.

Both films will be remastered in High Definition and maintain their original 1.33:1 aspect ratios. Several extra features are being considered for inclusion, such as the commentrak included on the British Film Institute release. Classic Media is also preparing a much bigger Japanese sci-fi box set. Fans are hoping this set will include both Japanese and American versions of all the Toho films in Classic Media's library: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN, GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (1964), GHIDRAH THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER, MONSTER ZERO, GODZILLA'S REVENGE, RODAN and TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA. It's too early to speculate as yet, but CM has set up a special website at www.godzillaondvd.com to disseminate information.

(© 2006 Brian Thomas) Brian Thomas is the author of the massive book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!

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