You won’t believe what a boon these 1990’s-era Godzilla films have been to the VHS bootlegging industry. A string of 1990’s Godzilla films went unreleased in the U.S. until 1998, when Columbia Tristar released the 1991 film, GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH, and 1992’s GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA to cash in on their pathetic, big budget GODZILLA. Unfortunately, Columbia Tristar rubbed salt in the fans wounds by releasing pan n’ scan EP VHS versions with mono sound. Godzilla fans are rabid; they want the stuff bad, and they want it yesterday. Because of this, there are many bootleggers now living on deserted islands right now after all the money they made (or ripped off) from this fan base, which is second only in numbers to Trekkies. You really can’t blame the fans; during these mostly pre-DVD days, bootleggers were the only game in town, and they were commanding about $25 per subtitled feature that the sci-fi fans gladly forked over to get their Godzilla fix. After years of receiving fan mail from G-fans, Columbia Tristar finally came to their senses and released widescreen versions of GODZILLA VS SPACE GODZILLA and GODZILLA VS DESTROYAH on a digital format for the first time.

These two films are the last entries in the 1990’s Godzilla (Heisei) series, and fit together chronologically. The better of the two is GODZILLA VS DESTROYAH, which features the death of Godzilla as we know it--not from any weapon of mankind, but from his own internal fusion reactor. GODZILLA VS. DESTROYAH is directed by Takao Okawara, a great sci-fi director who also helmed the two best G films of the nineties, GODZILLA VS MOTHRA and GODZILLA VS MECHGODZILLA. Okawara has a better budget this time around, and Toho Studio’s first real use of CGI effects in some capacity.

GODZILLA VS DESTROYAH, originally intended to be the monster’s last film, harkens back to the original 1954 GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS. Even the title and nemesis of the film are based on a fictional weapon called the oxygen destroyer, which is the weapon which killed Godzilla in that first classic film nearly 50 years ago. So this film draws on the original, and even features a character from the original named Emiko Yamane, played by Momoko Kouchi who starred as Dr. Serizawa’s estranged girlfriend in the original. She was the one who interfaced with Raymond Burr’s character Steve Martin in the 1956 US version. GODZILLA VS DESTROYAH also features Megumi Odaka as Miki Saegusa, the girl with psychic link to the monster. Godzilla’s opponent is an apocalyptic creature called DESTROYAH, a shape-changing monster derived from the fall-out of the original oxygen destroyer. But this creature is not the only problem; Godzilla himself is having an internal nuclear meltdown which threatens to destroy Earth.

GODZILLA VS SPACE GODZILLA is a direct sequel to 1993’s GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA, and features many of the same characters including a government agency called G-Force. This conglomeration of scientists, engineers, and military, construct weapons to combat Godzilla, including a gigantic mole-like robot called Mogera (which is controlled by a team of pilots). Miki Saegusa (again played by Megumi Odaka) is used by factions to employ psychic control over Godzilla and his offspring. But before G-Force can carry out their plan to take out Godzilla, a menacing crystalline alien creature called Space Godzilla attacks Earth. The creature’s invasion threatens to destroy mankind until Godzilla and the weapon designed to stop him, Mogera, team up to face the outer space menace.

Most Godzilla fans consider GODZILLA VS SPACE GODZILLA to be the worst film of the 1990’s series, and for several reasons. One reason is that the film features Godzilla’s offspring (convincingly brought to life in the previous film) who this time is obviously portrayed by a midget in a cute rubber suit. The inconsistent plot and special effects didn’t help. It was also to the first time (of the Heisei series) that the music of Akira Ifukube was not utilized to bring the monsters to life. Instead Takayuki Hattori created some decent scoring that did not translate well into the Godzilla format. However, that’s not to say that this film has nothing to offer. It does have some great destruction scenes and monster battles; two things that make these films worthwhile to begin with. The monster Space Godzilla is excellently designed, and is certainly far more menacing than anything Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich ever dreamed up.

You wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that these Godzilla films are eye and ear candy. There is nothing of real substance behind them, similar to American films such as ARMAGEDDON. The acting is mediocre, but we don’t expect SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. These movies cannot work their magic with a shoddy, pan n’ scan transfer with mono sound. Nor can a copy-of-a-copy-of-a-copy VHS bootleg do justice to the filmmakers vision. You need a big visual canvas for these big movies, and you need superior sound fidelity to recreate the sound of these city-stompin’ behemoths. With that fact, Columbia Tristar has finally delivered. Both movies on the DVD are uncut and in their original widescreen ratio and are visually superior to their Toho Laserdisc counterparts. The Dolby Surround soundtrack has true CD quality, with superior ambiance. Even Takayuki Hattori’s score sounds great! Lets examine further:

SIGHT

Both these films were originally released in the 1.85.1 widescreen ratio. Columbia Tristar produces 16x9 enhanced widescreen transfers which are even more sharp and detailed than the laserdiscs. Each film has a glossy, Hollywood-style luster, with vivid color and contrast. Contrast and brightness are superior with decent shadow detail. Some speckles and grain are visible, but it is from the source prints. They really do not detract from the movies at all. The widescreen cinematography provides a big canvas for the city destroying scenes, monster battles, weapon attack scenes, and all that other fun stuff. Koichi Kawakita’ special effects are hit and miss; when they are good, they are breathtaking, and when they are bad they are highly laughable. (This is one area where the fuzziness of those 3^rd generation bootlegs actually make the shoddy effects scenes look better.) Overall, the miniature effects work are very detailed and look great, especially on GODZILLA VS. DESTROYER. Also on that film are some colorful CGI effects. Godzilla’s nuclear meltdown scene is very well done and you’ll find your self shedding a tear with that emotional Ifukube music playing in the background. The interior and exterior scenes featuring the human cast look equally detailed and colorful as the effects scenes. To summarize, the widescreen transfers on this DVD are the best the films have ever looked.

SOUND

Columbia Tristar mastered this double feature DVD in Dolby Digital 2.0 from the original theatrical elements. The only changes made to the mix is the removal of the Japanese dialog, and replacement with an English dub track. The English dubbing is fairly well done and on a par with recent Jackie Chan dubs such as TWIN DRAGONS and FIRST STRIKE. The English dialog emanates from the center speaker. This is a very powerful Dolby Digital Stereo mix. The mix has lots of directionality and clarity, even at high volumes (there is no distortion). The bass is great, and makes the viewer feel the missiles, bombs, and explosions. The monster roars and footsteps also reverb with bass. The sound field puts you right in the middle of the action. You are surrounded by monster growls, bullets whizzing over your head, and buildings crumbling behind you. Maestro Akira Ifukube makes the downfall of Godzilla poetic with his somber compositions. Similarly, his battle music cuts through the loud firepower of the combatants and surrounds you as well. Takayuki Hattori’s music cannot match the emotion of Ifukube’s stylings, but his compositions are clean and powerful and cut through the sound field nicely. The sound effects, the score, and even the dubbing, are well synchronized, making this DVD a truly Earthshaking experience (though not up the standards of a solid Dolby Digital 5.1 mix).

FEATURES

No extras, not even trailers.

CONCLUSION

While we are definitely happy with this DVD, there is always room for improvement. There is no Japanese language version with English subtitles that the purists expect. I’m sure most Godzilla fans know about Toho Studios forbidding American DVD releases of their films with Japanese dialog for fear of Japanese fans buying them all up. Also, there are no extras to be found on this DVD. But Columbia Tristar is definitely on the right path, restoring these films to their original cinematic glory. They also have the rights to Toho’s latest, GODZILLA 2000. By the time that one hits DVD, we’ll probably see a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack and some extras. In the meantime, these two films are available to North American fans in the finest format possible, and for a very reasonable retail price of $28 (you can probably purchase this DVD from an online retailer for about $20). Time to sell your bootlegs.

 GODZILLA VS SPACE GODZILLA/GODZILLA VS DESTROYER is available from DVDEmpire.com

 GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORAH/GODZILLA VS MOTHRA: BATTLE FOR THE EARTH is available at DVDEmpire

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