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GODZILLA VS. THE THING/MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA Directed By Ishiro Honda King Kong Vs. Godzilla was successful enough for Toho to make another Godzilla film. Godzilla had been portrayed as a villainous creature during the early part of the series, and Godzilla Vs. Mothra was to be no different. Simitar Entertainment released the first DVD of Godzilla Vs. Mothra in both 2.35:1 (as Godzilla Vs. The Thing) and full frame transfers in 1998 to cash in on the release of TriStar's Godzilla. Since then, there have been a few DVD releases of this film. However, the newest release by Classic Media presents this film in both the original Japanese version created by Toho (for the first time) and the American International Pictures version (Godzilla Vs. The Thing) with new widescreen transfers.  Classic Media AIP Version  Simitar AIP Version  Classic Media Japanese Version A giant egg is found floating off the shore of a Japanese village. The egg is taken ashore and claimed for ownership by Kumi Yama, an entrepreneur. Twin fairies arrive, begging for the entrepreneur to relinquish the egg to Mothra, a giant moth-god from a distant, tropical island. Kumi Yama refuses, which incurs the wrath of Mothra.....  Classic Media AIP Version  Simitar AIP Version  Classic Media Japanese Version Godzilla unearths himself from under the ground, and immediately attacks the city. When Godzilla encounters Mothra's egg, he begins to attack it. Mothra arrives and launches an offensive against Godzilla..... Godzilla Vs. Mothra is the last film in the Kaiju Eiga Showa (the monster movie series by Toho, spanning from 1954-1975) series where Godzilla was portrayed as a villain. Godzilla found his heroism in the next film, Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster. The horror of the first Godzilla film was re-enacted here as Godzilla mercilessly destroyed everything in his path.  Classic Media AIP Version  Simitar AIP Version  Classic Media Japanese Version Simitar Entertainment presents Godzilla Vs. The Thing 2.35:1 without anamorphic enhancement on side two of the disc. This DVD was released before enhancements for 16x9 screens were standard. The image is full of artifacting problems, the colors are washed-out, and there is print damage throughout. In addition, it is not exactly the full ratio, since it is missing a little visual information on the right side of the image. This was revealed when comparing the image against Classic Media's presentation of the Japanese version of the film (with the Japanese version in itself missing a little information on the LEFT side of the image). However, this was the first time that the American International Pictures version has been available on home video, as the cropped and re-titled version, Godzilla Vs. Mothra, has been the video and television standard since the early 80s. There are two Dolby Digital audio options. There is the original mono soundtrack which is exactly as it was presented in 1964 and a newly-mixed 5.1 track. The 5.1 track is merely the mono track with additional effects mixed in. Ambient sound, explosions and military assaults on Godzilla have new, bass-ier sounds, although the high-tension electrical tower sequence bears completely different electricity effects. There are some trouble spots in the track, mainly during dialogue scenes, where there is a noticeable "echo" effect. This may be due to the different audio channels being slightly out of synch. Simitar's disc contains a decent amount of extras. A strange, and sometimes erroneous, interactive trivia game with clips from the film is presented with a handful of questions. There is a Godzilla "trailer collection" included, but it is merely a collection of video promos for the other Simitar Godzilla releases. There is a video art gallery containing artwork for all of the Simitar video/DVD releases and DVD-ROM features (including screen savers and photo/art galleries).  Classic Media AIP Version  Simitar AIP Version  Classic Media Japanese Version Classic Media presents the original Japanese version of the film, Mothra Vs. Godzilla, for the first time on a region one DVD. The image is the best this film will probably ever look, with minimal blemishes and wonderful color saturation. Again, it is 2.35:1 (and missing some visual information on the left side as noted in the Simitar evaluation), but is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. This version of the film includes extra footage not seen in the AIP version. The Dolby Digital mono is clear and strong. It is interesting to hear the actors' voices as they were recorded when the film was shot. It is almost unnatural to see the actors' lips in synch with the dialogue when considering that this is a kaiju eiga seen by an English-speaking audience..... Where the presentation of the Japanese version of Mothra Vs. Godzilla excels, Classic Media's version of the AIP print of Godzilla Vs. The Thing may disappoint. Even though the colors and sharpness of the image are far better than that of the Simitar disc, the visual presentation is 1.85:1. The source used may have been of a better quality, but it is nowhere near the full aspect ratio. In addition, the print is not without damage. There are blemishes and vertical scratches in some parts of the film. All of its problems aside, this presentation has the best color saturation out of all three versions. The Dolby Digital mono is fine, and without the problems that plagued the Simitar disc.  Classic Media AIP Version  Simitar AIP Version  Classic Media Japanese Version Classic Media has included some interesting supplements on this disc. A poster gallery is included accompanied by some music, however, only includes poster artwork for Japanese releases of the film. Much like the poster gallery, only the Japanese trailer for Mothra Vs. Godzilla is included. It is interesting that the Godzilla Vs. The Thing trailer was not included, since it is a widely-available trailer (showing up on several Science Fiction trailer DVDs). The 2.35:1 image of the Japanese trailer is sharp and clean. There is an audio commentary on the American version by two Godzilla biographers and several key people close to the AIP presentation of the film and a mini-documentary on Akira Ifukube. The documentary is very informative, but there is something very odd about it - there is no music accompanying the narration. One would think that it should only be natural to include selections of the brilliant composer's work in order to demonstrate his craft or even be at least esthetically pleasing. When one considers buying Mothra Vs. Godzilla / Godzilla Vs. The Thing / Godzilla Vs. Mothra, so many factors come into play. Because there is no 100% perfect and definitive version, it all rests with the viewer's preference. However, it wouldn't be a terrible thing to collect both Simitar's version and Classic Media's disc. Simitar's discs are out-of-print, but still easy to find. If the quality of Classic Media's release of this film is a sign of things to come, then many fans will be looking forward to their upcoming series of kaiju eiga DVDs. Epilogue:
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