Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Set, Some Flaws - But It's Godzilla!
Review: I've always wondered what Godzilla films' on DVD would sound like, and look like. So many explosions and effects exploding in sharp colour, and awesome roars and the rika-tika of army machine guns on a sorround sound stereo is what I wanted. My expectations were a bit too high. First of all, the selection. Godzilla, King of the Monster. An INSTANT essential in any Godzilla collection with the word 'Ultimate' included. Godzilla vs. Mothra was a nice choice, not bad at all. Godzilla's Revenge. OK, now do not get me wrong folks, i am obsessed with all Godzilla films and love them all more than any movie, well any thing in the world. But why did they have to include this one out of all the films? I would have prefered Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Godzilla vs. Gigan or Godzilla vs. Ebirah if we are talking in terms of the showa series. Thats alright, this is still a pretty fun film, just wondered why that one of all was included. Terror of Mechagodzilla. This is a great Godzilla flick, not a bad choice - but it is thrown in with the earlier Showa flicks which is a bit odd, since TOM is the last Showa Godzilla Film. Rodan. Rodan? Rodan. Rodan?! Why? I thought this was a Godzilla Collection! Well, Rodan is awesome as Godzilla's sidekick in his films, and Rodan is a pretty good film but I wanted them all to be Godzilla Films. Godzilla vs. Hedorah or Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla prehaps? Now that that is out of the way, on to the transfer. Godzilla King of the Monsters - The Sound Transfer is very very nice on my sorround sound, no inconvenient humming or buzzing during the quiet moments. The soundtrack transfer rocks! The Picture has been sharpened a bit, but still is a tad bit murky. Godzilla vs. Mothra - The Picture is nice and sharp, better than GKOTM. The Sound is great as well. Mothra's chirping does get annoying though, lol. Godzilla's revenge - The Picture quality is pretty much the same as my video, scratchy in places. But the sound is amazing! The jazz score the beggining kicks! Terror of Mechagodzilla - Both Picture and Sound are excellent on this transfer.Rodan - Sound is a bit musty and murky, a bit blurbed if you will - but the picture is good.
I dont know why people complained about the transfers so much - They are actually pretty good. Maybe something is wrong with their Stereo or Screen. I have a big screen and 5-piece sorround stereo set up so I notice alot of the details.
Anyway, this is a nice set. Good Transfers, All the films rock -
but the inclusion of 'Rodan' sags the rating a bit.
Rating:
Summary: It's Godzilla!
Review: I've been waiting, waiting, and waiting some more of a Godzilla Boxed set to come out. Finally, it's here, and I must say that I am pretty derned happy with it. The Box is gorgious, the DVD pictures are gorgrous, and the movies are great. Despit Revenge of Godzilla, which is a pretty much 'crap' film the flicks are great. I love the original, and dig Terror of Mechagodzilla. I do have a few things I would've wished made it into the DVD set. I wanted widescreen, and I wanted better extras. Sure, the Destroy all Monsters Melee preview is good, but what about theatrical trailers? I would've been happy with just that. The animated menus are good, though look like Kung Pow's. Overall, this is a solid box set.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony and Toho Mess Up Again - Nowhere Near Ultimate!!
Review: I've fumed about the treatment of Godzilla video releases in America in other reviews. Simitar is the only company to come close to getting it right. (I didn't own a DVD player at the time so this collection is all I have on DVD.) The Simitar collection has been handed over to and given little respect by Sony Media Entertainment. All movies are shown in full-screen here, even though Simitar offered some letterboxed tapes. The 1956 edition of the first Godzilla movie is the only good thing in this collection. The image quality is much better than the Goodtimes DVD. It would be great if the original 1954 edition was available in America like Neptune Video offered the original Japanese edition of the first Gamera movie. In 1956, scenes with Raymond Burr were added in as he simply observed the events in the original 1954 film. You can see the differences in the approach to filmmaking. Godzilla vs. Mothra (aka Godzilla vs. The Thing) was available in letterboxed format from Simitar so I know Sony could have offered it too. Godzilla's Revenge has been shown in letterboxed format on AMC. In English, Terror of Mechagodzilla has only existed as a censored print since 1980. In 1979, there was an essentially uncut version being shown on TV. The reason for Mechagodzilla's defeat is totally missing because a death scene was censored out. Now, the ending makes no sense. Sony Entertainment and possibly Toho are simply going through the motions to sell DVDs. NONE of the Godzilla movies are being shown any respect that the fans want to see. Some of the companies handling the Gamera movies are doing what fans want. Neptune Video offered letterboxed and subtitled tapes of 3 of the older Gamera movies. ADV is selling the newer Gamera movies as both subtitled and dubbed on DVD. I'm tempted to say don't buy this set or the individual DVDs and get the Gamera ones (at least the new ones) in the hopes that someone at Sony might notice what fans want, but I don't think Sony or Toho care about the American fans. Not buying them could simply mean the titles go off the market like the other older Godzilla titles at the moment. There are no current DVDs of Gigantis - the Fire Monster (aka Godzilla Raids Again), King Kong vs. Godzilla, Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Hedorah (aka ...vs. The Smog Monster), Godzilla vs. Gigan (aka Godzilla on Monster Island), Godzilla vs. Megalon, Gozilla vs. Mechagodzilla (aka ...vs. The Cosmic Monster, ...vs. The Bionic Monster), Godzilla 1985, Godzilla vs. Biollante, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. ...plus all movies after 2000. There might be some discontinued DVDs of a few titles, but all of these appear to be missing on DVD right now. A truly ultimate collection should include all or most of these titles or at least all of the first set of movies from 1954-1975 (Japanese release dates). That would include the original through Terror of Mechagodzilla. ...which also had the same actor in the Godzilla suit for all of them. He was also in the suit for Godzilla 1985, I think. I can't remember his name. As a fan, I feel insulted with each video release from Sony. I also wish Toho would display some interest in fans and push for quality DVD releases that show some respect for the titles.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing...
Review: I've waited for years for someone to do the original Godzilla series justice but obviously I'll have to wait longer. This is an unusual selection, probably due to copyright laws; two of the most dismal episodes in the series, "Terror of Mechagodzilla" & "Godzilla's Revenge", make it into what is called the 'Ultimate Collection'. Terrible transfers, video-quality sound and no widescreen presentations. It pains me that American distributors continue to treat these classic films as unworthy of serious attention. Anyone who has experienced the pure joy of "Son of Godzilla", "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster", "Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster", "Ghidrah the Tree-Headed Monster" or "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" will share my disappointment in this DVD box set. I would love to get the entire series in widescreen and especially with the option to view the films as they appeared in the original Japanese as well as the English dubs. Special features? I'd even sacrifice those for a clean transfer and 5.1 surround sound. This isn't to suggest that this box set contains any special features, just the occasional trailer and the ubiquitous advertisement for a Godzilla-themed video game. What I wouldn't give for the chance to see "Godzilla King of the Monsters" in the original Japanese and without the Raymond Burr scenes! Someday...
Rating:
Summary: Good Line up, great quality
Review: It's Great to see these classic films in such great quality, but there are very few things that make this set lose a star. First off the lack of special features. next is the absence of a few essential classics, namely 1.Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero 2.Destroy all Monsters and 3. godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster (a.k.a. Godzilla vs. Mecha Godzilla). It looks as though a second box set is in order Overall a must have for any fan.
Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfactory for kids and adults
Review: Let me just quickly state the multiple reasons why this collection is totally unworthy of the title: THE ULTIMATE GODZILLA DVD COLLECTION. First off, there's only 3 films in this box set that Godzilla fans really go for. And 2 of them, fans don't even consider the best. There are no special feature options. No widescreen option (which a lot of people prefer for some reason). And even though the picture quality is a bit more sharper than the regular VHS versions, the sound is horrible, forcing you to really crank up the TV just to hear it. These Godzilla films are not the original Japanese versions, and it's all completely dubbed in English. Some of the scenes have been AMERCANIZED, and some of the Japanese scenes taken OUT! Pitiful. Someone must really hate us Godzilla fans, because we are always forced to resort to buying our uncut 'Zilla movies from low budget, underground distributors who get films that have been copied over a dozen times by other foreign distributors, and hence us (the audience) gets to see our original 'Zilla movies through a tint of haze and static. Hopefully, in the future, more 'Zilla DVD box sets will come out. And if you're not interested in all that, and just want to buy a few good monster flicks for your child, then that would make this DVD collection a bad choice, since none of these would really entertain a child's mind. They're more for adults, who are kids at heart. Talk, talk, talk, throughout each film, which no kid wants to sit through. If you want a 'Zilla movie for your child, get him/her either 'Son of Godzilla' (I loved that one when I was a kid) or, 'Godzilla 1985' which probably has the most realistic fight/city destruction scenes of any Godzilla movie, and it doesn't take forever to get there. Another favorite of mine when I was a child, if not my most favorite.
Rating: 
Summary: Insulting rubbish
Review: Oh dear oh dear...
Japanese monster movies tend to get slagged off in the west and is it any wonder when they are usually so ineptly handled *by the west* like this boxed set.
Sadly, most people have never seen Godzilla movies in their original letterboxed format and subtitled, in glorious "Tohoscope" colour (where applicable).
Instead they get dross like this DVD boxed set which loses stars for:
(A) Really poor quality images (sratched and grainy)
(B) Being panned and scanned (as oposed to letterboxed)
(C) Risable dubbing and general poor quality audio
(D) Some of the films are edited "for content" (Terror of Mechagodzilla for exmaple).
(E) Lack of DVD extras
[...]it get that for the packaging (excellent), the fact that the Raymond Burr version of Godzilla is actually quite well done and the US vesion of Godzilla vs Mothra does include the Frontier Missile sequence not included in the Japanese version. Oh and actually having "Rodan" on DVD for the first time.
But how much better if some care had been put into the movies. Instead this smacks of a cheapie, rushed release, the attitude of "oh its just a Godzilla film, they're all crap anyway, the Japanese make them like this on purpose".
But this boxe set *only* if you really need to see some of the movies, no matter what the quality. If not, save your dosh for companies who have released Japanese films in a much more respectful way - support them and give shoddy garbage like this a miss.
Rating:
Summary: So very sad
Review: Part of me is really pleased that these classics are available on the market again (and Rodan on DVD for the first time!). And the box design is truly nice, the best that kaiju films have ever seen in the U.S. But Classic Media (and Toho, and Sony) should be ashamed of themselves for the really poor quality of the transfer itself. Others have written plenty here about it, and I couldn't agree more. For the first time, I will actually be holding onto my VHS versions as the sound and image quality of some of my VHS is far better than what was presented here. Of course, what do we expect for [money] But I think many of us would *gladly* pay twice as much for just *one* of these movies presented with a clean image, widescreen if available, subtitled original available, and decent extras (well, maybe not for Godzilla's Revenge ;-) I had really hoped for so much more, especially as these might preceed some release from Sony/CTHE of the more recent (and excellent) films "Godzilla vs Megagairus" and "Godzilla|Mothra|King Ghidorah". But disasters like this set, the American GINO film, and the general treatment of Godzilla movies over the years leads me to believe that those who control this market just don't care about the property, or those who love it. So I'd like to see the set sell well so that Godzilla continues to get the exposure deserved, and perhaps to encourage the studios involved to provide us with better quality product...
Rating: 
Summary: Great Fun Great Value Great Set
Review: The negative reviewers need to get a life - 5 classics, hours of fun and memeories. This is what these movies are all about. Sit back and enjoy the show - just like you did when watching them as a kid 30 years ago. Anyone who has a problem with this set at this price is crazy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Godzilla Classics; just like I remember them!!!
Review: These are the same great Godzilla movies I remember staying up and watching Saturday evenings on TV as a child on. When I read the poor reviews here, I expected grainy video with poor audio, but the video and audio quality were great, in my opinion; much better than any VHS tape. These are the full screen versions that were aired on U.S. TV, and that's what I prefer anyways, and remember seeing as a child. My 6 year old son gets as excited as I did (and still do) at the monster fight scenes. We are both extremely happy with the set.
|
