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Godzilla & Mothra: Battle for Earth/Godzilla vs. King Ghidora

Godzilla & Mothra: Battle for Earth/Godzilla vs. King Ghidora

List Price: $19.94
Your Price: $17.95
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Two Fantastic Godzilla Movies
Review: I'm not a hard-core Godzilla fan, but i find them entertaining, so i picked up this DVD. Upon watching it, the one thing that really annoyed me was the lack of the widescreen option. I always like to have the original scope of the film. That is a main reason why i didn't give it 5 stars. The japanese soundtrack isn't available as an option. I prefer the english dubbing anyway, for comic effect at least. For those people who prefer the english subtitles that option should have been presented as well as the widescreen option. But I do really like the fact that you get two movies on this DVD, while costing the same as one normally does. And anyway these are two of my favorite Godzilla movies and they look good on this DVD. These two movies are both really cool: Mothra: Battle for Earth is really my favorite, the tiny twin women are fantastic! King Ghidora is very entertaining but not nearly as cool as Mothra. It's worth the money if you're a casual Godzilla fan like me, and don't mind the missing japanese soundtrack and widescreen options...

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Great films, but hold out for better editions!
Review: Sony/TriStar needs to revist the two Godzilla films in this package and re-do them correctly. They are both worthwhile films in the long-running giant monster series, and they deserve better treatment than the shabby presentation they receive here.

The company has just made available three of the recent Godzilla films in widescreen editions with 5.1 sound and a choice of English dub or Japanese with subtitles: "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus," "Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack," and "Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla." Unfortunately, everything right about those discs is wrong about this one. The films are pan-and-scan (ugh!), dubbed only (ick!), and in mono (ack!). And each one of these is done badly! The transfers are ugly, the dubbing is the usual poor job that Toho commissions on their own from Hong Kong (basically, whatever English-speakers they could nab, regardless of acting ability), and the mono wrecks the awesome Akria Ifukube score. On top of all this, the DVD producers also hack off the end credits, cutting off the brilliant end-title music before it gets going!

Both films are pretty much wrecked by their DVD presentations, and considering Sony's sudden new approach to Godzilla DVDs, I would bet they are planning to eventually release "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" and "Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth" in single disc packages with Japanese language options, widescreen transfers, and stereo soundtracks. I recommend skipping this lesser package and waiting for Sony to get out better editions.

Both films, when seen properly, are awesome examples of the 1990s "Heisei" Godzilla series (the name for the second series of G-films). "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" is one of the best, involving the Big-G in a scheme by evil time-travelers to destroy Japan. It's an interesting approach to a Godzilla film, mixing in elements of "The Terminator" and "Jurassic Park" (the scenes in WWII are a unique departure from the typical giant monster formula, with an "average sized dinosaur" monster instead). The titanic battle between Godzilla and the three-headed golden dragon (with robotic implements) King Ghidorah in downtown Japan for the finale is among the four or five best monster battles in history. The whole film is a heck of a ride.

"Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth" is a gentler film meant to appeal to a wider audience (which it did; it was a huge hit in Japan). Godzilla ravages the country once again, while the appointed Guardians of Life and Earth, Mothra and his dark twin Battra, battle it out between each other. The story is simple and metaphysical, and Godzilla is really the supporting character here, but the film is still a lot of fun. The final fight is a tussle between Godzilla and the two flying foes in an amusement park in Yokohama, and it's another show-stopper.

Good as the films are, I can't recommend this DVD set. Chances are, you'll soon have the opportunity to nab both in better packages.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Good DVD......bad movies
Review: The Dvd offer crisp images that reflect a top notch transfer.

Enough of the good, let's talk about the content. Ever since I heard that Toho was continuing to make Godzilla movies, I wondered what they did to move Godzilla into the 90's. Sadly with these offerings they didn't... they yanked him to the 50's. And with this comes two pointless remakes in the "Heisei series" Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and Godzilla vs. Mothra.

Whereas the 64 version of G vs. M was fast paced and had decent effects for its time, this new version moves in a plodding style, with FX that have dated badly. Put simply, nothing good was brought up that they hadn't already done in 64.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah serves as a pinnacle of what's wrong with the Heisei series. A screenplay inspired from a "writing contest" giving the movie logistic holes that could blot out the sun. The angle of time travel is pointless since the movie make every effort to ensure that changes in the past have virtually no consequence on present or future events, which only serves to convolute the plot further. Another angle is that they increase the size of Godzilla yet he looks no bigger on camera than before, but results in smaller less detailed miniatures which makes the FX look worse that thier 60's counterparts, especially the appearance of Bandai-Ghidora at the end. But the biggest problem was that this is the start of Godzilla getting less physical with his duels and relying on his atomic beam, which will reduce the series to light show antics.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: These movies have always been anti-american
Review: The Godzilla movies have always been anti-american to a large extent. It's just that in Godzilla vs King Ghidrah, they are not very quiet about it, it's right there on film. The bad guys from the future are clearly ment to be American both in apperance and in intent to destroy Japan from becoming a world power. Godzilla is a sympol of atomic bombs and gussed who dropped them on Japan? No need to go any further, the point has been made, and so is the desire to stay away from these movies for all time.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY GOOD
Review: THE MAIN REASON I THOUGHT BOTH MOVIES WERE GOOD WAS BEACUSE YOU NEVER FIGURED WERE BIG G WAS COMING FROM, WAS HE GOOD OR BAD???IN GODZILLA VS KING GHIDORA, I WAS ROUTING FOR GODZILLA TO BEAT KING GHIDORA, THEN GODZILLA CHANGD SIDES AND WAS A BAD GUY AGAIN THE WAY HE SHOULD BE. I CANT WAIT TILL GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA II IS RELEASED...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Kaiju Fu
Review: These flicks provide terrific drive-in chic. They showcase cheap but fun effects, and some rousing action. The VHS versions are in lousy EP so the DVD one is the only one to get for these two movies.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Call it Godzilla vs Star Trek
Review: These Godzilla films were made at a time when relations between Japan and the United States were really bad. The bad guys thus are a direct way for Toho to sort of pull punches at American science fiction, most noticely Star Trek, (the bridge on the time machine ship looked like the bridge of the starship Enterprise), and the evil time travelers came from the 23rd Century (the era of Star Trek). Anyway when Godzilla does destroy the time ship, there is more then just special effects at work here. It's a symbol of what one country thinks of another, all of the Godzilla movies that were made in the Hesi series were anti-american to a large extent and it's not funny.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Coolest Godzilla Movies!
Review: These movies are packed with action and adventure and have never ending turns and twists!
Godzilla vs. Mothra,Battle For Earth is about three explorers travel to an island,near with a meator landed.They then discover a giant egg and two girls smaller then a flower!But the egg hatches and forms the worm Mothra,while the metor hatches into the worm Batra!But when then two worms turn into giant flying super insects,there is a fight for surival ...P>Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is about three time travelers from the 23rd century who come to warn that Godzilla will destroy Japan. The timetravelers take a writer and a team of scientists to the time of the dinosaur,Godzilla before it was exposed to nuecelar energy.But when the beast,King Ghidorah takes Godzilla`s place,the scientist`s only choice is to reive Godzilla!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Here's some clean, family fun that won't bore the kids!
Review: These newer Godzilla movies from TOHO are just what the doctor ordered for parents in these jaded times. They are fun, imaginative, and believe it or not, even the effects are pretty good in these newer ones. They have a very Spielberg-like slickness, the Japanese film industry has been catching up fast. My kids love these videos, they have excitement, monsters, action, all without the potty humor and racy jokes of the US "kids" films. Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Godzilla
Review: This are two of the best Godzilla movies ive seen. Much better than the Godzilla of old. Having grown up on 1950's and 60's sci-fi i have to say i wasnt impressed with Godzilla until this fairly recent make over. Excellant special effects and a great story lines. Battle for Earth was very well done but its King Ghidora that really got me going. The story line was excellent with time travel, a flying saucer and of course the King. If you havnt seen Godzilla for awhile, take a look at this great double feature.


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