Customer Reviews

Mothra vs. Godzilla

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I WATCH THIS MOVIE ONCE EVERY TWO MONTHS. ITS NOT THE BEST MOVIE I LIKE BUT THE FIGHTING IS GREAT. GODZILLA AND BATTRA (IN HIS LARVAL STAGE) SEEMED EQUALY MATCHED IN THERE FIGHT UNDER WATER.

I GIVE THIS 4 STARS BECAUSE GODZILLA WAS BEAT (BADLY)

I am a huge Godzilla fan and this is my second favorite Godzilla movie (first is the original). Package says remastered so I expected both the American and the Japanese to be remastered. Sorry to say that only the Japanese version is remastered. The American version is imperfect and distracting with all of the imperfections on the screen. It was fun checking out the differences between the two versions. Overall I enjoyed this movie but beware that the description on the front of the box is not accurate.

Mothra VS.Godzilla(released April/64) was the fourth in the Godzilla series.Classic Media presents the original Japanese version along with the US version.I always have found the original Japanese versions in this series much more compelling than the US versions as they emphasize the origin/cause of the monsters much more(nuclear testing)and the plots are filled out much better.
This story involves the washing up of a giant egg onto the shores of Japan.An unscrupulous business man purchases the egg and sets about to exploit its upcoming hatching...of whatever it is going to be.However two diminutive representatives from Infant Island arrive;a place that has been devastated by the outside worlds testing of atomic weapons and their uncaring attitude in general.The local populace there worship the creature called Mothra and it seems these two short ladies are there to retrieve what is really in fact Mothra's egg.
Of course greed for a short time wins the day and the egg is put on display in a park for all to see.The girls messages fall on deaf ears and Godzilla,who was also washed up near the coast in the storm,emerges from the water and starts on a rampage.Mothra who comes looking for her egg also discovers her old nemesis and both begin a prolonged fight.Godzilla gets the upper hand and Mothra falls dead onto her egg.The egg,with the help of the two reps from Infant Island,hatches and out comes two of Mothra's offspring...caterpillars.Both immediately crawl into action and in their pitched battle with Godzilla they finally manage to cover him from head to toe in a thick webbed substance.This causes Godzilla to fall into the sea and flee.The Infant Island reps climb onto the backs of Mothra's children and they say goodbye as they travel back to their Island,and it is hoped,with a new found bond of trust.
As with all the Godzilla/Toho films,I always marvel at how well they were able to blend the real with the unreal...that is their mastery of special effects.It is sometimes hard to tell if you're looking at a real tank,plane or whatever,instead of a miniature.Of course this was due to legendary S/FX man Eiji Tsurburaya.On the other hand sometimes it is very easy to tell what you're looking at as those pesky wires can show up from time to time,especially in the fight scenes.And speaking of fight scenes,they can be a little on the amusing side from time to time as Godzilla will say shake his head,flail his arms and yell at his opponent like some WWF wrestler.As the franchise continued,funnier the fights sometimes got.As suspenseful as they may have been in the early 60s,here in 2011,they don't hold up quite as well as they used to.
This single DVD comes in its' original w/s a/r...in TohoScope!The transfer is clear and crisp.Extras include:audio commentary,slide show of posters,biog of Shogo Tomiyama and the trailer.
A recommended release.I would give 4 1/2 stars for the release itself(the transfer,extras,etc) but just 3 1/2 for the story.

Godzilla films have always had a reputation as being cheap, campy nonsense and are often treated poorly when released on DVD. At least when Classic Media released their new series of Godzilla DVDs they made an effort to treat these films with the respect they deserve but never got.

To start off, Mothra vs. Godzilla is my favourite Godzilla movie, perhaps even better than the original. The special effects are pretty good (keep in mind the film was made in 1964), the story is a fine example of how Toho monster movies of the time set themselves apart from their American counterparts and Akira Ifukube's score is, in my opinion, one of the greatest film scores ever written (up there with the Themes for Star Wars or Star Trek)

The DVD, while much better than previous releases, has some strengths but also some flaws. It's greatest strength is the fact that it marks the first time the original, unedited, undubbed Japanese version was released in North America. The picture quality is pretty good and so is the audio. The subtitles could have been better: one scene the priest prays to the gods to protect the people from any "courses" (I'm sure they mean "curses") but that aside the Japanese version is very good.

Unfortunately if feels like the Japanese version is the only feature Classic Media seems to care about. The edited U.S. version (Godzilla vs. the Thing) is in bad shape, full of scratches, hairs, grain and is cropped to 1.78:1 aspect ratio. After watching the Japanese version in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, watching this version felt like I was watching my old pan and scan VHS copy.

The special features while decent, are somewhat slim. The audio commentary is pretty insightful into the making of the film and it's U.S. release, the Japanese trailer is also in as good a condition as the Japanese version of the film but for some strange reason they didn't add subtitles to it, so unless you can speak and read Japanese you won't understand what's being said or written on screen. Sadly they didn't bother adding the U.S. trailer as a special feature. Personally I think Classic Media thinks we'll just be happy to have the Japanese version of the film; and they're probably right.

Overall, Mothra vs. Godzilla is a good film with a fair DVD release. It could have been better but it's probably the best were going to get.

I love this movie, its the best and i would recommend it to any godzilla, or mothra fans. That one person who said it was terrible is just over reacting. Its a good movie and has alot of action for all those action lovers out there. I love battra and mothra's partnership,buy this movie or you'll regreat it.

This film is the best of the sequels from the first Godzilla series. There are touches of humor interspersed in the action, but it is not a silly movie by any means (unlike some of those that followed it). I don't know what it is about Mothra, but he is just a great monster--it is hard to even call him a monster because he somehow manages to emote real emotions. I cannot help but root him on, even against Godzilla. To my eyes, the Mothra special effects are very well done, especially when he directly attacks Godzilla.. Knowing that he (or she?) was using up what little strength he had in order to fend off the big lizard and protect his own egg made me really respect and empathize with him. When his strength was all gone and he came down to earth with one massive wing protectively covering his giant egg, I was actually quite touched.

Of course, you have to love the twins from Mothra Island. They really help make this movie one of Godzilla's best. We don't know why they are so small, but we know their island has been all but decimated as a result of nuclear testing--the traditional anti-nuclear argument is made quite forcefully when our Japanese protagonists visit the island to ask for Mothra's help in defeating Godzilla. What I love most about the twins is their singing--I have no idea what they are saying, but their voices are beautiful. One of the great strengths of this film is the entire musical score, arguably the best of the series.

Sure, the Mothra larvae aren't that impressive to look at, but they get the job done. This movie is somewhat unusual because there really aren't that many scenes of monster battles or wholesale destruction. Godzilla doesn't spend much time stomping around just for the sheer enjoyment of it, and he doesn't do anything as specific as picking up a trainload of people and tossing them aside. The obligatory tanks and airplanes attack, but they are as ineffective as usual against the big guy. When he squares off with Mothra, he has to stand in one place and fight the winged creature off; later on, the larvae cannot come up and duke it out with the big guy but instead must rely on their ability to spew silky cocoon-like fluid. These fights were definitely not conducted on Godzilla's own terms.

This is a truly classic, must-see selection in the Godzilla video library. The storyline is relatively strong, the special effects are quite good, the music is excellent, and the monsters put on a pretty good show. If you want to see Godzilla in hand-to-hand combat with other big green guys, check out one of the later films; if you want to see how good a Godzilla movie can be when great care goes into the writing and production efforts, Godzilla vs. Mothra is your movie.

First the bad: The photographers and the director of this movie were sleeping and in their place they found a bunch of kids with ADD and gave them the cameras. Well that is my theory because of all the Godzilla films this movie has the worst fight scenes. They are analogous to a adult movie when the camera in the middle of the action goes and focuses in on the guy;s butt. Basically when Godzilla was fighting Mothra we saw one random part of Godzilla moving then another part moving then switch over to Mothra and see a part of Mothra moving. All in all it was what made this movie not get a good rating.
Now the Good: The movie was hilariously ironic. Let's say that the evil Happy Enterprises happened to return the egg to Mothra's Island, well then Japan would have been doomed. So maybe evil businesses are capable of good in the long run. Also Happy Enterprises is probably one of the greatest names for a business. All the dialouge was classic. Where did the twins come from; nobody knows.
Also the movie shows a strong anti-nuke message in a not so subtle way. For example the characters on the ravaged island say "this island is reason enough to stop nuclear testing." HINT HINT! The plot like all other Godzilla movies was full of holes and it is also obvious that the Japanease military never learns that tanks are worthless against Godzilla.
For all the Godzilla fans this is a must have, but for the casual viewer pick up a different video.

VIDEO QUALITY:
As with all Simitar Godzilla releases (minus "Terror of Mecha-Godzilla"), "Mothra vs. Godzilla" is presented as a double sided disc with the choice of both widescreen and full screen editions. The full screen print is simply disgusting, not only loosing so much of the image (as you would expect), the print if completely covered in scratches, hairs, cuts... burns? Colours are extremely faded, and overall, its downright terrible. The widescreen version is a vast improvement, though still a fairly shoddy print. Again, the print seems to be lacking colour, and is covered in cuts, scratches, and hairs, though not to the same extent. The widescreen print also lacks 16:9 enhancement, which means widescreen viewers are stuck with a stretched picture, which pretty much invalidates the whole point in owning a widescreen TV. Both prints also seem to blur a lot, making fine detail hard to spot. Out of all the releases available in the United States, this is the best you will ever find, though the video is still miles off from DVD Toho's region 2 release.

AUDIO QUALITY:
Naturally, the disc only contains the English dubbing. On both widescreen and full screen versions, you are given the option of both Mono and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks. Sadly, on both tracks, the entire film is accompanied by that classic "fuzz" that sneaks in the background. Luckily, this is not too noticeable. For the most part, the sounds are vibrant, though occasionally higher pitches such as Godzilla's roar and the Peanuts singing sound distorted.

EXTRA FEATURES:
Simitar are one of the few distributors to actually have any extra material on their American kaiju releases. Sadly though, none of it is really of any particular interest. There are several Godzilla screen savers included for DVD-ROM users, which are only compatible with Windows® 95 machines. There are also some custom trailers Simitar designed for their Godzilla releases, which are made in a cheesy 1950's American monster movie style. There is a video art gallery, and for DVD-ROM users a printable art gallery, which is fairly interesting. Despite a short trivia game and a link to their now non-existent website, it doesn't offer much more. Still, its nice to see someone attempting to bring special features to overseas releases, however lacklustre they may be.

OVERALL:
This is the best you will ever get in the USA, and practically anywhere outside Japan. For most fans, this is definitely the route to go. You get to see the film in its original widescreen format, and with a much clearer print than ever seen on TV in America. As with most American releases, you're stuck with English dubbing as the only audio option, but never the less it sounds good. If you're a die hard fan, and really want to see this film in action, the DVD Toho release may be of interest to you. Though at a much higher price, and missing English subtitles, the DVD Toho release is simply a much better print all around. Understandably though, most fans won't want to fork out the $50 for a non-subtitled DVD, thus this DVD from Simitar is the best way to go... if you can actually find a copy, that is.

and it's great.Godzilla was not beaten by bugs.He simply took a dive to get ready for his next movie.To alleviate any confusion,the first american title for this movie was GODZILLA vs THE THING.

"Godzilla vs. Mothra" is everything "King Kong vs. Godzilla" should have been. The entire film oozes quality. Drama, Plot, Effects are spot on perfect. The pacing of the film is just right, action seems to proceed naturally throughout. The music for this movie is awesome. If all the Godzilla movies had been this good, I probably wouldn't have a life, because I would keep watching them over and over again. :-)