I had not seen the Japanese version of this film since I was a kid. Needless to say between the subtitles and the medophors it was beyond me. I had seen the Americanized version a couple of times but was never overly impressed. I have always liked the Godzilla series of films but I kind of like them because they are so over the top and...well...bad. So when I saw Criterion was putting a version out I was really surprised. But everything I read was about how good the Japanese version is. Figured worse case I would be that much closer to collecting all the films. Man was I surprised how great a film this is. Where the Americanized version is really just another monster movie the version from Japan is much more. It deals with the fear of the atom bomb (this film was made less then a decade after the dropping of the A bombs) and since the world was probably still pretty ticked off about World War 2 I don't think a Japanese anti nuke film would go down well but do it all with Medophors and you can get away with it. This film is dark. The ending is much darker then anything being done in Hollywood at the time. If get a chance and you like great films you should give this one a shot. I was really surprised at how great this film really is. Oh and to put you mind to rest the peice of crap american Mathew Brodrick version is not a remake of this film. They came up with that crap all on their own!
One more point. This is not just a great Godzilla film it's a great film period! You don't have to like monster movies to enjoy it. Much in the same way people enjoy the original Frankenstein.