The complete, uncut, original Japanese Godzilla (Gojira) was released in UK cinemas for the first time in October 2005 by BFI Distribution. Now this legendary film - one of the great classics of cinema from noted special effects director Ishiro Honda, a friend and collaborator of Akira Kurosawa - is released for the first time in the UK on DVD by BFI Video.
Made in 1954, Godzilla was Japan's first foray into the big budget feature, costing ten times as much as the average Japanese movie and twice as much as the same studio's Seven Samurai which was released the same year.
Takashi Shimura stars as the revered paleontologist who uncovers the horrible secret at the heart of the monster (Godzilla is a long dormant Jurassic beast awoken by the atom bomb). The original Godzilla is a fierce indictment of the atomic age. Sold to an American distributor, the film was cut, dubbed into English, re-titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters! and new scenes were added starring Raymond Burr as an American reporter observing the monster's rampage from the sidelines. All trace of the anti-nuclear message was excised in the American version.
An enormous hit for the Toho film studio, the original film created a legendary monster that would enter the lexicon of popular culture worldwide, spawning more than twenty sequels over fifty years, countless rip-offs, and a new genre: the kaiju eiga or Japanese monster movie. Still rated amongst the top twenty Japanese movies of all time, the original Godzilla is perhaps the definitive monster movie - both a bold metaphor for the atomic age and a thrilling tour de force of pioneering special effects.
Extras:
- Full voiceover commentary by three Godzilla experts
- The Japanese Fishermen (1954)- short documentary on the incident that inspired the story of the film
- 'Designing Godzilla' featurette
- 'Story Evolution' featurette
- Original Japanese trailer
- US trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters!
- Gallery of posters, storyboards and original artwork
- Illustrated booklet including notes by author and Asian specialist Ian Buruma
The Mysterians
The Mysterians (Chikyu Boeigun), Ishiro Honda's classic of 50s Japanese sci-fi, filmed in glorious colour Tohoscope is released on DVD by BFI Video alongside his legendary Godzilla (1954).
Like Godzilla, The Mysterians also explores the dangers of the atomic bomb combined with the kaiju eiga (Japanese giant monster movie) sub-genre, but for the first time in Japanese culture it introduced a new concept - alien invasions.
After an unexplained landslide destroys a village near Mount Fuji, investigating scientists find traces of radioactivity and rivers full of dead fish. Soon they find themselves pursued by Mogera, a massive robot who shoots death rays from its eyes and sets to destroy everything in its path.
The robot is being remotely controlled by the alien Mysterians, survivors of a planet destroyed by nuclear war, who have landed on Earth in order to rebuild their scientifically advanced but dwindling population. When a group of Earth scientists accept an invitation to meet with the Mysterians inside their dome-like ship, they soon discover that the aliens' intentions are far from benign.
The Mysterians was the first colour Japanese science fiction film to be shot in widescreen. The creative team responsible for Godzilla reunited for the production and the special effects are striking. Flying saucers, zeppelin-type aircraft, ray-gun blasts, mass floods and violent explosions are fantastically executed, setting the standard for model effects and science fiction art design for years to come.
Vibrant and bursting with action, The Mysterians is an arresting vision of futuristic warfare and a cautionary tale for the atomic age. A treat not only for robot fanatics and cult sci-fi film fans, The Mysterians is one of Ishiro Honda's most celebrated and spectacular extravaganzas, not to be missed.
Extras:
- Original theatrical trailer
- Rare production designs and artwork
- Storyboards
- Posters and stills galleries
- Illustrated booklet including notes by author Kim Newman and biographies
