As most of you know Classic Media released "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" and "Rodan" on DVD. Am I the only one who wants a "Mothra" DVD to go with them?
Here's your sign...
No you are not. I'd love for TOHO to release a 'Kaiju Collection' of some sort featuring the three movies you listed.
shareNope - I mean with all the minor (Matingo, Varan ect) Toho Films getting DVD release when the heck is Mothra going to get the same treatment? Hmm?
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I've heard Mothra is owned by Sony and they don't want to do a DVD since it "wouldn't be profitable", although I don't know if that's speculation or if something official has ever been said. I emailed the Media Blasters company anyway and told them I would be interested in getting Mothra on DVD since they do so well with these movies. I suggest everyone else do the same to generate interest. Maybe Sony will figure out some kind of distribution deal with them.
shareI just purchased a DVD of the original, uncut, 1961 Japanese-language version of MOTHRA (MOSURA) from Video Daikaiju (videodaikaiju.com), and it's terrific. I'd heard about the company and an earlier poster on this thread, controller of planet x, very kindly answered some questions I had about them on the site for GOJIRA.
I ordered MOTHRA and some other titles and they are superb -- excellent sound, color, picture, etc. Widescreen films such as MOTHRA retain their proper aspect ratio (I'd never seen MOTHRA letterboxed). DVDs are all-region and English subtitled and cost only $15 each, no shipping charge if you buy more than one. The company's service is fast and they answered any questions promptly and courteously.
They also carry titles like RODAN (which I also ordered and wrote about on that site), all the Godzilla movies, THE H-MAN, GORATH, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE, most of the old Toho classics, plus hundreds of other items like Ultraman and so on.
Fascinating to watch the differences between the two versions -- I knew a few minutes had been cut from the Japanese original, nothing major, but interesting to see, also some differences between dubbed dialogue vs. subtitled. I love the original's Japanese subtitling over a few scenes done in English -- if you've ever doubted that "Rolisika" was the US in thin disguise. Still, the differences between MOSURA/MOTHRA aren't as sharp as between the different versions of GOJIRA, RODAN and a few other early Toho kaiju eiga, since in those first films the US versions stuck in added footage, new or different music, and narration. But none of those practices showed up in the American MOTHRA, which was essentially a straight dubbed version of the original, with some minor edits. I always thought MOTHRA was the most satisfactorily "Americanized" of all the Toho kaiju features, but the original is much better, as you'd expect. Highly recommended.
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Quite right! It really is one of the studio's best...perhaps its most imaginative film, and I understand at the time the most expensive movie ever made in Japan -- some $700,000. It certainly shows on the screen.
I'd like to see a disc with both the US and Japanese versions, such as Classic Media's doing with their titles now. I wonder if there's any relationship still between Toho and Columbia, so they could cooperate on getting such a release made?
I was going to look you up on the "Gojira" site to thank you once again for your assistance in answering the questions I sent last week. I had the DVDs within 36 hours of ordering (it helps that it turns out I live about 40 miles away from video d's HQ), and watched the third, "The H-Man", last night. ("Rodan" was my other title.) I'm definitely going back for more. It's great when you find somebody on these boards who knows a lot on a subject and is so willing to share his expertise with others, as I've seen you do on many boards. It's good of you to take the time to help and I appreciate it very much!
BTW, how is video daikaiju's print of the '54 "Gojira"? If it's significantly better, or with different subtitling or whatever, I might get a copy to compare with Classic Media's.
You probably know this, but Ishiro Honda's lifelong friend, Akira Kurosawa, thought so highly of him that when, in the 80s, Honda wasn't working after Toho put kaiju eiga on ice, he brought him on to work as a director on Kurosawa's own films. The significant part is that Kurosawa wanted to credit Honda as co-director but Honda refused, saying that as his reputation lay with directing "monster movies" such a credit would injure Kurosawa's own lofty reputation! But Kurosawa wanted something important, not assistant director or a title that seemed a step backward for Honda, so he finally came up with a credit apparently unique in film history: Associate Director. It's easy to overlook Honda's talents because of his association with science fiction, but watching "Mothra", for one, shows just how skilled he really was. RIP, 1911-1993.
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I assumed you were into Kurosawa-san as well as Honda, and their work. I just thought it was kind of touching that Honda worried about Kurosawa's reputation in being associated with him. Touching, yet kind of sad.
Of course you're right about the quality of Tokyo Shock's releases. Their only problem as far as I'm concerned is that they're too slow in coming!
I decided I'll order vd's DVD of GOJIRA to see how it compares. I'll let you know -- probably on the GOJIRA board. (We should be careful referring to video daikaiju as "VD"!)
(I also wish more of Kurosawa's films, which were available on VHS, would soon make it to DVD. One film of his which is evidently unavailable on DVD even in Japan is his second, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL [1944], which from the descriptions I've read sounds wonderful and which starred the woman whom Kurosawa married. There is a Hong Kong edition which substitutes Chinese names for the Japanese characters [!], but nothing ever available stateside or even in Japan. I have most of AK's Toho releases but it would be nice to have DVDs of those so far only released on VHS. Also Tsuburaya's war films, before and after WWII!)
http://www.amazon.com/Most-Beautiful-Akira-Kurosawa/dp/B0002JC5XY/ref= pd_sim_d_title_3
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My father stopped me from seeing this on tv when I was nine, but I've recalled the title and heard a good deal about the film, so of course we should have a dvd.
"Gentlemen, duelling is forbidden, by the order of Cardinal Richelieu""
"Richelieu's men are notorious for their complete lack of taste."
due to be released on region 1 on 8/18/09 in a 3 movie set with H-man and Battle in Outer Space
Draft Young Republicans
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