If anybody has seen the original Japanese version of Mothra? Tell me. Is it any better than the USA version?
shareYes, and yes. I posted information about its availability on the thread "Original Japanese version (MOSURA) on DVD", and wrote a description of it on another thread labeled simply "DVD". Read those.
shareTCM is showing a dubbed version. I don't really recall the one that ran in theaters though I would have been about 9 years old. I don't think it made an impression on me. I recalled the singing fairies~only them singing. I guess others, including "Rodan", stuck in my mind more though I was much younger.
I don't recall caring for the fantasy element though I have always liked fantasy films in general.
TCM is good at showing original versions and the U.S. versions, as it did with the first "Godzilla".
(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC
Hi MystMoonstruck! Is it dubbed? Because I just was watching (turned off to go to sleep, lol...and I'm on computer) and it was in Japanese with subtitles. Btw, I saw in the theater as a child, but only remember the twins singing and the title, Mothra. Signing off now, but will check your response tomorrow.
shareThey're showing it with subtitles. The last time I saw it (at least part), I recall that that was dubbed. This is the first time I've seen the subtitled version.
I do recall that, when I was little, I just found a mix of fairies and what I thought would be science fiction didn't set well with me. Even that young, I thought the singing fairies were silly, and I know that I didn't find a giant caterpillar/moth at all frightening. I was much happier when I saw "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" (1964). I still recall my parents letting me go to the matinee showing all by myself. I don't recall why they didn't go, too, especially with my younger sister.
I do know that my father loved science fiction, so it was unusual that he wasn't there. He and I went to see "Fantastic Voyage"; but, my mother and sister wouldn't go because they thought, since it was inside a human body, that it would have blood and "innards". Years later, they finally saw it on TV and realized they were being silly.
BTW: TCM has been airing a lot of foreign-language films with subtitles, so that should delight film fans~except those who don't want to read. *giggle*
(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC
TCM did indeed broadcast the original Japanese film tonight (June 18, 2015), the film's first-ever showing not only on that channel but probably anywhere on American TV. Every previous showing has been of the dubbed American version (which is also slightly edited to 90 minutes from the original's 99).
I own both versions, Mosura and Mothra, and while the dubbed film is pretty good I was amazed to see TCM run the Japanese one. I wonder if they'll do the same now for other Toho films they've run before in their dubbed-in-English versions: Rodan, The H-Man, Battle in Outer Space, etc. Particularly Gojira, which I believe was shown once on TCM in 2012. (It was listed in the TCM guide but I missed it.) With that possible one-time exception, they've always run instead Godzilla, King of the Monsters.
Anyway, seeing the original Mosura, one of my favorite Japanese sci-fi/fantasy films, was a welcome surprise.
Every time I have seen Rodan on TCM it's the Japanese version.
shareReally? When? The last time they ran it, a couple of months ago, it was the usual American version that they've always run. I've never seen the Japanese version of Rodan on TCM, ever.
And they just reran Godzilla, King of the Monsters instead of Gojira...with Robert Osborne, in yet another of the increasingly frequent and inept mistakes made by him and the channel's "research" staff, claiming it was the "original" -- despite his stating that the film underwent significant cuts and new inserts from the Japanese film. Amazing and ridiculous.
So maybe Mosura was another one-time deal. Of course, TCM's source for that film is different from their source for Godzilla and Rodan, Classic Media.