HIGH DEF UNIVERSE

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

The Japanese speak fondly of a great dinosaur that saved the Japanese troops from the American forces. Radiation from the h-bomb turned that dinosaur into the savage monster they call Godzilla. Antinuclear bacteria has kept Godzilla alive but dormant for years.

A U.F.O. has been spotted flying over Tokyo. Its inhabitants have come from the 23^rd century to warn the people that they are in great danger. The travelers say that Godzilla will rise up and destroy Japan. To prevent this fate, they travel back in time to teleport the dinosaur before he turns into Godzilla.

After making the trip in time the group discovers that Godzilla has been removed from history but has been replaced by something worse. King Ghidorah now terrorizes Japan. Ghidorah is a three headed flying monster who destroys buildings with ease.

It is soon revealed that the friendly visitors from the future have sinister motives and they want to destroy Japan. They went back in time to remove Godzilla from history because he would have been the only thing capable of saving Japan. Luckily Godzilla was reborn thanks to a little deep ocean radiation and may be able to save his people once again. But will the “new Godzilla” be friendly and helpful or will he turn on the Japanese people once he has finished with King Ghidorah?

Fans of the Godzilla franchise will be happy to hear the unmistakable Godzilla roar. In Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is takes a really long time to see Godzilla in his glory, but it’s worth the wait. King Ghidorah’s wires are visible and the zip up Godzilla suit is exactly as I remember. This is the Godzilla I know and love. Unfortunately there is a lot of set up to get through before you get to the action. Watching the film dubbed in English adds to the cheese-factor. At one point, someone actually says “Go ahead, make my day.” Be prepared for 1990s special effects, trying to look like 23^rd century technology with laser blasts, teleportation, and an evil android.

Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth (1992)

A gigantic egg is discovered on Infant Island and three explorers are sent to investigate. Two tiny women, smaller than a flower greet them and explain about the history of the earth. The women are the protectors of the creature Mothra’s egg. The removal of the egg from the island causes major problems when the egg hatches and Godzilla is awakened. The creatures Mothra and Battra are ready for battle and Godzilla is ready for action.

This film spends a lot of time explaining that the attacking creatures are related to the environmental conditions on earth. They talk about the earth feeling and being sad and that attempts to change its climate artificially led to creature attacks. This was a very weird and complicated story and I had a harder time getting into this film.

The video quality is extremely hard to judge. You can see the strings holding up the creatures and can tell the difference between the miniature and full size effects. With films like these its almost unfair to judge the video – the cheesiness is part of its charm.

Both films are available in Japanese Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio and English Mono DTS-HD Master Audio. Subtitles in English, English SDH and French. Whether you choose Japanese or English audio the acting is comically bad. I first watched the films in English and thought that there was serious overacting going on with the dubbed voices but upon the second viewing in Japanese, the dialogue is just as bad. In either language the dialogue is at an even, consistent level and the explosions and destruction are better than I would have expected.