But Classic Media (and Toho, and Sony) should be ashamed of themselves for the really poor quality of the transfer itself. Others have written plenty here about it, and I couldn't agree more. For the first time, I will actually be holding onto my VHS versions as the sound and image quality of some of my VHS is far better than what was presented here. Of course, what do we expect for [money] But I think many of us would *gladly* pay twice as much for just *one* of these movies presented with a clean image, widescreen if available, subtitled original available, and decent extras (well, maybe not for Godzilla's Revenge ;-)

I had really hoped for so much more, especially as these might preceed some release from Sony/CTHE of the more recent (and excellent) films "Godzilla vs Megagairus" and "Godzilla|Mothra|King Ghidorah". But disasters like this set, the American GINO film, and the general treatment of Godzilla movies over the years leads me to believe that those who control this market just don't care about the property, or those who love it.

So I'd like to see the set sell well so that Godzilla continues to get the exposure deserved, and perhaps to encourage the studios involved to provide us with better quality product...

26 of 29 found the following review helpful:


A Few Shortcomings, But Still Fun  Jun 28, 2004 By Robert I. Hedges
A lot of people are dwelling on the negatives of this box set, but I want to talk about the positives. Maybe it isn't truly the ultimate collection, but it's enjoyable, and the quality is far better than was available on video, and unbelievably better than watching it on late night UHF television in the 1960s and 1970s.

I too, subtracted a star for the lack of widescreen format, although, to me that is largely irrelevant, as this is the way I remember these films from when I saw them on TV as a kid. I have seen a lot of complaints about dirty and abused transfers, but, honestly, I think the DVD quality looks reasonable for films of this age, certainly better than many films of this vintage that are currently available on DVD. All told, my assessment of the prints is that they aren't perfect, but they are still very enjoyable to watch, and more than adequate.

As far as the collection itself goes, I might have made other choices for the five movies, likely leaving out 'Terror of Mechagodzilla', and 'Godzilla's Revenge' (although if you have kids, 'Revenge' is a good way to initially expose them the Godzilla.) It is wonderful to see 'Rodan' in the collection. To my recollection, this is the first time 'Rodan' has been on DVD, so for that alone, the set is worth the money.

It is easy to pick these movies apart from a technical point of view, or to endlessly argue about which movies would be better included in an "ultimate" collection, but until someone releases the entire series in widescreen, with tons of extras, you can't make everybody happy, and even then, people will be complaining about the $200 price tag.

Take this set for what it is: five fun monster movies. With that in mind, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

28 of 32 found the following review helpful:


Disappointing...  Nov 24, 2002 By Israel Jovanovich "Izbot"
I've waited for years for someone to do the original Godzilla series justice but obviously I'll have to wait longer. This is an unusual selection, probably due to copyright laws; two of the most dismal episodes in the series, "Terror of Mechagodzilla" & "Godzilla's Revenge", make it into what is called the 'Ultimate Collection'. Terrible transfers, video-quality sound and no widescreen presentations. It pains me that American distributors continue to treat these classic films as unworthy of serious attention. Anyone who has experienced the pure joy of "Son of Godzilla", "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster", "Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster", "Ghidrah the Tree-Headed Monster" or "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" will share my disappointment in this DVD box set. I would love to get the entire series in widescreen and especially with the option to view the films as they appeared in the original Japanese as well as the English dubs. Special features? I'd even sacrifice those for a clean transfer and 5.1 surround sound. This isn't to suggest that this box set contains any special features, just the occasional trailer and the ubiquitous advertisement for a Godzilla-themed video game. What I wouldn't give for the chance to see "Godzilla King of the Monsters" in the original Japanese and without the Raymond Burr scenes! Someday...

13 of 14 found the following review helpful:


Secret fetish  Sep 17, 2004 By Alexander E. Paulsen "AlexP"
You spend a lot of money for education, read scholarly books and see interesting movies and watch Jeopardy. But hiding secretly in the back of my DVD colection away from prying yes.... GODZILLA!

I remember as a kid staying up late at night to watch the movies on TV. The stations in NY played them all the time on Saturdays and late night. The local theaters would play double and triple features and we'd wait in line, pay our 35 cents and stay for all of them. Sometimes twice. Imagine watching Godzilla movies from 10 am until midnight! Popcorn was dime and the drinks a nickel. Rocking!

I still love the movies but now I understand them a little better. They're not just monster movies. Well, they are monster movies, but like the Japanese, not everything is visible on the surface.

First of all this is great collection. I think the quality is just fine, I am happy with the video and the sound, no complaints. The movies, oh the movies.

The first is still the best. Yeah, the old boy strolls through Tokyo like he has arthritis, yeah the models look like, well, models, yeah you can almost see the zipper on the back of the monster suit. But the quality of the acting is suprisingly good. Not only that but it was scary. It has suspense and in some scenes you actually felt the fear and the horror of being chased and stalked by a 400 foot fire breathing radioactive monster. Not bad really.

After watching the movies again ( and again ) I realized that they are realy more than just monster movies. Godzilla is a Japanese icon. He went from destroyer in the first movie and eventually morphed into Japans protector and hero.

I see a parallel to postwar Japanese cultural history, I can all be really summed up in Godzilla movies. In the first movie he was killer radioactive beast bent of destruction. People died. Raymond Burr starred as an Amercan jouralist and if you watch the role here you see a microcosm of Japans relationship with the US in the interactions. The Japanese being the only nation ever nuked, were understandably afraid of things radioactive. Yet the US sort of played the role of big brother and guide and protector while they showed their humility in front of the US. This can be seen quite clearly in this move. Later, when the Japanese accepted things nuclear, Godzilla became less of a threat and more of a partner or at least one with concurrent ends. Hey, if the old boy kicks Ghidras ass, then that gets Ghidra off Tokyo's case. Later the Japanese could actualy summon the old boy to helkp out in a fix.

With Mecha-Godzilla, the Japanese examined their relationship with advanced technology and the implications of getting too technological and forgetting their roots. Godzilla wins - the real one, the natural one.

The films all had detectable themes relating to Japans cultural and technological standing. From Japans embracing of technology, to their interest in spaceflight, concern for the environment and desire to take their place in world commerce and culture. It's all here.

Anyone wanting to study Japanese cultural history from the end of WWII I would say the these movies would as valuable as any reference material on the subject. Not to mention the girls are all pretty, the acting quality is acceptable and the movies are fun as hell!

I just hope my friends don't catch me watching them. Uncultured louts all of them! They will just never understand.

I can't wait to share these with my granddaughter.

11 of 12 found the following review helpful:


Sony and Toho Mess Up Again - Nowhere Near Ultimate!!  Apr 20, 2003 By Slade Simon "slade37"
I've fumed about the treatment of Godzilla video releases in America in other reviews. Simitar is the only company to come close to getting it right. (I didn't own a DVD player at the time so this collection is all I have on DVD.) The Simitar collection has been handed over to and given little respect by Sony Media Entertainment. All movies are shown in full-screen here, even though Simitar offered some letterboxed tapes.

The 1956 edition of the first Godzilla movie is the only good thing in this collection. The image quality is much better than the Goodtimes DVD. It would be great if the original 1954 edition was available in America like Neptune Video offered the original Japanese edition of the first Gamera movie. In 1956, scenes with Raymond Burr were added in as he simply observed the events in the original 1954 film. You can see the differences in the approach to filmmaking.

Godzilla vs. Mothra (aka Godzilla vs. The Thing) was available in letterboxed format from Simitar so I know Sony could have offered it too. Godzilla's Revenge has been shown in letterboxed format on AMC. In English, Terror of Mechagodzilla has only existed as a censored print since 1980. In 1979, there was an essentially uncut version being shown on TV. The reason for Mechagodzilla's defeat is totally missing because a death scene was censored out. Now, the ending makes no sense.

Sony Entertainment and possibly Toho are simply going through the motions to sell DVDs. NONE of the Godzilla movies are being shown any respect that the fans want to see. Some of the companies handling the Gamera movies are doing what fans want. Neptune Video offered letterboxed and subtitled tapes of 3 of the older Gamera movies. ADV is selling the newer Gamera movies as both subtitled and dubbed on DVD.

I'm tempted to say don't buy this set or the individual DVDs and get the Gamera ones (at least the new ones) in the hopes that someone at Sony might notice what fans want, but I don't think Sony or Toho care about the American fans. Not buying them could simply mean the titles go off the market like the other older Godzilla titles at the moment.

There are no current DVDs of Gigantis - the Fire Monster (aka Godzilla Raids Again), King Kong vs. Godzilla, Ghidrah - The Three Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Hedorah (aka ...vs. The Smog Monster), Godzilla vs. Gigan (aka Godzilla on Monster Island), Godzilla vs. Megalon, Gozilla vs. Mechagodzilla (aka ...vs. The Cosmic Monster, ...vs. The Bionic Monster), Godzilla 1985, Godzilla vs. Biollante, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. ...plus all movies after 2000. There might be some discontinued DVDs of a few titles, but all of these appear to be missing on DVD right now. A truly ultimate collection should include all or most of these titles or at least all of the first set of movies from 1954-1975 (Japanese release dates). That would include the original through Terror of Mechagodzilla. ...which also had the same actor in the Godzilla suit for all of them. He was also in the suit for Godzilla 1985, I think. I can't remember his name.

As a fan, I feel insulted with each video release from Sony. I also wish Toho would display some interest in fans and push for quality DVD releases that show some respect for the titles.

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