Synopsis:

1956 saw the advent of the biggest actor to ever come out of Japan. Godzilla hit American shores and took everyone by surprise. Fueled by anti-nuclear sentimentality, It's message was clear and to the point. Start messing with atoms and death will soon follow. A series of mysterious ship sinkings is plaguing Japans' sea, residents of a small fishing village are complaining about a leviathan that comes from the very depths of the sea and destroys all in it's path. Unable to come to a decision regarding the validity of their claims, the Diet convenes in special session to decide upon a course of action. Steve Martin (Raymond Burr) is an American reporter covering the story from Japan. After contacting the authorities, he is allowed access to the data regarding these events. A Japanese officer is assigned to him to help with not only the language barrier but to provide assistance in gaining access to sites off-limits to the general public. While interviewing the fisherman, a great and loud sound is heard coming from the bay. Following this sound, the villagers and Steve are confronted with something none of them were expecting. Godzilla. An ancient beast rejuvenated by the nuclear detonations of the Second World War. Godzilla destroys everything, sparing nothing. After his brief appearance at the fishing village, he heads to Tokyo Bay where he levels a good portion of the city and leaves what remains in ashes. Nothing the military has done can stop him. It seems all of Japan and indeed the world will fall prey to the unstoppable force known as Godzilla!

Audio/Video:

The audio like the video is something of a disappointment. It's been remastered in 5.1 but again; the overall surround presence is more of the center/fronts on every speaker. The LFE tries to impress with Godzilla's many thunderous footsteps but it never equals the power of the images. The dialogue was fairly clean and showed only the smallest measure of background hiss.

The video is presented in full frame and widescreen (flipper) Black & White and, shows just about every scratch, fleck and hair imaginable. I have a copy of the laserdisc version of the original 1954 version and it's far cleaner than this DVD copy of the 1956 American Edition. The image is really not up to par on this film.

Extras:

The disc boasts a boatload of extras. Namely the trailers for all the features in the "Five Rampaging Movies" pack. The only trailer that plays is that of this film. None of the other trailers play at all. This was really disturbing as this is one of the better features (presumably) for the disc. The trivia game that's included is more boring than it is engaging and the video art gallery kicks the disc back to the Trailer menu. In all, I'm really disappointed in the extras on this disc on the whole. I could have lived with just the one disc doing this but all the discs in this set do the exact same things. They are labeled as having all of these extras but they either don't work or are so uninvolving they weren't needed on the disc in the first place. Way to go Simitar!

Overall:

Godzilla/Gojira came on the scene in 1954. Two whole years before it's chopped up cousin hit these shores. The American censors cut out all the "anti-American" sentiment and in it's place edited Perry Mason into the film. If you watch very closely, you'll notice that the character of Steve Martin only interacts with the film's main characters with their backs facing the camera. Easier for the stand ins. Additionally, they created a character just for Steve to interact with throughout the whole of the film. Is Godzilla-1956 a good film, marginally yes. After seeing the actual 1954 film, this one pales in comparison. The whole feel of the 1954 film is different. Since most Americans only know this film as "THE" Godzilla movie, it's probably worth a look-see. But for the true fan, this is not even close! Given the transfer errors, poorly executed extras and less than thrilling 5.1 platform, I'd have to say that this one's worthy of skipping. But if you need a quick "Zilla" fix then it's good for a rental. With the release of Godzilla 2000, it would appear that Godzilla has come full circle but it's still suffering from a deplorable lack of insight in that like it's 1954 predecessor, it met with editing and a not so adequate dubbing job. Hopefully, in the years to come, Godzilla will receive the kind of respect it deserves! Rental