"Good" Godzilla DVDS?
 

I was in Best Buy the other day browsing around, and noted that there were quite a few original Godzilla movies (Godzilla Vs. " ") and Rodan movies.

Are there any companies to avoid? Which are safe?

Any good online deals?

Thanks!

The older Godzilla movies available from Sony/Columbia are pan & scan w/ only english dubs.

The Mothra/Ghidorah double feature is like the above.

The double-feature w/ Space Godzilla & Destoroyah are in 1.85:1 w/ english dubs.

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus is 2.35:1 w/ Japanese or English 5.1. Very nice.

Gozilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack is same as the Megaguirus dvd.

G. v. Megaguirus and GMK are anamorphic too. Very nice. The subtitles are actually dubtitles, but I don't think any major liberties were taken with the english dub.

The New Godzilla v. Mechagodzilla due for release in March should be the same quality as the last two G releases.

As for the Gamera movies, the three 1990's movies released by ADV films are worth getting. The other Gamera movies are all pan-and-scan dubbed cheapies to be avoided unless you really need the movie.

I highly recommend Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah (Giant Monsters All-Out Attack). It's my pick as best Godzilla film since the original.

The 3 recent Gamera movies (available through ADV) are outstanding as well (and, not coincidentally, have the same Director - Shusuke Kaneko - as GMK).

I haven't gotten Godzilla VS Megaguirus yet, but I'm planning on getting it in the next couple of weeks.

There are reviews in my sig of the older discs.

The last three movies made (not on my site) were released uncut with the original Japanese soundtrack.

ONLY purchase them if they have the original Japanese dialogue, if it's a good transfer or not, anamorphic widescreen and the longer 'Gojira' instead of the Americanised 'Godzilla' would be the ones to look for.
My two cents...

Scour your local used DVD stores for any Simitar releases of the older Godzilla titles, as they're out of print but are better versions than the Sony editions that came out recently.

For the modern Godzilla movies, GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and Godzilla vs Megaguirus are great discs. Godzilla 2000 is pretty good too, although there's no original Japanese track.

We're sort of at Toho's mercy for R1 releases. Thankfully, these recent Godzilla titles have been fantastic. (Extras would have been nice, but I'm not complaining!) Hopefully, they'll provide us with more awesome releases and re-releases.

If nothing else, the Americanized Godzilla 2000 is worth getting just for the commentary track.

Ahh, warms my heart to see folks discussing the big guy.

If you're willing to look through all the Godzilla listings on eBay regularly (about 8 pages on average), you can on occasion find the Simitar box set listed. I've seen more than a few sellers do a poor job of describing what they have in their auction title. When that happens, you can get a tremendous deal. I got my Simitar set for $33.85 including shipping! I saw another one recently go for $22.50 plus shipping! If you want the Classic Media set (which actually isn't owned by Sony I recently learned), DDD has it for less than $24 shipped.

I think the Columbia/Tri Star pipeline is pretty well established now, so getting the "Millennium Era" Godzilla movies from here on out should be a non-issue. As for unreleased Showa and Heisei movies, it seems like every movie has it's own unique obstacle hindering it (well not quite every, but still).

Damage, I noticed you got the DaiMajin set. Like it?

Well, unless you're looking to get R2 or R3 discs, you've limited yourself considerably. When I first started looking for DaiKaiju Eiga DVDs, I kind of told myself the same thing. I quickly realized I could have the unrealistic expectation, or I could get what's available and at least have something. Here's my choice.

Mine too.

Great movies. DVDs are very good. They could have been great though

It's got a real Heisei feel to it IMO.

Love that movie. Has a great "replayability" quality about it.

LOL, I think the only DVD I've got solely on the merits of the commentary is Mallrats. Mike Schlesinger's commentary on G2000 is great, but the DVD is worth having either way (yes I would have loved the unedited Japanese version as well).

If you haven't heard, Ryuhei Kitamura has officially been announced to direct Godzilla: Final Wars. While I am not a fan of Versus, I have seen another one of his films (Azumi) and enjoyed it. This upcoming movie will feature 10 kaiju and international locations! Read about it here.