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I gave my ancient, pre-record, VHS of GODZILLA 1985 to a friend a few years ago and was delighted and surprised last Christmas when he sent a DVD conversion of it to me amongst a lot of other DVD-R goodies. I probably had not watched the film, much last that particular video release of it, since buying the Japanese VHS of the film in late 1986. I was shocked at how grainy and washed out the pan'n'scan, New World video of it is compared to the mid-80's and 1991 Japanese VHS tapes of the film I own. Did all home video editions, even of recent movies, look this bad in the 80's? Was the pan'n'scan process responsible for the awful graininess?

Image quality aside, it was a hoot to see GODZILLA 1985 again. To answer the intial posters as best I can....

1. What was that bug at the beginning of the movie?
The critter is called Shockiras by the Japanese language books I own. If I remember right, the Japanese version, or at least the script for it, makes it clear that it is a normal, modern day sea louse, made large by feeding on Godzilla's radioactive blood.

2. Raymond Burr, in explaining to the knuckleheaded American general what Godzilla is all about, wraps up his history lesson by saying, "And, just for the record, 30 years ago they never found a corpse." Of course they didn't! He was vaporized, wasn't he?

That also really bugged me, even when I saw GODZILLA 1985 in a theater back in 1985, and I was 11 or 12. It makes for a cool, ominous line, but of course one would think that if who ever wrote it was familiar with the 1954/1956 original film, they'd realize it could be construed as odd. But then again Burr's Steve Martin, nor anyone else, was actually witness to Godzilla's body dissolving, and I doubt anyone alive at the end of the film could guess just effective the Oxygen Destroyer was as a weapon. So it's perfertly true that "30 years ago, the never found a body."

Sorry to muddy matters, but in the recent GODZILLA X MECHAGODZILLA, again a fresh start based souly on the original film, the original Godzilla's skeleton is shown to be intact, so even Toho is willing to play fast in loose with the particular's of the original Godzilla's demise!


3. I, for reasons I don't even know, wasn't all over this movie spectacular in 1985. Was Dr. Pepper a major sponsor or something? You see an awful lot of the product during the movie.

Not only are there ample Dr. Pepper product placements in it, at the time Dr. Pepper made a pair of ads featuring Godzilla. Let me dig out the relevant paragraphs from Steve Ryfle's JAPAN'S FAVORITE MON-STAR and I'll get back to you on this one.

4. Has anyone seen or know about the Japanese version of this? Is this another "Americanized" deal, where Raymond Burr is only in the American release?

Burr is only in the New World version, although it's a shame that New World didn't attempt to integrate him even more into the original film, ala' G:KOTM. I really do like Raymond Burr. As it is, I guess for the most part it depends on your own personal taste as to whether New World improved upon the Japanese version. I find the Japanese version slow and rather pretentious and it features one of my least favorite Godzilla suits and musical score. The American version is darn right offensive in it's politics, or at least in the way it warps the original intent. The Russian captain dies trying to stop a missile from accidently launching, not instigating the launch.

The monster action in the American version is also re-arranged to make Godzilla appear more aggresive. For instance in the Japanese version Godzilla never attacks the Super-X (stupid name, I know.) untill after it attacked him first. There are also many cut shots making it clear that it is more his akward size and not malice that causes his destructiveness. I believe the US version also has Godzilla willfuly lunge at the office tower where Dr. Hayashida and gange are testing out their sonic device, where as the Japanese version has Godzilla calmly blinking untill the JSDF attacks him with lasers.

The Japanese version also ends with a cheesy but lovable pop song! Sung by a group apparently called The Star Sisters, it's all in english, and thanks to the Star Sister's Japanese accent includes the gem, "Cross my eyes, and I think of you, my friend." I still love the song to death and consider it and the haunting shots of Mt. Mihara erupting away far superior to the mundane suite (much of which was culled from New World's DEATH CON 4) set to boring black background and reams and reams of credits as is the norm of modern Hollywood movies. Heck, I mean the Star Sisters ludicrous song did pretty well describe my feelings about seeing the big G once again!

5. Who should die first, the wisecracking curly-haired American whatever-he-was assistant to the army general, or the vagrant who copped a major meal and then told Godzilla he should get some manners?

On reviewing, it dawned at me that wisecracking American has an eerie resemblence to Morton Downy JR. I so far have loved anything the latter has ever done, and I wonder if said character in GODZILLA 1985 would had been tolerable if they had somehow gotten Morton Downy JR. to do it!

The hobo is a whole 'nuther matter. From what I can recall, said hobo was played by a then incredibly popular comedian who had a concurrant film series of his own. The character seems totally akward to US audiences, and indeed probrably Japanese audiences today, but I have it on good authority (probrably JAPANESE GIANTS issue devoted to the film.) that in December 1984 Japan, his cameo was hot stuff.

I've never seen a proper boot leg sub of GODZILLA (1984), and it's a shame 'cause some of the Hobo's lines are actually kind of amusing.

Speaking of wierd cameos, in the Japanese version of the film there is a shot a long haired, Japanese catholic priest who smiles as the Shinkansen train he currently is in is lifted up and roared at by Godzilla. I later learned this was yet another "star" cameo..... The priest was played by a member of a vintage 1960's, incredibly popular Beatles knock-off band.

6. What happens next? I know it's Godzilla vs. various monsters. Does that mean he's defending the world again? Or is the rest of the series just a world wreckfest among warring nefarious monsters? Whatever the case, I'm looking forward to Biollante. But I hope Godzilla is a little nicer.