Amazon.com video review:
That's right, they didn't stop making Gozilla films in the mid-'70s
like you thought, but resurrected the rubberized reptile in the mid-'80s
and have continued making crazy, clear-your-Saturday-afternoon-schedule
offerings to this very day. And here in this double-feature disc are two
of
the craziest from the early '90s.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidora involves some western folks in a flying
saucer from the future who come back to warn Japan of its imminent demise
by
Godzilla. But their real aim is to aid in that destruction, thus
keeping Japan from becoming an economic powerhouse.
Along
the way, some cute little creatures they've brought with them are
transformed into King Ghidora, the not-so-cute nemesis of Godzilla, and the
two inevitably battle it out as unwitting champions of their
times. The special effects are tops, the action is silly and pulpish, and
the plot is lifted partially from Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1968).
If you don't watch this film with a silly grin on your face, you just
aren't
a Godzilla fan.
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth is a variation on one of the
best of the old Godzilla films, Godzilla vs. The Thing (1964). When
a meteorite hits the Earth, Godzilla is awakened, along with Mothra and his
evil twin Battra, the Black Mothra! Mothra must save the Earth from these
scourges, with the help of its minions, the Cosmos, those twin miniature
girls who sing the eerily beautiful Mothra theme from the earlier film.
And
the special effects are even more impressive and hallucinatory than before,
if that's
possible.
The pleasure of seeing these rarities on DVD is only slightly hampered by
their truncated aspect ratios; yes, Mothra's widescreen wings have been
clipped down to paltry pan and scan, and thus denuded of its native
Tohoscope.
--Jim Gay
