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[tab title="Movie Review"]

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A.K.A Godzilla on Monster Island

Are you Team Godzilla or Team Gigan?

Because, in the fight against giant mutated cockroaches, it matters. Yes, alien cockroaches are behind the plans to do away with Godzilla and his pal, Anguirus, who swim across the ocean to save mankind from having their home captured by these cockroaches posing as humans. Sound insane? Well, it is. But unlike Godzilla vs. Hedorah, this one pulls off the crazy plot with humor – intentional or not – and an epic beat-down as Godzilla and Anguirus battle a frequency controlled Gigan and King Gidorah.

Spinning a thread from the cartoon bumpers used in the previous film, manga artist Gengo Kotaka (Hiroshi Ishikawa) uncovers an alien plot to take over the world. This adds a new level to the Godzilla mythos, making the movie feel a bit more current than its early 1970s date of birth. While Godzilla and Anguirus (who hilariously talk to each other in the English dub) spend most of the movie crossing the ocean to get to where the action is, Kotaka teams up with his ass-kicking girlfriend Tomoko (Yuriko Hishimi) and a sidekick named Shosaku (Minoru Takashima) to take on the alien cockroaches on Monster Island.

Directed by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano, the movie is a marvel in that it actually works. There are a lot of crazy effects and a lot of dynamic battles as Godzilla and the spikey Anquirus take on the new monster in the form of Gigan and the three-headed returning monster of King Gidorah. It’s a double-featured battle royale that leaves no man (or beast) standing.

But it does leave Godzilla sitting…like a human…as he ponders his next move against his powerful enemies. It’s a stunt – right before a hilarious Muhammad Ali move-stealing moment – that is as odd as it sounds. The fight choreographer had fun with this spectacle of two again two and throws everything into the fighting monsters, who tag each other in and out of the action.

The humans, after the almost complete destruction of Tokyo courtesy of King Gidorah and Gigan, can only stand and watch as these titans tackle each other until their cockroach control is lifted and they shuffle off back into the deepest parts of space. Action-heavy, Godzilla vs. Gigan is last film in which Godzilla was portrayed by Haruo Nakajima (who had played the character since the first film in 1954).

So which team is it? Are you on Godzilla’s side or do you fight alongside Gigan? Choose wisely.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: PG for sci-fi monster violence and some language.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Jun Fukuda
Writer: Shin'ichi Sekizawa
Cast: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima
Genre: Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi
Tagline: Alien Monsters Threaten to Destroy Mankind!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Children's Land? Is that some sort of a fancy name for a lunatic asylum?"
Distributor: Cinema Shares International Distribution
Official Site:
Release Date: August 1977
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 6, 2014
Synopsis: A man begins to suspect that something is wrong about his employers; meanwhile, Godzilla and Anguirus are alerted to something strange going on.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - May 6, 2014
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A

Released by Section 23 under their new Kraken Releasing label, Godzilla vs. Gigan is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The 1080p transfer was mastered from the "new" international version. This means the source also has considerable grain levels, which is very obvious in some of the more well-lit sequences. Thankfully, most of the monster action happens at night which does mask the noticeable grain levels. The most obvious downfall of the disc is that the colors are on the more dull side, lacking a rich vibrant array. Regardless, there are a few sequences that do look quite impressive like some of the shots of the monsters. The Blu-ray has two audio tracks, one the original Japanese version and the other the International English dub version. Both are presented in mono and sound good, with no distortions in either track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

The disc comes with the original Japanese trailer with English subtitles for both the text and dialogue, which is cool to see.

• Original Japanese Trailer (2 min)

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[tab title="Trailer"]

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