Godzilla: Final Wars: 50TH Anniversary DVD Review

Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!

Title: Godzilla: Final Wars: 50^TH Anniversary

Region: One

Genre: Monster Action

Stars: Masahiro Matsuoka, Akira Takrada, Kazuki Kitamura, Masami Nagasawa, Rei Kikukawa, Kane Kosugi, Maki Mizuno, Chihiro Otsuka, and Don Frye

Writers: Isao Kiryama and Ryuhei Kitamura

Based On A Story By: Watagru Mimura and Shogo Tomiyama

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura

Feature length: 125 minutes

Extras: Godzilla B-Roll To Film Featurette, Previews

Languages: Japanese and English Language Dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English and French Language Subtitles

Packaging: Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 28

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Toho Pictures Inc. Co. LTD.

Home Video Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

“King Kong” is not the only big screen creature getting the deluxe treatment in cinema for all his contributions in movie history, “Godzilla” or “Gojira” as he is properly referred to in Japan celebrated his 50^th anniversary in 2004 with the theatrical release of “Godzilla: Final Wars,” which was the first Toho Godzilla film to have it’s world premiere in Los Angeles. Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus), “Godzilla: Final Wars” is more an homage to the rich history of the classic big screen monster with the cinematic appearances of many creatures that have not appeared on the big screen in decades. There is also some stock footage in the film’s opening prologue from various Toho monster pictures that attempts to create some continuity that ties many of the films together. This particular release marks the conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy Series that began in 1999 and even features cameos from a few Japanese Actors that appeared in early Godzilla films. Not counting the stock footage shots from the film’s opening, I believe there are more monsters in this film than in the fan favorite “Destroy All Monsters.” Among them is the CGI “Godzilla” from the American 1998 feature film who has an all too brief confrontation with the real Godzilla in a chapter marked on the DVD as “Pretender To The Throne.”

The film also calls to mind a few other influences that range from “The Matrix” to “Star Blazers” AKA “Space Battleship Yamato.” In fact Extreme Fighting Champion Don Frye, who has some of the most memorable moments in the film as the Captain of the Contengo, looks a bit like the Captain of the Yamato from the first series that aired in America entitled “The Quest For Iscandar.” As a fan of that “Old School” anime series, I could not help but think that a live action version of the “Space Battleship Yamato” is more than possible and I wish it would come to fruition. The film is a bit over the top and definitely campy, but it delivers the goods and is ultimately fun to watch. The costuming of the Earth Defense Force personnel at times looked a bit fascist, which might be disturbing to some viewers.

The story has Godzilla being freed from his icy hibernation to save the world from the Xiliens, a race that intends on serving man on a dinner plate. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presents “Godzilla: Final Wars” on DVD with an anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) aspect ratio with a choice of the original Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack as well as an English Language Dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack. At times the picture quality looks a bit hazy like someone put Vaseline on the lens, but otherwise there are no anomalies to note. The Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack has a definite higher fidelity over the English Dubbed Soundtrack, but for those who prefer to watch a movie without having to read subtitles, it is good that a 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is provided in both Japanese and dubbed in English. English and French Language Subtitles are encoded onto the DVD as options too.

Some B-roll to final scene footage comparisons (17:53) and previews that include “Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children”, “Steamboy” (1:42), “Dust To Glory” (2:01), “Madison” (2:08), “Mirror Mask” (1:09) and a “Godzilla DVD Promo” (1:55) wrap up the features on this disc.

“Godzilla: Final Wars: 50^TH Anniversary” will debut on DVD-Video at retailers on and offline on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Return To The Previous Page

Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!