Search - Rodan/War of the Gargantuas on DVD

Charlene J. (Bella963) from REDWOOD CITY, CA
Reviewed on 9/12/2008...

Huge fan of these old monster movies esp Godzilla! Glad to see that War of the Gargantuas is FINALLY on DVD. It was nearly impossible to get unless you want to pay a small fortune on e-bay. Sure its campy but that's the fun of them!

One of Toho's best gets the respect it deserves

new yorker | NYC | 06/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following the release of GOJIRA (Godzilla, King of the Monsters, before Raymond Burr was cut in) and it's sequel, Toho made their first color giant monster movie: RODAN(aka Radon, and Rodan ,The Flying Monster).Unlike most creature features of the time RODAN doesn't make you wait 2/3's of the movie for a monster to show up .Meganurons, giant prehistoric dragonfly larva make their appearance rather early in the film.It's this part of the film that's often compared to "Them".However,in RODAN the giant insects are only the set up.In the most memorable scene, when the character comes out of shock, he not only remembers being trapped underground with the Meganurons but also the hatching of a Rodan chick from it's egg.Having the audience already in on the size of the larva provides instant scale, as the hatchling devours the Meganurons.To add to the excitement of the rest of the picture we learn that in fact two Rodans have hatched.



The film is played straight, unlike later entries in what's become known as the Godzilla series.



Although Rodan has appeared in other films, Gidorah,the Three Headed Monster,Godzilla vs Monster Zero(Invasion of the Astro Monsters),and Destroy All Monsters, the look of Rodan was never as good as in this, the original.



Now for the first time Classic Media is presenting this film to American audiences in both it's original 82 min Japanese language version as well the 72 min English language version.





THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS makes it's DVD debut. It's also presented in both the Japanese Version (88 mins.), and English Version (92 mins.).



Special Features: "Bringing Godzilla Down To Size" a new Documentary (68 mins.)



If the quality of the re-mastering and source material remains the same, as it's been, since their Gojira release, in 2006, this should be the best video release of RODAN ever."

Flawed But Still A Must-Have

Robert H. Knox | Brentwood, NH United States | 09/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"RODAN and THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS are two of Toho's best giant monster films, and both were subjected to awkward and unnecessary Americanization jobs. With this welcome release, USA fans can now easily and cheaply make their comparisons, as Japanese and USA versions of both films are generously included.



GARGANTUAS is especially long-awaited, but, sadly, Classic Media's transfer of the Toho version is a letdown. Toho's print has always been darker, with less-saturated color than the UPA (not AIP!) print. This transfer, however, is WAY too dark, and not terribly sharp; in the scenes with Gailah vs. the military, he often looks like little more than a shadow...just awful! No, my TV settings are not to blame- this transfer is plain inferior to Toho's Laserdisc and DVD releases, which is odd when you consider how many nice DVDs of the Godzilla titles have been released by Classic Media. All the more unfortunate is that the Japanese version of GARGANTUAS works much better as a movie than the English-dubbed one. That version LOOKS much better on this DVD, but its problems are well-known and numerous. Said problems are probably the fault of the late and notoriously clueless producer, Henry Saperstein...I can just envision him looking at the rushes, smoking a huge cigar, and saying, "Don't look like no Frankenstein to me!". So, the Frankenstein references are gone, along with much of the integrity of the screenplay. Gone, also, is much of Ifukube's fine score. (replaced by stupid library music, and even by Ifukube music from previous films: why?) Add to this some ill-advised editing, and Russ Tamblyn instead of Nick Adams...Tamblyn is clearly about half past give-a-damn throughout, though his presence may not be all UPA's fault. Bottom line: this kaiju classic was nearly ruined by gaijin interference. Still, this is the version that most USA fans fondly remember, and the monster mayhem and great Toho cast make GARGANTUAS pretty tough to dislike, so it's good to finally have it.



Both versions of RODAN are fine, and the Japanese print looks great. The USA version has been released before, has many of the same issues as GARGANTUAS, but isn't nearly as painful to watch, apart from the absurd stock footage and narration. I've always been fond of RODAN.



No trailers, galleries or commentaries are included here, which doesn't bother me that much. What is included is the outstanding documentary, BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE...no, it doesn't sing the praises of GODZILLA VS. MEGALON and the like, and that clearly irks some fans, but it does pay attention to several lesser-known (but still significant) Toho FX craftsmen. I thoroughly enjoyed it.



All things considered, a flawed but still worthwhile release for Kaiju fans, especially at this bargain price."

Yes!!!! At last!

D. Lapinski | 07/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rodan's great, but War of the Gargantuas is the treat here. With all very due respect to the original Godzilla and King Kong, I'm just going to throw out there that there is no better giant monster movie than WOTG. I've seen it many times since it gave me nightmares the first time I saw it when I was 5 or so, and it's still nearly perfect. At least in the American version, there are almost no slow spots, some genuine terror and horror, and the monsters are onscreen for an amazing amount of time. Of course there's no putting a movie like this together without some cheeziness, but even that fits perfectly with it being a sixties film.



It's all in there: an almost funnily disinterested performance by Russ Tamblyn (looking a little unenthused and questioning whether he should have taken this gig) as the lead scientist, his babe-aliciuos assistant Kumi Mizuno, the chick lounge singer crooning, Gargantua vs octopus, Gargantua vs military (including masers), Gargantua vs Gargantua, Gargantuas vs city, a volcano... it's got it all. Of course the music is awesome, and I can't believe I'm going to see it in a wider screen view than I ever have. Can't wait!"