A Godzilla movie not intended for Godzilla, and with a large helping of not-Godzilla screentime.
What They Say:
When Ryota’s brother Yata disappears at sea, the intrepid youth and his friends join forces with a slightly trustworthy bank robber, steal a boat, and go after him! Of course, there’s the little problem that Yata may be lost on a mysterious island where the evil terrorist organization Red Bamboo has enslaved natives to make heavy water for nefarious purposes. And that means dealing with the island’s monstrous, 164-feet-tall guardian Ebirah as well as Red Bamboo’s arsenal of super advanced weaponry.
On the plus side, help may be at hand in the form of a nubile island girl, two tiny fairies, their giant protector Mothra and the big G himself, the mighty Godzilla. Surviving the results of all that “assistance” may not be guaranteed, but Red Bamboo will never want to tangle with teenagers AND Godzilla at the same time again!
The Review:
Audio:
The release of this feature contains both the original Japanese language track as well as an English dub with both tracks make full use of the Blu Ray format as they are present in DTS-HD Master Audio though in both cases the track is only a mono one due to the age of the film. For the purpose of this review the Japanese track was used and it was found to be well done with no drop outs noted though there were a few places where the sound felt a little flat and one where it can across as tinny but they weren’t overly distracting. If anything the audio track could probably have used a little roughing up with a kind of audio version of film grain to help make a more even sound overall as there are places where the high level of audio really makes clear the soundstage nature of the filming as a telltale echo can be heard and the couple of places with some obvious post production ADR patch ins stick out rather noticeably. The English track was briefly checked and the bit sampled was fine if perhaps done in an older style of foreign movie dubbing- not quite as outrageous in some of its performances as the original shorter version of the film the US got (and which was used on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode that covered the film) but which probably would have been changed if done in a more recent time period.
Video:
Originally premiering in theaters in Japan in 1966, the feature is presented here 1080p High Definition in its theatrical 2.35:1 ratio. The presentation is one that is a bit contradictory in nature to describe as on the one hand its age shows in the film stock as there are a rather good share of elements present that one would expect from a film its age as there are pops, scratches and other noise that are common to films of the same age (and even younger) that have not gone through a meticulous re-master project. In addition the film has a decent level of grain that doesn’t distract most the time except for when the film tries to merge two separate pieces of film to make it look like the monsters and humans are actually interacting as the filmmakers never quite manage to figure out a way to synch these without the separate image grains really helping to undercut their efforts. On top of that the Blu Ray presents the problem common to well done DVDs and competent Blu Rays with this type of monster film as all the little things that may be lost on lower resolution screens or murky transfers show up from time to time such as wires that hold up various monsters or that are used to create destructive effects and even from time to time the fact that the sky backdrops are panted panels can be discerned.
On the other hand however the colors are pretty remarkable for a film its age and while it doesn’t look as good as the original Star Trek series from the same year after its re-master, the film looks remarkably better than most of the versions of that contemporary show that was available before it got retouched. While colors don’t quite pop as much as they probably did on the set the film does look really good and it is hard to imagine that anyone is ever going to spend the amount of money it would likely take at this point to make it look any better making this a Blu Ray that is worth purchasing for Godzilla fans even if they own a previous release on DVD.
Packaging:
The feature comes in an eco single disc Blu-Ray case that has pieces of the case taken out which makes it lighter (and likely cheaper to produce) but which does open up the possibility for the sleeve to get damaged more easily in routine handling. As for the sleeve, a few years back when a different company was releasing a number of Toho films they went with a look that provided an image of a theatrical poster on the cover and surrounded it with a flashy almost metallic print like boarder/case and Kraken Releasing feature kind of keeps part of that theme going with a Japanese theater poster in the center surrounded by a boarder that almost looks like Godzilla-green flesh (or what it might look like without the creatures distinctive scar ridges anyway). The release also includes a tag line at the top of the front cover in a deep, almost forest green type color just over the US title of the film in white while the original Japanese title is presented in a more vibrant green at the bottom.
On the back the background green texture continues with five stills from the film present (noticeable with each of the main monsters in the film getting at least one image) as well as a pair of tagline and a box containing the “What they say” portion from above. Below that is a small set of circles highlighting the three main monsters in the movie (though one more appears briefly in the film and is ignore) as well as the tech specs, copyright info and a box listing the languages and extra. The biggest standout to the sleeve’s theme though is found on the spine which uses a bright green background with both the US and (translated) Japanese tile on it in white with Kraken Releasing’s logo at the bottom though the disc label itself reverts to the green skin like texture background with the US title in white over the hub and the Japanese (translated) title in that bright-ish green below the hub.
Menu:
The Blu Ray menu is one that is a rather simple but competent one that uses a static image that has a leaping out of the water Ebirah on the left and close up of the atomic fire spitting Godzilla on the right that feels like it was either from promotional art or spliced together than taken from the film given the scale differences between the two main creatures. The menu selection appears at the bottom of the screen on a grayish bar with the options listed in a bright green some small green splotches sprinkled about, one group of which might be a nod to the releasing company’s logo tendril. Each selected Menu options are shown with the same color green splotches appearing over them which then turn the color of the options white in order for them to still stand out.
On the language screen the current selected language has a small speaker and audio waves image to indicate which option is chosen while the green splotches appear over the other language option- the biggest problem here is that the menu almost instantly shifts back to the main after making a selection and one might feel the need to go back and check which option is selected and so using this menu for the first time can be confusing of frustrating. The only option that has a significant difference is that when selecting the Japanese trailers the splotch effect turns to red.
Extras:
The only extra on the disc is a is a theatrical film trailer that looks to be in poor condition as if it were either left in a location that helped eat away at its colors or if it didn’t receive some sort of re-mastering as it is tinted and not at all representative of the quality of the film itself presentation. Then again, the trailer isn’t all that representative of the film’s monster appearance versus humans as the trailer is very, very heavy on the monsters and doesn’t give a fair representation of the proportion of screen time they (don’t) get either so maybe it is a bit of a wash.
After a storm appears to take Ryota’s older brother Yata and the other men working on a fishing boat along with him, the governing powers assume he and the others are dead when debris shows up but no survivors and they decline to spend any more resources to find the missing men and even the local villagers are prepared to write Yata off, or at least consider him as such given that they don’t have the means to attempt their own ocean search. While everyone else seems to have reached a point of trying to move on with the practicality of the situation, Yata’s family is not prepared to give up as his mother is visiting a psychic to try to see if they can find her missing son in the land of the dead while Ryota is taking a less paranormal approach and is visiting potential sources of help in person, attempting to win over first the local police and then the media to obtained a boat, though with no more concrete results to show for the effort.
As Ryota has reached the point of grasping at straws as he can’t find anyone willing and able to help he sees an ad for a dance contest where the winner will receive a luxury sail boat and he sets off for the competition only to discover he is about 3 days to late to enter when he encounters two young men who had been aiming for the prize but came up short in the endeavor. Taking pity on Ryota and his obsession with boats the two take him with them down to a nearby harbor and decide on a whim to enter one of the moored vessels to check it out only to discover that while amply stocked with supplies it also has an inhabitant- one armed with a gun who graciously allows the trio to stay overnight when he hears the story.
Everything goes array in the morning though when the owner of the gun and two failed competitors awake to find they have been shanghaied and are already well out to sea. Even worse, the owner of the gun turns out to have been as much of a trespasser as the other three and knows nothing about boats which combined with the two now sea sick former competitors leaves them at the mercy of the obsessed Ryota and his seemingly mad quest. As the well stocked larder becomes drained by their time at sea the hijacked members plot to try to learn how to sail so they can overpower Ryota but fate isn’t going to give them a chance when a fierce storm brews- but it is the appearance of a giant claw in the midst of the squall that dooms their voyage.
Luckily the four men had the presence of mind to don life jackets which allows them to wake up on an island still in the mortal realm but the karma from having stolen the boat and one other member’s past may not yet be balanced as the island they find themselves has enough fruit to keep them alive but it also has a military looking base complete with armed soldiers patrolling it- soldiers who show they are not the welcoming sort shoot down some escaping slaves a safely arriving boat had just brought to the island. As the group watches a pair of the slaves manages to escape the soldiers and get to a small boat and make it to seeming safety until the same claw that sank their stolen ship appears and sinks the men as well- and with the claw comes the rest of the giant shrimp monster which consumes the two men.
The shipwrecked and stunned quartet then meet up with another captive who had snuck away during the earlier confusion and who has some answers as to who both the soldiers and the monstrous being are. This new group of comrades also discover that things are about to get much worse as the soldiers realize on captive has escaped and they start a calculated plan to track her down and the group is forced to hide out in a cave and try to figure out what their next move. Things seem to temporarily improve as Ryota finds his brother is still alive and on the island that the woman came from- and even more promising that island is known as Infant Island- the home of Mothera who may awake and come and save her people and be able to get them past the monstrous Ebirah who attacks those in the sea if they can just wait out the searches.
As the group then starts to plan its next move with some members unwilling to just wait for Mothera to appear as they have a desire to act and see just what the force they are up against is, a schism forms as two members decide they are better served hiding and they can’t be persuaded to move along with the rest of the small group. As one of the men who wants to stay watches a rock he threw down a crevice go down to the bottom of a cavern in the cave they take refuge in though he changes his mind suddenly and the group discovers that there is yet another surprise on the island for them as at the bottom of the cave lays the slumbering giant form of Godzilla. Suddenly the group is very spurred to take action as they need to discover just how the shadowy army can sail to and from the island without being attacked by Ebirah as having to deal with armed soldiers seems much preferable to either the devil in the sea or the giant lizard…but when their plan goes astray they may be forced to awaken the sleeping giant and hope his presence creates more of a disturbance to their other opponents than to them as they desperately attempt to get off what may be the most dangerous island in the Pacific.
The Godzilla franchise is one that has pretty vast number of items that fit under it, from the films to cartoons and comic books which have helped make the creature one of the most recognizable icons in the world but which on the other hand have created a situation where the tone from film to film can be quite different with the giant creature lumbering between menace and almost guardian in its various appearances. While the original Gojira presents the creature as almost a dark a force of nature judging humans for their scientific trespasses, twelve years and five movies in between left the team behind Ebirah-Horror of the Deep (or as its internationally known Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster) with a quite a bit of room with how to portray the fan favorite creature as they attempted to square him off against a new foe, with a result that comes across as rather mixed.
Of course given the film was originally supposed to star another (literal and figurative) giant of the screen, King Kong, it probably isn’t too surprising that things went off track a bit when Toho swapped the borrowed ape out for their in house star. When the major star had to be replaced it created an opportunity to feature some different areas but for whatever reason it appears that at least parts, if not the entirety- of the script is barely changed leading to points where the giant creature acts well out of character for itself, such as a point where the film’s beauty charms him to sleep, a decidedly un-Godzilla like behavior not to mention the hesitation Godzilla shows in taking the fight against his opponent into the sea. It also doesn’t help any that the monsters play a surprisingly small role in the film for much of the film with Godzilla not making an appearance till thirty minutes in and even then taking almost another twenty minutes to be active after that and most of the monster combat scenes are rather smaller scale than many of the other film’s in the series, reflective of the lot smaller scale of a location to destroy. It isn’t just Godzilla that makes out badly from this either as Mothera’s appearance in the film is more distraction that breaks up the narrative and seems like the writers wanted to get in another Toho creation to tie the film up with a literal Deus ex Machina making an appearance rather than writing in a more human proactive solution for those members of the cast which leaves them with less cloture as well.
If the film’s biggest star can get this treatment it probably shouldn’t shock anyone that most of the human characters don’t make out a whole lot better in terms of development. In some ways the film almost feels like two or three films patched together as while the monsters do their thing and Ryota searches for his brother the human cast gets saddled with a plot that contains a strong almost spy element to the film as the human characters strive to discover just what it is that the mysterious military like organization on the island (known as Red Bamboo) is up to and they attempt to foil the groups plans once they discover the secret behind what is being made at the facility. Most of the actors bring a strong performance but are given precious little to establish them with the two characters picked up from the dance making out the worst as there is precious little screen time given to any individual and they seem to really shafted and stuck as little more than mobile prop devices to be used when needed and otherwise just present to fill out the screen and serve in actions that don’t quite fit the other characters.
On top of this of course it the usual detriments most people notice with the giant Toho films- obviously fake rocks that move with a touch, rubber set pieces that bend at the wrong time and places where the live action actors are attempted to be worked in with the various giant monsters showing the obvious inserted effect or use of a projection screen to make the two vastly different in size beings look like they might be interacting. On top of that, the feature’s Blu Ray presentation makes it even harder to ignore the presence of wires in many scenes and the obvious painted tiles that make up the painted sky backdrop in many scenes.
And yet, despite the negatives there is still a bit of a charm to the film as Watanabe Toru’s Ryota brings a strong and relatable core to the beginning of the film and his character’s journey as well as almost maniacal like obsession that works nicely to help bring together some elements that otherwise would lack cohesion. In addition, Godzilla film veteran Takarada Akira’s Yoshimura gives the film its own charming rogue who brings a spark to a character that could (and possibly should) have been a bit shadier which would have made the film seem less redeeming for his character, though just how much redemption he gets is rather in question due to the script anyway. While the Red Bamboo characters are never really flushed out through dialogue their actions like taking captives to their secret production facility on the island help give the film a villain to be defeated that many of the giant monster films lack due to the actions of giant monsters that are hard- if not impossible- to qualify in human terms of good or evil. The film also introduces a small moment that can be the seed for thought afterword as the characters have to decide if the unleashing of the unstoppable force known as Godzilla will wind up helping them or hindering them as the face Red Bamboo on land and Ebirah on sea should they try to escape but which the film glosses over in order to finally get the goliath involved.
In final measure the film winds up being one that fans of the franchise will likely enjoy at least tepidly and which has its mock-able moments (which is demonstrated by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 team having taken its whacks at it early on) but which also has a fair amount of material that is entertaining enough and enjoyable if sadly underdeveloped at times. The brilliance of the Blu Ray however makes this a piece that Godzilla film collectors can enjoy putting onto their shelf as there was clearly some love put in by the people at Kraken Releasing on the film and it shows.
In Summary:
The old adage about “Even when it is bad pizza, it is still pizza” feels like it applies to this particular Godzilla film as the film is not likely to be one that ranks among most fans favorites and yet is a piece that is probably a bit more enjoyable than the individual parts and flaws would suggest. Even with the somewhat remarkable absence in terms of screen time of the feature marquee draw (either the film’s titular Ebirah, the multi movie star Mothera or the franchise spanning monster Godzilla) Godzilla vs. Ebirah is still a title that has some fun moments and even at its worst is still watchable if not memorable or a title I’d suggest quickly to people who wanted to see what Godzilla is about. While the film itself is rather on the boarder of average the work Kraken Releasing put in makes this a film that completists will not feel reservation in owning even in final measure the presentation feels more solid than the actual product and casual or curious fans will at least get a pretty if kind of forgettable entry into the Godzilla franchise.
Content Grade: C+
Audio Grade: A
Video Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade:C-
Extras Grade: CReleased By: Kraken Releasing
Release Date: May 6th, 2014
MSRP: $14.98
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Samsung 50″ Plasma HDTV, Denon AVR-790 Receiver with 5.1 Sony Surround Sound Speakers, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080.
