Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

I first picked up a copy of "Godzilla vs. Megalon" on VHS in 1997, after missing a screening at the local repertory cinema. It sparked a whole new renewed interest in Godzilla and Kaiju films for me, and I loved the campiness of that movie.

In any case, I just got the original Japanese version on DVD, and noticed a glaring and disturbing difference. During the end sequence on the DVD, where they all run towards Jet Jaguar, the editing is seamless. On my dubbed VHS tape, there's a shot with the two men and little boy running, which cuts to a shot of them all standing, waiting for their cue from the director, and then running towards Jet Jaguar. It was always funny to me, and I liked it that way. Are there really two different cuts of that scene, or was this re-edited for the DVD?

I haven't watched the entire film yet, I've just scanned it to see the qualtiy. Seeing the Japanese version with its clear visuals and original audio will be weird and unsettling. I miss the horrendous dubbing, complete with treble-y distortion and strange accents ("Jet Jag-U-war"). Something tells me I'm going to miss the shrill sound of the little boy screaming "HEYYYYYYYYYYY! JET JAGUAR!" Even though it's been replaced by a nicer copy, I don't think I'll get rid of my VHS tape this time around.

Gotta love that Jet Jaguar karaoke, though![/i]

that poor shot was in the original movie, but has since been (thankfully) re-done- it's not even in the German version of the movie now (i don't think, but el-brazo or Garasharp can tell us for sure) any more.

see, i can be for changing a film slightly when released on DVD!

i'm still hoping for a nice quality DVD from Sony of Megalon.

David

That's interesting that Toho actually changed the shot for the DVD. I can't really blame them, but it was also one of my favorite parts of the movie!

A Sony DVD would be great. Does an English dub of the uncut version exist that they could use for such a DVD? It seems to me the dub on the most common version was done in Hong Kong and might be missing a few scenes.

it was released uncut in the US (except for the opening credits, and considering the audience at the time 8-12 year olds, no big deal) so all the scenes are in English. the only thing missing from the Sony disc would be the too cool for words trailers.

David

Y'know, I don't remember seeing that shot in any of the versions I've seen. Not even the UK tapes or tv showings. But then I've a poor memory for stuff like that. I'll check the German dvd when I get home, but I'll bet El-Brazo will have the info up here before I do.

Tylerpistol said: "On my dubbed VHS tape, there's a shot with the two men and little boy running, which cuts to a shot of them all standing, waiting for their cue from the director, and then running towards Jet Jaguar. It was always funny to me, and I liked it that way. Are there really two different cuts of that scene, or was this re-edited for the DVD?"

This is not in the Japanese verison; it's also not in the English dubbed print that Toho has for theatrical bookings. When Cinema Shares licensed the North American rights to the film, they got this funky English dubbed version with that gaffe. Perhaps they got a work print -- because a gaffe like that would, and was, cut from previous Japanese versions.

And before anyone starts saying that Toho just recently "fixed" the problem, I seriously doubt that they would spend over $6000 to fix that gaffe -- and it costs about $6000 to strike a single print of a color film (more for a black & white film) -- especially for a gaffe in a film of MEGALON's calibre. Since Toho has refused to spend the money to digitially repair the optical printer damage in THE MYSTERIANS, why would they spend thousands of dollars to fix one edit in MEGALON?

In all previous, non-Cinema Shares versions I have seen of this film, that gaffe is not present. MEGALON was edited by award-winning film editor, Michiko Ikeda (a woman), here's a partial list of her credits:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0407438/

it is odd that it was in every English print of Megalon i've ever seen until i saw the PAL version. i'm glad it's gone, since that sort of mistake makes any movie looks poor, and i've always wondered how it got in there.

David