If you look at just a few movies within the 28 that have in some shape or form found there way to the States. It is obvious the kind of horrible editing that some of these films undergo. The Return of Godzilla was almost totally transformed into dubbed over comedy making a laughing stock out of the Godzilla series. However, thanks to Raymond Burr (woohoo
) that didn't happen. But even so the version of the movie that was released in American theaters was very different from the Japanese. Here is a list of some of the edits:
* Shortened and alterd: Godzilla roars and the crew fell whereas the audience sees Steven Martin after Godzilla roars.
* Shortened: Goro's fight with the mutated sea louse; the louse's voice was also changed.
* Deleted: Goro calling his editor from an island.
* Deleted: Professor Hayashida showing Okumura photographs of Godzilla's 1954 attack and later discussing the mutant sea lice with an aide at the police hospital.
* Shortened: The scene where Naoko learns her brother is alive; Goro snaps pictures of them reunited, which angers Naoko because she realizes he only helped her in order to get the scoop.
* Shortened: The meeting between the Japanese prime minister and the Russian and American ambassadors. Also deleted was a scene after the meeting in which the prime minister explains to his aides how he was able to reach a consensus with both sides. Furthermore, this scene appears before Godzilla's attack on the nuclear power plant in the American version, whereas in the Japanese version it appears afterwards.
* Deleted: Hayashada and Naoko making a wave generator.
* Altered: Godzilla's first attack on the nuclear power plant.
* Added: Part of Christopher Young's score from Def Con 4 in several scenes (including Godzilla's attack on the Soviet submarine, the scene where the SDF armored division arrives in Tokyo Bay, and Okumura's near-death experience during the helicopter extraction in Tokyo).
* Deleted: A shot of an American nuclear missile satellite in space (probably done in order to make America appear less aggressive).
* Altered: Almost all of Godzilla's rampage through Tokyo. Scenes of a crowd fleeing Godzilla that appeared later in the Japanese print were moved to an earlier point in the movie (and corresponding footage of them gathering around Godzilla after he is knocked out by the Super X was removed), the Super X fight was re-arranged (in the Japanese version, Godzilla fires his death ray at the Super X after being hit with cadmium missiles, not before), and various other scenes of destruction were either placed in a different order or deleted completely. Some fans were particularly upset by the removal of a shot showing Godzilla reflected in the windows of a large skyscraper(The Yurakucho Mullion Building) during the scene in which he attacks the Bullet Train.
* Deleted: All shots which employed a life-size replica of Godzilla' foot (mostly seen near the end); only one shot of the big foot crushing parked cars during the nuclear power plant scene was kept.
Thats quite a long list. And thats just one Godzilla movie. Now I can understand some of the earlier Godzilla movies being "Americanized" because they were released shortly after World War II took place. Heck I always thought Raymond Burr was awesome in the first movie. But I saw the first Godzilla movie when I was still in elementary school, it was actually the first one I ever saw. So I grew up on the version as did many others.
However, I think in the later years it would probably of helped Godzilla's image in American film and culture if the films had been kept in their original forms. 1984, for example. Of course it didn't help Godzilla's image anymore when GINO came around and tarnished the image of Godzilla. But even so thats another discussion in it of itself.
I am basically just pondering how the massive amounts of editing could have contributed to the unpopularity of Kaiju films in the United States. Or is it just because the movies are really terrible and we are all nerds? Lol
