LOST MEDIA – GODZILLA 1985: THE LEGEND IS REBORN
Starring Raymond Burr
An Underrated Version That Deserves to be Seen!
By Christopher Gomez
Imagine, if you will, a bygone age, where a family outing could be something as simple as dining at a fast-food chain… where the real reason you went was to expel energy by exploring the twisted labyrinth of fiber glass tubes and plastic ball pits in its adjacent playgrounds. This was the era of Reagan: Big hair. Advertisements being promoted with a cool blast of neon. Lazy afternoons alternated between playing outside with a garden hose or laying in front of a 14 channel television set, and if you were lucky, had cable and saw artists such as Madonna or Cyndi Lauper debuting their latest videos or the first time on MTV (back when MTV was ONLY showed music videos and lived up to their name). There also existed, a long long time ago, a magical place where one could be served a buffet of cinematic splendor and follow it by immersing themselves into the world of make believe within the comfort of their own home.
This magical place that once existed… The Video Store.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
For many “Second Generation” fans, GODZILLA 1985 (a heavily re-edited version of Toho’s THE RETURN OF GODZILLA) was the first Godzilla movie they had ever seen, especially if you were a child growing up in the 80s and early 90s. If you were lucky, first and second generation fans were also able to catch it in its theatrical run.
At this time, I was 4 years old. I had heard some rumblings of a new King Kong ride coming out at Universal Studios and knew what King Kong was. But now there was this new movie. What is this? This thing is bigger than King Kong! It looks like a cross between a dinosaur and a mythical dragon! Not only were there TV spots for this movie playing in rotation, but a Dr. Pepper commercial too was broadcast, featuring a female reporter at the top of an ancient castle and Godzilla breaking the fourth wall, burping after drinking a giant can of Dr. Pepper, torn from a billboard. After watching that, I thought to myself, “I NEED to see this movie!”
It was a family night out. The four of us, my father, mother, my 2-year-old brother, and myself finished our daily viewing of the sitcom SMALL WONDER, left out Home in El Monte, a suburb of greater L.A., and headed eastbound to West Covina, some 30 minutes away, to go rent three movies at Tower Records. And boy, what a line-up to have! The first pick was GHOSTBUSTERS, and in the “New Releases” section, THE GOONIES and GODZILLA 1985. Weirdly, all three movies started with the letter “G.” The first movie we popped into the VCR was GODZILLA 1985. Sadly, GHOSTBUSTERS would have to wait until the following
morning. The strange irony with that choice is that a mirror imaged logo for GHOSTBUSTERS can be seen in both versions of GODZILLA 1985 when a news chopper plummets to a traffic jammed freeway overpass.
My father answered all of my questions regarding Godzilla, and even he was deeply invested in the movie. My mother was making egg salad sandwiches for all three of us in the adjacent kitchen. During a tense scene where a Russian nuclear submarine dives deeper, my mother asked my dad who was lying down on the floor, his arms behind his head, what he wanted on his sandwich. She was met with a “Shhhh!” by my father, as his eyes were glued to the TV not even glancing for a brief second to make eye contact. Godzilla was scary – the attack on the nuclear power plant was suspenseful and oozed with mood and atmosphere. This was my first introduction to the creature, a monster that was terrifying, destructive, and a force of nature. Over the years, I was exposed to the goofiness of the Showa Era films of the late 60s and early 70s, and came to learn that my first impression of this behemoth all those years ago was really the correct one.
In early 1986, GODZILLA 1985 would make its broadcast television premiere as part of The 8 O’clock Movie on L.A.’s Fox 11. I was accompanying my mother Grocery shopping at a Lucky’s supermarket a block away when we raced back home to engage in what was (to me at least), THE television event of the decade. Finishing a bowl of Life cereal, this time I found myself sobbing at Godzilla’s “demise” as it, SPOILER ALERT: was lured to fall into an active volcano. I’d ask my mom to rent the movie again in 1989. Little did I know that this would set the trajectory of some milestones in my life and certain career choices.
SERIOUS BUSINESS: A BRIEF HISTORY ON THE JAPANESE VERSION
After the less than stellar performance of 1975’s TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, Toho had placed Godzilla in hibernation. As early as 1980, there were talks of resurrecting the character in the hopes of going back to how the monster was portrayed in the first film: A mature metaphor and destructive force of nature with ambiguous intentions. Audiences were more sophisticated and many that had seen the Showa Era films as kids were now adults. At the height of The Cold War, it was time to go back to what Godzilla represented.
There would be a few familiar faces from the Showa era working both behind and in front of the camera. Tomoyuki Tanaka returned to executive produce. Teruyoshi Nakano was back as Special Effects Supervisor, this time supported with a healthier budget. Yosuke Natsuki (GHIDRAH: THE THREE HEADED MONSTER, DOGORA) in the supporting role of Prof. Hayashida. Cameos by Hiroshi Koizumi (MOTHRA, MATANGO, GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN) as Prof. Minami. Finally, stuntman and martial artist Kenpachiro Satsuma was making his debut playing Godzilla, and would play Godzilla all throughout the 1990s Heisei Era. Satsuma had started out playing monsters Hedorah and Gigan opposite original Godzilla actor Haruo Nakajima.
Godzilla’s theme music (and/ or his “March”) by composer Akira Ifukube are curiously absent, the rumor was Ifukube was unavailable to return and score this film. However, it is interesting to note that Ifukube’s themes did play over the Japanese theatrical trailer, and of course, Ifukube eventually did return to score some of the later Heisei films, such as GODZILLA VS. KING GHIDORAH and GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH. What is heard in the film is a beautifully stark, God-like, urgent, dramatic music score by Reijiro Koroku. Koroku’s music was a welcomed addition to the franchise and was an element of the film that has since been complimented. While one wonders how Ifukube’s themes would’ve fit had he been hired, just as curious is the fact that Koroku’s theme for Godzilla has never been used again in any subsequent iterations of Godzilla.
Inspired by Carlo Ramabaldi’s attempt to make a full-scale animatronic Kong for Dino DeLaurentiis’ 1976 remake of KING KONG, an impressive 13 foot tall animatronic dubbed the Cybot Godzilla, was constructed. While able to make some frightening expressions, its mobility elsewhere was limited and therefore only used briefly, mostly in close up shots of the face. Despite hardly being used in the final film, to not have all that hard work go to waste, the Cybot was used for promotional display up until the early 90’s.
Directed by SAYONARA JUPITER’S Koji Hashimoto, THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (aka) GODZILLA 1984, debuted in Japanese cinemas on December 15th, 1984. While the human plot is engaging enough, it is pretty standard. However, the film did well in Japan and many praised its darker tone. What Tim Burton’s 1989 BATMAN did for that character, the filmmakers of THE RETURN OF GODZILLA arguably preceded that mindset with its titular creature five years earlier.
A WHOLE NEW WORLD: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN DISTRIBUTOR
New World Pictures was a company founded by legendary producer/ director Roger Corman. By the 1980’s Corman had sold the company to a team of lawyers that had a desire to stray from exploitation films. However, when it comes to discussion of 1980’s independent b-movie companies, New World is often mentioned in the same breath as companies like The Canon Group, Embassy or Carolco Pictures. Their new logo, emblazoned with an elegant font and looking like a hellish version of the AT&T logo, was an appropriate sight for the start of a dark and “serious” Godzilla film.
Toho was confident in their new Godzilla film. So much so, they began shopping the film around to major studios in the United States to distribute it. Toho’s asking price was a lot more than what American studios had anticipated. One has to remember that this was an era where Godzilla was considered a joke. As a kid in the 80s and early 90s, if you liked Godzilla movies, you were made fun of. Back then, the perception American audiences had towards Godzilla was mostly due to awkward dubbing, heavy re-editing, cultural differences between not accepting special effects because “they look so fake” rather than the whimsical charm of the effort, and themes and nuances lost in translation. Not having much confidence in Toho’s straightforward approach, New World’s agenda was to put a more comic spin on the material. Unaware of New World’s intentions, Toho eventually relented to an offer by New World Pictures, much lower than they had initially hoped for.
LOST IN TRANSLATION: A BRIEF HISTORY ON AMERICAN CUT
While an “International English” dub was commissioned by Toho (This is the English version that appears on the recent Blu-Ray from Kraken Releasing), it was deemed inadequate by New World and still retained that awkwardness from the Showa Era. At the time, the international perception of proper/ standard English was more aligned with the British dialect. The International dub contained voice actors that were unsuccessful in hiding their British accents. For example, every time a character pronounced the creature, it came off unintentionally sounding as if they were referring to it as “Godziller.” To match with New
World’s re-edits, and a more American sensibility, a new dub job had to be commissioned. Future character actor Tony Plana (known for playing Betty’s Dad on UGLY BETTY and El Guapo’s sidekick Jefe in THE THREE AMIGOS) was tapped to voice the main character of reporter Goro Maki.
Inspired by films such as FRANKENSTEIN 1970 and AIRPORT 1975, this re-working of THE RETURN OF GODZILLA would be retitled to GODZILLA 1985. While the Americanization was already underway R.J. Kizer, an editor who had worked for Roger Corman, was tapped to direct the American scenes by friend and producer, future HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II director Anthony “Tony” Randall. The interior scenes of the war room inside The Pentagon were shot on sound stages at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. According to Steve Ryfle’s book “Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star,” these scenes were shot on the same sound stages that were used for Orson Welles’ CITIZEN KANE. The house that Raymond Burr’s character resided in was shot at a home in Malibu. And, in a clever piece of editing to save money, footage was used from New World’s THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT for the P.O.V. shots of Burr and the military reacting to the giant screens in the war room. Footage of the original GODZILLA and footage of Godzilla at Shibuya crossing and destroying the Shinkansen bullet train overpass were super-imposed onto the screens of existing, recycled footage of the war from THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT.
THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT was not the only film in New World’s library to be recycled from. While GODZILLA 1985 does retain the majority of Koroku-san’s music score, additional music composed by Christopher Young for New World’s DEF-CON 4 was used in certain areas to elevate tension.
GODZILLA 1985: THE LEGACY IS REVISITED: THE ORIGINAL “LEGACY” SEQUEL?
While one may argue that 1983’s PSYCHO II is the original “legacy” sequel (considering it brought back actors Anthony Perkins and Vera Miles decades later), a strong case can be made that it’s actually THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (and more so GODZILLA 1985) in that the film makes the bold move to ignore all previous movies of the 60’s and 70’s and is a direct sequel to the original 1954 GOJIRA (or 1956’s GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS in the case of GODZILLA 1985). Between Hitchcock’s PSYCHO (1960) and Richard Franklin’s PSYCHO II, there were no entries in between to omit from the canon.
“GUYS, LET’S CUT THE COMEDY”: THE RETURN OF A LEGACY CHARACTER
With initial plans going in the route of parody, rumors swirled that Leslie Nielsen’s name had been tossed around to star in the new footage to make the film more marketable. Prior to AIRPLANE!, Nielsen had been a serious actor but found a new stride in his career as a comic actor starring in the disaster film parody and TV’s POLICE SQUAD! However, it seemed to be just that, a rumor. In a chat with Vantage Point Interviews, Tony Ranadall stated, “No, I love parody but I don’t do parody. So that’s just absolutely not true.” Randall continued, “Everybody loved Leslie Nielsen. Maybe we joked about it, but no, I always took it rather seriously. The idea of taking the film and joking it up is just not my thing. I would have found it
disrespectful.”
In 1973, Toho was getting in on the 1970s disaster trend and had produced the film THE SUBMERSION OF JAPAN. The film was sold to New World Pictures during the Corman days, had new footage shot of actor Lorne Greene of Universal’s EARTHQUAKE, and released the movie in North America as TIDAL WAVE. Someone at New World had suggested to Randall and Kizer that they should re-hire Lorne Greene for the new footage.
The thinking of both men was, if they were going to add an American actor for new footage, why not just make it consistent and bring back Raymond Burr? Burr was having a career renaissance in 1985, the IRONSIDE star was preparing to make a comeback as PERRY MASON in a series of television movies. When offered to reprise his character of newspaper reporter “Steve Martin” from 1956’s GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, Burr was game, but there were two conditions: Godzilla had to be taken seriously… and he had to be able to utilize teleprompters!
In some ways, Raymond Burr is the unsung hero of keeping the tone of GODZILLA 1985 more grounded. In a television interview with Bob Costas, Burr remarked, “I’ve been trying to get the rights myself. But I’ve always liked Godzilla.” Before anyone, Burr foresaw the potential of Godzilla, and was in the minority in knowing what the Godzilla character was supposed to represent. If 1956’s GODZILLA was a serious film for 1950’s sensibility, then the same should be done with GODZILLA 198,5 and Burr was not going to be on board if it was going to be treated as a joke.
Similar to Marlon Brando’s method using cue cards off camera to deliver his lines, Raymond Burr insisted on having teleprompters strategically placed all over the war room set. According to an interview in Steve Ryfle’s “Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star,” R.J. Kizer recalled, “It threw us for a loop that he insisted on using Teleprompters. I was kind of irritated by it but I asked him why this was necessary? He said he learned it on PERRY MASON. There was an episode that got bounced by the censors at the last minute, and there was no time to learn the new lines, so he used prompters and he found he liked working that way.”
Before becoming a writer and director on films such as THE JERKY BOYS and THE STONED AGE, filmmaker James Melkonian helped assist the postproduction on GODZILLA 1985. In another interview with Vantage Point, Melkonian remembered, “New World was a low-budget company, and we needed to make the additional scenes as cheaply as possible, so a product-placement deal was made with Dr. Pepper to offset some of the production costs.” For GODZILLA 1985 the use of Dr. Pepper was not too subtle. A huge Dr. Pepper soda machine is seen in the middle of the frame between two characters talking in a hallway of The Pentagon. The shot of General McDonough (Travis Swords) drinking Dr. Pepper was originally meant for Raymond Burr. Sitting in between takes, a representative of Dr. Pepper had asked Burr if his character could be seen drinking a can of the beverage. With no verbal response, all Raymond Burr did was just turn to shoot a look at him. The scene was changed.
In a 2006 interview with Vantage Point, 1st Assistant Director Lee Berger recalled another amusing incident when the actor was not in the best of health “R.J. in talking with Raymond Burr said, ‘Now I’d like you to stand over here and deliver this line, and then I want you to walk over here. You can do these two lines, and then come back over there.’ Mr. Burr looked at him and said, ‘I can come in, sit down, and deliver all my lines from this chair.’ R.J., without batting an eyelash, said, ‘Perfect’.”
For 1956’s GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, Burr’s scenes were much more elaborate. Director Terry Morse cleverly edited and filmed his scenes to make his character be involved in the story. These were achieved by filming body doubles from behind, dressed like the cast in GOJIRA, interacting with Raymond Burr; set décor matching the original Japanese footage; characters talking on telephones with their mouths obscured. In GODZILLA 1985, Raymond Burr never sets foot in Japan and most of his scenes are of him reacting to what is on screen from The Pentagon. His scenes don’t move the story forward, nor does he even provide much advice to authorities on “how to deal with it,” and yet, at the same time, his presence adds gravitas and continuity. An actor returning to play a character decades later in a new sequel, was a new concept slowly being introduced in the 1980’s. In the end, Burr was happy to return to the world of Godzilla and by all accounts from everyone that had worked with him on GODZILLA 1985, he was a consummate professional.
IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS? THE CAST OF NEW WORLD’S GODZILLA 1985
If you thought Millie Bobby Brown was the only “Bobby Brown” attached to a Godzilla project, think again! The end credits list a “Bobby Brown” as one of the extras in The Pentagon war room. While it is unclear if it is THE Bobby Brown, singer and future husband to Whitney Houston, it has neither been confirmed nor denied that it is indeed him. Some have speculated he can be seen in the last shot of the war room during Raymond Burr’s voice over. As of this writing, investigation is ongoing.
Speaking of Raymond Burr, the veteran actor was surrounded by a cast of seasoned television performers and some still in their single digits. The youngest cast member was Justin Gocke, playing Raymond Burr’s grandson Kyle. Gocke was better known for his television work starring as Brandon Capwell on the Soap Opera SANTA BARBARA, for which he won a Daytime Emmy for “Outstanding Younger Actor.” Among his other credits were THE WITCHING OF BEN WAGNER and MY GRANDPA IS A VAMPIRE. Sadly, at the age 36, Justin Gocke passed away on September 8th, 2014 due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Warren J. Kemmerling played the gruff, often disgruntled General Goodhue. A veteran of Broadway and Television, Kemmerling had actually done three episodes of the television show IRONSIDE, each playing a different character, and one episode of PERRY MASON. Both shows starred Raymond Burr. Some may remember his appearance as Jud Goodwin on the TWILIGHT ZONE episode THE PASSERBY or as Wild Bill in Steven Spielberg’s CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.
EXTRA-ORDINARY MERCH: PROMOTIONAL ITEMS & APPEARANCES IN OTHER MEDIA
If you were a child growing up in the 80’s and early 90’s, if you wanted a Godzilla, your best bet was getting either the 6 inch or 12-inch plastic figures made by the company Imperial in conjunction with the release of GODZILLA 1985. The figures would remain available for years to come until Trendmasters Toy Line stepped into the picture. The sculpts for the figures were actually quite decent, but their paint job, especially around the eyes, were something left to be desired. The popularity of this figure made its rounds in movies and television. The figure had adorned the living room counter drawers on ROSEANNE for the entirety of that show. Its shadow could be seen on the wall of a child’s bedroom in the Producer’s Cut of HALLOWEEN 6: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS.
And Penny Marshall’s 1988 comedy BIG, starring Tom Hanks, not only had the Imperial figure resting atop a soda machine, but also featured the company’s 6-foot inflatable Godzilla. Like its plastic counterpart, Imperial’s inflatable Godzilla also made cameos in the 1990 mini-series STEPHEN KING’S IT and the aforementioned BIG. Directed by “HALLOWEEN” series alumni Tommy Wallace, STEPHEN KING’S IT features the inflatable toy floating on the surface of the swimming pool belonging to comedian Richie Tozier (Harry Anderson of TV’s NIGHT COURT). A tie-in song entitled I WAS AFRAID TO LOVE YOU by Jill Elliot was sold as a single on a 7” vinyl. Accompanying the song, a music video was produced that only featured clips from the film using flashy editing. The music video only aired twice on MTV.
REVIEWS
Even removing my nostalgia for GODZILLA 1985, as soon as the film begins, one can immediately tell this is a serious film. The tone is completely different from the films of the 60s and 70s. While another monster DOES appear in the form of a 5-foot-long sea louse that had been feeding off of Godzilla, Godzilla does not fight another monster. Going back to similar techniques used in 1954, Godzilla is photographed from low angles looking up or shot at regular speed and then slowed down in post-production to give the creature weight. This tried-and-true use of cinematography is effective and adds a sense of verisimilitude to the creature. Regardless of which version you are watching, the actors treat the material seriously with the exception of two characters used as comic relief, a Japanese derelict looting restaurants and Travis Swords as Major McDonough in The Pentagon. Major McDonough is occasionally spouting inappropriate remarks about the destruction shown on screen. Thankfully, within the context of the story, the characters surrounding McDonough’s remarks are seen shaking their heads or rolling their eyes at the insensitivity. Both versions have a very 80’s cold war feel in the best sense that helps assist in updating Godzilla’s nuclear themes. Upon its North American release, the film did not do too well.
For a semi-serious film, New World’s marketing strategy was very tongue and cheek, touting Godzilla in trailers and posters as an artist whose “acting talent was revolutionary, a giant who took the world by storm,” “He’s back and more glamorous and devastating than ever” or “There goes the neighborhood.” Younger audiences enjoyed it but, for the most part, it didn’t resonate with the general public. Between the jarring comic reliefs, the idea Godzilla was still a man in a suit (albeit a good suit); the past perceptions of Godzilla; the attempt at humorous marketing and the sudden serious tone, audiences didn’t know just what to make of it. It had gained a following once released on home video and laser disc.
The reviews didn’t help either. Below is a collection of those reviews, some which actually appeared on the VHS box cover!
“Too serious to be funny.”
-Leonard Maltin
“Raymond Burr and Godzilla are the only two survivors from the original 1956, which became a camp classic because it was so bad. Well, this movie may or may not become a camp classic but it’s equally bad. I give GODZILLA one star.”
-Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
“The Best Godzilla in 30 Years…Hysterical Fun!”
-Joel Seigel, GOOD MORNING AMERICA
“Godzilla makes Rambo, Eastwood, Bronson and Schwarzenegger look like mere swizzle sticks.”
-Peter Stack, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Godzilla still looks like a wind-up toy, one that moves like an arthritic toddler with a fondness for walking through teeny-tiny skyscrapers.”
-Vincent Canby, NEW YORK TIMES
Among the negativity, one “positive” review did stick out:
“Thankfully, the Japanese have turned up the heat in Godzilla, making him the King of the Monsters once more, certainly not an easy task, but as proven by the existence of GODZILLA 1985, not an impossible one either.”
-John Nubin, DIFFERENT WORLDS MAGAZINE
If there was any consolation in Roger Ebert’s review, it’s that he did point out that New World’s version was deliberately trying to make a “So bad it’s good” movie and eventually kept a poster for the film on the set of his office in some of the opening/closing credits to television’s SISKEL & EBERT.
LOST MEDIA: WHY THIS VERSION SHOULD BE SEEN AND RELEASED
This past August 2025, the New World American cut of GODZILLA 1985 celebrated its 40th Anniversary. A successful panel hosted by Kaiju United was conducted in July at Chicago’s G-FEST, shedding light on many of the things discussed in this retrospective. There were touching moments from that audience during the Q&A segments and meetups right after the panel concluded, with many reliving their nostalgic memories of seeing this version of the film in theatres or reminiscing about a grandparent that exposed them to the movie. For many, GODZILLA 1985 was the film that introduced a generation to Godzilla for the first time and, for a long period of time, was the last Japanese Godzilla to be shown theatrically in the states until GODZILLA 2000.
Many writers have noted in past publications, only the cons of New World’s GODZILLA 1985, listing the shifting of scenes, the removal of scenes fleshing out characters, the message of unification between the world’s superpowers being omitted, character motivations and actions changed.
For instance, two egregious changes involved a Russian naval officer and a shot of Godzilla. In the Japanese version THE RETURN OF GODZILLA, a nuclear missile is accidentally launched, and the Russian naval officer dies trying to stop the launch. The lawyers that now owned New World interjected their ideology by shooting additional footage where the Russian naval officer purposely launches the nuclear missile.
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Another scene that should have been left in New World’s version of the film is a shot of Godzilla’s reflection against a glass skyscraper as he strides down the street still holding the train car. For reasons unknown, this shot was removed as was the screaming of the passengers seeing Godzilla’s eye peering through the window. In the Japanese version, their screams are bloodcurdling, but in New World’s, the screams were unnecessarily re-dubbed and did not have the same impact.
In a recent podcast appearance, filmmaker R.J. Kizer (who directed all of the American scenes), was asked what were the legal hold ups of the film officially being released. Sadly, his response was, “Because Toho hates this version of the film. They hate what New World did to it and never want it to be released.” Which is a real shame because, despite the questionable editing choices, there are elements to be found in New World’s Cut that actually improve upon the original Japanese Film. Quite a rare feat and an exception to the rule for a film of this kind.
For example: The opening title sequence is an improvement. The screen is black, and the theme music plays over claw marks, slowly slashing across the screen with the image of a wildfire behind these slashes. These slashes continue and multiply until the audience finally realizes that these burning lines are spelling out the words “G-O-D-Z-I-L-L-A.” We finally get the reveal of the title, over stock footage of an erupting volcano, as the music completes its crescendo. The Japanese version is very standard in having standard credits play over stock footage of the same volcano.
Other improvements include: The film having an overall quicker pace and the shots of a giant, life size prop of Godzilla’s foot (lowered by crane) stomping within close proximity to running extras. The foot prop had unnatural looking toes that did not mesh well with shots of Godzilla’s feet from the suit Satsuma wore.
One of the best improvements in New World’s version has to be the film’s ending. The Japanese version has Godzilla fall into the volcano followed by a somber, Japanese pop song entitled “Goodbye Godzilla” over establishing shots of Oshima Island. A nice melody but a little out of place. The ending of New World’s GODZILLA 1985 is much more dramatic. In the American version, Godzilla lets out a high-pitched, heart-breaking screech, followed by a closing voice over narration by Raymond Burr. The screen fades to black, and the credits roll accompanied by a suite of Koroku’s music score of urgent melodies, his theme for the Super X attack plane, and a piece from Christopher Young’s DEF-CON 4.
When THE RETURN OF GODZILLA was officially released on Blu-Ray by Kraken Releasing, fans were delighted to finally see Godzilla’s scenes in the highest quality and to watch the Japanese version for the first time. On the other end of the spectrum, fans were disappointed to find out that the “English” version that appeared on Kraken’s Blu-Ray was just the International Dub of the Japanese version, which led to some confusion among Godzilla fandom thinking they had finally obtained GODZILLA 1985. Still, credit where credit is due, the fact that Kraken was able to release any version of this film officially at all was something fans rejoiced about. A task very much appreciated.
Throughout the American edition, if you’ve been able to retain your VHS copy or obtain European bootlegs, one can tell that the New World production did put a lot of care into their short, two-week shoot. New World’s re-edit of GODZILLA 1985 is now considered lost media (in terms of having any kind of official release) and deserves to see the radioactive light of day.
#releasethekizercut!
References
For more complete details on the making of both THE RETURN OF GODZILLA and New World’s GODZILLA 1985, interviews can be found at the following Vantage Point Interviews links and by purchasing the book JAPAN’S FAVORITE MON-STAR by Steve Ryfle.
Vantage Point Interviews:
- GODZILLA ATTACKS THE NEW WORLD! Producer Tony Randel on Bringing ‘Godzilla 1985’ to American Shores! | Vantage Point Interviews
- REVISITING THE LEGEND’S REBIRTH! Director R. J. Kizer’s In-Depth History of the Americanization of ‘Godzilla 1985’! | Vantage Point Interviews
- GODZILLA GETS A TRIM! James Melkonian on the Post-Production Process of ‘Godzilla 1985’ at New World Pictures! | Vantage Point Interviews
New World Podcast
Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G
Links to Promotional Material
- Original Theatrical Trailer (New World Version)
- TV Spot Collection (New World Version)
- Dr. Pepper Commercial #1
- Dr. Pepper Commercial #2
- “I Was Afraid to Love You” Music Video
- “Bambi Meets Godzilla” Short
