Reviewed by John Rocco Roberto

What can one say about The Ultimate Godzilla DVD Collection?  Several words come to mind, especially “been there, saw that.”  At first glance Sony Music Entertainment’s Classic Media seemed to have done a good job.  The box holding the 5 DVDs (Godzilla King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla’s Revenge, Terror of MechaGodzilla and Rodan) is nicely done, with a holographic image of the first Godzilla taken from the promotional poster donning both sides of the case.  In addition, the individual DVDs themselves are nicely packaged sporting what can honestly be said as the best artwork to ever grace the cover of a Godzilla video, both DVD or tape.

The problem however, is when one opens the box and plays the individual DVDs themselves.  The first hint that one notices there is something wrong is the absence of any booklets or additional information, the case containing only the DVD itself.  Then there is the information stored on the DVDs.  Unlike the Simitar DVDs, there are no extras, no trailers, no trivia questions, save for a promo for the new Nintendo Game Cube; Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters game.  As for the quality of the films, they are the same old pan and scan transfers as the old Paramount/Gateway home video releases of the late 1980s, and suffer from numerous scratch marks.  The forced surround sound audio tracks have even more echo and tinny sound than the Simitar versions.  Worst of all, Terror of MechaGodzilla is the same edited version fans have had to suffer through for years.

About the only saving grace is the inclusion of Rodan in the set; representing the first time this film has seen a DVD release.  Conspicuous by its absence however is Monster Zero, which was originally included in the Simitar box set.  Its absence is probably due more to the fact that Monster Zero’s copyright in North America is held by Henry Saperstein’s UPA Productions than Sony’s decision to release Rodan (a box set containing all 5 Godzilla film plus Rodan could have been released).

Overall if you already own the Simitar DVDs then spending the $29.95 on The Ultimate Godzilla DVD Collection is a waist of your hard earned cash.  Considering the waning interest in Godzilla since the Tri-Star film, one would have hoped that Sony, as well as Toho, would have learned that unless you’re willing to put out a decent product on Godzilla, you might as well not put one out at all.

Article © 2002 John Rocco Roberto/Visagraph Films International