The battle rages between the two, leading to the eventual demise of the heroic Mothra. However, all is not lost as the egg hatches, revealing two larvae who set out to avenge their mother. That leads to an all out war with the humans getting in on the act trying to take down Godzilla with an electrified net, an interesting failure. Also, in the American version there is a spectacular battle between American ships and the giant monster on a beach; it is a finely executed attack, and one of the finest of the series.
By today's standards the effects look terrible. However, there is a certain charm, an endearing quality, to these man-in-suit monster movies. Japan seems to have locked down the monster movie market, creating some of the best, with Godzilla right at the top. To its credit, Mothra vs. Godzilla has some fine miniature work and some nice composites putting real people into the frame with Godzilla. This movie also features what may be the most iconic look of the monster with his menacing glare, long tail, and a large row of scales up his back. So his face wobbles a bit. I can forgive it.
Audio. Both versions are presented in Dolby Digital stereo, and both sound pretty good. Neither one will blow you out of the water, but they are serviceable and do the job well. This is probably the best they have sounded since their initial release.
Video. The two films are presented in different aspect ratios with video quality of differing levels. The American version is transferred from a 1.85:1 print that suffers from a decent amount of print damage. Still, it looks pretty good; colors are a bit washed out, but there is a nice detail level. The ratio makes some of the scenes feel cramped, but it is not awful.
The Japanese version is in TOHO-scope, a ratio of 2.35:1. It, too, has the washed out colors, but there is virtually no print damage; however it suffers from a slightly lesser detail level than the American version. Despite the less than perfect transfers, they are highly watchable and are the best that I have ever seen them.
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