What was the original VHS version of "Godzilla Raids Again"?

[Crazy Jim Films]

Was it the 1989 Video Treasures release or did "Gigantis The Fire Monster" come out through a different label before that?

[Space Hunter M]

I believe this was the first official release, so yes, though some fly-by-night labels could've done 16mm film-chain transfers before it. Tamura has a tape from such a company, and that same transfer was used again for another unlicensed 1997 VHS release.

[Crazy Jim Films]

Alright, cool. Thanks for the info.

[RaymondBurr]

Video Treasures was indeed the first. It had the "Gigantis The Fire Monster" opening titles on it too. Great memories of that tape!

[Space Hunter M]

I wonder why Anchor Bay never re-issued it in 1997, original Gigantis title or not.

[Crazy Jim Films]

I wonder why Anchor Bay never re-issued it in 1997, original Gigantis title or not.

Yeah, come to think of it, it wasn't included in that tape set that they put out.

[o.supreme]

Great memories of that tape!

I still have it, and preserved on DVD as well. I dont want that oddly unique title to ever be forgotten

[Great Hierophant]

I apologize for the Necropost, but I believe I bought Godzilla Raids Again on VHS in the mid-nineties (along with every other Godzilla film I could find). I believe the cover looked identical to the one shown in the VHS article on this site. I also remember that I taped the movie with "Godzilla Raids Again" during the mid-nineties off The Disney Channel beforehand. I wanted to watch that film for years.

My memories may be a little hazy, but I specifically remember that whatever I watched at the time had the "Godzilla Raids Again" title card and not the "Gigantis the Fire Monster" title card. I eventually found the Gigantis the Fire Monster title card on Youtube. Since then I have the Classic Media DVD, which obviously does not have the old title. Could Video Treasures' later VHS tapes have used the Godzilla Raids Again title?

[omgitsgodzilla]

I don't own that tape, but Tamura's guide to the English versions of Toho films (over in the General Toho Films section) and the VHS Box Art article on the main site both state that it includes the "Gigantis" title card.

[Goji]

The Disney airings used the ugly video generated Godzilla Raids Again title that you see on the Classic Media DVD. The Video Treasures VHS definitely used the original Gigantis title.

[Great Hierophant]

Maybe I did not buy the Video Treasures cassette because I taped it off the Disney Channel. "Gigantis the Fire Monster" matches the dubbing, it's too late to ask Keye Luke to re-record his lines (although George Takei is still around).

[Goji]

It was more than just dubbed. Gigantis was a full blown Americanization of the film. There is no uncut English-dubbed version of the film.

[Great Hierophant]

It was more than just dubbed. Gigantis was a full blown Americanization of the film. There is no uncut English-dubbed version of the film.

I'm fully aware that the changes were not just calling Godzilla "Gigantis", but it would have been nice to have the actors re-record their lines to eliminate the Gigantis name when they reverted to the original title. History, however, has made that impossible.

[Goji]

The title change was simply a way for Toho to protect their IP. Companies could potentially get away with releasing unauthorized copies of this film on home video since "Godzilla" (or his opponents' copyrighted name) wasn't mentioned in the title. Reverting back to the film's international title (Godzilla Raids Again) prevented this from happening anymore, for obvious reasons.

My point being, Toho simply didn't care enough to order a redub for the film (Much less redo specific lines. Most of the time films are simply completely redubbed). They did the bare minimum to protect their IP, because that's really all that they had to do. The people behind these decisions don't care if audiences are confused as long as they already got their $ from you for buying it.

[Great Hierophant]

The title change was simply a way for Toho to protect their IP. Companies could potentially get away with releasing unauthorized copies of this film on home video since "Godzilla" (or his opponents' copyrighted name) wasn't mentioned in the title. Reverting back to the film's international title (Godzilla Raids Again) prevented this from happening anymore, for obvious reasons.

My point being, Toho simply didn't care enough to order a redub for the film (Much less redo specific lines. Most of the time films are simply completely redubbed). They did the bare minimum to protect their IP, because that's really all that they had to do. The people behind these decisions don't care if audiences are confused as long as they already got their $ from you for buying it.

I do not believe they necessarily had to do that, the copyright in "Gigantis the Fire Monster" was properly renewed within 28 years of 1959, as was the copyright to "Godzilla Raids Again", which is one reasonable translation of "Gojira no Gyakushu". They could have stopped unauthorized copies issued under either title. However, as they always like to remind people with the ® after Godzilla's name, that would have been helpful to enforce a trademark claim. Other people have stated that Toho hated the Gigantis title and sought to change it to make it more marketable.

[Crazy Jim Films]

I'm fully aware that the changes were not just calling Godzilla "Gigantis", but it would have been nice to have the actors re-record their lines to eliminate the Gigantis name when they reverted to the original title. History, however, has made that impossible.

Lee Van Cleef's death didn't keep them from going back and dubbing the lost scenes from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly so nothing is impossible.

[UltramanGoji]

It was more than just dubbed. Gigantis was a full blown Americanization of the film. There is no uncut English-dubbed version of the film.

I haven't watched Gigantis in a while, but is it possible to edit out the "American scenes" and create a fan-made uncut English dub?

[Great Hierophant]

It was more than just dubbed. Gigantis was a full blown Americanization of the film. There is no uncut English-dubbed version of the film.

I haven't watched Gigantis in a while, but is it possible to edit out the "American scenes" and create a fan-made uncut English dub?

I would think it easier to simply redub the entire film using the Japanese cut. You don't have to deal with all though extra Anguirus roars or the inappropriate stock music then.

[Crazy Jim Films]

I haven't watched Gigantis in a while, but is it possible to edit out the "American scenes" and create a fan-made uncut English dub?

I don't remember there being any specific scenes shot for the US version. Maybe that whole film projection monologue with the dinosaur stock footage? I mean, it's not like the original Godzilla or Gamera where they brought in American actors to film new scenes.

[omgitsgodzilla]

There was actually a lot more added than just that bit, but it was mostly just stock footage as well. Other than that, I think it was just English newspaper headlines. Cutting all the stock footage, however, might present issues with the constant narration over the top of everything.