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The original Japanese version, Gojira, is far better than the version with Raymond Burr.
posted by Mon-StarSTAFFMOD on April 5, 2017 at 10:38 AM
I saw it several years ago in a theater, in Japanese with English subtitles. It is a somber film with interesting Japanese characters. The audience applauded at the end. The version edited for Americans, with Raymond Burr added as a reporter, totally ruins the pacing and mood of the film. If you have ONLY seen the Raymond Burr version, you have not seen this film as it was intended. RAWWWRRRRRR!
The original Gojira version has been shown on cable TV's Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel.
Reply by Quincey_Morris
on February 15, 2019 at 2:56 PM
I have them both on DVD and prefer the dubbed version with Burr. You can miss a lot of what's happening onscreen by having to constantly read off the bottom.
Reply by jorgito2001
on February 19, 2019 at 12:26 PM
Say whaaaat!?! I MUCH prefer the original language with subs ANYTIME over horrible dubbing. To me, performances get lost severely when dubbed.
I agree with Mon-Star, I grew up watching the Raymond Burr version and when I finally bought the original Gojira on DVD..wow...what a serious and dark tone it took. No breaks, no goofy monster scenes, a movie that really moves. The scene alone during the rampage where the mother tells her child "Don't cry, we'll be with daddy soon, just a few more minutes and we'll be with daddy again."...OUCH! Harkens back to WWII and the tragedy of war. Gimme Gojira anyday of the week!
Reply by lassie
on February 22, 2019 at 10:15 AM
Having watched both versions many, many times I prefer the 1954 original to the Americanized version, but not because one is dubbed and one has subtitles. I just think the original is deeper, darker and simply a better movie. To me, the dub vs sub debate is a matter of personal preference. The people who prefer subtitles are not a bunch of uneducated mouth breathers, but there are a lot of dub snobs who definitely think that way.