Review of Godzilla 1985 (1985) by Timothy E — 06 Apr 2013

A welcome return to the series' return, Godzilla 1985, even in its bastardized form, retains much of Godzilla's power. Though the political skewering of the film for American release is unfortunate (the politcal views expressed in the original were reportedly quite different, painting both America and Russia as bullying Japan during the Cold War), the story remains largely in tact, and the visual effects are quite awesome.

This is one of my favorites in the series, and it is in dire need of a DVD release.Now, it is worth noting that Raymond Burr returns to this movie, for which it is usually mocked. What really gets me, though, is that most people seem to think Burr is suffering through the "ordeal.

" However, to my knowledge (acquired through interviews), Burr found out about the Americanization of the film, and essentially invited himself on set. Rumor has it that had Burr not come along, the movie would've ended up a dubbed parody, a la What's Up, Tiger Lilly? (and this seems likely, given what comedic elements survived in the script).

So while Burr's insertion is signifigantly more awkward than the original film, G-fans should count themselves lucky, because Burr likely saved what dignitity the Americanization had left.