It is hard to believe that 40 years has passed since the release of the Americanized Godzilla 1985 (an edited version of Return of Godzilla (1984) by Toho Co., Ltd.) was released to U.S. theaters. The U.S. release was on August 23, 1985 by the now-defunct New World Pictures.
It featured Raymond Burr reprising his role as Steve Martin from Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956).
It was in August 1985 that I was house-sitting a friend's condo in Canoga Park. I found that Godzilla 1985 was being shown at the Van Nuys Drive-In. So, I headed there to see it during its 10:00 PM screening. It was the first Godzilla movie that I saw in a theater since I saw King Kong vs.Godzilla in 1963. The rest I saw on television.
Since then, the Van Nuys Drive-In has been demolished in the late 1990s.
As for Godzilla 1985, it has not seen a video release since VHS days as the rights to the movie are in limbo. It was released in VHS format several times and paired with Bambi Meets Godzilla, an animated short. I have a copy of one of these versions. It has never seen a DVD or Blu-ray release.
No comments:
Post a Comment