Man, I can’t wait to see Tokyo crushed by Godzilla again! The re-released DVD has been cleaned up…do we still see that charming el-cheapo dubbing? Ya know, when the character keeps spouting accented english after their jaws have stopped flapping? That was one of the more funny aspects of this dog.
Anyway…my real question: why was that 5-minute segment with the late Raymond Burr grafted on to this flick? What was he paid for this bit of acting?
Godzillalives! 
Raymond Burr was in the American release for way more than five minutes, as I recall. They kept going back to him for reaction shots and ponderous speeches all through the picture. (You can tell which is the added footage in any scene by the differences in contrast and lighting.)
Burr’s character is named Steve Martin–I kept hoping he’d yell at Godzilla, “Well, Excuuuuse Me!”
Ralph do you have a link to the DVD?
I’ve done a quick check around and can’t find any details. I know most of Rialto’s releases go to Criterion, does this mean the Godzilla re-release is a Criterion disc? Anything in the way of extras?
(or are you referring to the cinematic re-release?)
The reason they rewrote the film and added the scenes with Raymond Burr was because they wanted the audience to have somebody to empathize with, and they weren’ sure that people could identify with a Japanese cast (even if one of the stars was the lead in The Seven Samurai). The work with Burr was actually pretty well done – the altered story was coherent, and they managed toshoot scenes with Burr talking to important characters in the film – although you’ll notice that you onl see the Japanese characters in those scenes from behind. All n all, not bad on a low budget.
Some critics have said that the changes emove the emotional aspects of the film, and try to cover up the association with the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I think that, at most, they take the edge off. All of the scenes of destruction are left in, along with the aftermath, the victims, etc. Even as a kid I was able to get the point.
For the nex film, released in the US as Gigantis the Fire Monster, they had a different distributor (so they couldn’t use the name “Godzilla”). They had the same idea of shooting new scenes, but ultimately decded that it was too expensive, and simply dubbed the film. I saw it as a kid on TV, but it faded into obscurity, until reltively recently, when it showed up on video with the ridiculous title Godzilla Raids Again.
As for the rerelease, 'm a bit confused. I’ve had a copy of the complete and subtitled film on VHS for a couple of years now, and I don’t think it’s bootleg. Maybe they’re just mking a big deal beause it’s the 50th anniversary.