Godzilla Sequels Due On DVD

Classic Media, which recently released a restored version of the original Godzilla film, will release the sequels Godzilla Raids Again and Mothra vs. Godzilla on DVD on April 3.

As with the Godzilla release, each new title will include both the original Japanese version of the movie and its Americanized version. The new Godzilla DVDs will be available in retail outlets and online.

Godzilla Raids Again is the first sequel to the original movie, which was rushed to theaters six months after the release of the first film in 1955. The heavily re-edited U.S. version was released a few years later, in 1959, and features the voice of Star Trek's George Takei. Two new monsters emerged: the first similar to the original Godzilla, who was killed by the oxygen destroyer in the first film, and also named Godzilla, and the second a spiny dinosaur called Anguirus. The massive battle begins on Iwato Island, tumbles into the ocean and resurfaces on Osaka, threatening to level the city under the monsters' feet. Special bonus features include an Art of Suit Acting featurette.

Mothra vs. Godzilla was released in the United States as Godzilla vs. The Thing. It is the fourth installment in the Godzilla series and is considered by many fans to be one of the best in the series. The movie was released in Japan and the United States in 1964. When a giant egg washes up on the shores of Tokyo after a typhoon, greedy businessmen seize the opportunity to exhibit the item at an amusement park for profit. The shobijin, fairies from Infant Island, come to plead for the egg's return to its rightful owner, Mothra, but the men refuse the request. Soon Godzilla awakens and begins a trek across Tokyo, heading straight for Mothra's egg.