GENERAL NOTE: This online genre-watching project is intended for me, as an experiment to see how many fantastic films I can watch for free, without Netflix, rentals, or purchases.
Both versions were fairly smooth and sharp rips by the uploaders. The Japanese stream from Archive kept buffering, so I used the site's download option and watched from my hard drive (5.8gb MPEG4, although a 423.8mb OGG was also available). Godzilla looks classic here, though a bit small compared to modern standards, and is quite cocky, getting towards his mid-1960s brat persona (peaking in, I'd say, GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER). Kong looks ridiculous but is endearing nonetheless, whether swaggering with both arms akimbo or dozing off from drinking too much kongberry (soma). The mayhem seems toned down, carnage limited to small villages and seagoing vessels rather than entire cities, perhaps an indicator that Godzilla films were turning firmly towards the kiddies. The final fight scene is, however, rather rousing, if juvenile. Now let's talk about differences between the versions. The Japanese, which I viewed first, includes subplots for love interest and even Pacific Pharma's workplace, building the characters. The American discards most of that, as well as some conversational scenes, for the sake of briskness. Even so, the American inserts English-speaking link scenes from reporters and scientists. However, the most surprising difference was dialogue. Watching the American second, I found character motives and plot movements completely changed (for the better) by the English dub compared with the English hardsubs on the Japanese. My current grade: B+ for the Japanese, A- for the American.
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