Original Godzilla UK Cinema Release

[ninjagirl]

I only just found this out, but its good news for UK fans - http://www.henshinonline.com/

This October, the British Film Institute will give the original, uncut Japanese version of Toho Co., Ltd's GODZILLA (Gojira) its first-ever UK theatrical release. Originally released in Japan on November 3, 1954, GODZILLA was a massive hit, selling over 9,691,000 tickets and grossed nearly $2,250,000 during its initial theatrical run. At a time when the average Japanese movie was made at a budget of approximately $75,000 US, Toho gambled nearly $250,000 on GODZILLA and earned back more than 8 times its production costs. Initially dismissed by film critics, the movie's reputation has grown tremendously over the decades and is now regarded by prestigious publications like KINEMA JUNPO as one of the greatest films in Japanese history.

Following the successful US run of their big budget period film SAMURAI: THE LEGEND OF MUSASHI (Musashi Miyamaoto, 1954), Toho opened a small office in Los Angeles to promote and sell more of their films in America and abroad. GODZILLA was one of the first titles Toho publicized in the US, and an English subtitled print was shown in the Little Tokyo section of downtown LA in mid-1955. Shortly thereafter, US theatrical and television rights to the film were purchased by film distributor Edmund Goldman. Goldman quickly sold his rights to Harold Ross and Richard Kay of Jewell Enterprises, who in turn partnered with Joseph Levine of Embassy Pictures to form a new company called Trans World Releasing Corp that would 'Americanize' and distribute GODZILLA. B-movie director Terry Morse was hired to write and film new scenes with actor Raymond Burr (REAR WINDOW, PERRY MASON) playing an American reporter in Tokyo who witnesses Godzilla's rampage. Nearly 40 minutes of footage from the original GODZILLA was removed; what remained was dubbed into English by James Hong (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA) and Sammee Tong (BACHELOR FATHER) and edited with Morse's footage. Released on April 4, 1956 as GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS, the Americanized version did amazing business for a low-budget, independently distributed movie, grossing more than $2,000,000 at the box office.

After the US theatrical run, GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS was distributed around the world, playing in such countries as Mexico, Italy, France, Argentina, Cuba, Belgium, Sweden, and Britain. On the other hand, the original Japanese GODZILLA has been rarely shown outside of Asian markets. Nearly three decades after it was first shown in Los Angeles, GODZILLA resurfaced in 1982 as part of the "Summer in Japan" film festival in New York and was later shown at a few screenings in Chicago and Los Angeles. Most American fans had their first opportunity to see the film on the big screen last year, when Rialto Pictures celebrated Godzilla's 50th anniversary with a nationwide US theatrical release of the uncut Toho version. GODZILLA was a box office success for Rialto, and the film received long-overdue praise from film critics across the country.

In England, moviegoers have had far fewer opportunities to see the Godzilla films as only a handful of titles have been released theatrically and on home video in the UK. One of the few bright spots was BBC Two's "Monster Night" in 1998, which featured Godzilla movies and a new documentary about the King of the Monsters. In 1999, British television's Film Four also ran several Godzilla films, including a broadcast of the Japanese version of GODZILLA on their program "Psychomondo". Unfortunately, the subtitles used contained some incredibly mangled and inaccurate credits that listed actors "Akira Murata" (actually Akira Takarada), "Momoko Kawaguchi" (Momoko Koichi), Takeo Murata (the film's screenwriter), and "Shiro Honda" (director Ishiro Honda), with producer Tomoyuki Tanaka credited as the film's director.

Now, continuing the monster's 50th birthday celebration and coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the first atomic bomb, the original Japanese version of GODZILLA is finally receiving a UK theat