DOOMSDAY

Of the many films that lack a decent region one DVD release, Godzilla Vs. Megalon (1973) stands out amongst one of the more sought-after titles by kaiju eiga fans. Once perceived as a public domain title, Godzilla Vs. Megalon had been released by many budget home video companies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Alpha Video (once known as New Age Video), Goodtimes Home Video (in the SP mode), Star Classics and United American Video.

However, when Alpha released Godzilla Vs. Megalon on DVD in 2001, it was quickly pulled. This is probably due to rights problems with Toho, the owners of the Godzilla franchise. The quality of this release was inferior to even the worst budget VHS releases; it appears to have been sourced from a terribly-kept, washed out 16mm print.

A DVD release of episode 212 from the Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume Ten boxed set suffered the same fate; it was replaced by The Giant Gila Monster. Other horribly-mastered region one DVDs surfaced of this film, but they have since vanished. Yet, they all command high prices online due to their rare nature.

Strangely, an uncut and widescreen version of Godzilla Vs. Megalon has been broadcast by the Sci-Fi Channel. Ideally, this would be the version released to DVD. It may be a matter of time before this film sees a legitimate release; however, there is a region four disc (Australia) that features a nicely-mastered disc boasting bright colors, crystal clarity and the full 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

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