FURTHER REASON TO SNAG THE RODAN/WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS 2-DISC DVD

Three generations of the men in the Godzilla suit: (L-R) Tsutomu "Tom" Kitagawa (1999-2004), Haruo Nakajima (1954-1972) and Kenpachiro Satsuma (1984-1995). All you geeks out there can tell which era of Godzilla they played just by looking at their individual postures and hand gestures. Admit it, you know you can! (Photo cribbed from SciFi Japan)

As if being able to get cherry editions of both RODAN and WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS together in a 2-disc set wasn't excellent enough, the RODAN disc also includes a terrific and informative documentary entitled BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE: THE ART OF JAPANESE SPECIAL EFFECTS. Of great interest to the seasoned Godzilla nut and definitely worth checking out for those not in the know, the documentary goes behind the scenes at Toho Studios and gives viewers a detailed and reverent account of the singular achievements of special effects genius Eiji Tsuburaya and art designer Yasuyuki Inoue, a miniature set designer and builder whose only equal (in my humble opinion) was Derek Meddings and his crew (the guys who did the stunning miniature and effects work on Gerry Anderson's THUNDERBIRDS and CAPTAIN SCARLET AND THE MYSTERONS television shows, as well as turning in exemplary work on many of the James Bond films). And there's even a look at the three main actors to play Godzilla himself, each of whom imparts his individual philosophy and approach to playing the King of the Monsters (yes, there's a lot more to it than just stomping on balsa wood cityscapes).

It's a stunning look at how the magic was made and the creative thought process behind it, so if you were on the fence about picking this up, maybe this will sway you.