Mothra is now available for the first time on Blu Ray in the UK. Mothra returns to our shores in a totally new sparkly transfer from Masters of Cinema.
Shipwreck survivors are found on a presumably uninhabited and irradiated island called Infant Island. A joint expedition of Roliscan and Japanese scientists explore the island and discover the Shobijin, the twin priestesses of the island’s deity, Mothra. When a greedy businessman kidnaps the fairies for profit, the divine Mothra sets out to rescue them.
So, for lovers of the Japanese GCU (Godzilla Cinematic Universe) from the 60’s, Mothra was one of the slightly less known of the creature features. Given prominence by the recent rebirth in Godzilla: King Of Monsters, the Master of Cinema, went back to the vaults pulled this out cleaned it up and put it back out there for all to enjoy.
And the transfer is beautiful, really pops out of the screen at you, the 60’s shades of colour really shine, if at times to it’s detriment as some the model work (Such as cars driving down the road) makes it look like an episode of Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds.
The film itself is quite simplistic and at times really silly, but thats all part of the charm. Mothra doesn’t really present any danger, but actually a rather large personal jet to bring back the captured priestesses. Who have been kidnapped and in true King Kong style have been exploited for profit by a evil businessman.
The stand out player in all the giant moth related nonsense is the reporter Fukuda (Frankie Sakai) who by todays standards would probably be played by Jackie Chan, makes you laugh, deals out the violence (If you can call it that) as he thwarts the bad guys as they stand in the way of the rescue and generally lights up the proceedings overtime he gets screen time.
One for the fans of the Godzilla mythos, and with this delicious transfer and a plethora of extras including: Both Japanese and English versions of each film (101 mins & 90 mins respectively), Brand new audio commentary with film historian and writer David Kalat, Audio commentary with authors and Japanese sci-fi historians Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski and one of the standout features, Kim Newman on ‘Mothra’ – an interview with film critic and author Kim Newman on the history and legacy of Mothra and many more for you to absorb if you’re a Mothra fan.
Overall a superb package even if the film is a little on the light side compared to the other ‘Zilla movies.
Available to order from:
Eureka Store https://eurekavideo.co.uk/movie/mothra-mosura-limited-edition-box-set/
