FAQ

The lines see at the bottom of the screen of Criterion's release are called film splices. This is where two pieces of film were spliced together. According to Criterion, these were part of the original 35 mm prints scanned by Toho, the masters of which were provided to Criterion. Criterion kept them in-order to preserve the original 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio and are not considered errors in the video.

These transfers are controversial among the Godzilla fandom as Toho created these transfers via Hi-Vision a decade earlier and have not updated their releases. Several fans have taken it upon themselves to give proper restoration and color corrections to the films as it is doubtful Toho will do so themselves out of fear of reverse importation.

Aside from Mothra's song, the Shobijin sing a prayer called Sacred Springs. As with Mothra's song it's not written in Japanese, instead being written in Tagalog and translate as:

Do you understand? That there is beauty there On your journey Just come here Come and sit Come and sit

The film prominently features the city of Nagoya, with major landmarks being Nagoya Castle, a historical landmark from the 17th century. Also shown is the Nagoya TV Tower, which is also the oldest TV tower in Japan having been built 10 years prior to the making of this film.

There is a scene included only in the US version featuring the American Navy firing frontier missiles at Godzilla as the monster walks along the beach. However, Toho themselves shot this sequence and intended to include it in the Japanese version of the film, but worried that it might make Japanese viewers uncomfortable to see American military using weapons on Japanese soil. As a result, Toho scrapped the sequence, though it was included in the American version. Most of the other changes to US version are minor edits. A scene where Kumayama promotes the egg is removed and the final scene where the protagonists discuss and bid farewell to Mothra is shorted.