FAQ

Yes. Similar to Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, Universal took the original Japanese version and edited in new scenes with new American actors not present in the original Japanese version. They also deleted and rearranged several scenes to alter the narrative structure around a UN news report. Much of the original music was replaced in favor of stock music from the Universal Library. Stock footage of The Mysterians was also inserted through out the film.

The original Japanese version had not seen a release in North America until being released by the Criterion Collection in 2019. This version can be found as a bonus feature on The Godzilla: Showa Era Films Criterion release.

This occurs because the film was re-released in Japan as part of Toho's Champion Film Festival, where it was shortened via edits made to the original film negative. When it came time to release the film on home video, the missing segments had to be sourced from prints of lower quality, or the already-edited American version. This restoration was the print Toho provided to Criterion, despite the fact that Toho had recently discovered a 35mm print of the film, giving it a proper 4K restoration. Many fans speculate this was done due to Toho's fears of Japanese consumers importing the American Blu-rays instead of buying Toho's own, more expensive Blu-rays.

Currently the most accurate official subtitle translation is from the Criterion release. If you see subtitles that mention "amino acids" or Kong being a "real animal" then you have the bootleg translation that is inaccurate.