Toho, the most famous of all Japanese movie studios, first made its name in the West for the extraordinary masterworks of Akira Kurosawa. But they really struck box office gold with the wildly colorful kaiju eiga (monster movies) that began in 1954 with the original GODZILLA (Gojira), the creation of director Ishiro Honda and special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya.

Now for the first time on [Region 1] DVD— and in their original Tohoscope aspect ratios— Sony Pictures presents three Honda classics that display the enormous breadth of the Toho magic during its glory years. THE H-MAN (Bijo to Ekitai Ningen, 1958), BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (Uchu Daisenso, 1959), and MOTHRA (Mosura, 1961) have been digitally re-mastered for the best possible picture and sound quality, and include the original Japanese versions and the U.S. versions, plus commentaries for two of the films.

Thanks for the insight, August, great stuff!

I loved your Eiji Tsuburaya book, by the way. It lives on my shelf next to the S7 mook.