German Titles

[Mincecraft]

Ok, this is all rumor I heard coming from word of mouth.

In Germany, apparently, they were a little upset that Godzilla vs Frankenstein didnt come through. To make up for it, in their dubs or edits, they say that all the monsters that Godzilla fights are created by Dr. Frankenstein. And apparently, Jet Jaguar is King Kong in a robot suit. This is all coming from the GodzillaThon youtube episode, King Kong vs Godzilla.

I dont claim to know anything, but how funny would that be? Can anybody clear it up?

[Shōbijin]

It's not exactly like that, it was actually more because the two Toho Frankenstein movies were very successful and Frankenstein was kind of a fad back then (think of the Hammer Frankensteins or stuff like Frankenstein 1970). So they changed the titles to lure more people.

As far as I can remember only a few movies changed the dubbing to fit any non-existing Frankenstein plot (DAM and Son of Godzilla, Megalon and the two Mechagodzilla's, iirc).

This kind of title changing on B-movies was very common in all of Europe during that time, some of the Italian dubs had King Kong titles, DAM became "Gli eredi di King Kong" wich means "The heirs of King Kong" and because Matango was well recieved there, War of the Gargantuas was renamed Katango. In Spain Godzilla vs. Megalon was called Gorgo Y Superman!

[Tamura]

The Dutch-subtitled version of the international version of WOTG is called KATANGO'S WAR.

[attilagodzilla]

I already posted this but my german version of terror of mechagodzilla says this:



^also do you know where i could find the dutch subbed WOTG because i'm from hollandand can never find it.

[Mincecraft]

It's not exactly like that, it was actually more because the two Toho Frankenstein movies were very successful and Frankenstein was kind of a fad back then (think of the Hammer Frankensteins or stuff like Frankenstein 1970). So they changed the titles to lure more people.

As far as I can remember only a few movies changed the dubbing to fit any non-existing Frankenstein plot (DAM and Son of Godzilla, Megalon and the two Mechagodzilla's, iirc).

This kind of title changing on B-movies was very common in all of Europe during that time, some of the Italian dubs had King Kong titles, DAM became "Gli eredi di King Kong" wich means "The heirs of King Kong" and because Matango was well recieved there, War of the Gargantuas was renamed Katango. In Spain Godzilla vs. Megalon was called Gorgo Y Superman!

Does the dubbing actually claim that Jet Jaguar is...well, ya know.

[Shōbijin]

I haven't seen the movie in German for about ten years but I think they just call him King Kong, without any explanation. No ape in a robot suit or anything.

It makes a bit more sense that they later called Mechagodzilla King Kong because apes from space built him.

[MaxRebo320]

Titanosaurus was called ''Titano Kong'' in the German dub.

[KJ Corp]

To name a few:
*Godzilla vs King Kong-King Kong returns
*Ghidora the 3 headed monster-Frankenstein's monster fights Ghidorah
*Invasion of the Astro monster-Command of the dark
*Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla-Godzilla vs King Kong (lol)
*Son of Godzilla-Frankenstein's monster chases Godzilla's son
*Godzilla vs Hedorah-Frankenstein vs the Devil
*Godzilla vs Mothra-Battle of the mutant dinosaurs

Don't even ask about Gamera...

[Space Hunter M]

Godzilla kehrt zurück (Godzilla Returns) - Godzilla Raids Again.

I've watched a couple of the films in German and own the DVD of the above mentioned German version. The whole Frankenstein thing was only a marketing ploy by Constantin and other distributors, and Frankenstein is sometimes, but rarely mentioned in throwaway, completely non-essential lines, although Jet Jaguar WAS renamed King Kong, as was Mechagodzilla in his first movie, but the stories remain unchanged. I'm also a fan of the German cut of the original Godzilla, which is a truncated, 83 minute version of the Japanese cut. I should like to make my own Japanese language edit that mimics the edits, because Godzilla runs a little long sometimes.

[Gotschiller]

Don't even ask about Gamera...

Yeah, Gamera vs Barugon is called: "Godzilla der Drache aus dem Dschungel" (Godzilla the dragon from the jungle).

Titanosaurus was called ''Titano Kong'' in the German dub.

That's not true.

[MaxRebo320]

Titanosaurus was called ''Titano Kong'' in the German dub.

That's not true.

Yeah, I was thinkin' of the Italian dub.

[Space Hunter M]

Befehl Aus Dem Dunkel (Monster Zero) is probably the most radically altered German version. It runs a scant 81 minutes, and a lot of the monster stuff is surprisingly cut. Fuji is given a first name (Katsuo) among other, extremely major writing liberties. I believe this cut is intended to work as a standalone film because no Godzilla film since Raids Again made it to the country until this one. Some different cafe music and Atragon stock footage was also integrated.

The German version of The Return of Godzilla also runs like 80 minutes and entirely removes Godzilla's destruction of the Soviet submarine and the following crisis.

[JAGzilla]

I wonder how much this kind of thing has impacted kaiju popularity in Europe. These movies have a bad enough reputation in places like America that usually release them more-or-less intact, with only dubs and minimal editing. This kind of nonsensical marketing must make them look like total garbage. Sure, there are some dedicated fans that will care enough to look for accurate versions of the movies and learn the truth, but do the majority of people actually think Mechagodzilla was supposed to be King Kong, or whatever?

[Space Hunter M]

You kidding? Germany's got like the third biggest market for Godzilla and the films were big hits in the '70s. I can guarantee you no one was fooled either.

[JAGzilla]

^ Huh. Well, that's good to know.

[MrGameguy]

The German title for Godzilla vs. Megalon is "King-Kong - Dämonen aus dem Weltall"
Which translates to "King Kong - Demons from Outer Space"

Any viewer of Zazubaar should know that.

[Space Hunter M]

Any viewer of Zazubaar should know that.

I knew that before you were even born.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24hirx
German Son of Godzilla credits.

[Tamura]

Befehl Aus Dem Dunkel (Monster Zero) is probably the most radically altered German version. It runs a scant 81 minutes, and a lot of the monster stuff is surprisingly cut. Fuji is given a first name (Katsuo) among other, extremely major writing liberties. I believe this cut is intended to work as a standalone film because no Godzilla film since Raids Again made it to the country until this one. Some different cafe music and Atragon stock footage was also integrated.

Holy fuck, didn't notice that.

[MrGameguy]

Any viewer of Zazubaar should know that.

I knew that before you were even born.

No reason to be rude about it.

[three]

I wonder how much this kind of thing has impacted kaiju popularity in Europe. These movies have a bad enough reputation in places like America that usually release them more-or-less intact, with only dubs and minimal editing. This kind of nonsensical marketing must make them look like total garbage. Sure, there are some dedicated fans that will care enough to look for accurate versions of the movies and learn the truth, but do the majority of people actually think Mechagodzilla was supposed to be King Kong, or whatever?

none. if there was "editing" done, such as the removal of the destruction of a soviet sub, this means it likely came from east germany, and knowing the history of the cold war, you can safely assume this was hard to find beyond the wall.