Godzilla Minus One (2023)

One of the best films of 2023 finally gets a disc release (and in a number of different editions to boot) from distributor Anime Limited.

We're at the end of World War II. A kamikaze pilot fakes a problem with his plane and lands on a remote island, where he witnesses all his colleagues dying at the hands (and teeth) of a huge dinosaur-like creature known by the locals as Godzilla.

He makes his way back to Japan only to find Tokyo in ruins and those who knew him disgusted that he did not die honourably in battle. He meets a girl with a baby who is not hers and the three move in together. Soon he has a job helping to diffuse sea mines by using his gunnery skills, and it's not long before his boat is deployed to help deal with a huge mysterious sea creature that's approaching Tokyo.

GODZILLA MINUS ONE was a deserved smash hit on its release last year, beating out much higher budgeted contenders to win the best visual effects Oscar and providing a welcome beacon of integrity in a market swamped with soulless Disney Marvel burnout movies. 

And it's very much the human interest element that makes GODZILLA MINUS ONE the hugely affecting success that it is. As well as his makeshift family life at home, our lead has his 'bunch of mates' family at sea, all of whom come to play an important part in the climax. That's not to say the effects aren't great too because they are. Apparently achieved on a fraction of what the other films in its Oscar nomination category cost, Godzilla has never looked better or bigger or more terrifying that here. 

Anime Limited (and Toho) are releasing GODZILLA MINUS ONE in a variety of packages. If you want the bare bones there's a standard Blu-ray with two sound options. The English dub is ok but the American accents do feel a bit incongruous. That mix is in Dolby 5.1 but the Japanese dialogue version has been mixed in Dolby Atmos.

There's also a Deluxe four disc edition which gives you the film on 4K UHD, on Blu-ray, GODZILLA MINUS ONE MINUS COLOR on Blu-ray, and a fourth Blu-ray disc of bonus features. All those discs apart from the black and white version of the film are available in a steelbook. These were not provided for review.

GODZILLA MINUS ONE is out now in the three different editions outlined above.