Godzilla 1977

***Godzilla (1977)*** also known as **Cozzillla** (named after Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi) is re-edited "colourized" version of the original U.S. release of *Godzilla, King of the Monsters*, released into Italian theatres in 1977.

## information[edit]

In 1977, Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi released to Italian theaters a further modified and colorized version of *Godzilla, King of the Monsters*, with a soundtrack that used a magnetic tape process similar to Sensurround. Though the Italian colorized version was released as *Godzilla*, it is referred to by fans, and Cozzi himself, as *Cozzilla*. Cozzi coined the title *Cozzilla* as a pen-name when he was writing for magazines, and later adopted it as the production company name for re-releasing the film. According to Cozzi, Toho had licensed the colorized version to Turkey. Cozzi noted that his colorization was the first attempt ever done at colorizing a black-and-white film.

Due to the success of the 1976 remake of *King Kong*, Cozzi attempted to cash in on the film's success by re-releasing *Gorgo*. Cozzi, however, was unable to acquire the film because "the King Brothers asked for too much money". Cozzi then chose *Godzilla* as a second option. He originally intended to acquire the original 1954 Japanese cut, but Toho was only able to provide negatives for the 1956 American version. Cozzi's regional distributors refused to release it after discovering the film was in black-and-white, so he chose to colorize the film to secure its release. Cozzi renegotiated with Toho, gaining their approval. Included in the new deal was that Toho retained sole ownership of the colorized negative. Cozzi had final approval over the stock footage, music, and the colorization. At the time, theatrical films were required to run 90 minutes. Therefore, Cozzi was "forced" to add the stock footage to extend the film's runtime:

The decision to specifically add real footage of death and destruction from war-time film reels was intentional on Cozzi's part. Cozzi wanted to give an old film an "up-to-date and more violent look". While editing the film, Cozzi was aware that certain stock footage didn't match the Godzilla footage, but he chose to proceed, feeling that the "effect would have been stronger than the defects". Additional footage was recycled from *The Train* and *The Day the Earth Caught Fire*. Cozzi added brief clips from *The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms* and *Godzilla Raids Again* as tributes, taken from his personal 16mm prints. He coined the term "Spectrorama 70" for advertising purposes, the term referring to colorization and the feeling of 70mm. Cozzi stated that it "helped to give a 'bigger' look at my *Godzilla* theatrical re-release advertising materials".

For the soundtrack, Cozzi reprocessed the original 1956 soundtrack, turning it into a eight-track magnetic band stereophonic variation by adding new music and sound effects. Cozzi later added Sensurround effects and special giant loudspeakers to the theaters playing the film. Using the pseudonym "Magnetic System", Vince Tempera composed the film's additional score using his personal electric piano. Cozzi hired Tempera after he expressed interest in collaborating on a project. Tempera immediately accepted due to his being a fan of Godzilla. Cozzi selected synth music because he wanted the score to give his version of the film a "modern look" and have audiences see the difference between the new scenes and the originals. During the film's opening weekend, Tempera's additional score was released as a 45 rpm record. It was later released as a 33 rpm LP.

Cozzi hired Enzo Nistri to paint a new poster for the colorized release (Nistri's poster was later used on the cover of Fangoria magazine). Cozzi hired Armando Valcauda to do the colorization of the film, while Alberto Moro, Cozzi's mentor, was hired to edit the film. It was colorized frame-by-frame using stop motion gel photography. The process took only three months, as they were in a rush to release the film. Valcauda did all the colorization himself, while Cozzi edited the film with Moro. Cozzi noted that Yamato Video in Milan owns one new 35mm print of the colorized version, as well as an original colorized 35mm film negative, acquired from Toho. Yamato planned to release the 1954 Japanese cut, the 1956 American cut, and the 1977 Italian color cut on DVD. Those plans, however, were abandoned after the DVD release of the 1954 cut flopped financially