- There are two distinct versions of the American International Pictures version of this film, which is titled "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster." The first version, presumably the original 35mm theatrical version, features an English language cartoon sequence (reworked from a similar Japanese language one in the Japanese version). A similar insert replaces a shot of a newsreader with an English language map of Fuji City. In addition, AIP removed all of the Japanese text from the scenes of various "science lessons" given by Dr. Yano. This is the version that was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Orion Home Video in 1989. The second version, however, has none of these unique shots. The Hedorah cartoon and newsreader scene are unchanged from the Japanese version and Dr. Yano's science lessons feature onscreen Japanese text. This version seems to have been the standard 16mm release for television distribution and can be seen mostly in unlicensed home video releases of the film, such as the 1990 Simitar VHS release from the U.S. and the Digital Disc DVD release from Canada.
- At the end of the Japanese and international English versions of the film, right after the scene of Godzilla walking away into an open field, a still of Hokusai's ancient woodcut print "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa," which depicts a huge tidal wave about to sink fragile ships on the ocean below (with Mount Fuji in the background) can be seen. This was followed by a title card against a black background that said "Soshite mo ippiki?"/"And yet another one?" The film then ends with the same still shot from its prologue of Hedorah rising out of the ocean with "The End" superimposed over it. In the American International Pictures version, these scenes were all cut. After Godzilla walks away into the open field, the film simply cuts to a black background with a superimposed "The End - An American International Release" dissolving in. Then the film fades out and you can still hear the rest of Riichiro Manabe's closing music for another 10 to 15 seconds where the original closing scenes used to be.
- There are two different English versions of this film. The first version is titled "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" and was dubbed by an uncredited Hong Kong company for Toho. It was unedited from the original Japanese film and, notably, all the songs in it were left in Japanese. This version, often called an international or export version by fans, went unreleased in the United States until January 1996 when it was first broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. It has since become the only version of the film currently available on DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. The second version is titled "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster." This version was produced by Salvatore Billitteri for American International Pictures and released to theaters in the United States in 1972. Despite an existing English version, AIP opted to have the film re-dubbed in New York at Titan Productions, Inc. The Japanese-language song featured in the Japanese and international version titled "Return! The Sun" was replaced by an English version titled "Save the Earth" written by Guy Hemric and Adryan Russ and sung by Russ. This U.S. version of the film was removed from circulation in the mid-1990s when the rights to the film reverted back to Toho from Orion Pictures, which had previously purchased the AIP film library.
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