The Godzilla Thread

[Zandrax]

okay here is where we split.  sea monster is one of my favs.  i do think a lot is lost watching it only MST3ked there are a great number of scenes cut that i noticed i think there was even a joke about how something didnt make sense that i knew was explained if a scene hadnt been cut which annoyed me(dont worry im not stuart galbraith IV i like the episode still but ya know). 

but the worst thing is that on mst3k the film looks terrible and this is a film i like the design of (the little of it there is) a lot.  i love the look of the red bamboo base and the doors like the spinning door and the nuclear generator and all the different colored pipes it gives a kids imagination lots to work with (yes i watched this as a child which biases me some i will give). 

also the dubbing is pretty annoying on this one i really dont like peoples english voices here.  though it will only get worse.

and i love love love the ending with the guy reaching for hte button as it slips further and further away and trying ot get all the people in the basket and godzilla is fighting the whole time.  then the ticking and the bomb and oh i think that whole sequence is great.

there are some odd bits like godzilla being attracted to daiyo that are clearly leftovers from the kong idea.  and pair bambi are no peanuts (the faeries).  the music is a little bit lesser this time around as well  sato is back and its allright but theres not that much memorable from it. 
ebirah is kinda  weak monster that ill give you but the underwater stuff was pretty well done, and giant condor is silly.

anyways once again i unabashedly enjoy this one a lot, plus my girl kumi mizuno is in it(her last monster movie until godzilla x mechagodzilla in 2002). 7.5 of 10.

Then I'll have to track it down unriffed then. I think we all know that MST cuts a lot of footage out of a lot of movies, so maybe there is something lost.

[Zandrax]

Son Of Godzilla (1967)



The second film done by Jun Fukuda. The first being Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, so you can see where this one will be headed.

Once again, a similar cast is used from the (much better) Ishiro Honda films, including Akihiko Hirata (Dr. "Eyepatch" Serizawa in the original Gojira, Chief Okita in Ghidora The Three Headed Monster among others), Akira Kuto (dorky scientist Tetsuo Teri in Invasion Of Astro Monster/Monster Zero), and Akira Takarada (Ogata in the original Gojira, Fuji in Invasion Of Astro Monster among others). Sadly, the cast from the much better movies does not equate to this being a much better movie.

This one takes place on Sollgel Island, which is likely different that the "Devil's Island" inhabited by terrorists, Godzilla, and a giant crab in the last film. On this island, several scientists are trying to perfect a weather device. Once apparently unsuccessful attempt resulted in the creation of giant praying mantises. There are several Zorak jokes that can be made here



But I think I'll just keep going.....

Anyway, Godzilla makes a cameo in the opening segments just long enough to walk into the camera and the title screen. Nosy reporter Goro Maki (Kuto) shows up via parachuting onto the island. After learning what is going on, he sees a hot chick swimming in a nearby river. Nobody believes him and the experiments continue.

The next experiment goes awry when some interference causes a weather balloon to explode, resulting in a heatwave that lasts for days. This also brings out three more mantises that find a nearby egg. The egg, as anybody who read the title of the film could guess, is the son of Godzilla. Now keep in mind, Godzilla himself is nowhere to be found. So not only is Godzilla responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of innocent people, he's also a deadbeat dad.

Anyways, the egg hatches and Godzilla Jr. crawls around, unable to walk. The mantises eye him hungrily for a while until Big G makes his grand entrance 30 minutes into the film. He opens a can of whoopass on two of the mantises before the third one flies off.

Before long, Junior is walking normally and being instructed on the finer talents of being a monster by his dad. These of course consist of roaring and belching fire. Junior can't do it at first, and Daddy G has to stomp on his tail to get him to do it. Unfortunately, Junior can't replicate the process later when the escaped mantis returns. The noises from that fight awake the sleeping Spyga, a giant spider.

While Godzilla sleeps (again with the deadbeat dad), Junior runs for his life from Spyga and the Mantis (which sounds like a great band name by the way). Godzilla wakes up and lumbers into battle against them. Meanwhile the humans unleash their weather controller again, this time to freeze the island. Sypga beats the mantis, but before he can chow down on Junior, Godzilla manages to beat him just about the time the snow starts to fall. Ah the irony.

The scientists and the hot chick raft away to safety and get picked up by a submarine. Godzilla and son slowly freeze in each other's arms as the film closes. But don't worry, they're only hibernating.

I can't give this one more than a 2. The plot was only slightly better, but it's still bad effects and the corny segments of 'Zilla training junior results in more headshakes than laughter. It's kind of sad to see the awesome Akihiko Hirata in such crappers as these last two films.

Firsts
-appearances of Minya/Minilla, Kumonga /Spyga(Spider), Kamacuras (Giant Mantis)
-Godzilla appears in the opening credits

Akihiko Hirata role: Dr. Hujisaki

[gojikranz]

ahhh minya bane of the original series.  well this is one i really did not like for a long time.  minya is minya ugly strange annoying pain inducing.  yoshio tsuchiya is back as the scientist who goes crazy (he plays crazy well).  and kamacuras(gimantis in english prints) and Kumonga(speiga) are very well done puppets i think they look really cool and have good movements.  i like the kamacauras theme a lot actually this ones music(again by sato) i enjoy a good deal. 

the godzilla suit is also the worst the in the entire series becasue they modified it to try and make it look a bit more like minya

as i said i really hated this one when i first saw it on a crappy vhs in english back in the day.  but i was lucky enough to see it on the big screen at the godzilla film festival in SF in 2004 and i realized watching it with an audience that its actually pretty funny and looks good in widescreen.  if minya werent in it it would be pretty darn good but i can only give it 4 of 10

[Zandrax]

I was tempted to steal a line from another site in my review that said Minya/Minilla was separated at birth from Gary Coleman.

[gojikranz]

i can still here GWAAHH GWAHHHH going through my head.  he fares a bit better in our next adventure then the real pain...

[Zandrax]

Destroy All Monsters (1968)



Quite anticlimactic in its conclusion, but the concept and execution is still tons better than "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster". Probably due to this one being back in the hands of Ishiro Honda.

The lineup for this film is 11 monsters strong.

Godzilla
Minilla (Godzilla's son - Who still hasn't grown up 30 years later)
Mothra
Rodan
Manda
Kumonga (Giant spider from Son Of Godzilla)
Baragon
Aguiras
Gorosaurus
Varan

and finally King Ghidorah

The film is set in 1999, which continuity-wise places it well after the "classic" (or Showa) series of movies. Earth has a base on the Moon. The plot is similar to Invasion Of Astro Monster/Monster Zero in that aliens try to take over Earth. But this time the aliens are women looking more like they came from a RenFair then a planet from the 60s. Plus they use mind control on humans, not just the monsters. Plus they have liberal amounts of knockout gas and flying saucers at their disposal.

One of the big differences right off the bat between this and other 'Zilla films is that Godzilla actually appears in the opening minutes! It is explained that one of the islands has been converted into a Jurassic Park like place for monsters to dwell safely away from humans. Magnetic walls and gas keep the monsters from venturing too far away from "Monsterland".

Of course, nothing can last like that for long in the world of giant monsters. The place is gassed out by a race of aliens called the "Kylax" (sp?), and soon all of its workers as well as the monsters are under mind control. Soon Godzilla attacks New York, Rodan attacks Moscow, Mothra attacks Beijing, and Gorosaurus attacks Paris.

Soon, Earth learns that the mind control methods come from the base on the Moon. The main characters (lead by Akira Kuto, the actor who played the dorky scientist boyfriend in Monster Zero) infiltrate the Moon and destroy the device supplying power to the mind control. This causes the Moonbase to explode, and control of the monsters is somehow taken over by Earth (never mind the details). King Ghidorah arrives, and it's a 10 on 1 smackdown.

After royally prison raping Ghidorah, the heroic monsters celebrate over the body until a "fire dragon" appears out of the sky. It's the aliens final weapon!

Fortunately, Earth still has the moon rocket. One air chase later, and it's revealed that the "fire dragon" is nothing more than a flying saucer. They shoot it down, and the monsters all travel happily (?) back to Monsterland. Roll credits.

Given the cast of monsters in this film, I can't help but be disappointed by it. 10 on 1 is hardly a fair fight no matter how powerful the adversary is. Especially given that Godzilla and Rodan beat Ghidorah a few movies ago. Why is there suspense in adding eight more to the good guy side?

The suits also looked inferior compared to previous movies, but given the budget limitations for the time, I guess this is to be expected.

I can't really give this one more than a 5. It's quite campy, which wouldn't bother me if it came to an adequate conclusion. Since it does not, I can't see it earning a rating higher than that.

Firsts
-film to star more than three headlining monsters
-Monster Island (referred here as "Monsterland")

Only
-Showa film set in the future (for its time)

[Agent_Ispep]

I always loved Destroy All Monsters as a Kid, watching those cities getting destroyed never got old.

[Zandrax]

I always loved Destroy All Monsters as a Kid, watching those cities getting destroyed never got old.

The first half is awesome, no doubt. The main reason why I only gave it a 5 is the conclusion. Though it's the best titled monster film of all time...

[gojikranz]

Destroy all monsters.  envisioned as the grand finale to the series it certainly was grand.  ya the first half is pretty awesome as the monsters assault the earths cities.  but i think comparing this to Monster Zero shows how the series had degraded somewhat.  i just dont think it looks nearly as nice the design of everything is not as nice, especially the aliens hideout(its just a cave).  and some of the monsters are pretty much just in for a second to get there name in it (varan baragon). 
the king ghidora battle is pretty sweet though.  yoshio tsuchiya back as the evil mind controlled scientist good as always.  and ifukube returns to give a great score although that section with the laser burning the thing goes on way to long and you can tell he's straining to keep it going.  i got to see this at the film festival as well and akira kubo was there and ive got his autograph on my dvd which is pretty cool.

gotta give it some credit for ballsiness to bad it was made in 68 rather than 5 years earlier.  6.5 of 10

and it maybe shoulda really ended with this one...

[Zandrax]

All Monsters Attack (1969)



This was originally released as "Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters Attack" in Japan, but was dubbed into English and released stateside in 1971 as "Godzilla's Revenge". It's quite a misleading title, since Godzilla isn't even the main character, and exists only in the imagination of a kid. Thus he really isn't seeking revenge on anything. But alas that's the least of this movie's problems.

My hopes were raised a bit seeing that this film was directed by Ishiro Honda, which if you've been reading all these you would know he is responsible for the "good" Godzilla movies. However, much of this movie is just recycled footage from the recent Jun Fukuda crapfests "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster" and "Son Of Godzilla". Another big difference is the change in the music style. Gone are the haunting orchestral marches or the familiar Godzilla main theme. They are replaced with a modern (for its time) jazzy group that sounds more like something out of the 50s Chuck Jones Tom & Jerry episodes.

But enough about that, onto the plot...

Ichiro is a young imaginative boy with a silly hat and very short pants. He's bullied by a group of kids led by Gabera. He tends to daydream about visiting Monster Island and meeting Minya (previously known as Minilla aka Mini Godzilla), the son of Godzilla. He does this because his parents are always busy and never home.

When in his make believe world, Ichiro talks to Minya, who speaks English and sounds eerily similar to Goofy. Minya also has a "bully monster" named Gabera that beats him up. Minya doesn't like to run because he knows Godzilla will think of him as a coward. Yes, that's right. Godzilla, the hero to all kids, throws his son into fights with monsters twice his size because he doesn't want him to be a coward. I guess that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Or cripples you.

Anyway, when in the real world, Ichiro crosses paths with some bankrobbers. You can tell they're bad guys because they wear sunglasses indoors. They kidnap the kid and tie him up. While being held prisoner, Ichiro imagines back into Monster Island where he helps Minya topple Gabera. He uses this as inspiration to break free and run from the robbers throughout their hideout. He eventually makes it out just as the police arrive.

The next day, Ichiro once again is bullied by the real Gabera. But this time he stands up to him and knocks him down. Remember kids, always solve your problems with violence.

The final scenes involve all the kids becoming friends after causing a painter to fall off his ladder into his own paint. Remember kids, always take delight in the mistreatment of others.

Sarcasm aside, this movie was clearly geared towards kids, so I can't grade it in the same light as the other movies. Not even the Jun Fukuda ones. Many kids could relate to the imaginative Ichiro, sans the short pants part. So I give it a 3 due to it just not being in the same "serious" league as the other films.

Firsts
-Godzilla film to have a boy with short pants
-film to recycle footage from past Godzilla movies (Godzilla Raids Again doesn't count because it's a flashback)
-No orchestral score

Onlys
-movie where Godzilla doesn't do anything in the "real world"
-Minilla speaks English
-appearance of Gabera

[gojikranz]

can anyone say gamera?  this one oh no.  this is my least favorite of the films.  even when i was a tyke i felt ripped off by it(especially since it was called godzilla's revenge back then and godzilla wasnt even the focus!).  the finale ofthe minya trilogy is really a lame cash grab, even after claims that destroy all monsters would be the last.  i hate the little kid i hate minya i dont like stock footage the music is horrible (done by some guy who never did another godzilla movie) its just bad.  1 of 10

the audio commentary is good though.  this was the last film eiji tsuburaya, the special effects man behind every film prior would have a part in before his death.  effects will get cheaper.

[Zandrax]

can anyone say gamera?  this one oh no.  this is my least favorite of the films.  even when i was a tyke i felt ripped off by it(especially since it was called godzilla's revenge back then and godzilla wasnt even the focus!).  the finale ofthe minya trilogy is really a lame cash grab, even after claims that destroy all monsters would be the last.  i hate the little kid i hate minya i dont like stock footage the music is horrible (done by some guy who never did another godzilla movie) its just bad.  1 of 10

the audio commentary is good though.  this was the last film eiji tsuburaya, the special effects man behind every film prior would have a part in before his death.  effects will get cheaper.

I should have made the Gamera connection given the annoying kid in short pants similarity.

[MSTJedi]

can anyone say gamera?  this one oh no.  this is my least favorite of the films.  even when i was a tyke i felt ripped off by it(especially since it was called godzilla's revenge back then and godzilla wasnt even the focus!).  the finale ofthe minya trilogy is really a lame cash grab, even after claims that destroy all monsters would be the last.  i hate the little kid i hate minya i dont like stock footage the music is horrible (done by some guy who never did another godzilla movie) its just bad.  1 of 10

the audio commentary is good though.  this was the last film eiji tsuburaya, the special effects man behind every film prior would have a part in before his death.  effects will get cheaper.

I should have made the Gamera connection given the annoying kid in short pants similarity.

Just the name Ichiro led me to the "Itchy" comparison from Gamera vs. Gaos. What was it with kids befriending giant murderous monsters in the 60s and 70s?

[gojikranz]

fortunately its not common in godzilla movies though we have one more frightening example, i guess theres some in smog monster but it is a little less annoying for me there.

[Zandrax]

Megalon is the only other movie I can think of with the really annoying short pants kid. There are others, but not as prominent.