A Fistful of Gojira Part 7: Godzilla (2014)

Title: Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards

Released: 2014

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathaim, Bryan Cranston

Plot: In 1999, The Janjira nuclear plant was mysteriously destroyed in what was presumed to be an earthquake, while also killing plant supervisor Joe Brody’s wife Sandra. Years later Joe is still obsessively searching for the truth, while his now grown up son Ford now works as a Navy ordnance disposal officer. Together they now discover the real truth behind the accident at the plant, as the world is now faced with a horror which only Godzilla can save us from.

 

Review: It’s hard to believe but it really has been ten years since the release of “Godzilla: Final Wars” the film which many saw to be the final Godzilla film, something which only seemed to be resonated at Toho, the studio which had been the home of Godzilla for over fifty years and whom following “Godzilla: Final Wars” had dismantled their legendry water stage which had played such a key part of numerous Godzilla productions. Elsewhere Tristar Pictures who had been responsible for the much lamented 1998 American adaptation had let their rights expire in 2003 having long since given up on their idea of producing their own trilogy of films. The fans meanwhile continued to hold out hope for a new film as their love for the Giant radioactive lizard continued to live on through their repeated viewings of the of the original films and in 2009 their prayers would be finally answered when Legendry picked up the rights the long awaited end results of which we now see here and finally confirming if it was really worth the wait or if final wars really should have been final. Thankfully the wait has been worthwhile as here Director Edwards gives a film which is not only a worthy addition to the franchise (doubt anyone will be calling this version zilla in the future) but still manages to add his own style to the film in the first of a proposed trilogy films and more impressively managing to do all this without technically rebooting the franchise.

Edwards whose previous film was his low budget debut “Monsters” is certainly an interesting choice, but seeing how the 1998 version had been helmed by blockbuster director Roland Emmerich, you can hardly blame them for choosing to take a risk on a relative unknown especially to mainstream movie goers who no doubt missed out on the genre jumping antics of his debut film, a trait which he chooses to carry over here. Not content it would seem with telling a straight giant monster story it would seem here he actually pushes the giant monsters bizarrely to the background preferring to give us a road trip movie (of sorts) as Joe makes his way from Japan back to San Francisco to get back to his wife and son. Bizarrely rather than detract from the film, this unique approach strangely works even if you’re not quite sure what you’re watching exactly as for a Godzilla movie he does spend a fair part of the movie feeling like a supporting character rather than the marquee name we expect.

While Edward’s approach might certainly be unique there is still an overwhelming sense of respect that he clearly has for the franchise, approaching Godzilla without the slant of being either good or evil, but rather as very much a force of nature and every bit the anti-hero that he was in his early films and throughout the Showa era. This vision of Godzilla is instead a monster driven by the single minded desire to hunt and destroy his prey and its really just good luck for the human population if said prey happens to be attacking major cities. It is also an approach which is carried over to both Muto’s who equally care only about getting to sources of radiation in an interesting counter to the anti-nuclear stance which Godzilla represents. Edward’s however gets things spot on when it comes to highlighting the size of his monsters, with the frequent use of low angles and scale establishing shots such as the ones of Godzilla swimming underneath battleships. Unquestionably though the real highlight here though is Godzilla’s first full appearance which sees him first highlighted with signal flares before being given his full reveal which squashes any grumblings regarding a Western Godzilla having the same presence as the original and for the record no I don’t think he’s too fat, though still confused as to why Edwards insisted on giving a face similar to King Kong? Did he not think that audience could feel for a radioactive lizard?

The human cast are all great, even though "Breaking Bad" fans might be a little upset to see Cranston reduced to more of a supporting role than the trailers suggested. Taylor-Johnson meanwhile still seems be being pigeonholed into being an action star and while he is still believable you can't help but feel that he would be more comfortable in a more dramatic role. Elsewhere Watanabe seems to only be on hand to spout philosophical musings and if its like the screening I was at provide some of the audience with a cheap thrill of how he pronounces the word Godzilla.

Needless to say with Edward’s aiming for a more realistic approach to the series, which is hardly surprisingly considering how leaps of fantasy are not exactly in vogue in Hollywood thanks to the success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. This of course means no Kung fu antics from Godzilla or Muto which I didn’t honestly expect to see anyway and such didn’t disappoint me that it is a much more animalistic and natural fight that we get when the monsters meet (if one were they breath radioactive fire) and seeing how Godzilla maintains the rest of his traits including the aforementioned radioactive flame breath whose appearance would have been more of a showpiece had it not been ruined by one critic’s twitter feed after attending one of the advance screenings (cheers for that). What frustrated me though was that it was during these scenes that the fact that Edward’s is using the monsters as the background for Ford’s journey really became apparent, none more so than the first meeting of Godzilla and Muto were just when we expect to see the two monsters clash, the film suddenly cuts to Ford’s son watching the attack unfold on a news report! Seriously if you’re going to play the tease these are really not the scenes to do it with and its only how unexpected and well cut this scene is that it stopped it from frustrating me further.

The other niggling issue with Edward's directing is the worrying amount of shots which seemed to have been borrowed from other films, with Jaws and Jurrasic Park, aswell as more interestingly "The Abyss" all having seemingly being homaged here only sadly with none of the fan boy nodding flair that Tarantino brings to his own homages. At the same time the film frequently can't decide what sort of films it want's to be which might be a lot to do with its placement on the summer blockbuster schedule and why we get so many shots which made me feel like I was on a Universal Studios thrill ride, with the monorail attack being a prime example of this.

True this film might have some issues with some of its directorial choices, but this is still a great addition to the franchise and a promising start to what will hopefully be a great trilogy, especially if Edward's is to stick with it and maintain his creative vision throughout like Nolan got to with his Dark Knight trilogy even more so when the prospect of Monster Island and Mothra have both been seriously hinted at as making an appearance in the next film. At the same time though I still have o view this film as its own film and should be viewed as its own trilogy rather than an extension of the original saga but needless to say the King of Monsters is most certainly back!

A Fistful of Gojira Part 6: Godzilla: Final Wars

Title: Godzilla: Final Wars

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura

Released: 2004

Starring:  Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikumkawa, Don Frye, Kane Kosugi, Maki Mizuno, Kazuki Kitamura, Masakatsu Funaki, Kumi Mizuno, Kenji Sahara, Masami Nagasawa, Chihiro Otsuka, Masatoh Eve, June Kunimura, Akira Takarada, Tsutomu Kitagawa

Plot: When an invasion by the alien Xilens, unleashes giant monsters around the world, the Earth Defense Force (EDF) are soon faced with releasing Godzilla from his current icy tomb in the South Pole, but whose side will he fight for?

Review: Released to celebrate fifty years of Godzilla this film is every bit the best of collection that Director Kitamura proposed for the project. This of course is nothing but a plus really for the fans especially when it features the largest collection of monsters from the Toho catalogue since the legendry “Destroy All Monsters” as every monster from Godzilla’s (with the exception of Destroyah) past battles are brought back for one final battle in what is unsurprisingly also makes this one of the most action packed entries to date.

Unquestionably it was a big responsibility that Kitamura was tasked with here, but equally an honour he was more than happy to except as he stated that it came with "the same kind of honour that a British director would feel being asked to direct a Bond movie". A comment which would also serve to remind most western audiences of the radical difference in viewpoints when it came to the franchise, especially when the West still largely view the series as just a bunch of fun movies about monsters stomping on Tokyo. Still this public perception did not stop Godzilla getting a star on the Hollywood walk of fame upon the release of this film which currently to date has been the last films in the series which Toho have produced originally promising to not make another for 10 years, but as yet there has to be any news on any new films being produced by the company leaving Legendary to continue the series with their intended trilogy (the first of which I will cover next time).

Now there has been some criticism by some Godzilla fans that this film was something of a lark and devoid of any of the emotional content for a film which carried such significance for the series, but then at the time of this film’s release we were 28 films into the franchise and after fifty years of kaiju goodness its safe to say that finding a plotline which carried weight was going to be tough going and with so many classic monsters from Godzilla’s past being brought out of retirement the fact that the film is essentially one long brawl if hardly surprising. True giant monsters brawling was no surprise but while we usually get scenes of the human cast talking or on some quest or other, here these scenes are replaced with even more fighting as Kitamura cranks up the action quota by combining scenes of monsters trashing major cities but “Casshern” style action as aliens and the super powered mutant members of the Earth Defence Force and if your mind isn’t completely frazzled by all that Don Frye plays a character katana welding Stalin lookalike!!
 

On the flip side of things it was equally not surprising that the film ended up being such a frenzied and kinetic film, as  Kitamura had already directed the zombies and gangsters splatter fest “Versus” aswell as the hyper pop samurai movie “Azumi”, let alone producing the truly bonkers “Battlefield Baseball” and here it essentially more of the same while ensuring that this film features some of the most exciting Godzilla action to date.

While Kitamura might be a very modern director he still shows enough respect to the series to stick with old school effects for the vast majority of the films going on record at the films premiere in Hollywood, while also addressing the cheeky nod to the American remake which sees Godzilla facing off against the since renamed Zilla.

“We stick to the special effects. That’s what we’ve been doing for 50 years. And that’s why Hollywood don’t do it. So on the first meeting, I told everybody that we stick to the special effects, and the live action instead of CGI. So it’s a CGI-monster-Hollywood Godzilla versus our man-made live-action monsters.”

It is a powerful combination of old school effects and CGI which we get here as a result with the CGI only really being used for the more complex monster manoeuvres such as Anguilus’s Spike ball and Mothra’s flying footage. True by sticking with the man in the suit costumes it does also mean that we still don't have a believable Minila who is back on usual fan aggravating duties, perhaps to even more of an extent this time seeing how the character who finds him has a rifle and doesn't take the opportunity to shoot him between the eyes leaving us to endure his usual antics.

This dedication to tradition though does not extend to the score it seems as Akira Ifukube’s legendry themes are for the most part absent, while the Godzilla theme does still make a noteworthy appearance at the start of the film. Elsewhere Keith Emerson (of “Emerson, Lake and Palmer” fame) handles most of the score duties making for a change of pace which like so many aspects of the film was greeted with mixed opinion, but like the tracks from Zebrahead and Sum 41 which also feature on the soundtrack it does bring a more modern edge to the film, while more importantly not removing any of the soul from the film, especially when music has always played an important part in establishing Godzilla’s screen presence.

Ultimately this I found this film to be a lot of fun and a fitting end to not only the Millennium era but the series aswell (if this would be unfortunate to be the last Toho film) while at the same time managing to pull out a few surprises along the way, such as a new version of Gigan whose hook hands are replaced with double chainsaws!! Here's just hoping that Toho are using this time they have given to the Legendry to make their trilogy, to ensure that his homeland return is something really special as here it is clear that even after 50 years of city stomping antics Godzilla still has plenty of fight still left in him.
 

A Fistful of Gojira Part 5: Godzilla Vs. Destroyah

Title: Godzilla Vs. Destroyah

Director: Takao Okawara

Released: 1995

Starring:  Takuro Tatsumi, Yoko Ishino, Yasufumi Hayashi, Megumi Odaka, Momoko Kochi, Kenpachiro Satsuma

Plot: When Godzilla suddenly appears in Hong Kong with strange lava like rashes, the Japanese Self Defence Force (JSDF) are quick to launch into action as they fear that Godzilla’s body is going to meltdown. Things only get worse when the effects of the reconstructed Oxygen destroyer which killed the original Godzilla has now caused a colony of Precambrian organisms to mutate into monstrous crab-like creatures, which soon bond together to form the monstrous Destoroyah.

 

Review: Originally intended to be the last Godzilla film until 2004 when the franchise would celebrate its 50^th anniversary, the news of Toho’s plans to kill off the company’s biggest export unsurprisingly made news around the world when it was announced. These plans were also intended to provide the 1998 American remake a clean slate to work from and build their in their intended trilogy. However as we all know now that remake would be greeted with much disappointment from both fans and critics alike leading to the plans for an intended trilogy being scrapped.

Unquestionably it is was a big responsibility that director Okawara was tasked with here especially considering how beloved Godzilla is, even despite the fact that he was still in his much more primal form which has been one of the trademarks of the Heisei Era. Still having previously directed one of the most profitable entries in the series “Godzilla Vs. Mothra” and its follow up “Godzilla Vs. Mecha-Godzilla II” producers Tomoyuki Tanaka and Shogo Tomiyama certainly felt he was up to the task. Unquestionably though if this film was to be the final Godzilla film it certainly provided a suitably touching yet impressive end even if it ultimately would only mark the end of the Heisei era. At the same time the film contains a number of links to the original film, which not only sees Momoko Kochi reprising her role as Emiko Yamane the daughter of Dr. Kyohei Yamane in the original “Godzilla” at the same time his Grandson Kenichi (Hayashi) is also introduced here who as the resident Godzilla expert despite being a student and essentially only being tempted by a pretty face rather than you know saving the whole of mankind from being killed by an exploding Godzilla which is stated is powerful enough to cause the destruction of the entire planet, but hey whatever works right?

These links to the original film are not limited to key characters though as despite Dr. Serizawa seemingly taking the secrets of the Godzilla destroying “Oxygen Destroyer” to his grave in the first film, here it has been created again and as with all fantastical discoveries it is not long until an unwelcome side effect happens which being a Godzilla movie is in the form of monsters, but more uniquely in this case is the fact that these monsters start off small (well for Godzilla atleast) before mutating into a much larger form….twice! As a result of these changing forms the monster action is not only maximised with the smaller and more multiple form of Destroyah taking on the military before mutating into his larger forms form some more traditional city destroying action.

Destroyah is an impressive creation and more than a suitable opponent for what was expected to be Godzilla’s final battle with the battle ultimately requiring not only Godzilla, but also a now fully grown Manila and the JSDF to take him out, arguably making his toughest opponent to date, though by this same reasoning “King Ghidorah” would be considered tougher seeing how it took he combined efforts of seven monsters in “Destroy All Monsters” to defeat him. The battle with Destroyah though is unquestionably a tough one and certainly one of the hardest Godzilla has had since he faced off against “Space Godzilla” in the previous film.

Unquestionably it is ultimately a sad tone which overshadows the film, especially as Godzilla here is shown to be slowly dying as his body goes into meltdown, which also has the side effect of changing usual blue fire breath into a striking shade of crimson and impressive lightning bolts running down his spinal plates. Despite the efforts of the JSDF to prevent his meltdown ultimately when his end comes it is a suitably emotional scene and one only heightened by the score by Akira Ifukube. Okawara while he might be already handling a lot of pressure in providing a suitable exit for Godzilla, but clearly not afraid of taking a gamble he also kills of the now mature Baby Godzilla in a scene almost as emotional as Godzilla’s own death as he Okawara somehow manages to find a way to have this version of Godzilla still show the same amount of expression that his Showa form had with his humanoid characteristics. True it might be only a temporary death as Godzilla passes the torch of “King of Monsters” to his son but ultimately it is a gamble which really pays off here.

While onscreen there might have been some emotional goodbyes, this film would equally have some equally emotional ones behind the scenes aswell as this film would be the last film to be produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, who since being responsible for the creating Godzilla had produced every film in the series (aswell as every Sci-fi film produced by Toho) with this film being his last before he sadly passed away two years later, with the American remake being dedicated in his memory. At the same his fellow “Four Fathers” member composer Akira Ifukube who most importantly was responsible for giving Godzilla his trademark roar also chose to mark his retirement with this film after being tempted back by producer Tanaka despite having handed over the reins to fellow composer Takayuki Hattori on the previous film and while his memorable themes would continue to live on in the films which followed, here his final score is a powerful mixture of  haunting music and heart breaking requiem alongside his ever rousing marches  ensuring that he unquestionable end his career on a unquestionable high note.

While this might not have been the finale it was originally planned to be for the series it is still another memorable milestone in the saga before director Okawara was brought back for one more turn in the director’s chair as he ushered in the final (to date) era with “Godzilla 2000” which also marked the start of the Millennium era. Unquestionably here though he provides one of the more memorable films even without the prospect of Godzilla’s death, as this film combines tight plotting and memorable action scenes to powerful effect and ultimately ensuring that the Heisei era went out on a high.

Next Time: "Godzilla: Final Wars" - The Millennium era aswell as the franchise is brought to a close (for now atleast) with director Ryuhei Kitamura crafting a film he described as being a "Best of album" for the franchise and in many ways a modern reworking of the classic "Destroy all Monsters". Needless to say Godzilla was going to go out with a bang as memorable faces returned to do battle one final time.

A Fistful of Gojira Part 4: Godzilla Vs. Biollante

Title: Godzilla Vs. Biollante

Director: Kazuki Omori

Released: 1989

Starring: Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Megumi Odaka, Koji Takahashi, Toru Minegishi, Toshiyuki Nagashima   

Plot: Five years after the events of “The Return of Godzilla” Genetic researcher Genshiro Shiragama combines DNA from Godzilla with that of the Roses he has been studying, creating by accident the monster Biollante which soon attracts the attention of the newly released Godzilla.

Review: The second film in the Heisei era which rebooted the franchise 9 years after the “The Terror of Mechagodzilla” brought the Showa era to a close. The Heisei era not only ignored the events which followed the ending of the first film but also ushered in a new darker tone for the series as here Godzilla was no longer the saviour of Earth, but more the rampaging monster he originally was. This however was not to say that Godzilla didn’t involve himself in more monster smackdowns as outside of the first film in this era “The Return of Godzilla” it was business as usual only now the fights were seen as more of a Darwinian contest for territory and resources.

Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka keen to not recycle established monsters from the Toho catalogue instead for the film solicited script ideas from the general public, with the winning idea coming from dentist and occasional sci-fi writer Shinichiro Kobayashi, which inturn director Omori adapted into the final script. It should also be noted that this approach of not recycling classic would soon be scrapped with two movies which followed and which saw both Mothra and King Ghidora to memorable effect. Despite the fact that this film was based on an idea by a member of the public (doubt Hollywood will be taking this approach anytime soon) Biollante is unquestionably one of Godzilla’s more impressive opponents, let alone his tallest to date, something which Omori plays to great effect as he frequently shoots these monsters from the side to emphases the disadvantage Godzilla has from the start and something which is only further highlighted in the posters which were dominated by the image of this monster plant (aswell as one of the few female monster characters)

The showdown between Godzilla and Biollante while perhaps more limited than some of his other encounters, still has its share of impressive moments, while also noteworthy for being one of the more violent fights, yet at the same time it is a restrained level of violence as there is none of the blood spurts we saw in “Godzilla Vs. Gigan” but there is plenty of slime to substitute for it aswell as a nasty impalement when Biollante drives one of her vines through Godzilla’s hand. The Heisei era would sporadically contain these moments of violence as also memorable seen by King Ghidorah losing one of his heads in “Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah, though again this violence would always be restrained like it is here and nowhere near the levels seen in the Gamera movies which never showed such restrain when it came to violence.

The suit work is great even if we hardly get any of the city levelling action we have come to expect from the series with most of the action taking place randomly in a lake which Biollante has decided to root down in.  It is however in the city wrecking scenes that we also get to see another rarity for the series in that collateral damage is being shown, while earlier films would frequently cover for the sudden absence of the local human population by showing scenes of crowds heading for underground bunkers. This scene would interesting tie into “Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla” with the Heisei frequently finding ways to tie films together, even if one the surface they gave the impression of being standalone films like the later films of the Showa series in one of the many subtle changes the Heisei era as the series moved to mature with its audience.

One of my main gripes with this film though is with the pacing, which is ponderous to say the least, especially with the first 40 minutes being given to the human plotlines, which ultimately end up cluttering the film as too many characters are brought into play with around half of them really adding nothing but confusion to the plot, while most only purpose it seems is to trigger the events leading up the confrontation between the two titular monsters. On the plus side not all these human distractions are negative as we do get the fun of the Japanese Defence Force and their latest plan to stop Godzilla by rebuilding the “Super X” with the first model having been destroyed in the previous film, the mark 2 seen here this time comes with a new secret weapon in the form of the “Fire Mirror” which essentially reflects Godzilla’s flame breath back at him to spectacular effect even if the crew can’t for the life of them seem to aim the reflected beam, but then hasn’t wrong projectiles / weapons always been their calling card.

While Biollante would be a great addition to the Toho catalogue of monsters disappointing box office returns would see producer Tanaka returning to an established favourite for the next film “Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah”, whose success would see the idea of new monster being put on the backburner for most of this era outside of the final two entries. At the same time this would be her only appearance to date and with the Toho currently having retired Godzilla for the time being it remains to be seen if the success of the latest American adaptation holds her reappearance in its future.

Next Time: "Godzilla Vs. Destroyah" - The Showa era comes to a close with one of the most memorable moments in the series...the death of Godzilla. A film which made news around the world in the lead up to its release as Toho prepared to give the American remake a clean slate to work with, the Big G prepares to take what looked set to be his final bow.

A Fistful of Gojira Part 3: Godzilla Vs. Gigan

Title: Godzilla Vs. Gigan

Director: Jun Fukuda
Released: 1972
Starring: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hisimi, Minoru Takashima, Tomoko Umeda, Toshiaki Nishizawa, Zan Fujita, Kunio Murai, Haruo Nakajima

Plot: Aliens disguising themselves as the creators of the peace-themed theme park Children’s Land have kidnapped a top scientist as part of their plan to take over the world. To ensure their plan goes through they also lure the monsters Gigan and King Ghidorah to Earth via two “Action Signal Tapes” which also lure Godzilla and Anguirus to the park and into a climatic showdown to decide the fate of Earth.

Review: Time now for another of my favourites, though like so many of films in the series the final film would be very different from the original plans for this film which originally started as a direct sequel to “Godzilla Vs. Hedorah”, a plan soon scrapped after producer Tomoyuki Tanaka saw the results of that film, so much so that he told director Yoshimitsu Banno that he had “ruined Godzilla” and subsequently banned him from directing another Toho film again. With this in mind Banno was unquestionably keen to get the series back on track and had planned to do this with a script titled “Godzilla Vs. the Space Monsters: Earth Defence Directive” which would include six monsters (a feat not attempted since the fantastic “Destroy All Monsters”) and would have marked the first appearance of both Gigan and Megalon alongside a third monster called Majin Tuol who would face off against Godzilla, Rodan and Varan. This film would however never make it out of the planning stages, despite an attempt to rework it into a new film titled “The Return of King Ghidorah” the plans would ultimately fall through due to budgeting issues.

Toho Studios never being one to waste a good idea would ultimately salvage parts of that script with this film being the end result, while Megalon would go on to get his own film with the woeful “Godzilla Vs. Megalon”. This film however being greeted with more mixed results with some of the fan base finding issue with some of the more random plot choices which included Godzilla and Anguirus talking. An idea which was either bad or really bad depending on if your watching the original version (speech bubbles) or the dubbed version (questionable voice acting) and while this only happens twice in the film it still irked a lot of fans, even though it would be miles better than the whole Godzilla flying insanity in “Godzilla Vs. Hedorah”.

At this point of the Showa era the Godzilla franchise had firmly settled into its template of monster sized smackdowns as Godzilla faced off against a roster of monsters as the defender of Earth and here it certainly in this respect it doesn’t disappoint as not only does the film feature four of my all-time favourite monsters, especially with Anguirus who honestly they have yet to beat though both Gigan and Mecha-King Ghidorah would come close. This matchup is only added to by the fact that this is one of Godzilla’s toughest fights to date even with the backup he receives from Anguirus.

It is as I mentioned in my previous review noteworthy for also being one of the bloodiest as the film shows a level of violence I’ve come to expect more from the “Gamera” series than Godzilla, but while a lot of these scene are savage to watch, they thankfully never darken the general tone of the film. This increase in gore though would be due to Taruyoshi Nakano taking over from special effects legend Eiji Tsuburaya who had been strongly opposed to exposing younger viewers to graphic images. Nakano might have been stepping into big shoes when he took over from Tsuburaya following his death but the special effects standard really doesn’t dip here, even though Nakano was forced to work with a reduced budget, which was ultimately worked around by through the extensive use of stock footage from the previous films which while it might raise grumbles from some of the fans but honestly I didn’t really notice it.

Outside of the monster fun, the plotline is pretty simple with Cartoonist Gengo (Ishikawa) being hired as a concept artist for the theme park only to soon suspect that his new employers are not quite what they seem which being a Godzilla movie they aren’t and in this case Giant shape shifting cockroaches. At the same time of all the alien species which have featured in the series, they are hardly the most involved in their plot seeing how they leave it down to Gigan and King Ghidorah to do most of the work while they hide out in their Godzilla shaped tower complete with a powerful laser cannon. It only makes sense then that their plan is also one of the easiest to foil seeing how they are essentially beaten by a drawing.

Embodying the Showa era this film is a lot of film and the monster fight scenes more than carry the film and serves as one of the better examples of the era, despite being sandwiched between two of the weakest entries. True it might increase the violence and more notably the gore (both things which would be toned down again in the films which followed) but this film still has the same fun nature which defined the films of the Showa era even though it was one of the last films to be made in this era.

Next Time: Godzilla Vs. Biollante - With "The Return of Godzilla" having ushered in the Heisei era along with it a darker vision of Godzilla. Here he is no longer the protector of Earth but instead closer to the monstrous beast he originally was. Now in the second film of the era Godzilla finds himself facing off against his largest opponent to date aswell as one of the few female monsters in the Toho catalogue, the gigantic plant monster Biollante

A Fistful of Gojira Part 2: Ebirah Horror of the Deep

Title: Ebirah Horror of the Deep aka Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster
Director:  Jun Fukuda
Released: 1966
Starring: Akira Takarada, Toru Wantanabe, Toru Ibuki, Choutarou Tougin, Hideo Sunazuka, Kumi Mizuno, Pair Bambi, Jun Tazaki, Akihiko Hirata, Haruo Nakajima, Yu Sekida

Plot: Ryota (Wantanabe) and his friends steal a boat belonging to bank robber, to try and find Ryota’s brother Yata (Ibuki) who is presumed to be lost at sea. However when their boat is destroyed by the giant lobster Ebirah/ Washing up on the shores of a mysterious island which is also the base of operations for terrorist organisation “The Red Bamboo” who have enslaved the natives from Infant Island to help them manufacture nuclear weapons.

Review: Arriving at a cross roads for the series, with Godzilla still yet to become the defender of Japan but no longer the monstrous threat he was in his early films but rather a monster defending his territory, this film would only be a step further (if a confused one) closer to the popular vision of Godzilla as an anthropomorphic superhero that most people have. However despite starting on this path in “Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster” this film would still find Godzilla’s intentions still in something of a confused state no doubt due to the fact that the film had originally been intended as a vehicle for King Kong under the proposed title “Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs Ebirah” in what would be his second appearance outside of the US, having four years previous been given the Kaiju treatment by Toho when he was pitted against Godzilla in there series misstep “King Kong Vs. Godzilla”. It would however be during production that last minute changes would see the film would be changed to a Godzilla film leaving Kong to return to battle Mechi-Kong in “King Kong Escapes”.

While this film might not be a favourite of many Godzilla fans, thanks largely to the horrible dub track which for certain characters seems to have been done for comedic effect (atleast that’s what I hope it was) but despite this I have always held a fondness for this film, perhaps because it was the first Godzilla film I ever saw and while at the time I might not have been aware it was part of a larger series of films, I loved watching this giant dinosaur destroying buildings and battling with an over grown shrimp and it was from here that my life long obsession with not only Godzilla but Kaiju cinema on a whole would begin.

A light hearted adventure movie at its core and it is really a sense of fun that director Fukuda brings to the series after series mainstay Ishiro Honda decided to take another break from directing the series leaving Fukuda to pick up the directing reins with this film being the first of the five films he would direct for the series. Godzilla’s presence here though is more as a supporting character than a main lead as he would become in the films which followed, the same can also be said for Mothra who spends most of the movie being worshiped by the natives of Infant island who are trying to wake her up from the coma she seems to in until she suddenly decides to wake up in time to help Ryota and his friends escape the island with the natives enslaved by the Red Bamboo. This is however not to say that Godzilla isn’t given anything to do, as he does get to have a couple of memorable brawls with Ebirah who would following this film be phased out of the Toho monster catalogue until making a surprise appearance in “Godzilla: Final Wars”. Godzilla also gets to fight a random giant condor, but I think this creature was another carry over from the original Kong plotting, much like Godzilla’s strange interest in native girl Dayo (Mizuno) and throwing boulders as memorably seen during the random game of boulder tennis Godzilla engages in with Ebirah.

Equally noteworthy about this film is the level on violence here, which while perhaps featuring none of the blood spurts of “Godzilla Vs. Gigan” or the shocking jaw snapping scene in “Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla, this film does feature humans being eaten by Ebirah (to date the only monster to do this) aswell as Godzilla brutally tearing the claws off Ebirah and using them to taunt her further at the end of their battle. Unlike "Gamera" Godzilla has never been a series interested in gore and bloody brawls, outside of a few sporadic moments throughout the series and while this film features some of these moments of violence it is never to the point were it distracts from the film or stops being a Godzilla movie.

As far as Toho monsters go Ebirah is possibly one of the more outlandish, after all she is less of your typical monster design and really just a giant shrimp after all, as further confirmed by the fact that her name is derived fro the Japanese word ebi, meaning “shrimp” (thank you IMDB for that one). Despite this she is still one of the better opponents with her aquatic nature also giving us one of the rarer underwater fight scenes, while proving herself equally tasty as a brawler.

The main plotline following Ryota and his friends trying to stop the dastardly Red Bamboo is one of the more entertaining ones and their appearance here makes a change from the usual alien plotlines. It only makes it more of shame that this would be their only appearance in the series. Still despite giving the impression of a well organised fighting force they are still surprisingly easy to fool as seen by the outlandish tactics the group use to elude them, let alone the fact that they essentially toppled by a plan formulated by the group’s resident comic relief.

True this film might have some minor plot holes, such as why Godzilla is unconscious on the island or why Mothra spends most of the film having a nap, but for newcomers this film provides the perfect starting point like so many of the films from this point in the Showa era, with its fun plotting and zero knowledge of the other films being required to enjoy it, this one is just wholesome Kaiju fun!

Next time: "Godzilla Vs. Gigan" - With the Showa era hitting its stride with an established format of pitting Godzilla against a roster of giant monsters Director Fukuda with his third film for the series while providing possibly the best tag team match to date as Godzilla and Anguirus team up to battle King Ghidorah and Gigan.

A Fistful of Gojira Part 1: Godzilla Raids Again

Title: Godzilla Raids Again

Director:  Motoyoshi Oda

Released: 1955
Starring: Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura, Haruo Nakajima

Plot: Pilots Shoichi and Koji are scouting for schools of fish for the tuna cannery company they work for, when Koji is forced to land near Iwato Island. Here he discovers a another Godzilla in battle with another monster Anguirus, a battle which soon leads them to the shores of Osaka.

Review: With the release of the new “Godzilla” fast approaching what better time to revisit the franchise so to date and look back at the various changes the series has gone through over a staggering thirty films (including both American adaptations). So over the course of the next few reviews which make up this mini feature, I will be looking at films from the each of key eras Showa, Heisei and Millennium, in what will form an annotated overlook at the series to date.

Seeing how I’ve already reviewed the original “Godzilla” the only logical place to start this journey would be with the second film and possibly the least seen by most fans, no doubt more familiar with the films which followed in its wake. Still this film would be one of numerous firsts seeing how it marked the first appearance of my favourite Kaiju creation Anguirus who here would also have the honour of being Godzilla’s first opponent.

Despite being killed in the previous film, Godzilla’s sudden reappearance here thankfully isn’t so much ignored but side stepped, with sole reason being that it is a second Godzilla. Still despite not being the same Godzilla he still has no love for humanity here and still very much on city wrecking form, only this time more the result of his on going battle with Anguirus, who would in the later films become a long term ally, something you’d never expect considering that both monsters are shown to be following the most primal instincts and hence are solely focused on killing each other.

Picking up the directorial reigns from Ishiro Honda, Director Oda a favourite with the Toho bosses due to his reputation for being able to deliver films quickly with his usual work rate seeing him delivering seven films a year for the company, though despite directing over fifty films over the course of his career little is known of his career after 1958, with this film being the only one made to be shown outside of Japan. Like Honda, Oda here chooses a similar style of plotting as he opts to shoot the film completely straight faced, even taking a risk by killing off unexpectedly one of his popular characters. Still considering that this film was in cinemas an astounding six months after the release of the original film, even with the numerous special effects shots req, its safe to say Oda truly lived up to his reputation as a speedy director.

Sadly while the main meat of the film is shot in a similar to style to one used by Honda in the original film, the same cannot be said for the majority of the Godzilla footage which comes off more laughable than with any of the threat that he was shot with in the original. Things only get worse when it comes to the fight scenes between Godzilla and Anguirus who frequently have the same look that you could achieve by battling two action figures together. These scenes are only further hampered by them frequently looking like they have been speeded up, which to Oda’s credit was more accidental due to a camera technician accidently undercranking the camera instead of overcranking it. Kaiju special effects legend Eiji Tsuburaya actually liked the speeded up effect this created and ultimately decided to use the footage in what is certainly one of the more detrimental elements of the film.

Despite this being the first time that Godzilla would get to battle a fellow monster, here it is a far cry from the more familiar monster kung fu antics we’ve come to expect from the series, as instead this is fight is much more animalistic in nature, as the two monsters charge and wrestle each other between dealing out nasty looking bites on each other. It is worth noting aswell that the fight between Godzilla and Anguirus is also one of the longest in the series and despite its more brutal nature still sees another Japanese landmark still getting destroyed in the fray as Osaka Castle suffers the same fate as the Tokyo Tower in a memorable style.

Outside of the main draw of watching Godzilla and Anguirus battling each other this film is also one of the few not to fall back on the usual plot device of “Aliens did it”, here Oda actually takes the time to develop his lead characters which sadly would be the parts of the film to suffer when the film was given its American release, were it was released as “Gigantis the Fire Monster” a butchered cut of this film which attempts to pass itself off as an original film and is really only noteworthy for the early role for George Takei who was part of the team responsible for dubbing it. Still for the completest amongst you, this cut is included on the Region 1 release allowing you to compare the two while at the same time giving you another reason to get a multiregional DVD player., even more so if like myself your based in the UK which for one reason or another has always been overlooked when it came to Godzilla releases, with only a few of the Showa and Heisei films getting a VHS release.

While it might not be on the same level as the original film, there is still enough of the styling carried over to make as an enjoyable experience, especially if your able to get past the questionable fight scenes, but these are of ultimately minor concern when watching the original cut, which honestly is the only way this film should be viewed and while the series might have taken a more fantastical direction for the films which followed, this film only further highlights how well Godzilla can work in realistic setting.

Godzilla (1998)

Title: Godzilla

Director: Robert Emmerich
Released: 1998
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, Harry Shearer, Arabella Field, Vicki Lewis, Doug Savant, Malcolm Danare, Lorry Goldman

Plot: In the wake of French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, decades later a Japanese fishing vessel is attacked by a mysterious creature. Now the creature is heading towards New York and it is up to NRC scientist Nick Tatopoulous (Broderick) and his team to stop the creature before it takes a bite out of the big apple.

Review: Since its original release this ill-advised remake has frequently been used as the yardstick of bad movies, with its original release being greeted with cries of disappointment by both establish Godzilla fans aswell as the general movie going public, while the critics of course were more than happy to cut the film down and mark it out as a monster sized flop.

So now with the new Godzilla movie mere months away I felt it was time to revisit this last attempt to adapt the legendry franchise and question if it really as bad a film as everyone seems to remember it as, with some fans refusing to even acknowledge it as being part of the franchise even though this Godzilla (or Zilla as he has become known) making a cheeky appearance in “Godzilla Final Wars”. Personally I have it on the same shelf as my Toho originals. Okay true it’s filed after those films, but it’s not like I have it stored in a brown bag or anything.

I guess from the start when you’re setting out to remake such a legendry franchise let alone the greatest movie of all time, you are essentially set to fail from the start, especially when you also have a rabid fanbase to appease while still finding a way to make it accessible to those not familiar with the original Toho movies. It is also equally questionable to hire a director who openly admitted to having no love for the original movies and only agreed to direct the film to ensure he could choose his next project. Meanwhile rumours floated around about Godzilla facing off against another monster in the lead up to the release, but with Emmerich clearly wanting to make the film within the boundaries of the sort of film he wanted to make, went for a monster on the loose storyline instead, while also ensuring that he was unable to unleash destruction and chaos on the screen somthing which has frequently been his film making mantra it would seem, especially with his previous summer blockbuster “Independence Day” being sold on such principles let alone its legendry trailer which simply showed the White House being blown up, while for Godzilla he just had him stomp on a t-rex skeleton.  

The other curious production choice is the casting of Matthew Broderick in the lead role, especially as here he plays more of a bumbling sidekick rather than fearless leader you would expect for such a role. As a result most of the film see’s Nick being the brunt of the jokes, over his unpronounceable surname or generally being referred to as “The Worm Guy” on the basis of his work researching the effects of radiation on the local worm population at Chernobyl, which of course clearly makes him the first choice when dealing with a giant radioactive lizard.

Thankfully the gung-ho hero quota is filled by Jean Reno’s Philippe and his team of DGSE (French foreign intelligence agency) agents who reveal their true purpose in the second half of the film, after the American forces have spent the best part of the first film generally causing more damage to the city than Godzilla, something which could be taken as a knowing nod to the original films where the armed forces would also inevitably cause more damage than the monsters attacking Tokyo that week. Sadly these same agents are regularly reduced to stereotypes, as they question the lack of pastries and decent coffee, let alone the fact that they perceive chewing gum and acting like Elvis to be a convincing way to disguise themselves as American soldiers. Still despite such xenophobic jabs Jean Reno is as watchable as always and makes the most of his role here as a man of action and no doubt largely responsible for the success of Nick’s mission here, considering how he frequently seems to be taking charge of the situation and rescuing Nick.

Such bizarre scripting and casting choices frequently seems to be the main issue here, while possibly the really surreal moment come from the pot shots at critics Emmerich takes throughout the film with the key one of course the candy loving and thumb raising Mayor Ebert (the always great Michael Lerner) and his aide Gene (Goldman), while a more obscure dig is the extra cast as a look-alike for “G-Fan Magazine” editor J.D. Lees who had made negative comments over leaked information from the films production. M. Night Shyamalan would also try and take a similar jab at the critics with “Lady In The Water” only to come off more smug than anything, especially when he made the least likeable character in the film a film critic. Roger Ebert of course being the constant professional simply responded to this homage of sorts in his review by proclaiming

“They let us off lightly; I fully expected to be squished like a bug by Godzilla”

Still the real draw of course is Godzilla, or should that be Zilla as he’s become more popularly known amongst the G-Fans and if Emmerich does anything right it is with giving us atleast an impressive looking monster. True he may be more energetic than his Toho counterpart better known for his stomping style than the leaping and charging pace which Zilla favours, but then outside of the passing resemblance to each other, they are very different monsters which again may have been the source of much disappointment for the established fans expecting to see more of the Godzilla that they had become accustomed to than this version who comes with his own skills and seemingly none of those processed by his Toho counterpart. So while the Toho Godzilla breathed radioactive fire and enjoyed reducing Tokyo to rubble, Zilla is able to burrow underground, disappear at will aswell as being create some form of fiery breath which is never truly explained or shown clear enough (let alone frequently enough) to understand how it works. On the plus side the design and effects work while forgoing the traditional man in a suit in favour of CGI still look great even now, while giving Emmerich more flexibility with the destruction he chooses to unleash on New York (or “The City That Never Sleeps” as it is known here).

Emmerich despite not having love for the project still manages to craft some exciting scenes of monster rampage action including an exciting gunship pursuit. Elsewhere the scenes of destructions are equally well handled from the moment the incoming Zilla obliterates a pier. The real surprise here though after all the peak a boo teasing that Emmerich put into the promotion for the film, is the unexpected third quarter which sees him unleashing a horde of mini zilla’s on the screen which thankfully are nothing like the Toho Godzilla’s son Manila, though the slap stick moments which follow the group trying to escape these babies did end up grating on most audiences, but personally I found them to pretty fun, thanks largely to the comedic timing of Broderick, especially when the lift doors open to reveal a horde of Zilla babies destroying a popcorn stand, he manages to do more with a simple facial expression than a clumsy one liner as other actors might be included to do in such a scene. True it could be perceived as a sign that Emmerich couldn’t find a way to keep the audience interest with Godzilla on the rampage, especially when he somehow manages to find a way of hiding him every fifteen minutes, thanks to his new burrowing ability (let alone his unintentional size changes) which I thought was something limited to Baragon only. However it is hard to deny that the initial discover of the nest is not a great scene and one clearly taking its cues from the nest scenes in both “Alien” and “Aliens”, but like the memorable scenes in those films it seems to be pay (if perhaps unintentionally) homage to and its scenes like this and the end chase scene in the seemingly indestructible taxi cab, which seem to get frequently forgotten when people talk about the film.

So yes this film might not have been the Godzilla movie us G-fans wanted, but at the same time it is far from the worst film in the franchise (a toss up between "Godzilla's Revenge" or "Godzilla Vs. Megalon") or even the worst film ever made (The Zombie Diaries, Deaden, anything associated with Noel Clarke all come to mind) as most folks tend to view it, while certainly Emmerich would go on to make worse and even more overblown films like “2012”. Even with its flaws when ever Zilla or the mini-zilla’s are on the screen it is generally a lot of fun, which I guess is were it counts and if you get past the human distractions you might even realise that its not really that bad…..failing that take heart in the fact that you only have a few months till the new film is realised.

Six Truly WTF? Moments

So many times I have been left astounded by some of the choices made by directors on just what they expect and audience to buy into, even more so when these moments leave you no choice but to question what the f**k? you have just seen? So to celebrate these shall we say questionable directing choices here are my personal top 6.

Godzilla flies (Godzilla Vs. Hedorah)



Over the years since the Godzilla first took a stroll through Tokyo, there have been a number of questionable moments which have appeared throughout the series, from attempts to give Godzilla a voice (Godzilla Vs. Gigan), lumbering him with a son who strangely resembles grey lumpy mash, let alone the meddling and inserting of random plot devices (let alone reusing Raymound Blurr) which several films saw on the US release. Still what makes this one stand out is the sheer randomness of watching Godzilla use his radioactive fire breath to enable him to fly, a moment so surreal that even the DVD chapter title has it marked as “Something You Don’t See Everyday” though it would be also be something that we never saw again…unlike Minila who continues to frequently blight the series and delight my wife.

Van Damme Vs. Ice Hockey Mascot (Sudden Death)



While Van Damme might not be renown for being the sanest of action heroes and prone the occasional random ramble as a quick glance at his interviews in the past only seem to provide further evidence to, while the films he choose to make towards the latter end of his career are frequently full of WTF?!? moments, though none are perhaps as special as this one. True this isn’t just some random mascot abuse but rather one of the terrorists disguised as the loveable mascot, but this doesn’t make it all the less comical let alone making you wonder how they ever thought that this fight scene would actually work. To his credit Van Damme does is best to try and work with such a clumsy opponent, showcasing a few favourites, but I would be hard pushed to say that you ever feel that he is ever threatened at any point and kind of highlighted the state of his career at this point.

Gamera gymnastics (Gamera vs. Guiron)

 

While Gamera might not be as instantly recognisable as fellow Kajiu legend Godzilla to most folks, there is no denying that the fire breathing space turtle still has his fans, so much so that many Kajiu fans are still holding out for a showdown between the two titans of the genre. Like Godzilla though Gamera has had his own share of random moments like Barugon’s rainbow attack (Gamera vs. Barugon) or the redneck voice over option which is bizarrely included as a bonus feature on the dvd for “Gamera 2: Attack of Legion”. Still the best of these has to be this classic and truly bonkers moment, which is only added to by the random dance Gamera seems to be doing when he gets hit in his paws by Guirons’ ninja star attack, but then it’s moments like this which remind me why I love this genre so much.

The Dead or Alive Opening (Dead or Alive)



It is said that a film needs to capture the attention of its audience and establish its tone with its first fifteen minutes, which its safe to say that director Miike Takashi has no problems doing with the first of his “Dead or Alive” trilogy, which throws more violence and shocking imagery into its opening that most films manage in their run time, as he truly sets the scene for his Triad drama and what is to come, which he does in a stunning montage of sex, violence, drugs, guns and noodles, all while showcasing his highly unique style which made him such a standout name during the revival of interest in Asian cinema. Even more so when western audiences were hit with the double punch of this film and “Audition” and certainly helped pave the way for the likes of Park Chan-Wook’s “Vengeance Trilogy” and the truly random films of Shinya Tsukamoto. True there are a number of more shocking scenes in the film itself which I won't spoil for anyone yet to watch it with the ending also being a contender for this list, but it’s the balls to hit his audience with this memorable and frequently shocking opening sequence, which is so self-contained that you can’t help but wonder what the hell it is that you have just witnessed.

Matrix Cockfight (The City of Lost Souls)



While it might not be one of his better films, this lesser seen film from Takashi Miike might be largely hit and miss, but one thing it does get right is this scene which seems to have been included almost as a random whim by Miike, especially when it seems to only be included for local colour and perhaps feeling that a real cockfight might be alittle extreme even for him, instead puts a fun spin on things in one of the better moments of the film.

Bulletproof huh? How about Rocketproof! (Death Wish 3)



After the original “Death Wish” it’s safe to say the series soon began to let the realism slip, while with part 3 it was just sheer thrown out of the window, as Charles Bronson returned for another round of vigilante justice despite now perhaps being older than he should be for such antics yet apparently not too old to follow it up with another two films. Still watched with a sense of humour there is a lot of fun to be had with film, especially as it escalates to its totally over the top shootout finale, were seemingly every one has a gun as the harassed (and mainly OAP) residents of the apartment block take up arms against the gang members. Director Michael Winner though still manages to top this madness with this jaw dropping WTF? moment which I love to show friends, especially the uninitiated just to see their reaction to this scene, somthing often followed by a need to rewind and watch it again, which I can’t really blame them for as it is such a great ending and the perfect footnote for Winner’s involvement in the series as he handed over the directorial reigns to J. Lee Thompson for part 4.

So there you have my choices, but what would make your own list?

G Is For Godzilla

Title: Godzilla
Director: Ishirô Honda
Released: 1954
Staring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Haruo Nakajima

Plot: After several ships sink mysteriously, the authorities first believe this to have been caused by underwater volcanoes or unexploded mines. Soon however it is noticed that the attacks are all close to Oda Island whose inhabitants believe the attacks to have been caused by a mythical creature known to them as “Godzilla” (Nakajima). After the creature comes ashore a team consisting of palaeontologist Professor Yemani (Shimura), his daughter Emiko (Kôchi), the brilliant scientist Doctor Serizawa (Hirata) and Navy diver Hideto (Takarada) who is also involved with Emiko despite her being betrothed to Doctor Serizawa. Soon however the team discover the monster has set a course for Japan and must be stopped at all costs.



Review: I knew right from the start when I set down to compile the list of the films, which would make up this alphabetical jaunt through Asian cinema, that Godzilla would certainly appear at some point and not only were the Godzilla films, responsible for sparking my love affair with Asian cinema, but also as I now sit down to write this latest entry “The Big G” is currently celebrating his 56th birthday, with his popularity having never seemingly waned over the years since he took his first stroll through Tokyo, with Director Ryûhei Kitamura (Versus [2000]), who directed the final Godzilla film “Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004) describing the honour of directing a Godzilla film, to be equal to a British director being asked to direct a James Bond movie, which might seem surprising especially when the general opinion of the Godzilla films, is that they are camp cheesy fun in which giant creatures engage in monster sized smack downs while destroying most of Tokyo in the process, something which certainly became the norm for the majority of the film in the series and certainly a far cry from the sober and occasionally harrowing view of Japan reacting to an attack by a giant monster, which this first film essentially is though if I was going to feature any film from the saga in this list, I knew that the original film would definitely be the one which would be making the list.

It almost seems accidental that “Godzilla” was even made, especially seeing how Producer and "Godzilla Father" Tomoyuki Tanaka, had originally planned a film based on the true life story of a Japanese fishing boat that had become contaminated after sailing into American Nuclear testing waters and only making this film after he was forced to cancel that project. Still this film still contains several ideas, which were carried across and which can be seen mainly in the opening scenes in which we see a fishing boat catch on fire and sink, while a white light glows below. meanwhile the design for Godzilla drew heavily inspiration from “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953), even though before the final iconic design was chosen, he was also envisioned as being both a giant octopus aswell as a cross between a whale and a gorilla, ideas which were thankfully scrapped, even though special effects artist and fellow “Godzilla Father” (the other two Godzilla fathers being Director Honda and composer Akira Ifukube) Eiji Tsuburaya would get to use his giant octopus design in later Toho productions, which was affectionately named Oodako and who can be seen in both “King Kong Vs. Godzilla” (1962) and “Baragon Vs. Frankenstein” (1965), while also narrowly missing out on being featured in “Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004) alongside numerous memorable monsters, which had populated the series including bizarrely enough the American Godzilla.

Opening with the raw first attempt of a roar for Godzilla, it is truly a goosebumps moment especially when it is followed quickly by the opening strains of Ifukube’s now legendary “Godzilla March”, before throwing us head first into the action, as we are barely into the film before ships are mysteriously sinking and chaos is erupting the screen, while being denied even a glimpse of the monster, which surprisingly Honda doesn’t keep hidden till the end, showing us the monster pretty early on, but saving all his full length shots till the rampage sequence, which is an interesting move and all the more surprisingly pays off. Still director Honda really proves to be the man responsible for Godzilla spawning such a legacy, as he shoots the film with a serious tone, rather than just creating another fun camp monster film, carefully planning his shots as he keeps the shoots the footage of Godzilla to low shots to help emphasis Godzilla’s size, while showing also showing the Tokyo rampage as being full of confusion and chaos as Tokyo burns, with these scenes also including a particularly harrowing scene of a widow holding her children close to her, while rubble rains down around them and only driving home the sense of destruction further with footage of mass choral chanting from schoolchild praying for the souls of the city residents and field hospitals attending to the masses of injured which is something which would certainly not be seen in later films and which unlike the Collateral Damage loving “Gamera” movies, would even go as far as to show footage of the Tokyo citizens escaping to special monster proof underground bunkers. Honda would continue this respectful way of introducing the Toho monsters, when it came to the debuts of “Mothra” (1961) and “Rodan” (1956), which certainly not as dark in tone as this film, still managed to capture the sheer size of these creations, being famously quoted as saying

"Monsters are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, that is their tragedy,"

These words alone would fully justify Honda's passion for giving each of the creation a personality, rather than letting them become just another monster on the rampage kinds of movie, even if like Godzilla, their later appearances would be on a much lighter note, it's also clear that Honda was not opposed to the films taking on a lighter tone, seeing how he would go on to direct a further eight entries in the series, with his final film as a director being "Terror of Mechagodzilla" (1975) which would also be the final film in the Showa era of films, which amount to over half of the total Godzilla movies made.

Despite “Godzilla” having the titular role, he really is pushed to the background for the majority of the film, much like the shark in "Jaws" (1975) as Honda like Spielberg instead chooses to create a more character driven film, as the authorities argue between themselves as they attempt to find the best way of protecting Tokyo from this new dangerous threat, with the most interesting of these characters being the tormented eye patch wearing scientist Serizawa, who having created the oxygen destroyer is now racked with guilt over it’s creation, knowing how easily it could be used as a weapon of mass destruction, refusing to revel it’s existence even though it is the one weapon that could stop Godzilla. Surprisingly the lack of city stomping action does not take away from the film and although the roles would be reversed in later films, as the stories became more far fetched and the focus shifted from the cast, who would usually be caught up in some increasingly random situation, usually involving aliens of some description, while audiences turned out to see the latest monster smack down, with the films generally taking on a lighter tone.

“Godzilla” is still without a doubt still an important film, for not only the sequels it spawned, or the imitators which followed in it’s wake, but for proving that you could infact make a giant monster movie and keep a serious tone and although I love the more campy entries, this film still stands as a fantastic piece of cinema, which far exceeds the expectations of what a giant monster movie could be.

Mothra

Title: Mothra
Director: Ishiro Honda
Released: 1961
Staring: Frankie Sakai, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kyoko Kagawa, Ken Uehara, Emi Ito, Yumi Ito, Jerry Ito

Rating: 4 / 5

Plot: A group of shipwrecked survivors are found on Infant Island, which had previously been used for nuclear testing. Believing that they were protected from the radiation by a juice given to them by the local natives, it sparks a return expedition to the island, were upon the expedition leader Nelson (Jerry Ito) finds a pair of foot high twins, which he then kidnaps with plans of putting them into a vaudeville show, unaware that their singing is actually a cry for help to Mothra, a gigantic moth worshiped by the natives.

Review: Okay I might aswell start with pointing out that I have never really liked Mothra, who I’ve always considered one of the weaker members of the Toho monster back catalogue, especially seeing how threatening can a giant moth really be?
Still it hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of the best loved characters in the Godzilla series, especially by Japanese women, which also explains why she has clocked up to date more appearances in the series than any other monster in the series, while also spawning her own series of films. Still it was this film which first introduced the world to the horror of well….um a giant moth.

Honda who is once again on directing duties here for this first appearance, which is unsurprising especially when you consider that he was responsible for bringing to the screen so many of the memorable Toho creations on their debut outing including Rodan, King Ghidorah and Mantango. Honestly I was relived to see this, especially seeing how Honda knows how to properly introduce new monsters and here it is no different, even to the point were he makes even a long time Mothra hater like myself reconsider my standpoint, though perhaps this is because this time Mothra is not getting caught up in a monster rumble, but instead appearing as a creature of terror and destruction, something else that Honda really knows how to do, especially when you consider he was the one calling the shots, the first time Godzilla stomped through Tokyo in 1954. Mothra’s debut is also helped by a script written by Shinichi Sekizawa who would later go on to write further scripts for Godzilla as well as the Ultraman series, bringing an element of fun to his scripts, which is present here as well, largely coming from Sakai’s performance as the Journalist Senichiro, whose comedy timing is flawless here and never reaches a point of being irritating thankfully.

For anyone who has seen more than a couple of kaiju films will know exactly were the plot is heading, quite early on into this film, especially from the moment we see Nelson kidnapping the twins, from Infant island which it would seem shares that same trait as the island seen in “Gamera Vs. Barugon” (1966) in that it is an island once again populated by blacked up Japanese actors, who also provide their own soundtrack whenever they appear, by banging together the rocks they constantly carry with them. Still for myself the plot brought back memories especially of the British Godzilla “Gorgo” (1961) which coincidently was also released the same year.

Mothra is not normally one of the monsters that is associated with large scale destruction, usually because she is the monster of peace. Yet in this film she certainly gives even the heavy hitters of the Toyko wrecking crew like Godzilla a run for their money, as cars and trucks are tossed around like leaves in a gale. Still at it’s heart this is not a film about the horror of a giant creature attacking Tokyo, especially seeing how the damage being caused to the city is purely a by product of her search for the Shobijin, whose song draws her to them.
Still it is not just random destruction seen in this film, especially seeing how some of her city trashing moments, standout even more just because of the context they have been shot in, such as her cocoon, which she forms against the Tokyo tower, as part of her change from Larval Mothra to adult Mothra, who is her more recognisable giant moth form.

I’m still undecided whether this film was so more effective than other Mothra appearances, because of the fact that Mothra is the sole monster in the film and hence avoiding any clumsy looking fight sequences, which she tends to get involved in the Godzilla series, especially seeing how unlike so many of the other monsters, her powers of attack have never been anything spectacular, much like her fellow flying monster Rodan (that confused looking eagle creation). These powers usually appearing on screen like she is either spraying them with silly string or showering them with pixie dust, depending on which form she is in at the time, all of which is thankfully absent here, with Mothra being given a clear objective of rescuing the Shobijin from Nelson, while the majority of the storyline is filled in by the human cast, which certainly makes her a much more imposing creation to watch, even if I’m not fully convinced that a giant moth is the scariest creation, but at the same time proves to be quite the double edged sword, as you still want a creature that you could justify travelling hundreds of miles to rescue the Shobijin, which some monstrous looking creation won’t exactly work.

Although I might not exactly enjoy Mothra’s appearances in the Godzilla series, she proves more than capable of providing enough entertainment value, to justify getting her own movie. The plotting makes for a change than the usual by the numbers city trashing, giving Mothra more of a purpose than an unjustifiable thirst for vengeance, against a major city, while the human involvement in the plot, provides more than filler between the scenes of destruction and chaos.
In all she might still not be my favourite monster in the Toho catalogue, but Mothra still manages to pull off an enjoyable first entry in her own series, even for the non fans like myself.

Elwood's Essentials #1: Destroy All Monsters

Welcome to the first entry in a new feature here on the blog, were I will be looking at the movies, which I consider to be essential. True I could have just done a list of my favourite movies, but rather than face being lumped with a list of movies, which would shadow me forever along with the fact, I could see it getting real depressing kind of quick, committing to a series of posts gushing over my favourite movies, in much the same way that you tend to get bummed out super quick, when you try to make a mixtape of just pop songs.
So what with us currently being the midst of "Kaiju season" here on the blog, what better place to begin this new feature, than with what I believe is one of the best entries in the Godzilla series. Still choosing just one of the 28 movies is no easy choice, especially when so many films in the series could easily (and still could) have been included on my list of essential films, but if forced to choose just one it would have to be “Destroy all Monsters” (1968) which I would deem to be the most essential one to watch.

“Destroy all Monsters” or “Attack of the Marching Monsters” as it was known in Japan, is the ninth entry in the Godzilla series, which at this point had truely established it’s format of giving audiences monster sized smack downs, with antihero Godzilla reigning supreme as the earths best defence against the various monsters which were eager to destroy human life or more specifically Tokyo. However the series was struggling upon the release of this title, which was originally intended to wrap up the series, with the studio bosses at Toho seeing it as a good way to send the series off with a bang, only to produce one of the most popular films of the Showa series and in turn helping to keep the series going for a further nineteen movies.

Plot wise the film sticks to the popular craze of space travel and alien invasion, which would prove to be popular themes throughout the Showa series and here it is no different, especially with the hero of this particular film being Captain Yamabe (Akira Kubo) and the crew of his spaceship Moonlight SY-3, which despite being a spaceship, is still more than capable of flying around normally in the Earths atmosphere.
Set in 1999 all the Earth’s monsters have been rounded up (though we are never explained how) and placed on an island which has been funnily enough re-named “Monsterland” however the island is covered in a mysterious fog, causing the monsters and the staff of “Monster Island” to disappear, only to reappear under the control of a race of mind controlling aliens called the Kilaaks, who are intent on destroying all human life using the giant monster they now have under their control.

One of the main selling points of this particular entry in the series, especially when I first saw, is the sheer amount of monsters which have been crammed into this single film, with Godzilla being joined by Mothra, Rodan, Angilas (my personal favourite), Kumonga, aswell as Minilla who still looks like he is made out of grey lumpy mash.
Still several of the monster who make appearances here, were never actually part of the Godzilla series and drafted in to make up the numbers, such as Baragon (Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965), Gorosaurus (King Kong Escapes (1967), Manda (Atragon (1963) and Varan (Varan the Unbelievable (1958) which despite this, still don’t seem out of place though it was a relief not to see that horrible King Kong costume from “King Kong Vs. Godzilla” (1962). This was feat certainly not seen again until the final film in the series “Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004) which also brought out monsters from the Toho back catalogue. The true highlight of this film though has to be the final monster rumble which sees the collected monsters teaming up to fight King Ghidorah, in a fight which has over years proven to be a sore point for some fans, especially seeing how overwhelmed Ghidorah becomes, but it is still a stand out Kaiju moment and makes for a fantastic climax to the film.

The miniature work is great here, with the military hardware and crumbling cities never looking better, especially with some great blue screen work only further helping to bring them to life further, much like the attention to detail which shows footage of people running to underground bunkers during the monsters attack on Tokyo, which kind of emphasises how used to giant monsters destroying the city the people of Tokyo are.

Despite the success of this film, it would sadly be the last film to be made with all four of the Godzilla fathers producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, Director Ishirô Honda, Special effects genius Eiji Tsuburaya and Akira Ifukube providing the rousing classical score, including the trademark “Godzilla March” which even now is still just as thrilling to hear, even after numerous viewings. Still it would prove a fitting end note for their career together, even though they would each work on further entries in the series, this would be the last time they worked together, with this film providing a suitable endnote for their collaboration in the series.

“Destroy all monsters” might look a little dated with its use of miniatures and lack of CGI, while for the Kaiju fans it might just be their cinematic wet dream, especially with the sheer amount of monsters on screen, with a storyline which isn’t just an excuse to have a bunch of monsters stomping on Tokyo, which several of the earlier films may have felt like, but out of those early movies, this film is a definite high point, if not for the series as a whole.