Godzilla, King of the Monsters

[oscarsear]

That's right Godzilla. Turner Classic Movies (TCM) featured the 1956 sci-fi classic last night and for the 1st time in many, many decades I was able to watch the entire film, uncut and uninterrupted. TCM also educates and I learned some stuff about this movie I did not know. Raymond Burr plays the part of Steve Martin, an American reporter whom by mere coincidence happens to be in Tokyo when the beasty went a rampaging. But Raymond Burr was not in the original movie - at all. In fact Godzilla, King of the Monsters was entirely Japanese in make and market when 1st made and released. It was subsequently bought by an American firm and remade into the cult classic the world recognizes. The entire plot which wound Raymond Burrs character into the film was added and its scenes seamlessly woven into a remix of the footage.

If you ever do get to see the film pay attention to the interplay of the various characters. Raymond Burr is never seen face-to-face with any of the major Japanese players. There are scenes where he's is with them, but all you see is Burrs face and the back of their heads. Also you will notice that sometimes the spoken english is clearly dubbed over and other times it isn't. The film is literally half Japanese and Half American.

And for a 50's sci-fi flick the plot was pretty sophisticated. And ancient beast brought back by repeated H-bomb testing to harass the only country to have ever been nuked. And a young Japanese scientist accidentally discovers a new WMD (the oxygen depletion pill) that he knows must be kept secret to save the world from itself. Then he is faced with the conundrum: His new WMD is the only weapon that can kill Godzilla but he still must find a way to keep it secret. So he makes one WMD device, burns the formulae and commits suicide whilst making certain the monster is killed.

180 minutes of rubbery monster fun and mayhem. GrrrRRRROONNNNKK!!!!

[Daddy Dee]

most interesting. thanks for the review.

[mustang guy]

When I was a little kid, my friends and I used to stay up all night watching Godzilla night on New Year's Eve. That was back when all the channels went off air unless there was something special on like a telethon or Godzilla night. We would play pool, eat crap, run around the neighborhood raiding gardens (nothing was in the fridge), and finally crash on the floor, sofa, chair or whatever. I actually watched a Godzilla the other night on Netflix or Vudu and basically fast forwarded through all the dialogue. I had forgotten just how much space there was between attacks. I think I watched the entire movie in about 10 minutes.

I seem to remember that when they made the American version, they added somebody. Didn't recall it was Perry Mason.

[oldtimer]

Gohira!!!

[oscarsear]

When I was a little kid, my friends and I used to stay up all night watching Godzilla night on New Year's Eve. That was back when all the channels went off air unless there was something special on like a telethon or Godzilla night. We would play pool, eat crap, run around the neighborhood raiding gardens (nothing was in the fridge), and finally crash on the floor, sofa, chair or whatever. I actually watched a Godzilla the other night on Netflix or Vudu and basically fast forwarded through all the dialogue. I had forgotten just how much space there was between attacks. I think I watched the entire movie in about 10 minutes.

I seem to remember that when they made the American version, they added somebody. Didn't recall it was Perry Mason.

Yep...... One of our local TV channels had 'movie of the week' and showed the same movie all week long. Frequently the offerings were sci-fi flicks. My poor parents. 2 boys and we insisted on watching every day these movies were shown. And it was Perry Mason himself, the sole anglo-saxon (practically). And just 10 years earlier most of the Japanese in the movie were center target in the cross-hairs of our armed forces.

[oldtimer]

The original, without Burr, doesn't come off nearly as cheesy. It actually conveys a sense of the profound. Gohira! Oldtimer says check it out.

[Audio Android]

Those old Godzilla movies RULE!!!!!.........Just saw them for the first time about a year ago on NetFlix........Ishiro Honda is the director of all the good ones including the first "Gojira" . "War of the Gargantuas" is good!!......Godzilla vs Mothra=Good...Godzilla vs Monster Zero.....Never in a million years would I have thought I would like these movies. When I was kid I just didn't get it, and they were on all the time..never watched them.....But now I watch them all the time....They are classic movies......and you either get it or not......I Love old Sci-Fi flix!!!!!!.....[~]...................Last night I watched ..."This island Earth"....Classic!!

[boom3]

Oh no, there goes Tokyo!

[Audio Android]

OK so I just watched (Godzilla vs)"Monster Zero" again and it's pretty ridiculous, it's a cool B movie.....Definitely entertaining, but I'm not sure I'll watch this one for another couple years.....I would much prefer Japanese spoken language with subtitles over terribly dubbed english voice overs.......But it does add to the entertainment value...for sure!!..........They are great movies to watch with a few friends and a few beverages, the more the better.

[Dr Morbius]

Even as a kid, I knew Godzilla was a man in a rubber suit (thanks to Famous Monsters magazine) but the original 1933 "King Kong" - even though he was an 11 inch articulated doll blew me away when I thought of all the work done to bring him to life. Anyone hazard a guess why his fur kept moving so much during the movie - hint: it couldn't be helped!