137) Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #12...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"Look, the two space monsters. The one with three heads is King Ghidorah. And that's Gigan."

Director

Jun Fukuda

Cast

Hiroshi Ishikawa - Gengo Kotaka

Zan Fujita - Fumio Sudo

Toshiaki Nishizawa - Kubota

Tomoko Umeda - Machiko Shima

Minoru Takashima - Shosaku Takasugi

After audiences recovered from their psychedelic trip and astronomy lessons as seen in "Godzilla vs. Hedorah," writers at Toho clearly decided what worked before in the earlier films just might work again.

"Godzilla vs. Gigan," the 12th movie in the Godzilla line-up, has the parts needed to create a tried-and-true Godzilla movie. 

Released in the U.S. under the title "Godzilla on Monster Island," the English dubbed version I own on VHS is still says "Godzilla vs. Gigan."

Writers must have known that the franchise was getting repetitive. So, they continue focusing just as much on the storylines as they do on the fighting scenes. Each movie definitely has its own unique story. This is certainly true with "Godzilla vs. Gigan." But this time, the writers decided to inject the monster battle with more juice, so to speak.

It's light on the cheese (though not completely void of), and heavy on the hellish destructive terror.

The film starts with Manga artist Gengo Kotaka (Hiroshi Ishikawa) who has just been hired as a designer at a Tokyo theme park called World Children's Land. The park includes an impressive life size tower that resembles Godzilla. 

His new boss, Kubota (Toshiaki Nishizawa) wants him to design new monsters for the park.

Right away, Kotaka thinks his new fellow employees at the park are a little odd. Regardless, he has ideas for monsters based on what kids generally perceive as frightening or simply undesirable. 

For instance, he designs a "homework monster" as well as an overbearing, strict mother monster named "Mamagan." 

Though Kubota speaks a good game about world peace, he wants to create life size monsters for Monster Island through the organization that owns World Children's Land, and then destroy the island and all the monsters living there. 

The park's head chairman is a 17-year old kid named Fumio Sudo (Zan Fujita). 

When Kotaka is introduced to Sudo, he's very involved in recording star charts, including the orbit of the M Space Hunter Nebula. 

During his first day at the new job, Kotaka accidentally bumps into a young girl outside of the office building. 

Frightened, she runs off without realizing she dropped a tape reel. Kotaka hides the tape in his jacket before returning to work.

Back in the office, Sudo mentions that the girl Kotaka ran into on the street is an enemy of the peace and is plotting to destroy the park.

On his way home that evening, Kotaka is held up by the girl and a stranger. The stranger fools Kotaka into thinking he has a gun jabbed in his back. The girl demands Kotaka hand over the tape she dropped, but he passes out in fear. 

When he wakes up, he's back in his home. The girl, whose name is Machiko Shima (Tomoko Umeda) and her companion Shosaku Takasugi (Minoru Takashima), are sitting by his bed. 

It turns out Takasugi didn't really have a gun. He was using a corn cob to make Kotaka think he was armed. And they're really not thugs to begin with. 

Machiko is trying to find her missing brother, Takeshi (Kunio Murai) who was a computer tech for the company that owns World Children's Land.

She stole the tape hoping it contained a clue as to her brother's whereabouts. 

The two convince Kotaka of their story. He agrees to do some discreet investigative work around the Godzilla Tower for clues and leads.

Gigan and Ghidorah stand over a bruised, but not beaten, Godzilla in "Godzilla vs. Gigan."

Not only does Kotaka find a clue, but he also finds Takeshi locked in a room up in the Godzilla Tower. 

The three of them dig a little deeper into the history of the park, and the Tower. They start with the mysterious tape. 

Kotaka happens to have a reel-to-reel player to play the stolen tape. 

All that's on the tape, however, is nonsensical electronic noise. 

While the electronic sounds mean nothing to the three investigators, Kubota and Sudo hear it up in the their Tower.

And guess who else hears the signals from the electronic tape. Godzilla and Anguirus!

The two monsters actually talk to each other when they hear the sound. 

In the Japanese version, their communication is in the form of word bubbles. But in the English version, they actually talk. 

Godzilla senses danger, so he tells Anguirus to head over to Japan to see what the hell is going on. 

Meanwhile, digging further and further into the goings on at the children's park, Kotaka and Machiko learn that Sudo and Kubota actually died a year ago during a mountain climbing trip they took together. They're able to confirm this through a photograph. They look just like the bosses at the park.

So, if they're dead...then who are those two guys working at the children's park? In short, they're aliens who have taken the form of Sudo and Kubota!

It turns out Godzilla Tower was constructed for the sake of killing the real Godzilla. 

The aliens are using tapes like the one Machiko stole to summon and command the monsters Gigan and Ghidorah to destroy Tokyo. 

This movie mixes in the more exciting elements from previous movies. There are aliens trying to take over the planet while controlling monsters. There are monsters against monsters. There's a Scooby Doo-like plot as a bunch of unlikely people solve a mystery. And there's destruction. Lots and lots of flaming destruction. 

In the first act when Kotaka is hired at the park, he has an idea about telepathic kids who are able to communicate with the monsters, which I think is reminiscent of Ichiro from "All Monsters Attack." I'm speculating, of course. 

It goes back to a line in "All Monsters Attack" in which Shinpei, speaking about Ichiro, tells a news reporter, "Adults believe in gods, so why can't children have their own gods too, like Minilla?"

Anyways, the fight scenes certainly deliver. There's a lot of action, explosions, fire, and destruction. The lighting and camera angles during some of these scenes accomplish an apocalyptical look. The flames provide most of the light which makes it look ominous. 

Other times, however, the camera zooms in close on various monsters as they flail around. It's mixed with quick cutaways which makes it hard to tell what's happening. 

During these fight scenes, Godzilla gets rather bloodied up, too. It's the first time that audiences saw Godzilla bleed. Perhaps that's fitting since this movie marks the final performance of Haruo Nakajima in the role of Godzilla, which he has played since the first film in 1954. The movie has all the best elements fans and audiences expect in a Godzilla flick. 

Ghidorah's appearance seems a little more updated with new head sculpts. And Gigan stands out among the other kaiju appearing in these Godzilla films. He looks part organic and part machine. The spikes on his chest work like a chainsaw, slicing into his opponents.  

It seems each film tries to out-do the previous one in some way or another. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" manages to succeed despite the few campy parts of the plot. 

I definitely have this film down as one of my personal favorites, despite the cringy monster dialogue. 

136) Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #11...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"There's no place else to go and pretty soon we'll all be dead, so forget it. Enjoy yourself! Let's sing and dance while we can! Come on, blow your mind!"

Director

Yoshimitsu Banno

Cast

Akira Yamanouchi - Dr. Toru Yano

Hiroyuki Kawase - Ken Yano

Toshie Kimura - Toshie Yano

Haruo Nakajima - Godzilla 

Kenpachiro Satsuma - Hedorah

"Godzilla vs. Hedorah" is the oddest movie among the Godzilla films. It's even more odd than "All Monsters Attack" and the 1998 U.S. remake "Godzilla" with Matthew Broderick. At least these movies possess a clear direction.
Released in the United States under the title "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster," this is the 11th movie in the franchise. 

And by odd, I mean more so than what's expected in yet another movie with actors in rubber costumes wrestling each other. 

"Godzilla vs. Hedorah" mixes typical Japanese sci-fi monster action with animated transitions, weird psychedelic scenes, anti-pollution propaganda, and random astronomy lessons clearly aimed at children. It's also one of the Godzilla flicks where the "King of the Monsters" is on the good side, out to save evil people from the same evil people who are trashing the earth. That is, he's saving the planet rather than destroying it. I suppose it would be strange to have a movie preaching how pollution is destroying the planet while Godzilla is also destroying the planet.
On top of all that, it's nasty with slime, sludge, and monsters getting ripped apart. And somehow, I was entertained by it all for its own sake.
In this movie, a microscopic alien called "Hedorah" has come to Earth, feeding on the planet's pollution. As there's a lot of pollution to feed on, Hedorah has grown monstrously large and taken residency in the ocean.
If that wasn't bad enough, it's also poisonous and oozes an acid. 
When Hedorah sinks an oil tanker, the Japanese military are on high alert as well as a scientist named Dr. Toru Yano (Akira Yamanouchi).
Yano takes his young son, Ken Yano (Hiroyuki Kawase) to the ocean while he goes to look for Hedorah. Ken waits on the shore while his dad dives to find this new monster. As Ken waits, Hedorah attacks Toru with acid, injuring his face.
Soon after, the public finds out that the monster exists and is a dangerous threat. 
Young Ken believes that Godzilla will help the planet by attacking Hedorah as he has visions of the King of the Monsters taking on the world's pollution head-on.
Hedorah has the capability of morphing into an amphibious form when crawling onto land so it can survive and feed on pollution. 
As Hedorah feeds on fumes produced from smokestacks at some kind of facility, Godzilla attacks the smog monster causing several pieces of this creature to go flying everywhere. 
These pieces crawl back into the ocean, grow, and reattach. As a result, Hedorah becomes stronger.
Afterwards, when the monster crawls out of the ocean, it can turn into what is called its "perfect form." It even assumes the shape of a saucer and can fly.
Hedorah kills several people in its ravenous rampage as it emits poison sulfuric gas. The death count is so numerous, and the fate of the world looks sealed for doom, some folks throw one last party at the foot of Mt. Fuji to celebrate life one last time. Of course, Godzilla and Hedorah meet up at Mt. Fuji, too, for a fight. 
Godzilla takes quite a beating, even losing an eye when Hedorah spits acid. 

Godzilla squares up with the smog monster, Hedorah.

He then douses Godzilla in a deluge of chemical slime. The King of the Monsters, bruised but not beaten, doesn't give up so easily.
Somehow, amidst all this, Ken knows how to deal with Hedorah better than anyone else. 
"Hedorah's only sludge. He can be dried," he tells his dad. And that's precisely how Godzilla defeats him.
Amidst the strange content randomly mixed in the story, "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" is still fun to watch. 

There's certainly a strong anti-pollution message, even with some "save the earth" songs, and close-up shots of garbage and crap floating in the ocean. By the way, don't eat anything while watching this movie. 

Even among its message, it doesn't feel nearly as preachy as the 2019 movie "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." That movie constantly pushes the message that evil humans have nearly destroyed Earth, and the great titans are going to save it for us undeserving creatures. The arrogant preachiness makes that movie a chore to get through. 
Perhaps the trippy factor in "Godzilla vs. Hedorah," which includes a psychedelic scene in which a guy gets drunk at a Go-Go dance club and imagines everyone in fish masks, lightens the heavy load that is the film's environmental diatribe. On top of that, Godzilla literally tears Hedorah apart. He's brutal! Pollution can't be tolerated. So, the movie delivers the titan battle that audiences and fans want to see. 
Perhaps the biggest revelation this movie left me with is that Godzilla can fly. He does use his atomic breath to create jet propulsion. It's the damndest and most hilarious thing I've seen Godzilla do in any movie. However, he certainly doesn't outperform his victory dance scene in "Invasion of Astro-Monster" (aka "Monster Zero.") I'll add here that he performs an all-out body slam move in the 2000 movie "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus."
Hidden beneath all of the random content in this movie lies the novelty and charm of Japanese kaiju films. 
If someone asked me to design a monster that lives off the smog and pollution of planet Earth, I think whatever image my mind conjured up wouldn't be far off from the appearance of Hedorah.  
This is the only Godzilla movie directed by Yoshimitsu Banno.
The images playing during the opening credits certainly feel inspired by James Bond movies, with all its sex appeal. 
In a strange way, I had fun watching this movie. I was really in it for the fight. And I didn't walk away unsatisfied.  

135) All Monsters Attack (1969)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #10...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"Godzilla says I have to learn to fight my own battles."

Director
Ishirō Honda

Cast
Tomonori Yazak - Ichiro Mitsuki

Hideyo Amamoto - Shinpei
Sachio Sakai - Sembayashi
Kazuo Suzuki - Okuda

Junichi Ito - Gabara

Hidemi Ito - Sachiko 

Haruo Nakajima - Godzilla

Just as the excitement among audiences and Godzilla fans tapered off from "Destroy All Monsters," Toho Studios came out with their next Godzilla movie "All Monsters Attack." And audiences surely asked themselves, "what the hell is this?"

Released in the U.S. under the title, "Godzilla's Revenge," this is the tenth Godzilla movie. Its premise is certainly unique to say the least. By "unique" I mean cheap and poor. All the stock footage used in "All Monsters Attack," most of which comes from the previous "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" and "Son of Godzilla" gives it that cheap and poor feeling. 

The film focuses on this latchkey kid named Ichiro (Tomonori Yazaki). He's often left alone in his family's apartment located in the dirty urban area of Kawasaki. 

Ichiro is a bit of a loner. He has one friend his own age, a little girl named Sachiko (Hidemi Ito), and a toymaker who lives in his apartment complex named Shinpei (Hideyo Amamoto). 

There's a small gang of kids, led by a tough boy called Sanko Gabara (Junichi Ito) in the neighborhood who tease him relentlessly.

In the meantime, Ichiro spends his afternoons after school either at home or wandering through the neighborhood. 

Despite having these two friends, Ichiro feels the pangs of loneliness. 

He spends his solitude napping and dreams about visiting Monster Island (from "Destroy All Monsters") and watching Godzilla take on the monsters there.

In his dreams, Ichiro is pals with Minilla (Godzilla's son) who can actually talk to him. 

Minilla can also shrink down to Ichiro's size or grow when necessary to fight with the other monsters.

He shows Ichiro, through stock footage, the other monsters on Monster Island. He sees Godzilla take on three Kamacuras (the giant mantises) as seen in "Son of Godzilla."

One of the Kamacuras starts chasing Ichiro. As he's trying to run from this giant monster, he accidentally falls into a giant cave. 

He's rescued by Minilla, and then the two have a little chat. 

It turns out Minilla is also bullied by a monster whose name also happens to be Gabara. What a coincidence! The kaiju Gabara looks like the offspring between Godzilla and a Godzilla's pet kitty. 

Ichiro, played by Tomonori Yazak, along with "Minilla" (Marchan)
watch Godzilla fight in "All Monsters Attack." 

Ichiro's trip is abruptly ended when Shinpei wakes him up to tell him his mom is working late so he'll have to fend for himself yet again. 

So, Ichiro goes outside to play, and bumps into Sanko Gabara and his band of young hooligans. They scare him off, and he runs into an abandon facility where he starts exploring. 

As all this is going on, police and authorities are searching for bank robbers who stole a lot of money. These robbers are on the loose and can be hiding anywhere. ANYWHERE! 

While exploring the old factory, Ichiro hears some police sirens and decides it's time to leave. But he doesn't exit without taking a few souvenirs first. Among these treasures is a wallet he found with someone's driver's license. 

Little does he know that the wallet belongs to one of the robbers. 

The robbers, meanwhile, were hiding in the abandoned facility, and figure out that Ichiro has the missing wallet. They're able to track him down in his apartment, and plot to kidnap him.

I'll remind readers at this point that this is still a Godzilla movie I'm writing about. 

That night, Ichiro has some sukiyaki for dinner with Shinpei. 

When he returns to his apartment, he lays down and goes back to dreamland. There, he and Minilla watch Godzilla (again, through the magic of stock footage) take on Ebirah, Kumonga, a giant condor, and some fighter jets.

During the fight, Gabara shows up and Minilla takes him on. 

However, he's no match for Gabara so he runs away. 

Witnessing this, Godzilla takes Minilla aside and trains him how to use his atomic breath just like we've already seen him do in "Son of Godzilla." 

Sadly, Ichiro's dream is cut short again. This time the two robbers break into his apartment and kidnap him. They think he'll make a great hostage to protect them from police. 

Ichiro calls out to Minilla for help, and then falls back to sleep while in the hands of the robbers. 

Back in dreamland, he helps Minilla fight against Gabara for an all-out victory. 

When Godzilla comes around to give props to his son, Gabara comes back for a surprise attack only to be taken down again.

Ichiro awakens from his dream. Now, he has some valuable lessons under his belt thanks to Minilla. 

He outsmarts the robbers and escapes. In no time, the police close in and take them both into custody. 

The next day, Ichiro stands up to Sanko Gabara, whereby he discovers his inner-strength and confidence. 

"All Monsters Attack" certainly stands out from the other Godzilla movies so far. I'll give it that. 

The movie obviously caters to a younger audience. It's an oddball movie, though not nearly as odd as "Godzilla vs. Hedorah." 

What makes the premise so odd partly lies in the movie's attempt to do what it did in "Destroy All Monsters" but change it around to make it distinguishable from that movie. Plus, the audience really only sees the monsters through Ichiro's dreams. 

It is the campiest of Godzilla films yet. And overall, it's a disappointing entry into the Godzilla-verse. However, I think it would be too harsh to say it's a completely terrible movie as far as storyline goes. 

I mean, there's some character development. The premise is surely relatable to the young audience the movie is aimed at. I can buy this storyline. They clearly wanted to come up with

Godzilla takes on Gabara in "All Monsters Attack."

something that children could learn from. To be fair, it's a premise I broadly appreciate. The message of facing one's fears and standing up to bullies is a respectable one.   

All things considered; it's not what audiences want in a Godzilla movie. Plus, much of the movie is stock footage. People had to pay to see reused segments of a movie they previously paid to see. Cheap!

Also, Minilla (or Minya) talks. Well, he talks through Ichiro's imagination. While I watched the Japanese version where Minilla sounds like a 65-year-old chain smoker, I've been told he sounds like Barney from "The Flintstones" in the English version. Either way, it's strange and distracting.

Regardless, this is the lowest point the series has yet sunk to. Like all shlocky movies, "All Monsters Attack" has its fanbase and defenders.

I have to hand it to the writers at Toho Studios. They really went for something utterly different from the films made before. By this point in the franchise, Godzilla has gone quite a distance from his first movie back in 1954. 

By today's standards, this entire movie would be considered one big anti-bullying PSA. 

 At this point in Toho's history, the studio was focusing more on money rather than quality. It definitely shows in "All Monsters Attack." It's also the shortest movie in the Showa era of Godzilla flicks, running at 70 minutes. 

"All Monsters Attack" is a Godzilla movie that's easy to ignore but is a must-see-to-believe movie for fans of the franchise.

134) Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #9...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"The major cities of the world are being destroyed, one-by-one by the monsters..."

Director
Ishirō Honda

Cast

Akira Kubo - Capt. Katsuo Yamabe

Jun Tazaki - Dr. Yoshido

Yukiko Kobayashi - Kyoko Manabe

Kenji Sahara - Nishikawa, Moon Base Commander
Andrew Hughes - Dr. Stevenson

Haruo Nakajima - Godzilla, Baragon, & Military Advisor
Hiroshi Sekita - Anguirus, Gorosaurus, & Doctor in Hospital
Marchan the Dwarf - Minilla
Teruoshi Nigaki - Rodan
Susumu Utsumi - King Ghidorah

By this time, Godzilla can only do the same thing over and over again before audiences get bored with him and his shenanigans. So, Toho wanted to make the next Godzilla movie a spectacle. And they did. 

Producers at Toho Studios decided to open the gates of chaos and let as many monsters as possible out for the ninth Godzilla film, "Destroy All Monsters."

This movie seems as though it could be the Godzilla movie of all Godzilla movies, starting with the title. There's a little James Bond feeling we saw in "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep," mixed with monsters against monsters, mixed with some of that alien sci-fi goodness we saw in "Invasion of Astro-Monster." And sitting mightily above everything in this cinematic heap is the King of the Monsters himself acting as the renowned cherry on top. 

The story breaks through the borders of Japan as monsters attack cities all over the world.

Oh, it's on now!

This is the brawliest of brawls in the Godzilla-verse to date. The film has, of course, Godzilla along with Minilla, Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan, Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Baragon, Manda, and Kumonga. 

The year is 1999. The U.N.'s Science Committee previously collected all the monsters, including Godzilla, that have been wreaking havoc and destruction around the world, and placed them all on "Monster Island" located in the Ogasawara Island chain. 

There's a control center built underground which uses special technology to keep the monsters from getting off the island. It's also a research center to study these huge creatures. 

However, communications between the mainland and Monster Island are somehow cut off. And the technology keeping the monsters confined to the island is severed. 

All the monsters escape and start attacking different parts of the world.

Lots on monsters packed into one film!

Capt. Katsuo Yamabe (Akira Kubo) and his crew are ordered to fly his spaceship, Moonlight SY-3, to investigate the goings-on at Monster Island. 

Yamabe finds that the scientists, under the directorship of Dr. Otani (Yoshio Tsuchiya), have been placed under mind control and enslaved to a race of aliens called Kilaaks. 

They have control of all the monsters. 

The head of the Kilaaks demands all of Earth surrender to them, or they'll allow all the monsters to destroy humanity as we know it. 

The monsters attack cities world-wide. And Godzilla has found his way to New York City. 

The Kilaaks wants everyone's attention away from Japan so they can establish an underground stronghold at the base of Mt. Fuji. 

Once they accomplish that mission, they start attacking Tokyo.

However, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) takes control of the monsters. But little does the UNSC know that the Kilaaks have control signals underneath the moon's surface. 

Once that's discovered, the Moonlight SY-3 destroys it, returning control of the monsters to Earth. 

So, the Kilaaks go to plan C- unleashing King Ghidorah. 

They send Ghidorah to protect their stronghold at Mt. Fuji. And the monsters are sent there to attack and take down Ghidorah, the last Kilaak defense.   

"Destroy All Monsters" is certainly a Godzilla movie to end all Godzilla movies. It feels like a grand finale. In fact, it could have easily been such. But it clearly doesn't end there. It's the kind of movie that anyone in the mood for a weekend Godzilla monster movie will feel satisfied watching. And it has quite the rogue's gallery of kaiju characters. 

It was produced in the middle of a "monster boom" in the genre of sci-fi flicks, especially those from Japan. 

Anguirus first took on Godzilla in "Godzilla Raids Again" (1956). And we first saw Kumonga (also known as Spiga) in "Son of Godzilla." 

Gorosaurus is simply a dinosaur who first appears in Toho's 1967 movie "King Kong Escapes." He and Kumonga appear again through stock footage in the next Godzilla movie, "All Monsters Attack" and "Godzilla vs. Gigan" (1972). 

Kumonga shows up later in the 2004 movie "Godzilla: Final Wars."

While Baragon makes his Godzilla debut in this film, his first appearance is in "Frankenstein Conquers the World" (1965).

Baragon returns on screen with Godzilla in "Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack" (2001) as well as "Godzilla: Final Wars" via stock footage. 

Amazingly enough, his skull shows up in the movie "Pacific Rim Uprising" (2018). 

And Manda, the giant sea dragon, first showed up in Ishirō Honda's 1963 movie "Atragon." 

Like other monsters, he appears through stock footage in "All Monsters Attack" and "Terror of Mechagodzilla." Plus, he's in... wait for it... "Godzilla: Final Wars."

Kenji Sahara. who plays Moon Base Commander Nishikawa, is quite the Godzilla veteran. 

He's appeared in the first Godzilla film back in 1954 as well as in "Mothra," "Rodan," and "Frankenstein Conquers the World." 

Godzilla attacks New York City!

As far as other Godzilla films, Sahara has appeared in "King Kong vs. Godzilla," "Mothra vs. Godzilla," "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster," "Son of Godzilla," "All Monsters Attack," "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla," and "Terror of Mechagodzilla." He then plays in a few 90s Godzilla movies - "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah," "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II," "Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla." And lastly, Sahara appears in (*sigh - do I need to say it?) "Godzilla: Final Wars."

I like "Destory All Monsters" for the shear enjoyment of the monster brawl. It definitely lays the foundation for such films later in the Godzilla-verse, and elsewhere. It hits the spot for sci-fi enthusiasts and monster fans. 

The narration if the American version, which is the version I watched, is laughable. It makes the fight seem like a wrestling match broadcast on ESPN. 

As the monsters gather at Mt. Fuji, there's a news announcer broadcasting everything.

"The beautiful weather at Mt. Fuji is in stark contrast to the tension in the air over the upcoming battle. The silent forest seems to be waiting for the monsters' charge on the Kilaak's hidden base. The defense force is stationed around the area. No monsters are in sight yet. The monsters will be led by Godzilla, Rodan, and Anguirus, but I don't see them yet. I don't... ah, I see one! Could it be one of the leaders of the group, like Godzilla? No, it's Minya! Minya is the first to arrive! However, following behind it is the monster, Godzilla. Now, I see Mothra! Godzilla is leading the pack with Mothra close behind! Next is Anguirus! Anguirus is leading a pack of monsters to my left. More are coming out. Anguirus is leading Manda, Baragon, and Gorosaurus. Kumonga has appeared! It looks like all of the monsters controlled by the Kilaaks have been brought here. I can see Rodan! It's flying from the south and is circling around both groups of monsters. It is landing behind Godzilla and Mothra. It appears that Godzilla's group will lead the attack. Godzilla himself will lead them. There's been no reaction from the Kilaaks as to what is transpiring before them so far. As Godzilla prepares the other monsters to attack, there seems to be little doubt as to who will win."

The simple story doesn't allow audiences to be distracted from what they really want to see - monster versus monster, versus monster...versus Godzilla. It definitely delivers and lives up to its title.

133) Son of Godzilla (1967)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #8...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"It looks like a baby Godzilla!" 

Director

Jun Fukuda

Cast

Akira Kubo - Maki Goro

Bibari Maeda - Saeko Matsumiya

Tadao Takashima - Professor Kusumi

Yoshio Tsuchiya - Furukawa

Hiroshi Sekita, Seiji Onaka, & Haruo Nakajima -Godzilla

Machan - Minilla

After the previous Godzilla movies "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" and "Invasion of Astro-Monster" went heavy on the sci-fi, having been filmed in the decade when space exploration and "the final frontier" was all the thing, "Son of Godzilla" takes us back to the simpler times when such films were simply man versus humongous monsters. 

The movie doesn't even take place in Tokyo. Instead, the entire story is set on remote Sollgel Island located somewhere out in the Pacific. 

It's just good ol' fashion scientists, giant praying mantises, a huge spider, Godzilla, and a baby...the same type of creature as whatever Godzilla is. 

Oh, and we have yet another journalist. Gone was the journalist in the movies mentioned above along with my last review, "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep." 

It occurred to me that the journalist in these Godzilla movies so far works as the connection between audiences and the story. They're the filter through which the watered-down science-y tech and general exposition is passed through to make sense in our audience brains. 

And when it comes to the scientists in these atomic movies, including "Son of Godzilla," David Kalat says in his book "A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series," that the aspect of the "the mad scientist" in such films often conduct research which extends past what man knows of nature and into some realm that's considered dangerous.

"Watch enough mad scientist movies in a row and over and over again you'll hear some variation of the words, 'He tampered in God's domain, asking questions man was not meant to know'," Kalat says. (p 98)

Of course, "what man was not meant to know" is now commonplace in science fiction and often horror. It has changed and shifted as to what exactly it is man isn't supposed to know, movie by movie. But it's still there. 

The device of scientists altering nature somehow has been just as much an integral part of Godzilla movies as Godzilla himself. It's no surprise they show up here and do what they do best. Namely, they make of mess. 

In "Son of Godzilla," scientists are conducting experiments on Sollgel Island in an attempt to control the weather. 

They're visited by an inquisitive reporter, Maki Goro (Akira Kubo), who arrives to their research station unannounced and not very welcomed.    

The researchers undergo their first weather control test as they launch a remote-controlled radioactive balloon. 

However, the remote frequency is jammed by some unknown signal located somewhere on the island. 

The balloon explodes prematurely, causing mantises to grow to the size of dinosaurs and start crawling all around the island.  

Godzilla raises his hand as a warning to a defiant Minilla, the
son of Godzilla. 

In the English dubbed version, which is what I watched, they call these mantises Gimantis. In the Japanese version, they're referred to as Kamacurus. 

As Goro continues asking questions, taking pictures, and even cooking, research into these Gimantises quickly takes place among the scientists. 

They find the mantises digging up a giant egg from underneath a mound of soil. 

Soon, the egg hatches, and out pops a baby monster. It looks like it could easily be the lovechild between Godzilla and a Kewpie doll. 

Goro and one of the scientists witness this monster hatch from its egg.

Of course, Goro says "It looks like a baby Godzilla."

The scientists quickly figure out that the cries coming from baby Godzilla, known in later films as Minilla, are the cause of the radio interference. 

The experimental mishap with the balloon caused the temperatures to warm up considerably on the island, which was already under a warm tropical climate.

One of the scientists, Furukawa (Yoshio Tsuchiya) can't take the heat and seclusion. He soon starts to lose it, mentally.

Furukawa grabs a gun and starts running off towards the shore. The other scientists follow and subdue him. He collapses in the water. And when he gets back up, he and the others spot something huge coming towards the shore at a fast speed. 

It's Godzilla! He's heard the infant cries of Minilla. It's not his offspring, but Godzilla saves him after Gimantises start picking on the boy. So, who's kid is he? They never say. He thrashes these monsters and uses his atomic breath to kill two of the giant mantises.

Minilla wants to follow Godzilla around after that, but initially Godzilla takes no interest. However, he has a change of heart and takes the kid under his wing. 

He teaches Minilla how to use his atomic breath as the young monster can only blow smoke rings. He does this by stepping on his tail. He also teaches him the art of a solid, earth-quaking roar.

Meanwhile, before the scientists conducted their weather test, Goro spotted a young woman swimming in the ocean.

He tells the head scientist who doesn't believe him as he's convinced his team of researchers are the only ones on the island. 

Later, they discover the girl hiding in a tree. It turns out her name is Saeko Matsumiya (Bibari Maeda). Her father was an archeologist who stayed on the island after the Japanese pulled out of the Pacific following the last war. He died on that island seven years prior to the story. 

Saeko tells the head scientist that her mother died shortly after she was born. So, she's lived on the island since. And, somehow, she can communicate with Minilla.

While trying to save her, Minilla accidentally awakens Spiga (or Kumonga in the Japanese version) - a giant spider who lives underground. 

The spider attacks the scientists' camp as well as Minilla by shooting web all over the place. 

Soon, Godzilla stumbles his way onto the scene, and saves Minilla. Together, they attack Spiga.

The scientists are caught in the middle of the chaos. They all manage to use their weather changing experiments to create a freeze over the island while they all make their escape. 

As a heavy snow falls on the island, Godzilla and Minilla huddle together and fall into a hibernation. 

While "Son of Godzilla" was released theatrically in Japan, it went straight to television for its U.S. release in 1969.

The movie tries hard to be a Godzilla movie, with all the Godzilla feels. Sadly, Godzilla comes across as a side character. In fact, his role in the movie is like a glorified cameo. 

If Godzilla or Minilla were not in this, the story would be just fine, though still just as cliche. 

Minilla is confronted by a Gimantis 
somewhere on Sollgel Island.

The scenario is simply this. Researchers are on an island, and there's giant monsters to escape from. The atomic age of horror is saturated with these kinds of films. And they can still be fun to watch. 

Aside from the fighting, everything with Godzilla is ridiculous. The majority of his scenes involve cute moments with him and Minilla. The movie is just as interested in showing a new, softer side of Godzilla than it is showing the monster ready to take on any and every threat. The whimsical soundtrack certainly puts that image across to the audience. 

The monster movie writers over at Toho clearly keep trying to make something new with each Godzilla film. And I respect that. Even the best writers out there are entitled to a flop every once in a while. "Son of Godzilla" is that flop by this point in time.

As we're introduced to Godzilla's cute and cuddly adopted child, it's a shame this is the worst of the movies so far. 

While the story is a well-constructed story, the introduction of Minilla brings it all to a campy level.  And I mean much campier than before. He's not menacing in the least. The writers clearly didn't want him to be. In the American version, he's called "Minya." But if there's a scene in the English version where he's given a name, I missed it.

To me, the name "Minilla" sounds like a variation of mini-Godzilla, or mini-Zilla. Mini-la. 

Minilla shows up again in the next film "Destroy All Monsters" (1968), and in the film after that - "All Monsters Attack" (1969) which is also known as "Godzilla's Revenge." 

After a hiatus lasting several years, Minilla appears in the 2004 movie, "Godzilla: Final Wars." 

In "Son of Godzilla" not only does Godzilla play the role of "father of the year," Minilla also has a temper tantrum when he refuses to listen to his dad. Godzilla responds to this outburst by dragging the twerp by his tail.

The writers really bolster up the emotional tone at the end so as to pull on the audience's heart strings. I can't think of any other monster movie featuring guys in rubber suits that tries to yank on my emotions quite like the ending of "Son of Godzilla."

He also gives his boy a ride on his tail. That's some good parenting, Godzilla!

Jun Fukuda returns to the director's chair after directing the previous film, "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep." He also directed the kaiju film "Rodan." (1956). 

Actor Akira Kubo returns after playing Tetsuo Torii in "Invasion of Astro-Monster." We'll see him again in "Destroy All Monsters." 

Yoshio Tsuchiya, who stars as the Controller of Planet X in "Invasion of Astro-Monster," returns as well. Tsuchiya also stars in the second film "Godzilla Raids Again." He'll also return in "Destroy All Monsters" as well as in the 1991 film "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah." 

I've heard "Son of Godzilla" referred to as one of the worst Godzilla films out there. Others, especially young people, will find this movie cute and stuff. 

The actor, "Little Man" Machan who plays Minilla deserves much applause for his agility inside the rubber costume. I hope he scored a monstrous paycheck for his efforts. 

While some elements I appreciate, overall, I found the movie weak and laughable (though probably not in the way the writers wanted me to laugh) as a Godzilla film. For what it is, the story is laid out well. And that's really all it has going for it. 

I have to mention this review marks my 150th post on this blog! I am so happy for me :) 

132) Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #7...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"You gotta pick your battles." 

Director

Jun Fukuda

Cast

Akira Takarada - Yoshimura

Toru Watanabe - Ryôta Kane

Toru Ibuki - Yata Kane

Kumi Mizuni - Daiyo

Pair Bambi - the Shobijin

Jun Tazaki - Red Bamboo Commander

Right off the spikey tail, I get the impression that the seventh installment in the Godzilla series, "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" takes inspiration from the James Bond films.
Released in the United States as "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster," the world had seen four Bond films by 1966. 

Even the soundtrack kind of resembles Bond's famous theme. And the overall plot could easily be a 007 mission if Godzilla and the sea monster were not written in. I watched the Japanese version for this post. 

The movie takes audiences firmly back to Earth after the space adventure seen in the last movie, "Invasion of Astro-Monster." 

The movie starts off with a guy (how all good movies start) named Ryôta (Tôru Watanabe) who's looking for his brother Yata (Tôru Ibuki) who is lost at sea.
Ryôta and some of his buddies steal a yacht that they don't realize belongs to a bank robber.
When they board the boat, the robber happens to be on board as well.
After a few moments, he invites them to rest up before kicking them off.
While they're all sleeping, the boat sails off and they run into a giant lobster creature called Ebirah.
After it attacks their boat, they wash ashore on Letchi Island, which they initially think is deserted.
How wrong they are.
A terrorist group called "The Red Bamboo" is occupying the island with manufacturing facilities to make WMDs.
They also make this yellow chemical used to keep Ebirah away from their ships.

The movie takes us to an island we've seen before. Infant Island. 

We've been there already in the 1961 movie "Mothra" and in "Mothra vs. Godzilla."  
Most, if not all, of the natives from Infant Island are enslaved to the Red Bamboo. They hope that Mothra will someday soon awaken and rescue them.
Ryôta and his crew find a native girl named Daiyo (Kumi Mizuno), whom they befriend.

Together, they happen to stumble upon Godzilla sleeping deep within a cave. He had fought against King Ghidorah in the previous movie, "Invasion of Astro-Monster" (aka "Monster Zero"). In that movie, the monster Rodan grabs Godzilla and flies directly into King Ghidorah, causing all three monsters to fall over a cliff and into the water below. I guess this is why he's asleep? Honestly, I don't know.

So, they come up with the "brilliant plan" to wake him up so he can attack the Red Bamboo and save all the natives. 

They do this by harnessing lightening with a metal rod, hoping the voltage will wake him up. And it does. 

As soon as he's up, Godzilla immediately attacks Ebirah by hurling a boulder at him. 

When Ebirah escapes, a random giant bird suddenly attacks Godzilla. I don't know who this bird is, nor what his motives are. I guess monster birds don't necessarily need motives. He doesn't appear again in the rest of the film. 

The Red Bamboo send out fighter planes to attack Godzilla. But Godzilla takes them down, including the giant bird, with his atomic breath. Classic!

Godzilla battles Ebirah in "Ebirah, Horror of the Deep."

Godzilla soon sets his eyes on Daiyo and falls in love. Human females must be attractive across the spectrum of all giant monster species. 

Meanwhile, Yata is found among the natives and reunited with Ryôta. Together, they free all the slaves as Godzilla attacks the facilities operated by the Red Bamboo.

He then sets his sights on Ebirah and the two battle it out. 

Mothra finally wakes up, and the natives eagerly await her help. When she flies to the island, Godzilla attacks as the two already have a sour history as seen in "Mothra vs. Godzilla." I'll add here that in "Ghidora: The Three-Headed Monster" Godzilla helps Mothra after she's nearly killed by King Ghidora. But who cares about continuity?

Mothra manages to fight off Godzilla, save her people, and flies back to her island.

Godzilla also escapes Letchi Island just before a giant bomb destroys the entire island. 

Rather than carry out a monster brawl in Tokyo, the story takes place on an island out in the Pacific. 

The original concept for this movie was to have King Kong battle Ebirah. 
Toho later put Godzilla in Kong's place.

After "King Kong vs. Godzilla," Toho had permission from RKO Pictures to use Kong for the next five years. It carried over into 1967 when Toho released "King Kong Escapes."

As I mentioned, lightening is used to revive Godzilla. In "King Kong vs. Godzilla," Kong is awoken the same way. Incidentally, Frankenstein was originally meant to face off with Godzilla in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" but he was replaced by Kong. Hence, the electricity.   

Evidently, Godzilla was supposed to perform a helicopter spin on Ebirah. The image exists only as a publicity still. That would have been great scene to include. Oh, what could have been!

Also, Godzilla's romantic blossoming at the sight of Daiyo resembles King Kong's love for the lady as depicted in all the Kong movies from 1933, to 1976, to 2005. 

After all is said and done, the movie is a let-down. 

After 40 minutes, the only monsters we see are a sleeping Godzilla, a few quick scenes of Ebirah's giant lobster claw, and a sleeping Mothra. 

Finally, after close to an hour, Godzilla wakes up. Right away, he approaches Ebirah, throws a boulder at him, and the two literally play a game of catch. It's confusing. 

In the middle of things, a random giant bird suddenly flies into scene and attacks Godzilla. The fight between the two is terrible with the constant closeups and rapid cutaways, I couldn't tell what was happening. 

When jet fighters start flying in to attack Godzilla, some out-of-place 60s music begins playing. 

And Godzilla blindly flails his arms. 

Godzilla and Ebirah do take the fight underwater. I appreciate the work that went into this one scene in order to make the brawl different from what we've seen in the previous movies. Still, the camera work is bad making it difficult to watch.

One scene in which Ebirah attacks a military boat out in the ocean reminds me of childhood bath time. 

Surely, many a child imagined themselves as a sea monster as they attacked their bath toys. This is the movie that planted that image...I'm sure of it. 

Godzilla's costume looks like its falling apart. You can see pieces of rubber dangling off the suit in some scenes. 

"Ebirah, Horror of the Deep" is the first in the franchise to have Jun Fukuda in the director's chair. 

He went on to direct "Son of Godzilla," "Godzilla vs. Gigan," "Godzilla vs. Megalon" and "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla." 

Story-wise, it's alright. But audiences want to see monsters, especially Godzilla. It's another wrestling match. The action doesn't happen until near the end of the movie. So, audiences who just want to see the fight have to sit through the rest of the movie before the real action takes place. That's disappointing.

131) Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)

Halloween 2022's Godzilla-Maniapalloza Extravaganza #6...For the Love of Godzilla.

All Hail, the Monster King!

"Mutual trust is a beautiful thing."

Director

Ishirō Honda

Cast

Akira Takarada - Kazuo Fuji
Nick Adams - Glenn
Akira Kubo - Tetsuo Torii
Keiko Sawai - Haruno Fuji
Kumi Mizuno - Namikawa
Yoshio Tsuchiya - Xilien Controller

Jun Tazaki - Dr. Sakurai
Haruo Nakajima - Godzilla
Masaki Shinohara - Rodan
Shoichi Hirose - King Ghidorah

"Invasion of Astro-Monster" continues the story from the last movie, "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster." 

This sixth film in the Godzilla franchise was released in the U.S. in 1970 with the title "Monster Zero." It's also known as "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero." Back during its initial release, it was double billed with another Toho film, "War of the Gargantuas." 

I previously mentioned that "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" is where the franchise really gets immersed in science fiction as far as all the standard sci-fi tropes go. While the other Godzilla movies are obviously science fiction, "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster" suspends reality even further than before. Previously it was just about Godzilla, the monstrous result of atomic testing, destroying Tokyo. Then as the franchise carries on, new monsters emerge from the Earth for Godzilla to fight. In "Ghidora, the Three-Headed Monster," a new foe descends from the outer reaches of space. So, it's an alien invasion movie. 

The theme of space exploration was huge at this time. It's fitting Godzilla is brought into this chapter of sci-fi movies during this atomic age of horror. The monster brawl that Godzilla fans love takes place this time on a different planet. On top of that, there's an alien race threatening to dominate Earth. 

Toho coproduced this movie with an American studio - a first for the Godzilla franchise. Hence, American actor Nick Adams is cast in this movie.

The story takes place in the year 196X. So, I guess it takes place sometime in the remaining five years of the decade but still in the unknown future. 

Astronauts Kazuo Fuji (Akira Takarada) and Glenn (Nick Adams) are travelling through space towards an unknown planet called Planet X. 

Shortly after they land and walk around to check stuff out as men are inclined to do, they meet an alien race called Xiliens. These aliens basically look just like humans but wear typical shiny alien outfits and sport some fancy alien shades. The leader of the Xiliens is the "Controller" (Yoshio Tsuchiya). 

They invite Fuji and Glen into their underground domain just moments before a flying monster, whom the local aliens call "Monster Zero" attacks the surface above. Monster Zero happens to be Ghidorah himself... triple heads and all. 

The astronauts know Ghidorah all too well as he attacked Earth in the last movie. 

Godzilla takes on Ghidorah once again in 
"Invasion of Astro-Monster."

The Controller tells Glen and Fuji that, thanks to Monster Zero's constant attacks, the Xiliens are forced to live underground, and it sucks to be down there. So, he asks if they can borrow Godzilla and Rodan for, like, a little bit to conquer Monster Zero. Since these two monsters fought Ghidorah before (in the last movie! Remember?), the Controller thinks they can conquer Ghidorah again. Sadly, they're without Mothra for this round. Mothra's absence is always a bummer.

In return, the Controller promises to send Earth a miracle cure for any disease. In the Japanese cut, they promise a cure for cancer. Either way, it sounds like a big win for Earth. No Godzilla nor Rodan destroying cities. And they get a miracle cure!

So, Glen and Fuji merrily bring the Xiliens' request back to Earth. 

And speaking of Earth, that's where Tetsuo Torii (Akira Kubo) has invented a personal alarm system which gives off an ear-piercing siren. 

Tetsuo is also dating Fuji's sister, Haruno Fuji (Keiko Sawai), much to Fuji's chagrin. He doesn't think Tetsuo can support his sister by being an inventor. 

Tetsuo previously sold his alarm invention to a businesswoman named Namikawa (Kumi Mizuno). But she took his invention without paying - a really douchebag thing to do.

To his surprise, Tetsuo sees Glenn with Namikawa as the two are having a romantic fling. 

Glenn and Fuji begin doubting the true motives of the Xiliens. It turns out they've been hiding on Earth before meeting up with the astronauts on Planet X. Some Xilien spies arrest and imprison Tetsuo after he tries following Glenn and Namikawa. 

Later, Xilien flying saucers emerge from the lake where Godzilla is sleeping. The aliens also locate Rodan. With their weird alien transporting technology, they take both monsters back to Planet X. They also take Glenn, Fuji and a scientist named Dr. Sakurai (Jun Tazaki).

The monsters wake up on Planet X and start fighting Ghidorah. After the initial fight, Glen and Fuji wander off and happen to run into some super sexy Xilien women. These women identically resemble Namikawa. 

They're caught, however, and taken to the Controller.

He gives them instructions for the miracle cure he promised and sends them back to Earth.

But Godzilla and Rodan are left behind. 

When they get back to Earth and hand the instructions over to world leaders, they all learn they've been conned! 

Instead of being the promised miracle cure, the message is an ultimatum for the entire planet. The Xiliens want the planet surrendered to them, or they will unleash Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah on all mankind. The monsters are under the mind-control of the aliens and will do whatever they want them to.

Well, that's just a naughty thing to do. 

Meanwhile, Glenn goes to pay Namikawa a visit in her office and finds her wearing a Xilien uniform. Though she tells Glenn that she's an alien spy, her feelings for him are real and true. 

Yoshio Tsuchiya as the Xilien Controller (center) with
some other Xiliens, doing Xilien things.

Her leader barges in and kills her. Before he does, she slips a note into his pocket. Glenn is then arrested and placed in the same jail cell as Tetsuo. 

Glenn finds the note which states that Tetsuo's high-pitched alarm device can defeat the Xiliens. 

At the same time, Dr. Sakurai and Fuji create a machine that will obliterate the Xilien mind-control over Godzilla, Rodan, and Ghidorah. 

They manage to escape from their cell by ... I don't even remember how they did it.  

Tetsuo's alarm is played over the radio, and citizens are asked to tune in and play it as loud as they can. This defeats those jive-turkey Xiliens. 

And the monsters awaken from their mind control trance and start fighting again like they're supposed to. 

Gone is the schtick of having two news reporters involved trying to figure stuff out. Overall, the story feels like a Buck Rogers style sci-fi adventure suited to American audiences. That's not to say "Invasion of Astro-Monster" doesn't feel like a Japanese monster movie. It is, right to the core. 

Despite the typical era schlocky space and alien premise, the movie is really fun to watch. It's as though the writers just wanted to go out on an extra-terrestrial limb just to make something entertaining and new for the franchise. So, they did. For what it is, the story is well constructed. 

Unfortunately, the premise makes Godzilla and his pals look like side characters. The Xiliens are the main antagonists. Godzilla and the other monsters are simply weapons in their arsenal.  

The pacing takes its time compared to the last film. And the film takes Godzilla and friends to some place not seen before.   

Plus, Godzilla and Rodan are under alien mind control. Another first for Godzilla. 
Stock footage from the movies "Rodan" and "Mothra" are used. 
Even with its dated, campy sci-fi style and storyline, somehow "Invasion of Astro-Monster" manages to be a superior film than the previous "Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster." Good writing certainly plays quite the role in good movie making, and it shows here, even for a movie like this. 
During the initial fight, as Ghidorah flies off, Godzilla does a victory dance. It's a trip to watch. 

Again, Godzilla is a good monster in this movie, but still bad. 

"Invasion of Astro-Monster" is certainly among the more entertaining movies of the franchise.