GODZILLA-THON #14 - Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Godzilla was about to celebrate his 20th birthday, and what better way than with a new movie? Director Jun Fukuda returned for his last, and arguably best, entry in the series with Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. The plot would see the return of familiar conventions to the series, namely, a nefarious alien race trying to destroy Japan. This time around they got smart and decided to build a robotic duplicate of Godzilla, assuming a tireless, mechanized version of the big beast would easily defeat him. Toho allotted this entry a bigger budget than the previous films had to work with, a necessity that I'm glad wasn't ignored because production values had been slipping since the heyday of the early-to-mid '60s. The result of all their efforts is one of the best films the Showa series has to offer. All of the classics elements that made the series so much fun are present here, with multiple monster fights, a superb score from Masaru Sato, an engaging subplot with some truly bizarre aliens, weird songs sung by strange women, and Anguirus! Who basically just shows up to get his ass kicked.

Truth be told, this was one of, if not the, best film for me of all Godzilla's movies. Period. My rankings have wavered a bit in recent years (and they certainly are as I go through the entire series again), but fans seem to all agree that this entry was a highlight of the entire run. I remember spending an entire afternoon sitting on my Aunt May's floor, back in... 1988, I think, and watching my old VHS on a loop. I just couldn't get enough of it. It's a real pleasure to see that even as an adult, I find it holds up very nicely.

In this entry, a woman has a prophetic vision that a giant monster (Ghidorah, inexplicably) will destroy a city. When a strange metal is uncovered, the men who uncovered it also find a warning about the signs that signal a monster is going to arise and destroy the world. The archaeologists take the artifacts they've found and go looking for answers. Meanwhile, Godzilla appears from Mt. Fuji and begins a campaign of terror, smashing Okinawa to pieces. His old buddy Anguirus shows up and starts attacking him, but during the attack a piece of skin is ripped off of Godzilla, revealing a shiny metal beneath... Mechagodzilla! Before he can inflict any more damage, Anguirus is beaten within an inch of his life, then Mechagodzilla brutally rips his jaw apart. Soon after, the real Godzilla shows up to see who crippled his buddy, leading to a confrontation where Mechagodzilla is fully revealed. He and Godzilla have a major battle, which ends when both sides use their beam weapon - atomic breath for Big G, laser beam for Mecha - resulting in a massive explosion that sends a damaged Godzilla into the water and short circuits Mechagodzilla's system.

While both monsters are out of action, Keisuke and Saeko bring a totem of King Caesar they found to a holy temple, hoping to have the beast awakened. Meanwhile, Prof. Miyajima (Akihiko Hirata) and others are captured by the aliens of the Third Planet from the Black Hole at their underground facility, where they try to force the professor to repair their damaged Mechagodzilla. Why space aliens would travel so far without a competent repair man is beyond me. Keisuke and a mysterious man sneak into the facility, freeing their friends, but Prof. Miyajima and two others decide to be recaptured in hopes of stopping the alien invaders. Keisuke and Saeko get the statue to a descendant of the Azumi clan, who has to perform an awesome sung prayer in order to awaken King Caesar. He awakens just as Mechagodzilla comes to attack, resulting in a fight between the two. Not long after, Godzilla - newly recharged thanks to absorbing the power of a lightning strike - arrives to help out his new buddy. The duo successfully smashes Mechagodzilla to pieces, stopping the foretold destruction of the world, before they each make an exit to get some much needed rest.

Godzilla has fought many foes throughout his history, but very few have had as much of an impact as Mechagodzilla. After his appearance here, he would go on to appear in every era of the series as an opponent. It's a damn genius idea, really. Having Godzilla face off against his equal, created by an alien race hellbent on destroying the planet. Mechagodzilla is a formidable enemy, with a vast array of attack options that do some real damage to Big G. His laser "breath" is probably on par with Godzilla's atomic flame, but then he's also got a chest cannon, missile fingers, and he can create a force field by spinning his head really fast. His introduction is one of the best in the series, totally legendary, giving him a suit of faux skin to look like Godzilla, fooling everyone into thinking he was the one responsible for the damage. And then dat reveal... One of my favorite moments in the entire series is when King Caesar and Godzilla are about to tag team Mechagodzilla, so what does he do? He takes an attack position, lines up his front weaponry on Godzilla and then spins his head around 180 degrees to combat Casesar, too. And once the action starts up, it's a frenzy.

The level of brutality was increased for this entry, too. While I'm not a big Gamera guy, word is that Toho felt their films needed to keep up with the blood quotient other daikaiju films had been showing. In addition to Anguirus' aforementioned jaw destruction - which shocked the living shit out of me as a kid - there are also a few scenes of Godzilla sustaining heavy damage. In one, Mechagodzilla unleashes his laser ray at Godzilla's neck, causing a crimson spray to emanate from his neck as if there were a friggin' hose in there. There's also a brief shot when Godzilla, after his first meeting with Mechagodzilla, is knocked into the sea after their beams explode, and blood bubbles up to the surface. The series had seen blood before in Godzilla vs. Gigan, but this was taking things up a notch. Personally, I don't find it necessary. These movies have played fine for years without getting gory, no need to start now. And that's coming from a hardened horror fan.

One of my favorite elements to this story has always been the aliens they used here. A favorite device of the '70s Godzilla films was not to only use aliens, but to have them be some kind of animal being in disguise - cockroaches, silver slugs, and, here, they look like rejects from Planet of the Apes when killed. It's a cool effect, watching their skin dissolve to reveal a purplish, gnarled gorilla-like face beneath. They've also got one of the most awesome underground labs ever, located in a famous cave that people can visit today. It's very much something you'd expect a Bond villain to utilize. I sometimes wonder if the Bond series had much of an influence on this series because some of the parallels are too obvious to ignore.

Godzilla got a minor facelift this time around. The MegaroGoji suit used in the previous film, Godzilla vs. Megalon, was given a new facial appearance, with the body remaining the same. Godzilla's brows were reduced a little, giving him more of a rough, almost bulldog-like appearance. The idea was to make him look less friendly than he had for the previous few films. The movie also is one of three to give Godzilla power through lighting, though this one is the most explicit. In both Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster and Gojira (1984), he's revived by a lightning storm - though in the latter there's a nuclear fallout that surely helped. Here, Godzilla, after being badly wounded fighting Mechagodzilla, retreats to an island (Monster Island?) where he absorbs electricity from a storm overhead, drinking in the electricity and causing his spines to spark furiously. Let's face it, Godzilla's powers have never been all that consistent outside of his atomic breath. I thought this was cool as anything when I was a kid, and that was probably all that mattered to director Jun Fukuda, too.

King Caesar made for a rad tag team partner. Toho took the most risks during this period, introducing many new kaiju to the series and making many famous along the way. Caesar is awesome because here was this huge dog/lion beast that can shoot lasers and he's all legendary and stuff. Some lady has to sing a song just to wake the guy up. But his character was firmly intertwined with the plot to this movie, making his inclusion in future films unnecessary. But, of course, we got him - along with many other faces that hadn't been seen in decades - in the final (as of now) Toho Godzilla film, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). I remember that being a rough watch the first time I saw it. I'm looking forward to reviewing it for this blog, but I doubt a second viewing will sway my opinion.

Mechagodzilla is just a flat out amazing villain. There's nothing bad I can say about how he's portrayed here, his first of five appearances against Godzilla. His design is iconic, almost as much as Godzilla himself. His attacks are brutal and swift. I love how special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano modeled his movements after Kabuki, giving him a stiff gait to his walk. It looks very robotic. 

Let's talk about how wonderful Masaru Sato's final score for this series truly is, because he created one of my favorites of the whole series. The main theme is slightly playful, with notes ascending and then descending in a simple pattern that'll get stuck in your head. He adds in some intrigue, action, a little suspense... it's a rousing track with many high points. As I mentioned before briefly, a prayer must be sung in order to wake up Caesar. This song has been one of my favorite pieces of music since I was a kid. Maybe it's in the delivery or the melody - I don't really know - but it stands out as such a great piece of music. I'm so glad Toho released all of those Perfect Collection sets so that I could finally own a couple versions of it in proper quality.

The American version of the film featured a few alterations for theatrical release, mostly involving the cutting of bloodletting and other violence. The title was changed to Godzilla vs. The Bionic Minster, but it had to be changed a week later when Universal, who owned the popular The Bionic Woman, threatened a lawsuit. So, the posters were pulled and the title changed to Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster. 

Godzilla would have one more showdown before exiting the '70s and ending the Showa era of his pictures. A decline in ticket sales, along with an energy crisis in Japan that affected TV and film productions, would see Godzilla off big screens for almost a decade. But before that, one more battle with his mechanical nemesis...

GODZILLA-THON #13 - Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Godzilla's return to the big screen may have come just one year later, but the production history behind Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) is quite a story. Toho decided to have a fan-submission contest (an idea that would come into play for Godzilla during his Heisei days) entered exclusively by children sometime in mid-to-late 1972. At the time, the plan was for the studio to select a new character design as a winner and then base a film around that character. The chosen entry was a robot, dubbed Red Arone, who looked a lot like Ultraman and similar robotic fighters. Toho made modifications to the design (to what degree is unknown) and rechristened him Jet Jaguar. Their plan was to have him fight Megalon, a villainous beetle who had been drawn up for consideration in Godzilla vs. Gigan, but was ultimately cut when the budget for that film proved unable to support more monsters. In a somewhat ironic twist, studio personnel concluded that Jet Jaguar would never be popular enough to carry his own movie, causing the project to be put on hold. Within a month, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka had the script rewritten to include Godzilla and Gigan, on opposing sides, and soon production was back underway. Funny how things work out.

This entry doesn't feature aliens from outside our planet but, rather, from within. The long lost civilization of Seatopia has been trapped underground for centuries, and man's undersea testing of nuclear weapons has been disturbing their society. Angered, they crack open a fissure in the Earth and release Megalon to inflict damage on the world above. Goro, an inventor with one of the coolest pads you'll see in a '70s flick, has made his most amazing creation - Jet Jaguar, a robot capable of flight, fight, and following directives. When Megalon is unleashed, Jet Jaguar is dispatched to Monster Island where he gives Godzilla the bad news on what's going down. The Big G hops into the ocean (courtesy of old Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster footage) and starts paddling his way to Japan's mainland. But Megalon is doing a lot of damage while we wait, so Jet Jaguar, in some magical way, attains autonomy, sentience, and the ability to increase his size exponentially. Yes, a robot manages to "will himself larger", as his inventor posits during the film. Really, who cares how it's possible. The movie needs him big so now he's big. Boom. Done. Jet actually holds his own against Megalon pretty well, delivering a flurry of powerful attacks that stun the beetle. But then Gigan arrives, and all of a sudden Jet Jaguar is beaten within an inch of his robotic life before Godzilla shows up and stomps a mud hole in two asses. Now we get the battle everyone has been waiting for, with Jet Jaguar and Godzilla tag teaming both Megalon and Gigan, the latter of whom bitches out and retreats to space, leaving his cohort to face this:

This, for the uninitiated, is Godzilla's infamous flying kick. Much like his actual flying abilities, as glimpsed in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, we never see him perform such a maneuver again. But, wow, would you look at that. Fuck the logistics of how this is even possible, we're seeing Godzilla delivering a flying two-footed stomp to Megalon's battered body!

Some of the fight scenes are marred by the occurrence of stock footage. Again, considering Godzilla was an afterthought to this picture, essentially co-starring in what is ostensibly his own movie, it's not unbelievable to think Toho would have used old footage to pad things out. The only problem, which is always the problem, is the suits don't match up.

Speaking of which, we get a new suit! And it was made in a week? Yep. Known as the MegaroGoji, special effects supervisor Teruyoshi Nakano had virtually no time to get his work done, leaving him with a mere seven days to give Godzilla a brand new set of skins since his last outing had the suit literally falling apart during the movie. I think he did an amazing job given the time constraints. The only hiccup reported was the eyes, which they were unable to get working properly during filming. That issue was corrected for a TV appearance Godzilla was set to make that same year. Godzilla was given a set of larger eyes, with a more pronounced brow, and a friendlier face. The suit itself appears to fit actor Shinji Takagi much snugger previous suits worn by actor Haruo Nakajima.

Godzilla vs. Megalon, despite it's notorious reputation for being one of Godzilla's weakest films, was one of the most-watched entries in the United States. Not in Japan, though, where it was one of only two Godzilla films to sell under a million tickets (the other being Terror of Mechagodzilla). In the U.S., however, it had a respectable theatrical release in 1976 thanks to an infamous marketing campaign which saw Godzilla and Megalon fighting atop the World Trade Center, just as King Kong did that same year. The following year, it had a cable premiere on NBC, hosted by John Belushi in a Godzilla suit, in a prime-time slot. The major downside to that presentation: the network cut the film down considerably so that it fit into a one-hour slot. Ouch.

Toho had been pitting Godzilla against an ever-increasing roster of memorable, unique monsters that fans have been admiring for decades. But none up to this point had proven to be quite as difficult as when he looked into the mirror. Up next, the Big G meets his robotic counterpart... 

GODZILLA-THON #12 - Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

After the "disaster" - according to producer Tomoyuki Tanaka - that was Godzilla vs. Hedorah, work was swiftly underway to produce a new Godzilla film that hewed closer to the tried and true formula. Rather than allow someone else new to the series to have creative control, Tanaka brought back director Jun Fukuda, who had already enjoyed moderate success with his two previous Godzilla pictures Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster and Son of Godzilla. This entry, Godzilla vs. Gigan, would be the first of three pictures in a row he did for Toho. Gone were heavy messages and social commentary; this was to be a return to the plot lines that Tanaka felt worked best: alien invasion and mind control, featuring a roster of top monsters. The script went through a number of changes before deciding upon exactly who those monsters would be, with names like Varan and Rodan in the mix at one point. There was also talk of drafting some new kaiju into the fold, giving Godzilla some new adversaries to combat. Eventually, the screenwriters settled on having Godzilla team up with his old buddy, Anguirus, who just had a new suit made for 1968's Destroy All Monsters. On the opposing side, the golden space dragon, King Ghidorah, would be paired up with a new villain, the cybernetic, cosmic, cyclopean, curved-claw chicken from outer space, Gigan.

The aliens this time around are human-sized cockroaches who assume the form of people that have recently died. They operate a massive playground known as World Children's Land, where a massive Godzilla tower has been erected as the centerpiece control tower. Their plan is to use a series of "Action Control Tapes" to manipulate space monsters King Ghidorah and Gigan to destroy the Earth so they can inhabit it because their home world is dying. Gengo, a freelance artist who gets a gig with the company, stumbles upon one of their tapes and plays it, drawing concern from Godzilla and Anguirus on nearby Monster Island. After the two have a conversation - yes, a monster conversation - Anguirus decides to go investigate, drawing the fire of the military upon arrival. So, he takes off back to monster Island to let Godzilla know something is going down and Earth needs their help. Ghidorah and Gigan enter our atmosphere and promptly begin to smash everything in sight just before Godzilla and Anguirus arrive to challenge them. The fight eventually moves back to World Children's Land, where the aliens have concealed a massive laser inside the Godzilla tower. This weapon seriously neutralizes Big G, and just when it looks like he may be down for the count Gengo and his crew of hippie radicals send an elevator full of explosives up the tower, annihilating the controls and every alien inside. With the laser death ray compromised, Godzilla regains his composure, confers with Anguirus, and then proceeds to deliver a crate of whoop ass to both Ghidorah and Gigan, forcing them both to retreat back to the cold vacuum of space.

A chief complain about this film is that it relies too heavily on stock footage, which is absolutely true. This was Teruyoshi Nakano's second film as special effects supervisor after Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), but there was only so much he could do with the limited budget this film was afforded. It's confusing as to why so much stock footage was utilized because they clearly had the required costumes for the shoot. It isn't like Ghidorah was added in using the power of film editing; the suit was on set! There are clips from numerous productions spliced in, including Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Destroy All Monsters, and even non-Godzilla properties like Rodan and War of the Gargantuas. Needless to say, the fight scenes often appear to have been hastily cobbled together. It's bad enough to do this because Godzilla fans will immediately notice the suits aren't matching up between shots, but a couple fights foolishly use daytime footage during a nighttime battle, and no amount of color correction can fix such a glaring, gaping hole. And, again, Toho's actions here only hurt the film. The suits for all four monsters were on set, ready to shoot, so why not just do whatever you can with what you've got? The tag team battles that were shot for this film came off beautifully, featuring some of the best multi-monster mayhem since Destroy All Monsters. This would be the last time the SoshingekiGoji suit was used as the hero costume for a film, having previously appeared in the prior three pictures. The suit was in a state of disrepair, likely why so much footage was reused for this film, and in some scenes you can clearly see pieces of it are coming undone and looking a bit shoddy. Godzilla even appears to be sporting the eye injury he received from Hedorah.

Speaking of the battles, this is the first entry to show Godzilla bleed when attacked. Previous special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya resisted the urge to show open wounds, fearing it would scare many of the young children who had become fond of Godzilla. Nakano clearly didn't share the same sentiment - he had no qualms with temporarily blinding Godzilla in his fight against Hedorah, and here he allows Gigan to draw blood twice. Even Anguirus isn't safe, running headfirst (kind of a stupid move) into Gigan's power-saw stomach. Having seen the film dozens of times as a kid and an adult, I can see where both special effects men were coming from. It was terrifying to see Godzilla bleed when I was a youngster, my mind immediately drawing the conclusion that he was going to be killed since nothing else had made him bleed in the past. Now, older & wiser, I find it simply imbues the film with extra tension that hadn't been employed before. There's a dreadful sense that Godzilla & Anguirus might be defeated by these cosmic scoundrels, though in the back of our minds we all know nothing is taking Godzilla down.

This would be the final time that legendary actor Haruo Nakajima donned the Godzilla suit. He had been toiling away under every iteration of the suit since its inception, masterfully perfecting his craft to add a sense of graceful power to Godzilla's movements. The end of his tenure marked almost 20 years of embodying Japan's most famous monster.

Also making his final appearance: King Ghidorah, who would remain dormant on movie screens until his rebirth nearly 20 years later, in 1991, when he was once again pitted against Godzilla. 

Akira Ifukube "returned" to his scoring duties for this entry. "Returned" is in quotations because the entirety of his work is re-purposed from his efforts on other Toho films, not just pre-existing Godzilla tracks. Only the most eagle-eyed, hardcore fans would be able to tell, though, since Ifukube had a tendency to reprise his most common themes throughout the series, making it nearly impossible to know if a piece of music was new or old. Tanaka did state that he wanted this film to be a return to form for Godzilla, and using his trademark themes was a surefire way to see that happened.

Godzilla didn't continue his upwards ascent after this film as Tanaka had planned, because the next in the series is often considered one of the worst right alongside All Monsters Attack. Released the following year, Godzilla vs. Megalon is another entry that shoehorns Godzilla into a pre-existing story, uses stock footage, and is usually credited with the public's perception of Godzilla as a form of children's entertainment and nothing more. 

GODZILLA-THON #11 - Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

   

Godzilla entered the '70s with an anomalous entry in the series, one that brought with it a strong eco-conscious message. Now that the "Godzilla Dream Team" was permanently disbanded after the death of special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya, the onus of success was placed largely on the shoulders of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka. The next film set for production was Godzilla vs. Hedorah/Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (1971), to be written and directed by Yoshimitsu Banno. It was during the production of this film that Tanaka became seriously ill and was hospitalized, leaving the film's direction entirely up to the discretion of Banno, a complete neophyte to the series. His film posited that mankind's rampant pollution and wanton destruction of Mother Nature would come back to haunt us in the form of a huge nuclear shape-shifting blob from space, known as Hedorah. Only Godzilla, Savior of the Earth, would be able to stop it and prevent the annihilation of humanity. Strong messages aren't new to the series, since the previous entry, All Monsters Attack/Godzilla’s Revenge (1969), was about as ham-fisted as you can get with its anti-bullying sentiments. Unlike that film, however, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster is lauded for its tonally unique take on the series… and for uncovering Godzilla’s greatest unknown ability: flight. This picture was not exactly subtle in delivering commentary on what is still a hot topic today. And, really, it's not even a bad film when you consider the entire litany of the series. But when Tomoyuki Tanaka finally saw it after leaving the hospital, he went berserk. Rumor has it that he hated the film so much that he swore Banno would never work for Toho again. And he didn't. Banno, on the other hand, was so excited by his work here that he immediately began writing a sequel that would have taken place in Africa, but those plans were scuttled as soon as Tanaka was back on his feet. Oddly enough, despite having been away from Godzilla for over 30 years Banno was linked to a 3D Godzilla project, tentatively titled Godzilla vs. Deathla - To The Max 3D, that would have been shown exclusively in IMAX theaters. Plans were soon scuttled when Legendary Pictures took interest in snapping up Godzilla’s rights, and through some minor miracle Banno remained on as an executive producer for Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014). If you listen closely, you can hear Tomoyuki Tanaka wildly spinning in his grave.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah starts off in a very meta fashion by showing a young boy, Ken (Hiroyuki Kawase), playing with Godzilla toys (I believe they're the Bullmark line) in the backyard, his house situated near the sea because his father, Dr. Yano (Akira Yamauchi), works with marine life. The action cuts over to a collection of sludge and debris floating in the ocean, one which Hedorah rises out of before flying off into the distance. The creature is reported to have attacked boats and factories along the coast, consuming massive amounts of pollution and oil to fuel itself and grow in size. Hedorah flies across the countryside, leaving a wake of choking death in its path. Godzilla shows up during a particularly gorgeous sunset, intent on fighting the monster, but Hedorah proves too resourceful and escapes Godzilla's grasp. Dr. Yano, now crippled after a run-in with Hedorah underwater, learns that he has a method to kill the creature by drying it out using electricity. The military sets up giant electric panels on Mt. Fuji, all they need is for Godzilla to get Hedorah in their path so it can be toasted. But Hedorah is able to take on many different forms, making it difficult for Godzilla to destroy such a slippery foe.

Banno added many unique flourishes to this film to get his message across, including musical interludes and animated sequences. There are a couple of scenes occurring in an underground Japanese night club that are beyond psychedelic, with a tie-dyed woman wildly gesticulating on a table while her tripped-out band jams on stage. And there are exploding color visuals everywhere. It's like something out of an Austin Powers flashback, dripping in '70s expectations. The animated interstitials are used to explain how Hedorah has been evolving, showing the sludgy behemoth sidling up to factories and draining them of their toxic emissions. Again, out of place in a Godzilla film? Totally, but that's all part of what makes this entry such a fun oddity. The vivid colors also provide a stark juxtaposition to the grimy, polluted world Hedorah intends to produce.

Hedorah would be the first, but certainly not the last, adversary to take on different forms throughout the film. At first, it's nothing more than a big tadpole, but once the beast sucks up huge quantities of our toxic trash its size more than doubles to something able to combat Godzilla. The longer it sucks up our waste, the bigger it gets, eventually reaching a stage where it can fly and lift even the massive Godzilla off the ground. From there, Godzilla and Hedorah take the fight to land, and the garbage gargantuan morphs into fighting form for some hand-to-hand combat with the Big G. This is really the first Godzilla film where man and beast work together to defeat a common enemy, with Godzilla using his atomic breath to activate the malfunctioning electric ray the humans created to fry Hedorah. He's downright anthropomorphic holding Hedorah in his grasp, practically signaling for the men below to get this sucker cooked. Having grown up seeing Godzilla in his role as both protector and prime enemy, I think it's kinda cool to see him expressly choosing to win one for the people.

What isn't cool, though, is seeing him fly. Banno thought the film was unremittingly dark, and it certainly is, so when it came time for Godzilla to chase Hedorah near the climax he came up with two options - he runs, or he flies. Keep in mind, Godzilla had never demonstrated any ability to fly whatsoever because how the hell could he? Simple - he tucks his tail between his legs, fires up his atomic breath, and uses that flame as a means of propulsion. Wait, what? If the film's environmental message didn't already have producer Tanaka fuming, his head likely exploded when this infamous scene occurred. Thankfully, Big G Airlines were permanently grounded after this initial excursion.

While there were changes made to Godzilla's personality and abilities for this film, one thing that didn't change much was his suit. The same SoshingekiGoji suit used for the previous two films - Destroy All Monsters (1968) and All Monsters Attack (1969) - was employed for the bulk of filming here, though it's highly likely that another, older suit was used for the water scenes. Godzilla maintained a consistent look for more than a few films during this period, and while this design is usually never singled out as one of the best it encompasses all of the design features that made him iconic. As usual, Haruo Nakajima handled acting duties inside the suit, having perfected his craft to such a degree that Godzilla is able to display a wide range of motion. We only got one more film with the master, Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), before he bowed out of the series for good. There are only minor differences between the Japanese version of the film and AIP's edit for America. Other than the dubbing, the U.S. version added an English language version of the song "Save the Earth", which had been sung in Japanese and featured in Toho's cut. AIP also changed the film's title to Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster. Toho has only made the international cut of the film available on DVD & Blu-ray, under the Godzilla vs. Hedorah title, meaning VHS tapes are the only means to watch the dubbed AIP version. This would be the final Godzilla film that AIP distributed in America, leaving further sequels in the hands of less capable studios.

GODZILLA-THON #10 - Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

Director Ishiro Honda, fresh off the success of the monster mash-up melee, Destroy All Monsters, returned the next year to helm this entry, All Monster's Attack (known as Godzilla's Revenge in America). Unfortunately, and quite surprisingly, it would be considered the series' nadir by a majority of fans. The film's biggest issue is that it is unquestionably a children's film, aimed squarely at kids, starring a kid. That isn't a death sentence in and of itself, but the loss of special effect supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya left director Ishiro Honda scrambling to get the effects work finished... himself! Since he was no expert in that field, the work done for this film was minimal, resulting in most of the Godzilla footage shown having been recycled from his previous three efforts. There's a positive message within the film that kids should hear - stand up to bullies, don't back down - but once you've past a certain age any appeal this entry may have had in your halcyon days is likely expired.

Ichiro is a young latchkey kid who spends most of his time alone, daydreaming about a better life. His current life is full of emptiness and bullies, but the bullies hurt the most because they terrorize him and make him feel humiliated. Ichiro's best friend is Shinpei, a toy maker and inventor on the outskirts of town who lets him spend time in his shop. When he gets to be alone, Ichiro fantasizes about being on monster Island, where Godzilla's son, Minilla, is the size of a small child and has somehow gained the ability to speak Japanese. And, uh, he can also change his size according to will. Don't ask. Anyway, Minilla has his own bully - a large cat-faced reptile monster named Gabara (also the name of Ichiro's bully). Try as he might to stand up to Gabara, Minilla always gets his little ass whooped. Luckily, he has Godzilla around to teach him the important monster things, like breathing fire. Ichiro is interrupted from his dreams by a couple of thieves who have stolen 50 million yen, holding him hostage until they can form a plan. Ichiro wills himself back to monster Island to get a final word of advice from Minilla, watching him defeat Gabara (with the help of Big Daddy G) and giving him the confidence to stand up to his own bullies. Ichiro breaks free and alerts the police, who arrest the robbers. The next day, we see Ichiro finally stand up to his schoolyard bullies and take them down, earning the respect of his peers now that he resorts to violence, too. Wait, what was the message again?

The film's biggest detriment is the lack of new Godzilla footage. It's even more frustrating because the fight between Godzilla, Minilla, and Gabara is actually pretty good. Haruo Nakajima, still inside the suit since the original film, had become so adept at maneuvering inside of it that the fight choreography looks impressive. The movements look as fluid as ever, giving Godzilla is bit of grace he had been lacking before. The suit used here appears to be from Destroy All Monsters, which makes sense given how little it was needed for this film. That's another major downside of using stock footage from the three previous films: each suit had a different look. It is glaringly obvious when they switch from '66 to '67 to '69 and then back again. Hell, in some scenes the suit literally changes from shot to shot. No level of editing can change mismatched suits.

The storyline with Ichiro isn't all terrible. Following a kid around isn't an ideal plot for any of these films, especially one where it isn't exactly established whether or not Godzilla exists at all in the real world. But Tomonori Yazaki is a precocious little shit, curious about enough to investigate but he's never really annoying in his actions. He seems fairly reasonable, making his troubles with a school bully weightier because we don't like to see him abused. His lack of friends and a family life is what led to his overactive imagination, giving Minilla the chance to imbue him with some confidence. According to one of the adults at the end, Minilla is a god for children, and he gives them strength just as the gods adults pray to do for them. It's certainly a unique perspective to view these characters from. Thankfully they only went this route for one film.

All the footage we see of Ebirah, Kumonga, and Kamacuras has been recycled from their respective films. The only new footage is also populated by a new monster - Gabara. He's ugly. Oddly enough, other than his weird cat face he sort of looks and sounds like Titanosaurus, an antagonist that won't be seen until 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla. I can only assume maybe this suit was reused for his design? Either way, I'm grateful Gabara never showed up in another film because he's terrible. Even his special abilities - electrocuting things that he touches - is bizarre. But it does make for a funny scene when he zaps Minilla.

Scoring duties this time around were handled by Kunio Miyauchi. Akira Ifukube would return again later, and to be perfectly honest his talents would have been wasted here. Miyauchi reprises some of Masaru Satoh's themes (or they're literally reusing them here) from previous entries, and whatever work he himself contributed has a brassy sound to it. Not typical for a Godzilla film, but it works well for this installment. It's adventurous, whimsical, even a bit playful. Again, more of the James Bond type of sound that was popular during those days.

The score also gave us "Monster March", an annoying and mildly catchy Godzilla tune as howled by some Japanese youngster.

This would be the final film where Eiji Tsuburaya, one of Godzilla's "fathers" who designed all of the special effects up to this point, would be credited. His involvement here was non-existent, really, with Sadamasa Arikawa handling the set duties since Tsuburaya was too sick to perform. He died the next year, which may be part of the explanation for why Godzilla took that year off from films. Tsuburaya left behind an enduring legacy that will be remembered for generations, gifting us with some of the most memorable monsters to ever grace screens.

Following his most kid-friendly adventure yet, Godzilla would go on to become a savior for all sizes of people when he saved the planet from a flying bob of sludge in the eco-conscious entry Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster. 

GODZILLA-THON #9 - Destroy All Monsters (1968)

The dream team is back, baby! After the diminishing returns Godzilla had been facing for the past couple of years, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka decided to bring back director Ishiro Honda and composer Akira Ifukube for what was intended to be the Big G's last hurrah. The big question was, though: if we're going to do one last film, who does Godzilla face? Gary Oldman from The Professional knows - EVERYONE! Toho threw down the gauntlet here, bringing back many fan favorites, many of which hadn't ever been in a film with Godzilla before. Not only was this just about the coolest idea Toho had ever come up with outside of creating Godzilla, but the inclusion of monsters created for other properties gave fans even more incredible work to marvel at watching. Think of it as The Avengers (2012) of monster movies. The plot would once again involve mind control as executed by an evil alien race, this time all women (!), but the real meat here, the real reason why everyone is tuning in, is for that glorious monster action. And, brother, believe me when I say this pull out all the stops to deliver one helluva time!

Don't ever ask how, but in the year 1999, mankind has managed to wrangle all of the planet's monsters into one location - Monster Island (called Monsterland here). Godzilla, Minya, Anguirus, Gorosaurus, Rodan, Mothra, Kumonga, Manda, Varan, and Baragon. All living on an island that looks like it would be small for any one of them, where we're told food is plentiful and they all get along. Sounds like a bullshit PR piece SeaWorld would've put together. But it's working. At least, it is until communications with the island are lost and the monsters escape to begin attacking world capitals. We soon figure out the Kilaaks are the ones behind it, an alien race composed of all females (and they procreate how?) who wear glittery silver spandex hoodies. The have the monsters under the control of a mind-altering signal, one that is emanating from a location on the moon. Hey, we have a base there now! Capt. Yamabe (Akira Kubo) goes up with a team of his best men to stop the aliens by destroying the signal. It works, but the Kilaaks unleash their most powerful weapon as a last-ditch effort: King Ghidorah. The monsters of the Earth must unite to fight their common enemy, all while humanity fights against the alien invasion.

Alien mind control is used a lot in these films. It's a good way to allow Godzilla, our supposed hero by this point, to cause worldwide destruction without actually looking like the bad guy. His mind was under control, after all. And when he does get his head clear, you can always tell he feels really bad about what he did. This was, however, the first entry to have the aliens use a human appearance as their cloaking device, revealing a more hideous, sci-fi origin when their true selves are exposed. In this case, the Kilaaks are extremely sensitive to cold, so when the temperature drops considerably in their environment they revert back to looking like silver slugs that live in rocks. It's funny later on when the military learns of this, and the commander can only help but grin and say something about how friggin' easy an attack this is going to be now.

We know the returning faces - Godzilla, Minya, Anguirus, Rodan, Mothra, Kumonga - so who are the new guys? Gorosaurus was featured in King Kong Escapes (1967), where he fought Kong. Manda was a chief opponent as an undersea dragon in Atragon (1963). Varan appeared in his own film, produced in 1957. And, finally, Baragon was best known as the opponent to the title star in Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965). Of all these, only Gorosaurus gets an appreciable amount of screen time, teaming up with Godzilla at the climax to help finish off King Ghidorah. Varan gets little more than two shots during the entire film. This was due to the suit being in such a state of disrepair since the filming of that feature over a decade prior. Baragon was being used on the Ultraman TV series (monsters were often redressed for other programs, Godzilla included), so his appearance was extremely limited here. In fact, the script called for Baragon, not Gorosaurus, to destroy Paris. But in typical Toho fashion, even though the monster change had to be made the script change wasn't, leaving Gorosaurus with not only Baragon's ability to burrow underground, but also his roar and in some cases even his name, since the media refers to him in the film as Baragon.

There were to be two more monsters added to the fray - Maguma (from 1962's Gorath) and Ebirah, last seen fighting Godzilla in Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, but budgetary concerns caused both to be scrapped from the production. Also of note, there was a brief scene filmed where Godzilla fights with Manda, which makes no sense in the context of the film since both are under the same mind control. The footage is said to be shown at conventions from time to time, though it has yet to show up on any official release. 

Despite their being an abundance of kaiju, everyone gets a good amount of screen time with the exception of the two previously mentioned monsters. After the introduction at Monster Island, the film does an adept job of cutting back and forth between human/alien drama and monsters causing a melee across the globe. Some of the sets aren't as distinct as others (Godzilla destroys a seaboard that looks nothing like NYC), but for the most part it looks pretty rad to see Gorosaurus demolish the Arch de Triumph, or to see Rodan flattening Moscow. I can vividly recall seeing the extended trailer for this film on my VHS of Grandpa's Sci-Fi Hits, which was hosted by Al "Grandpa Munster" Lewis. The promise of an international incident as carried out by all my favorite monsters looked astoundingly epic to my young brain. Even now, all these hardened cinematic years later, I can say it's an ambitious entry that really put a lot into the story.

Interestingly, director Gareth Edwards, who is helming the upcoming 2014 reboot Godzilla, has expressed a desire to make a sequel to his film something akin to this film. I really do applaud his ambition, but I hope they set that universe up further with a second film before throwing too many names into the mix. Plus, I don't see that being a successful idea unless Toho grants the rights to use other monsters. Right now, Legendary can only use Godzilla.

A final film is never a final film when a series is successful. Even though producer Tomoyuki Tanaka declared this would be Godzilla's final feature film, the success it enjoyed meant another movie was in the works, this one coming out just a year later. Only to call it a new film is almost disingenuous considering almost all of the fights are culled from stock footage. And that's not even to mention the undeniably child-centric tone and core message about bullying and standing up and... oh, Christ, is there anything good to be said about Godzilla's Revenge? 

GODZILLA-THON #8 - Son Of Godzilla (1967)

Godzilla had been well on his way to becoming a children's icon starting around the release of Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965), with Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966) doing even more to soften the Big G's image so he could appear less threatening. Director Jun Fukuda, who helmed that entry, clearly had no qualms with making the big brute more loveable. Fukuda's next foray into the series would make Godzilla his least intimidating incarnation yet by giving him a son. Minya, or Minilla (a portmanteau or Mini-Godzilla), is easily one of the most divisive kaiju to appear in the films. You either love him or absolutely hate everything about him. In some ways, he is the Jar Jar of this universe - bumbling, well-meaning, always annoying no matter what he's doing, slightly cute, slightly revolting. The series certainly lost an appreciable amount of credibility by so blatantly pandering to kids. But at this point, kaiju films were losing their luster in theaters, so Toho really had no other option but to try marketing to an undiscerning crowd. There needed to be some kind of shake-up to the series, which was part of the reason director Jun Fukuda and composer Masaru Satoh were brought on board. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka wanted to see how another creative team could handle bringing Godzilla to life. The two films Fukuda made before director Ishiro Honda and composer Akira Ifukube were brought back (for yet another "final" film) are unique in their own right in many ways. Each takes place on an island locale, the human drama is small in scale and surprisingly engaging, and Godzilla takes on a much more protective role. While it's hard to argue the quality didn't dip after Honda's run with the series, fans can readily admit Fukuda's entries are a lot of fun to watch.

A team of scientists on a small island have been working tirelessly to conduct weather experiments designed to help cultivate currently unusable lands so that food can be harvested for the ever-expanding world population. They are alone aside from a handful of massive 7-foot-tall praying mantises. A nosy reporter shows up one day (that's some real dedication, btw) and annoys some of the men, but he's allowed to stay and become the cook after proving himself useful. The group performs an experiment that goes awry, causing a radioactive fallout to cover the island. It also causes the mantises, known as Kamacuras, to grow to an even larger size. The men follow the Kamacuras' to find them digging an egg out of a pile of rubble, eventually cracking it open to reveal a giant turkey, er, Minya, Godzilla's son. The Kamacuras' are just about ready to have a meal of Minya when Big Daddy G shows up and promptly exterminates two of the three bugs. Their other buddy wisely retreats. Now that they can spend some quality time together, Godzilla teaches his son the art of being a monster, including how to blow fire. Except Minya can only blow smoke rings unless under heavy stress, like when daddy accidentally steps on his tail. When Reiko, a native girl, mistakenly wakes up Kumonga, the giant spider, Minya comes to her aid as best he can before getting wrapped up in webbing. And his cries can only mean one thing - Big G is gonna have to step in and save the day. Which he does because that's what he always does. Meanwhile, the scientists figure out a way to make their experiment go off without a hitch just as they escape the island, covering it in a thick layer of snow that blankets a now-hibernating Godzilla and son.

Part of what makes this entry an easy watch is the return of some of the series' familiar faces. Akihiko Hirata returns, this time in the role of a benevolent scientist; and Akira Kubo, one of our lead astronauts from Invasion of Astro-Monster is back, this time as the unflappable reporter whose curiosity vexes some of the men. Even as a kid, I remember the films having a comfortable feeling because I kept seeing the same faces pop up in all the Showa entries. Hirata's presence always lends an air of gravitas to these productions, whereas Kubo brings with him a sense of wonder and confidence.

I really dug the island setting Fukuda employed for this film and its predecessor. Godzilla has stomped the hell out of Tokyo and every other coastal city by now, so why not see how he fares on one of the many islands out in the Pacific? The change of scenery gives the Big G some new grounds to literally stomp upon, as well as explaining how he comes across many of his opponents - they live there. But it isn't just the island alone that makes these installments fun; it's also Masaru Satoh's jazzy, atypical scores. His work on Son of Godzilla is very similar to his last effort, losing the pomp & circumstance of Ifukube's deadly serious scores in favor of what feels like a fun tropical romp with our favorite giant lizard.

Minya. Minilla. Godzilla's seed. When I was a kid, I assumed there was some Mama Godzilla out there somewhere, and that maybe she'd show up at the end of the film or something. When that didn't happen after a few viewings (kids sometimes think movies might end differently upon subsequent viewings; I know I did) I just figured Godzilla must be some asexual reptile that made his own egg. Maybe it got lonely being out there, with nothing to do but smash Tokyo and eat villagers. Regardless of his reasoning, he made a son. Minya looks like a buttered turkey when he hatches, so it's no wonder Kamacuras wanted to have a bite. Luckily, he's able to grow very quickly... and then just stop. Honestly, he grows to around 1/3 of Godzilla's size in no time, but when we see him again 32 years later in Destroy All Monsters he's still the same little shit. He can't even breathe fire any better. He's not intolerable or anything, but he also ain't exactly cute. Mostly, he just wanders around, gets fascinated by girls, and causes just enough mischief that Godzilla has to be roused from his slumber to whoop some ass. He only appears in 3 out of 28 films in the series, and considering Godzilla's new-found status as friend to children everywhere, it was a smart PR move to have him baby-up.

New attitude, new look. Godzilla was bound to get an updated visage once again, especially with this entry's special effects being handled primarily by Sadamasa Arikawa, with pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya only listed as a supervisor. The alterations this time around were much more severe, with Godzilla's head in particular being remolded to look more human and less reptile. His eyes have been enlarged even further, his dorsal fins are rounded and less severe, the tail shortened, and his nose made more snub. Fittingly, he does have a more fatherly appearance than ever before. Kids may have dug the design, but it's a far cry from the apex looks provided in the early '60s. This suit was dubbed MusukoGoji, and it would appear later on in Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) during the water scenes.

The new monsters this time around have never been fan favorites. Kamacuras, a praying mantis, and Kumonga, the spider. Both monsters would eventually go on to be "featured" in Godzilla: Final Wars as alien-controlled opponents. I use "featured" in quotes because anyone who has seen that film knows each battle lasts about as long as it took to write this sentence. Godzilla has fought insects many times throughout the series, and he's scheduled to do so again with the new film coming this year. Insects are known for their ruthlessness in nature, so they make good opponents for their natural enemy - a lizard. Kamacuras doesn't have much of an attack ability, which explains how Godzilla destroyed two of them in record time. At least Kumonga can shoot webs, similar to Mothra in larva form, but that shit doesn't hold up too well to fire. And Godzilla has plenty of that.

The American version of Son of Godzilla doesn't deviate too much from the Japanese version. The major difference being that the opening pre-credit sequence featuring an airplane almost running into a seafaring Godzilla is cut. A couple of monster's get new names, too -  Kamacuras is referred to as Gimantis, and Kumonga is rechristened Spiga. The American version bypassed theaters, instead premiering on TV in 1969.

Tomoyuki Tanaka must have sensed that Godzilla was getting a bit too soft (plus box office returns were getting low), causing him to bring back the dream team of director Ishiro Honda and composer Akira Ifukube for what was intended to be Godzill'a cinematic farewell, Destory All Monsters (1968). But we all know that just wasn't true...

   

GODZILLA-THON #7 - Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

   Another year, another Godzilla picture back on the big screen. Toho had been steadily churning out Godzilla adventures at a rate of one per year since 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla. This time around, though, the series had lost two of its core players. Director Ishiro Honda bowed out, handing directorial duties over to Jun Fukuda, who would go on to helm five films total in the series. Special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya had other commitments that largely kept him off the set for this entry, leaving his duties up to Sadamasa Arikawa. Those changes aren't the major reason why Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966) – or Ebirah, Horror of the Deep if you prefer - is viewed as the first (arguably) weaker film in the Showa series. Nope, the reason it's such a quizzical Godzilla film is because he was never supposed to be the star. The script was originally meant for King Kong – and was to be titled Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah - which would explain the more curious elements present in this picture. The real question here should be why Toho didn’t just order some rewrites so the film at least paid respect to Godzilla's legacy up to that point, though anyone familiar with Toho’s business practices shouldn’t be too surprised. We get all the familiar trappings of a Kong picture - island setting, natives, prehistoric opponents, female objects of affection, lightning rejuvenation. Oddities aside, the greatest strength of Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster isn’t the eponymous star’s presence; it’s the eclectic cast and their perilous journey to find a sibling lost at sea. Their island excursion plays out like Japanese James Bond, complete with a hidden enemy base, alluring native women, espionage, and a big, bold, brassy score. Complaints about Godzilla’s many sequels lacking a strong human element aren’t entirely unfounded, but this is one entry where the human characters are just as engaging as the Big Guy himself.

When Ryota's (Toru Watanabe) brother goes missing off the coast of some remote island hundreds of miles from mainland Japan, he does the sensible thing by breaking into a cat burglar's yacht with his friends, knocking the guy out, and sailing off in hopes of finding his lost sibling. They run aground on Devil’s Island and come across a militant group, Red Bamboo, which has taken over the place. Natives from nearby Infant Island (home of Mothra) are used for slave labor to produce a yellow fluid that keeps Ebirah, a giant sea shrimp (not a crab or lobster), at bay. Naturally, Ryota's brother, Yata Toru Ibuki), is there toiling away, so he and the boys break him loose. Red Bamboo sends a squadron of their troops after the men, who quickly surmise the best way to combat the troops is to wake up Godzilla, who they found nestled peacefully inside a cave. How did he even get in there? They rig up some wires to a sword, wait for a (convenient) lightning storm and soon a jolt of juice wakes the Big G from his slumber. Godzilla, likely with sleep still in his eyes, jumps right into battle with Ebirah, playing a game of volleyball using a massive rock. Maybe he was too tired for anything but stationary action? Eventually he hops into the sea and dukes it out, but Ebirah scuttles away and escapes.

Godzilla then just kind of hangs around, looking bored until he notices Dayo (Kumi Mizuno) and becomes smitten. His newfound love is interrupted when possibly his greatest cinematic foe shows up to tango: a giant condor. A giant condor he makes short work of in about a minute and change. Red Bamboo tries sending in some fighter jets, all of which meet the same fate as big bird. Sensing they’re about to lose their island stronghold, Red Bamboo’s leaders initiate a self-destruct sequence and hit the high seas… before being literally hit by a recharged Ebirah. The supersized shrimp is ready for another go-round with Godzilla, something it quickly regrets when G rips off his claws and kicks his ass down to the depths. Meanwhile, Ryota and the group manage to escape the island thanks to a surprise visit from Mothra, but the island is about to blow and everyone is worried Godzilla won’t get away in time. So, naturally, the men call out to Godzilla and warn him to leave the island. They're warning Godzilla. About an explosion. And he heeds it. Wasn't he, you know, born in fire and all that? Shouldn't matter. Maybe he just wanted to be polite and follow their advice. He is our friend now, after all.

If there’s a weak aspect here, it’s the fact that Godzilla doesn't show up until there are around 33 minutes left in the film. Prior to that, the only time we see him is when the guys stumble upon him sleeping in a tight cave. Luckily, the hour we spend Godzilla-less is a campy, kitschy romp through the jungle with a gang of colorful characters. Fukuda’s direction shows a heavy influence from James Bond films, but it never feels like a poor derivative. It’s fun and full of energy. Fukuda also wisely ties in this film with themes prevalent in the 1954 original, Gojira, by reintroducing talk of nuclear weapons. Red Bamboo uses their island hideaway as a facility for making nukes, and while the commentary on nuclear weapons isn’t heavy-handed it’s nice to have it included as a plot element. Everyone is aware Godzilla’s origin was nuclear, but few films in the series have directly addressed the impact producing those weapons can have on the planet.

The Godzilla suit used here, dubbed NankaiGoji, is reportedly the exact same one used for Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965). I say "reportedly" because the mouth looks like it's hanging open nearly the entire film, as though some damage had occurred to it and no one bothered to fix it. Toho was never much for taking excellent care of these suits anyway. Eventually, the NankaiGoji would be used as the water stunt suit for the next three sequels. If you’ve ever wondered why Godzilla’s look seems to change during the course of a film, it’s because older suits were used when G had to get his feet wet. Toho didn’t want to risk ruining their hero suits. Ebirah doesn’t get much love despite being one of Godzilla’s earliest kaiju adversaries. I guess a giant shrimp isn’t quite as compelling as a three-headed dragon or a huge colorful moth. The fights between Godzilla and Ebirah are more humorous than threatening, especially since there are no cities or civilians to smash and crush, and Fukuda seems to be having fun making a game out of two behemoths clashing. One cool aspect to their battlers is that this is the first film since the original to show Godzilla underwater, and the first to show him fighting down there. Godzilla takes a while to hit the scene, but once he does it’s more or less 30 uninterrupted minutes of mayhem, all of which culminates in a final fight with Ebirah where Godzilla rips off both its claws and taunts Ebirah by snapping them open and closed. Again, right out of Kong’s playbook but it’s hilarious to see Godzilla be such a jerk.

GODZILLA-THON #6 - Invasion Of Astro-Monster (1965)

Toho kept the Big G on a roll by releasing another entry almost exactly a full year later, this time bringing back familiar elements that were popular in the last one. Namely, King Ghidorah, Rodan, and the use of an alien race for a plot device. That last feature would go on to become ubiquitous in the series, with nefarious alien races plotting our doom through various means right on up to Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). The core team of director Ishiro Honda, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, and special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya remained together for this film before briefly disbanding, and then finally returning for the last big melee, Destroy All Monsters (1968). This entry, titled Invasion Of Astro-Monster (1965) in Japan and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1970) in America, is the last to display a sense of continuity from the previous entry, as the follow-up Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster completely ignores the events of this film. Though that's the least of its problems. But I digress.

A new planet has been discovered in our solar system - Planet X - and two astronauts (Nick Adams and Akira Takarada) have been sent on a cosmic journey to explore it. Before you have time to marvel at the efficiency of the Japanese government to execute such a mission with surgical precision in scant time, they land and are greeted by the people of Planet X, known as Xians. They, um, have a unique look, with visors that Levar Burton would envy, black skull caps, and what look like yoga mats wrapped around their necks. They certainly accomplished making them look fucking weird, I'll give 'em that. Anyway, these guys have to live underground because the surface is patrolled by Monster Zero (their name for King Ghidorah). What they propose is that we sign off on a Monster Loan, wherein they would drop into Earth, wake up Godzilla (Monster One) and Rodan (Monster Two), cart them up into space to their planet so they can fight off Ghidorah again, and then send them back before living in eternal bliss. Why Glenn and Fuji (our two astronauts) agreed is questionable since these guys look really sketchy. But I guess a slow space death was likely taken into consideration. Oh right, and the fact that they promise to give us the cure to cancer. The Xians arrive (or, should I say, rise from a nearby lake they hid in at some point), and two of their flying saucers play wakey-wakey-eggs-and-bakey with Godzilla and Rodan, scooping them up using an egg-thing made of energy. The trip to space is apparently quick for these guys, and in no time Godzilla and Rodan (who luckily don't need to worry about adapting to a foreign atmosphere in any way) kick the ever-loving shit out of Ghidorah. Godzilla is so proud of his work he even does a little dance.

 
 But you knew these Xian dudes were up to no good. Right after they send our astronauts back home, a crowd assembles so they can all listen to the miraculous cure for cancer we were promised. The tape is cued up, everyone is waiting with baited breath, someone hits plays, and... we get a message from the Xians that more or less says "Haha, fuck you, thanks for the free monsters. And by the way, we're coming back right now with all three of them to destroy your planet." Whoops. So, now Godzilla and Rodan, under the spell of a mind-control device, start wreaking havoc around town alongside a mean-as-usual King Ghidorah.

This is the part where the slightly cute but ultimately stupid subplot focusing on Fuji's sister and her bumbling, inventor would-be fiance, Tetsuo, comes into play. We're told the Xians are extremely sensitive to a certain sound, which is why the Xians bought Tetsuo's stupid device that is supposed to scare off attackers by emitting an ear-piercing sound. The device is used, Xians start to literally drop out of the sky, and the mind-control ray is shattered. Godzilla and Rodan snap back, realize what's going on, and promptly hand Ghidorah his golden space ass once again. Man, these guys would have made a killer WWF tag team.

Godzilla didn't get much of a major facelift this time around, with only minimal alteration made. This new suit, dubbed Daisensogoji, enlarged the eyes a little to give him a more friendly appearance, along with dorsal plates that were reduced in size ever so slightly. The guy's our hero, can't have him looking too unfriendly for the masses. Godzilla has a fairly consistent look over the course of these last three films, one that is continually reference as being among fans' favorite. We can thanks Eiji Tsuburaya once again, as it becomes obviously by the next film that when his presence isn't on the set, the quality immediately sees evident decline.

Akira Ifukube's score reprises many of the key themes he created for the series, with not much variance to give it a distinct feel specific to the film. That's not a knock in any way, however, since all of his music for the series has been inimitable. Oddly enough, he didn't even supply my favorite score for the series (which will be revealed when we get there), but those arrangements he produced are so iconic it's nearly impossible to think of Godzilla and not hear it.

The American version, titled Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (a better title, btw), was released in 1970 on a double bill with War of the Gargantuas. The film was only cut by three minutes, making it fairly faithful and respectful top the Japanese version. As usual, a lot of Ifukube's score was shuffled around or just replace outright. Oddly enough, some shots of Godzilla's foot stomping houses and huts were removed. Usually these versions want all the monster action they can get, sometimes even adding more in the case of Mothra vs. Godzilla, but here they trimmed it out. No matter, since the Classic Media DVD contains both cuts. And you know which one to watch.

After this, it goes downhill a bit when we get to King Ko... er, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966). Trust me, that gaff makes perfect sense when you know the story. 

GODZILLA-THON #5 - Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964)

 What's this? Another Godzilla film in 1964? Yep. King Kong can't be the only monster to get two films in one year (King Kong and it's sequel Son of Kong hit in '33... and they were stop-motion!). Toho, seeing flashes of dollar signs after King Kong vs. Godzilla proved to be a huge international success, jumped right into production on another entry in the Godzilla series after he finished battling Mothra just a few months earlier. This entry, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, would be significant for a number of reasons, featuring many firsts not seen in a Big G picture up until now. Chief among those would be the introduction of Ghidorah (renamed "Ghidrah" for U.S. audiences because...?), the eponymous flying dragon that would go on to become Godzilla's most formidable foe. In fact, Ghidorah proved to be so popular as a villain that he (it?) even appeared in non-Godzilla properties, such as Rebirth of Mothra (1996) and one of its sequels. This was also the first entry to feature Godzilla taking on multiple monsters, as he winds up fighting Rodan, larva Mothra, and King Ghidorah, though eventually everyone just decides to gang up on Ghidorah and beat his ass back into space. The entry was the first time use a central plot focused on aliens infiltrating Earth for nefarious, nebulous purposes. Alien races would go on to be used in numerous sequels in the series, being employed frequently right up through Toho's (currently) final Godzilla film, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). And, as a minor first that would be capitalized upon later, Godzilla is less the villain and more an anti-hero who begrudgingly helps the Earth by teaming up to defeat Ghidorah. From here on out, virtually every film in the series would have Godzilla in this role, with only a few exceptions. These firsts weren't just important because they introduced characters and themes that would recur throughout the series' history; they also were the reason why many fans consider this film one of the best Toho produced during the Showa period.

Although the canon of the series got progressively more muddled as time went on, the early entries maintained a timeline that tended to follow each sequel respectfully. At the end of the last picture, Godzilla, having just been the target of a Mothra larva bukkake fest, was vanquished to the sea. Here, that exactly where he rises from before scuttling with Rodan and destroying an ocean liner. The human element to the plot focuses on a Martian (or Venusian, depending on which cut you're watching) princess who is the target of an assassination plot by men wearing garish mid-century outfits. The princess publicly makes bold predictions, correcting prophesying that Rodan would rise from a crater neat Mt. Aso, and Godzilla would rise from the sea. Oh, and there's also a last-minute mention of a cosmic creature named King Ghidorah that decimated her people on Mars and now he's landed on Earth in the form of a meteoric egg getting ready to hatch, oh, right about now.

The story for most Godzilla sequels is practically latent, since the real reason everyone watches these is for the monster porn. There have been at least a dozen highly memorable allies and villains across G's long career, and this film puts together some of the top talent by including fan favorites Rodan (whose name is actually Radon, a contraction of pteranodon) and Mothra - both of which had solo outings years prior - along with King Ghidorah, a then-new kaiju that quickly rose up the ranks to be the fans' favorite adversary for all benevolent monsters. As usual, the action is sporadic until the film has around 15 minutes left, at which point it becomes a full-on kaiju slugfest with Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra (in larva stage) teamed up to pummel Ghidorah. Shockingly, the only time Godzilla ever uses his atomic breath is during a skirmish with Rodan, never on Ghidorah. Instead, he just chucks a lot of rocks at him. Come to think of it, he does that to Rodan, too. And he did it to Mothra in the last film. The guy has atomic breath that can fuck everything in its path up... and he throws rocks. Still, there's really nothing more enjoyable (to me) than watching all these glorious Golden Age characters, brought to life by men in suits, duking it out.

As usual, changes were made to the existing Godzilla suit, dubbed Mosugoji by fans, though this time around they were relatively minor, leading to this new suit to be dubbed Mosugoji II. The head piece had become damaged during the last film, meaning effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya had to reinforce the mouth and rebuild the sculpt a bit. The result is on-par with Mothra vs. Godzilla in terms of quality, delivering one of the best looks G has ever enjoyed. As a point of trivia, there is one scene where the old suit is used: just as Godzilla makes his entrance from the depths of the ocean. Toho preferred to use older suits for any water or effects shots, when possible, so the old suit makes a quick (and literal) pop-up before being retired for the new one.

The version of this film I grew up watching as a kid was, unsurprisingly, the American edit. If you bought it on VHS back in the '80s, that was all you had available to watch. And do you think a 6-year-old kid knew, or cared, either way? Exactly. Plus, despite the fact that AIP butchered Akira Ifukube's score, removing nearly all of it from their version of the picture, they did a fair amount of judicious editing by removing some of the subplot material. Subplot meaning anything not featuring Godzilla. The resulting version runs around eight minutes shorter than Toho's cut, which, really, is the best version to watch. Also, I can't confirm it now but it sounds like they used a newer dub for the English cut, and not an old AIP dub track that at least holds some kitsch factor. New dubs sound like shit on these old films. Classic Media's DVD contains both versions of the film, and unsurprisingly the Japanese edit not only looks and sounds better, but you're getting the full picture to boot.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster went on to become one of the most lauded entries in the series, even garnering a few accolades from American critics, who are never an easy sell with these movies. Godzilla had begun his turn to defender of the Earth and... :shudder:... friend to children everywhere. Eiji Tsuburaya said he enjoyed making these pictures so kids could enjoy them, a philosophy producer Tomoyuki Tanaka also favored, so it was bound to happen eventually. Not that he ever got too cuddly or anything, Godzilla's Revenge aside. But before the series was to move on to other foes for the Big G to conquer, there was still one more bout with Ghidorah on the table...