SH MONSTERARTS & NECA GODZILLA 1962 | Figure Reviews

So...it's been a while hasn't it?

Between the crazy hours of my actual job, working on the movie reviews and life in general, it's a miracle I'm now able to get to these figures. And I figure I better do them now before I receive the NECA King of the Monsters figures.

Let's compare both of them in one review, shall we?

These 2 companies just keep releasing the same Godzilla figure, this time we get one of the more popular suits of the series from 1962's 'King Kong Vs. Godzilla' which has been nicknamed KingGoji.

Right off the bat you'll notice that both of these figures look very different, so I figured that one of them was less film accurate than the other. But looking at scenes from the movie and behind the scenes photos, they are more or less on point. The SH MonsterArts figure seems to put more emphasis on the hunch the 62 suit has while the NECA one maintains a more traditional upright posture. It can be moved to give it more of a hunch, but more on that later.

The sculpt and paint work on both of these figures is overall great, but there are a few areas where one figure does one thing better than the other.

Both of the heads look great and carry the same happy/threatening expression the suit is famous for. The eyes are in an upwards position, the SHMA versions eyes might be a bit misaligned (but what else is new, right?) It's impressive to me how the inside of the mouths were painted, all the teeth and gums are painted with no splotches. There is a noticeable break in the NECA's tongue though.

The main bodies on both are sculpted and painted nicely as usual. Looking at the NECA figure for a bit, you'll notice the claws are painted a bone white color. They may have some scratches on them but I would argue that actually makes them more realistic.

But at least NECA's claws are actually painted unlike the SHMA claws. They retain the same color as the entire body, it makes me wonder if I somehow got a prototype figure.

Godzilla's dorsal fins look nice as always, but I think I prefer how they look on the NECA figure. Something I noticed on a closer examination, the paint on the fins from the back to the tail on the SHMA figure has the same consistent paint job. On the NECA figure, the paint is consistent until you get the tail. It's nothing you should lose sleep over though.

OK, articulation.

I gotta say, the SHMA articulation feels very stiff to me at times.
The head and neck joints can look up. But if you try to move it to look down, to the left and to the right, you're going to feel some resistance.
The same can be said for the arms, they move in and out nicely but cant move forward or back very far. The arms bend at the shoulders and the hands rotate and wiggle at the wrists...when the they choose not to pop off.

The body can lean forward, not much to complain about there.

Legs can move forward and back a bit, the knees bend and the feet can pivot and move up. The upper part of the legs have been sculpted in a way that they fit around the tail, which causes some restrictions for movement.

Ya can't stop him from doing the Spread Eagle though!

The tail has the usual motions you'd expect from the SHMA figures.

As for the NECA, it's almost the same but most of the restrictions from the SHMA are absent here.
The legs only seem to rotate at the hips and can't exactly move forward or back much.

But now lets focus on this tail. Gone are the days of bendy wire tail pieces, we finally get multi-segment tails and it is fantastic! It may not have as many joints as the SHMA, but it still flows beautifully. Good on NECA for this much appreciated change!

Both figures do come with Atomic Breath pieces.
If you're familiar with SHMA figures, you'll recognize the piece is the same one from the Godzilla 1964 Emergence Version. However this one lacks any sort of blue tint. I like the SHMA one enough, but I gotta give this point to the NECA piece. I prefer how that one looks more like a misty stream, which is more accurate to the Showa Godzilla's. I kinda wish it had a light blue tint to it. The NECA figure also has a hole inside the mouth so you can insert the piece and it'll hold it nicely without the use of a stand. You can also use the Atomic Breath piece that came with the Godzilla 2001 Atomic Blast figure. Also, the 62' effect looks great with the NECA 1954 figure.

I don't normally talk about packaging, but I gotta give serious props to NECA for their figures box. It looks awesome! The front uses the original Japanese poster, the window box packaging is immediately eye catching and inside the box is a nice backdrop of Mount Fuji. The back of the box is also interesting since the captions on the back are actual taglines from the film. Except for the one that says "Featuring...Heat Ray Blast!"

I like both of these figures, but if you had to force me to pick one to recommend over the other (if I didn't make it obvious enough), I'd have to say I like the NECA figure more.

It's not just a price issue even though I do feel that the SHMA figure is overpriced. (Past SHMA releases came with a figure and breath piece and retailed for $60-$70, what makes this one almost $100!?)

The NECA figure retails for about $25 and comes with a few more surprises, so that's why my vote goes to that figure. With their usual great sculpt, the new tail piece and fantastic packaging, this is a HUGE step in the right direction for NECA's Godzilla line. And it looks like they are continuing that with the new 2019 figures I can't wait to see what they do next.
If you still want the SHMA version, I'd say wait for a price drop if possible or if you find it at a comic book store or convention, see if you can haggle the price.

Now if only both companies could release a 1962 Kong figure...

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my lair.

So long...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. 
Thanks for reading!

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GODZILLA (2014) | Movie Review

GODZILLA

May 16, 2014

In 1998, an American version of Godzilla was released in theaters, made a ton of money but was scorned by critics and destroyed by the fans. 
In 2014, a second attempt at an American version of Godzilla was released in theaters.
But did it fare better?

In a world where monsters are real, two giant parasite creatures awaken from their slumber, wreak havoc on the world in an attempt to mate with each other and reproduce. With the military helpless to stop them, an ancient creature rises from the depths of the ocean to put a stop to them and restore balance to nature. That creature is none other than the legendary alpha predator, GODZILLA!

My anticipation for this movie began as far back as 2010 when this picture was shown at San Diego Comic Con. Since then I was excited, but still a little worried. This was gonna be the second American produced Godzilla movie since 1998 and we all know how that turned out. Then when I heard that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures were producing it, that peaked my interest. I had loved the Batman movies they had made. Then the director was announced, an unknown independent film director named Gareth Edwards. It turns out Mr. Edwards is in fact a fan of the Big G and that was a good thing. 

When Roland Emmerich was given the job to direct the 1998 film, he admitted that he was not a fan and that he would only take the job if he could change the monster more to his liking. This is something you don't do! Why else do you think Peter Jackson's King Kong or Sam Raimi's Spider-Man were hits and 2009's Dragonball Evolution wasn't?

The film was stated to be released in 2012, however various delays pushed it back to 2014. There was even a short concept teaser shown at Comic Con, and that was pretty much the only place anyone would EVER see it! When people tried to upload it to YouTube, it was immediately taken off. But we did finally get an official trailer near the end of 2013, followed by another full trailer in February 2014. After those trailers, any doubts and concerns I had for this film immediately vanished in the blink of an eye. It promised to be dark and stay true to the tone of the original movie, portraying Godzilla as an unstoppable force of nature.

With the marketing campaign in full force, including a very hilarious Snickers commercial, my excitement for the movie shot through the roof. When the time came, I went to see the movie opening night with my dad.

THIS is how Godzilla should be presented. 
From the beginning, Gareth Edwards has said the idea was: What if something like this really happened? What would that be like? It does show the human perspective of the chaos the creatures cause. As well as showing the after effects, much like the original does. This really feels more like a disaster movie with giant monsters thrown into it.

Godzilla's personality is that of neither a hero or a villain. He's a force of nature that fights off threats to the planet. He doesn't do it for the sake of humanity, we are little more than insects to him. The design is much closer to the original, but looks much more like a real animal than past incarnations. 
Godzilla is brought to life through motion capture CGI by an actor named TJ Storm. The results are incredible and having Godzilla portrayed like this is the best way to go to honor the traditional suit acting technique. Godzilla is always at his best when his movements are guided by a human performance. 
The 2 creatures Godzilla fights called MUTO's are fantastic creations. Their designs, the way they move, the sounds they make, everything about them is simply inspired. They in no way look like the Cloverfield monster, I am so sick of hearing that comparison!

Remember in my Pacific Rim review when I talked about the stigma of human characters? Well, it's also present here. 
A lot of people like to rag on Aaron Taylor-Johnson saying he was bland, but I don't see it that way. I see him acting as a soldier caught up in a situation he can't quite comprehend, as well as trying to keep his cool. On TOP of being a husband and a father trying to do whatever it takes to ensure his family's safety. My best friend's brother was in the military and whenever I see Ford, I can't help but think about him. While he may not be the best character in the movie, I still appreciate the performance he gave.
A lot of people thought Bryan Cranston was great, myself included. Although he dies in the first act, his performance leaves a huge impact. 
Ken Watanabe makes a great Serizawa, he really echos the presence of Dr. Yamane from the original.
Another good character is Admiral Stenz (David Strathairn), mostly because of the expectation subversion he brings. In the scene where it is decided to use a nuclear weapon against the monsters (an obviously bad idea against these creatures who feed on radiation), you'd expect him to be the biggest asshole regarding his decision and berate the naysayers every chance he gets. But nope, he does actually sympathizes with Serizawa a bit but makes it clear that he has a responsibility to protect civilians all in a calm and understanding matter. 

I need to talk about the music in this movie. Alexandre Desplat delivers a fantastic score that gives a very epic and primal feel to the movie. His main theme for Godzilla become just as iconic to me as Ifukube's has been for years. One piece of music called "Last Shot" is one of my personal favorites. Give it a listen and tell me you don't get the overwhelming urge to get a task done to prevent the world from exploding. 

But now lets get into by far the biggest complaint about this movie, the fact that Godzilla doesn't have a lot of screen time. 
It could be a legitimate complaint. I mean, what all does Godzilla do in this movie? He comes out of the ocean, looks imposing, lets out a huge roar and returns to the ocean. Comes ashore to a major city, does some minor damage and disappears for a bit before the big action scene with great moments of mass destruction before going back to the ocean.
Clearly the original films were superior. Look at what Godzilla does in the original film: He comes out of the ocean, looks imposing, lets out a huge roar and returns to the ocean. Comes ashore to a major city, does some minor damage and disappears for a bit before the big action scene with great moments of mass destru-HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!?!
To the uninitiated, this may seem bad. But to long time Godzilla fans like myself, I think we'd be used to it by now.
Sure, I would have liked to have seen more of him, but for the moments when he was on screen, I could barley contain my enjoyment. Every time Godzilla let out a huge roar and especially when he was fighting the MUTO's, I and everyone in the theater cheered at those moments! During one moment when I saw this movie in IMAX, Godzilla's long roar before he faces off against the female MUTO, made my neck, arm and leg hair stand up.

I do have one little nitpick with the film though, and I'm going to discuss that in length.
Ford Brody is a EOD (Explosive ordnance disposal) Navy man, but we really don't get to see him do any bomb disposal. He tries to stop a nuclear weapon from exploding but fails to get it opened up, forcing him to leave it on the boat and drift as far away from the city as possible before it explodes.  Now, don't misunderstand me. I like the way the events in the film play out, I just felt it could have been handled with a bit more poingency.
Here's how I would have done it:
The events of the films play out as they do up to after the scene where both Ford and Godzilla collapse. As Ford is drifting out on the boat with the bomb seconds a way from exploding, he appears to accept his fate. But then he recalls the last words of his father: "Go home to your family. Keep them safe." This gives him the boost he needs to pick up the harpoon from the scene where he pushed the boat away from the dock, uses it as leverage to force the hatch of the bomb open and disarm it with seconds to spare. Then he gets rescued and reunited with his family.
Agree or disagree? Let me know.
Anyway, let's wrap this up.

This may not have been the Godzilla film we all wanted it to be, but it was undeniably the movie we needed. It put the King of the Monsters back into the mainstream spotlight, right where he was meant to be. The film successfully gave longtime fans the validation they deserved and turned plenty of theatergoers into new fans. I loved it every time I saw it in theaters (4 if your curious) and even when taking off my nostalgia goggles, I still enjoy it as a film and it made me ever more anxious about where the series was gonna go next.

What else is there to say except: LET THEM FIGHT!

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and thank you for joining me here in my Lair.
So long...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. 

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GHIDORAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER | Movie Review

GHIDORAH
THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER
(Original Title: "Sandai Kaijū: Chikyū Saidai no Kessen"
-Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth-)
December 20, 1964

Following Mothra vs. Godzilla, much of that movie's same crew came back together for the next great installment that would end up becoming a seminal entry in the Godzilla series.

After a princess survives an assassination attempt, she resurfaces possessed by a prophet from the planet Venus (Mars in the American version) foretelling the reemergence of Godzilla and Rodan. And if that wasn't bad enough, a meteor crashes into a mountainous region of Japan that happens to be a vessel for an even bigger threat. It's a race against time to keep the princess safe from her pursuing assassins, all the while Mothra must convince the brawling Godzilla and Rodan to put aside their differences and unite to save the world from utter annihilation. 

Of all the monsters Godzilla has fought, none are more iconic than the three-headed destroyer of planets known as King Ghidorah. He is the quintessential villain of the series, his name is as recognizable as The Joker or Green Goblin. Ghidorah is a very inspired creation, with its 3 heads, 2 tails, no arms and gigantic wings. It was quite a challenge to bring to life. The suit actors, Shoichi Hirose and Haruya Sakamoto, only had control over the legs and the torso of Ghidorah while holding onto a handlebar inside the suit.
The rest of Ghidorah's appendages were moved with piano wires which worked very well for the most part. Ghidorah's heads move around very erratically as they fire lightning blasts (or "Gravity Beams") everywhere. The city destruction scenes are some of the best of the series, it's no wonder they would later be reused as stock footage for later entries in the series.

Rodan appears in this movie, whether or not this is a survivor of the 1956 film or a different hatchling isn't made clear. It certainly doesn't look like the original suit. While the new Rodan looks alright, I don't think the face looks as good. I prefer his 1956 look over this one. Koji Uruki takes over as suit actor from Nakajima, filling Godzilla of course. 

The plot of the film is a bit more outlandish than previous entries. With the space race at its peak, Toho jumped at the chance to include beings from other worlds. Ghidorah would only be the first alien invader to threaten Godzilla and his co-stars. Princess Selina Salno (Akiko Wakabayashi) becomes possessed by a Venusian and goes around Japan telling the population that monsters are going to appear, of course no one believes her (until it's too late that is.)
The other characters are pretty basic. Not as compelling as the ones from Mothra vs. Godzilla, but you wont be bored watching them. The bad guys are definitely a step down from the past films, just your typical, gangster type villains. 

Emi and Yumi Ito return as the Shobijin and actually contribute to the plot besides singing, they're the ones who come up with the idea of having one of the Mothra larva (one of them died between films apparently) convince Godzilla and Rodan to join her and fight off Ghidorah.
As explained in David Kalat's Audio Commentary for the film, Godzilla and Rodan fighting each other is just pointless roughhousing when compared to the threat posed by Ghidorah.
The reason this is a seminal film is because at this point, Godzilla underwent a major character change. He would become a hero to Japan and the world instead of a menace. He would remain a loyal defender of Earth (aside from a short slip back to evil in the next film) from this point until 1975.

The most famous scene from this movie comes when Mothra goes to Rodan and Godzilla to talk to them about banding together. The Shobijin translate of course, both monsters refuse at first saying they have no reason to help mankind since they hate them just as much. Despite her best efforts, Mothra eventually goes to fight Ghidorah and very nearly gets slaughtered. Eventually, Godzilla and Rodan come around and join the battle. 
This is what you paid to see, an all-out extravaganza of monster action with some awesome, cheer worthy moments. 

When all is said and done, Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster does falter at points when compared to past entries. Some of the monster effects aren't done as well and the story isn't quite as poignant. But regardless of those shortcomings, I still have a lot of nostalgia for this movie as it was one of the first Godzilla movies I owned on VHS, which came in a box set with a few other films.) I've watched the hell out of it and that may be the reason I enjoy it more than Mothra vs. Godzilla. 
I prefer Godzilla as a serious character, but I will always have a love of the more outlandish films in the series, this one included. If it weren't for them, I don't know if I would be as big a fan as I am now.
Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah would have many more iconic appearances and spectacular battles over the years, their latest appearance in the upcoming 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' proves that their legacy will live on. A legacy that endures thanks to the works of Ishiro Honda, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya, Akira Ifukube, Haruo Nakajima, Shenichi Sekizawa and the countless other hardworking film makers at Toho Studios, birthplace of the original MonsterVerse.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and I hope you've enjoyed your time here in my lair.

So long...

If you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, Be sure to give my FB page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. Thanks for reading!



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MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA | Movie Review

MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA
(Mosura Tai Gojira)
April 29, 1964

1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla was a massive hit in Japan and prompted Toho to continue making movies starring their monster king. To mimic the success, it was decided that Godzilla be paired up with another popular creature co-star who previously had her own hit movie.

A typhoon washes a familiar giant egg off the coast of Japan and is quickly acquired by greedy business men who plan to use it as a tourist attraction. The egg of course belongs to Mothra and the Shobijin (played again by Emi and Yumi Ito) try to convince the men to return the egg, but to no avail. But a giant egg isn't the only thing that gets washed up, Godzilla also emerges and goes on a rampage throughout Japan. With the army helpless to stop him, Mothra may be Japan's only hope.

This movie goes back to having a more serious tone, but still keeps some touches of comedy.
Godzilla is back to being an antagonistic force of nature, attacking and killing indiscriminately. He sports one of the best looking suits from the Showa era (1954-1975), with it's prominent brows giving him a fitting menacing expression. It may just be some of Haruo Nakajima's finest work inside the suit, the way he moves looks natural and animalistic. Aside from a few faded optical effects, not since the original film has Godzilla been portrayed more threatening.
During a scene where the army attacks Godzilla, the suit actually catches on fire for a brief second and Nakajima didn't even notice it. 

Left to Right: Hiroshi Koizumi, Emi & Yumi Ito, Yuriko Hoshi & Akira Takarada

There's a genuinely great as well as entertaining cast of characters at work here. The first stand outs are a reporter named Sakai (Akira Takarada) and his photographer Junko (Yuriko Hoshi.) Most of the time Junko fumbles around with her camera often taking too long to set up a shot, much to Sakai's annoyance.
Our villains (Kenji Sahara & Yoshifumi Tajima), while not as over the top as Nelson, are still entertainingly despicable.
There's also this running gag with another reporter played by Yu Fujiki who always seems to be eating eggs, even keeping a few in his pocket.

Our leads are not without the more serious moments.
This movie continues with Ishiro Honda's theme of all of mankind being responsible for "playing with the devil's fire" as the natives of Infant Island refuse the request to have Mothra help the people of Japan after having nuclear bombs tested on their island. It's only after Junko and Sakai bare their souls and plead with the islanders to not turn their back on the world and that only by joining each other in one brotherhood can the world defeat the greatest evil, another of Honda's beliefs.

What follows is one of the most entertaining monster battles put to film. While Nakajima in a suit fighting a giant moth puppet seems like it wouldn't look that great, but through a combination of the right movements, different camera speeds and close up shots of smaller scale puppets, Mothra moves quite naturally. Think about the last time an insect flew around you and you sway about trying to shoo it off, this faster paced fight is great at simulating this motion.
Even the fight at the end with Godzilla fighting off Mothra's offspring, while it may be controversial to most fans, is very well done.

Now, I have to talk about the American release of this film. American International Pictures handled the distribution for this film and retitled the movie: 'Godzilla vs The Thing'. They even went as far as making a poster hiding the identity of Godzilla's opponent. It would have been amusing to see this movie in theaters back in the day just to see peoples reaction to seeing Mothra and not some John W. Campbell created monstrosity.
Things got a bit more confusing when in later DVD releases, the films title was changed again. This time to Godzilla vs. Mothra, which was also the name of a movie from Toho released in 1991. Thankfully the last DVD from Classic Media used the original title 'Mothra vs. Godzilla' but I still always have to correct people on the title differences.
Another interesting change was the inclusion of a scene exclusive to the American cut. The scene featured the United States military using their 'Frontier Missiles' to attack Godzilla. Even though Toho themselves helped with the filming of this scene, it has never been included in a Japanese cut of this film.
Mothra vs. Godzilla is often considered to be one of if not the best of the original Godzilla series. Even though I prefer some of the other films more than this one, it's not hard to see why this is considered to be one of the best. Hell, I'd easily put this somewhere in my Top 10 Godzilla films.
Both Godzilla and Mothra were now household names and it would only take 7 months before they would meet again for one of their greatest battles ever.

Till next time, I've been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my Lair

So long...

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MOTHRA | Movie Review

MOTHRA
(Mosura)
July 30, 1961

In the 5 years after Rodan, Toho made several other giant monster movies. But for their next picture, they decided to take a different approach.

An expedition is sent to investigate the remote Infant Island, a place affected by nuclear testing. A pair of small twin fairies are discovered and kidnapped by the team's slimy leader for profit. The fairies warn that if they are not returned to their island, their god named Mothra will come to retrieve them, causing damage in the process.

This film was based on a serialized novel commissioned by Toho called "The Luminous Fairies and Mothra" written by Takehiko Fukunaga, Shinichiro Nakamura and Yoshie Hotta. The screenplay was adapted by Shinichi Sekizawa,

Mothra is definitely a more lighter film than previous Toho monster movies, with elements of fantasy and humor.
Much of the humor comes from the cast, particularly Frankie Sakai, a well known comedic actor in Japan at the time as Zen Fukuda, a journalist who stows away on the expedition. He gets into all sorts of antics such as having a mouse crawl up his sleeve and walk out his pant leg, holding a gun inappropriately while whacking people in the face with the barrel and fighting off bad guys with a rolled up newspaper.

Jerry Ito & Frankie Sakai

Jerry Ito steals the show most as the slimy villain Nelson. The moment you see him, you know he is up to no good and Ito sells the role very well. Nelson hails from the fictional country of Rolisica, an amalgamation of the Soviet Union and the United States. Because subtlety.

But by far, the characters who stand out the most are the Shobijin, the 2 tiny fairies played by Emi and Yumi Ito (no relation to Jerry) who were a Japanese pop duo known as "The Peanuts". Casting them as the beauties who sing the song to enchant Mothra to come to their rescue was genius. And while the main song is repetitive there's no denying it's catchiness.

Eiji Tsuburaya with the Mothra Larva

Unlike most monsters, Mothra is a more beautiful, benevolent creature. She never attacks out of pure malice unlike Godzilla, but if her home or people are threatened, there is no stopping her.
While most of the monsters from Toho were guys in suits, Mothra was usually portrayed by puppets. And they are very well executed in this film, especially the adult. Her wings flap at a pretty good rate that sells the destruction she causes, those scenes are just as good as the ones from Rodan.
And the Larva, while a little stiff at times does get the job done. However, while doing research for this review, I was surprised to learn that the Larva was not just a puppet, but a 6 foot tall, 33 foot long suit! The suit took 8 people to operate, with Nakajima at the front.

I was always familiar with Mothra. I mean, she's only the second most popular Kaiju ever. But growing up, Mothra was one of the movies that eluded me. I remember seeing the VHS at a Blockbuster but never got the chance to rent it. After that, the original Mothra was lost to me. Even as most of the classic Godzilla movies along with Rodan and other Toho Kaiju films were being released on DVD in the mid 2000's, the queen of the monsters was nowhere to be seen.
And just when all hope seem lost, Sony released a DVD set called the 'Icon's of Sci-Fi: Toho Collection'. The collection consisted of previously lost classics like, The H-Man, Battle in Outer Space and...MOTHRA! I finally had the opportunity to see the original movie, both the original and American versions.

The original Mothra is a very enjoyable film. I have to admit, it is hard for me to get into movies like this if I didn't grow up watching them, but like 'King Kong Escapes', Mothra hit all the right notes with me, becoming an instant classic. Wonderful monster scenes, great use of special effects and an entertaining, well paced story.
Mothra was a huge hit in Japan and this would only be the beginning of her lucrative movie career.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and thank you for joining me here in my Lair.
So long...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. 
Thanks for reading!

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RODAN | Movie Review

RODAN
(Original Title: "Sora no Daikaiju Radon" -Giant Monster of the Sky Rodan-)
December 26, 1956

After a sequel to Godzilla was produced in 1955, Toho decided to put the Big G on hiatus and began working on other projects involving giant monsters.
The next film ended up being a very interesting film indeed.

In a small mining village, bodies are showing up hacked to pieces in one of the shafts. It's later revealed that the miners were killed by prehistoric dragonfly larvae called Meganulon. But after they are dealt with, a new threat emerges. 2 gigantic Pterosaurs emerge from their nest in a volcano, they are later given the name: 'Rodan'. After being pursued by the JASDF, the Rodan lay waste to a nearby city with their wings capable of producing hurricane force winds.

Growing up watching Japanese monster movies, Rodan was a frequent guest star in the Godzilla series and the movie itself was a staple on television.
I actually don't remember how I first saw Rodan. I can recall seeing the VHS at one of my local Blockbuster stores, maybe I rented it or I saw it on TV, but I liked watching it. As an adult though, you tend to notice a few things.

Rodan goes from being a horror movie to a monster movie and even though the titular Kaiju does not appear on screen until about the halfway point, it moves at a pretty fast pace. 
Even though this movie suggests that nuclear testing is responsible for the emergence of these creatures, those themes are nowhere near as prominent as it is in Godzilla.
While the characters are perfectly serviceable for Rodan, none of them are anywhere near as compelling as Godzilla either.
One of the things I always found weird about this movie was how both Rodan seemed to grow to full size mere days after hatching. That's quite a growth spurt!
Also during Rodan's attack, he appears to use a breath attack (called 'Radioactive Gas'), but in subsequent film appearances he never uses any kind of breath weapon again (at least not until 1993.)



But those are really minor nitpicks, Rodan is still a very entertaining monster movie. It's got great suspense, build up and commendable special effects. The way they were able to simulate buildings being blown apart by Rodan's winds is outstanding. The creatures themselves were achieved through a combination of a large marionette, a small hand puppet and a full suit worn by Haruo Nakajima. Interesting fact: an accident during filming led to one of the best shots in the film. One of the wires supporting the Rodan suit snapped, forcing Nakajima into the water. Luckily he wasn't hurt, so they kept it in and it makes for a great moment where Rodan dives into the water to get away from some jets.

While the original Japanese version is the better version, I still have plenty of nostalgia for the American version. I'll always remember the opening showing Hydrogen bomb tests with ominous narration about what horrors these tests could unleash. Some of the actors doing the dubbing were none other than Hikaru Sulu himself, George Takei and Keye Luke, who you may recognize as the shop owner who refused to sell Mr. Peltzer an adorable little Mogwai. The constant narration might be grating to some but I think it adds a bit of charm to this version.

Unfortunately, if you go to seek out this movie you'll run into problems. If you can find the American version, the print used for most DVDs is awful, the quality during the monster scenes takes a significant drop. The Japanese version has fared better on the DVD released by Classic Media in 2008 (as a double feature with another classic Japanese monster movie "War of the Gargantuas"), but that DVD is now pretty hard to find.
In 2017, the rights to the original versions of Rodan, along with many other Toho Godzilla movies were acquired by Janus Films and the Criterion Collection and were available to view on their FilmStruck streaming service, which has since closed down. Criterion has confirmed that they hope to get all those films available on Blu-ray and DVD and with the new King of the Monsters film coming out, I really hope that happens soon. Rodan is a great movie and a classic that deserves to be seen. 

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon
and thank you for joining me here in my Lair.
So long...

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GODZILLA | Movie Review

GODZILLA
(Original Title: "Gojira")
November 3, 1954

Like most Godzilla fans, we probably saw the films in the wrong order. It's not surprising, especially in America it was very difficult to find all the movies on VHS or happen to catch them on television. Thankfully my local Blockbuster had plenty of them. But it would be a while before I would get to see the actual beginning of the series.

Or so I thought...

I was gifted the first Godzilla movie as well as 'Godzilla vs Biollante' on VHS by one of my Mother's friends who knew I was just getting into series. And I loved it as much as I did the other films I watched. As the years passed, I saw more of the films and learned more about Godzilla. It was then I discovered that Godzilla was more than just a monster, but a metaphor for a real life tragedy. But when I watched the movie again, it didn't seem that way...

Turns out I watching the wrong movie. What I viewed as a kid was the American re-cut of the original film called "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" It wasn't until 2004 that I got to see the original, uncut Japanese version of Godzilla. It got a very limited release, but luckily a theater in Dallas was showing it. The experience of not only getting to see the movie that started the series that I am such a huge fan of, but also on a gigantic theater screen was AMAZING. It really felt like watching a completely different movie.



As far as monster movies go, I feel Godzilla succeeds in one area where others at the time didn't: A real sense of fear. Many monsters had been woken up or created by nuclear blasts and proceeded to lay waste to the nearest city while people ran away screaming. In the case of Godzilla however, it was much more personal.
World War II came to an end after 2 Atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, causing massive damage and the loss of over hundreds of thousands of lives. Over the decade more Atomic weapon tests had been conducted. On March 1, 1954, a Japanese fishing ship known as the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon 5) sailed towards the Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands. Ships had been warned to stay away from that area, but not told why. The crew went in unaware of what went on and only thought about the large haul of fish. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light. In the distance a large ball of fire could be seen, this was the explosion of the Hydrogen bomb, a weapon over a thousand times more powerful then the bomb used at Hiroshima. Soon after flakes of ash, fallout from the H-bomb, began to fall upon the 23 crew members, contaminating them and causing them to fall sick. Later when they returned home and started to receive treatment, one of them would die from the radiation poisoning.
As the fear of radiation haunted the world, it also made an impact on the screen. Films like 'Them', 'The Amazing Colossal Man' and 'The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms' all featured monsters affected by radiation and taking out their frustrations on the nearest city. Not long after the Lucky Dragon incident, Tomoyuki Tanaka, a producer at Toho Studios in Japan was on a plane in need of an idea for a film. He thought of the Lucky Dragon and had the thought of a nuclear explosion waking a giant monster from it's slumber and venting it's rage on humanity.

Tanaka would produce the film, teaming himself with special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya, composer Akira Ifukube and director Ishiro Honda on board. With the director's vision of the monster as a metaphor for the Atomic bomb and the destruction it wrought, special effects work inspired by the original King Kong, and a hauntingly beautiful musical score from Ifukube, the team set out to bring their giant monster to life. Wheather they new it or not, a legend was about to be born. A legend named Gojira.
From the first moments of the film, its atomic allegory is crystal clear. Several ships experience events echoing the Lucky Dragon 5 incident, a blinding flash of light fills the sky and the ocean around it bursts into flame, killing most of the crew leaving little survivors. These attacks are caused by a large dinosaur like animal believed to have lived for millions of years and surviving in a deep underwater cave where it would sleep for a long time. It is hypothesized that Godzilla had to have been woken up by a Hydrogen bomb test where it was then mutated by the radiation. Seeing it as a threat, the military uses depth charges to try and kill it, but all that does is enrage Godzilla. Tanks and Planes are powerless to stop Godzilla as he lays waste to Tokyo, destroying everything in his path. His rampage is slow and methodical, perhaps worse then the quick death of the H-bomb. 

Left to Right: Akira Takarada as Ogata, Momoko Kochi as Emiko & Akihiko Hirata as Serizawa. 

As a film made by people from a country who had witnessed the destruction of 2 atomic bombings, it really captures the feeling of the aftermath of such a devastating attack. Not a lot of monster movies show people in a hospital dead and dying. This film shows a monster attacking a city and killing humans, but the intent is not to entertain. And while those movies can be entertaining, they don't really show the cost of what that would be like in real life. Godzilla is a living force of nature, a threat to the earth, the punishment against mankind for playing with fire and hurting the planet. And the fact that the film is in black and white gives it a grittier feel.
In between all of this is a compelling story in which characters have to make difficult choices that would decide the fate of the world. Our main heroine Emiko Yamane (Momoko Kochi) is caught in a love triangle between the man she loves, Ogata (Akira Takarada) and the man she is already arranged to be married to, Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata). And when she goes to tell Serizawa, he chooses to share with her another secret, something that scares Emiko, which is later revealed to be the Oxygen Destroyer, a device that consumes all oxygen and disintegrates all living things in the area. And THEN, after Godzilla's rampage, Emiko is forced to reveal the secret to Ogata and beg Serizawa to use the weapon against Godzilla. But Serizawa is mortified by this discovery and doesn't want it used out of fear that it will be appropriated by the world and used as a new weapon of mass destruction. And then there's the character of Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura) a paleontologist who makes the hypothesis that Godzilla was reawakened due to repeated H-Bomb testing. The Governments and Special Defense Forces all ask him how they should go about killing Godzilla, but Yamane would rather see Godzilla alive and studied.
It's all pretty heavy. 

Of course the highlight of the movie is the special effects. The art of miniaturizing cities and destroying them has been something that the crew at Toho had already excelled at, especially Eiji Tsuburaya. In 1942, he worked on a propaganda film called "Hawai Mare oki kaisen" (The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malay), which included a recreation of the bombing of Pearl Harbor using models and miniatures that was mistaken for actual footage from the attack. And he brings his A-game here. They may look primitive to some, but it still looks amazingly real and the destruction of buildings looks spot on.
As for Godzilla himself, he is undeniably the star of the film and if he didn't work out, the entire movie would have collapsed. Stop-motion was going to be used, but due to time and money constraints, another approach had to be used. That's where the world famous method of Suitmation came in.
Godzilla was played by the legendary Haruo Nakajima, and it was not an easy time. He suffered burns, could barley see through the holes in the neck and sweated so much it would fill an entire cup. The suit was incredibly hot on the inside and weighed almost 200 pounds. But he handled it like a champ and made Godzilla look like he was a real creature. What also really sells Godzilla's appearance is the way he was shot. By using low camera angles and shooting at a distance, it made him look massive and imposing. This practice would again be used by another film maker for his monster movie, but we'll get to that later.

My original ticket stub from when I saw Godzilla in theaters

While I do agree that the original Japanese version is the superior film, I don't think that the American re-cut should be completely brushed aside. In fact, a lot of Godzilla and science fiction fans owe their love of the character to that version, bad dubbing and all.

If you want to check out the original Godzilla, I would highly suggest picking up the Blu-ray released by The Criterion Collection. Not only does it come with a beautifully restored versions of both films, but it's packed with several special features detailing the behind the scenes details and other trivia you may not have known. Especially listen to the Audio Commentary tracks by David Kalat.

For over 60 years, Godzilla has proven to be one of the biggest pop culture icons of all time and his reign shows no signs of stopping. It spawned a whole series of films featuring monsters that he would fight both against and beside as well as new interpretations and ideas that took the series to even greater heights. And we owe it all to this masterpiece of a film. Long Live the King!

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon

and thank you for joining me here in my lair.

So long...

I hope you have enjoyed reading this and if you would like to see more from The Gryphon's Lair, be sure to give my Facebook page a 'LIKE' to see updates and other related stuff. 
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