"There is no difference between Godzilla and the H-bomb."You guys, I am really excited about Pacific Rim. Like, REEEEAAAALLLYY excited.
When I'm this stoked for a movie's release, I'm all about watching other films to get myself in the right frame of mind, whether that means spending all day watching a Marvel movie marathon before the midnight showing of The Avengers or revisiting Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise and Before Sunset in anticipation of a Before Midnight screening. Thusly, I've decided to spend the remainder of the week* live-tweeting a series of giant monster movies, a genre which I'm sorry to say I've largely neglected over the years. I want to get a bit of variety in these screenings (I could spend the better part of a month watching nothing but Godzilla movies) but I'll be heavily favoring older fare, as I've already seen a lot of the more recent monster flicks like The Host (this, not this) or Monsters.
It seemed only fitting that I should kick things off with the Elvis of giant monster movies, the original Japanese Gojira from 1954. (The film was released in America two years later with a bunch of Raymond Burr scenes edited in, but that version really only interests me as a curiosity.) It immediately reminded me of the first time I watched First Blood. Growing up in the late 80's/early 90's, Rambo had essentially become punchline. My only knowledge of the character was the image of an oiled up, muscly super-soldier. Basically, this:
So imagine my surprise when I discovered that the movie that started it all is actually a darkly violent tale of post-traumatic stress-fueled rampage induced by abuse at the hands of small-minded yokels. I was absolutely thunderstruck. Not only did this not fit in with my understanding of the character, but I was astonished to see just how far the franchise eventually strayed from its roots while simultaneously gaining a choke hold on popular culture. (Hell, at one point there was a Rambo Saturday morning cartoon.)
Godzilla is much the same. We all think of it as kind of a campy series featuring guys in rubber suits fighting each other while stomping around tiny model towns, but the first entry is actually a horrifying meditation on the dangers of nuclear proliferation. Godzilla is a monster baptized by radioactive fallout, the product of both millions of years of evolution and mankind's most devastating invention. This is a film made less than ten years after America wiped two Japanese cities off the map in the blink of an eye and the cultural reverberations are unmistakable. In 1954, the Japanese people are still rightfully haunted by the world's first nuclear holocaust, so it's of little surprise that the most expensive Japanese film to date would depict the destruction of Tokyo and the terrorizing of the Japanese people by a gigantic nuclear beast. It's also little surprise that it would become such a success at the box office.
But it's not all monsters and destruction. There's also some great human drama that really drives the majority of the film. (Godzilla himself doesn't even appear on screen until 22 minutes in.) There's the professor who wants to study Godzilla rather than destroy him. Not only does he find the creature a fascinating historical specimen, but he believes that Godzilla's resistance to radiation could prove vitally important to humanity's survival. There's also the scientist who's inadvertently creates a weapon so terrifying that he's willing to die just to keep it from ever being used again. (More shadows of the mushroom cloud here.) And on top of all that we get an old fashioned love triangle for good measure. So there's something for everyone.
Gojira is a truly remarkable film and the fact that Toho Productions shot this at the same time as Seven Samurai is mind-blowing. (They were both contenders for Japan's Best Picture award that year, with Samurai emerging victorious.) This was the perfect way to start off my Pacific Rim prep, setting a serious tone before getting into some of the later, sillier monster brawls.
On to the live-tweets!
Alright, first Giant Monster Live-Tweet is the original GOJIRA. Flame on.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Holy shit the roaring! Not fucking around.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
I'm already starting to feel guilty about all the nuclear horror on display.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Oh, black and white day for night. Aren't you the most muddied and charming thing I've ever seen.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
How long ago were they committing human sacrifice? Within a generation? That seems insane, no?
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Oh man, the ground is shaking, here comes the big guy...
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
So much for that dude...
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Oh no, that dude lived! Nice twist, movie.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Wow, still working the slow play on the monster reveal, huh? I'm surprised but I guess I shouldn't be. Classic move.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
"Goodbye! Farewell, creepy eye-patch guy!"
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
He's got sunglasses OVER his eyepatch. That seems partially redundant.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT! MAN IN SUIT!
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
This court scene is basically a recap of the last 20 minutes, just to make sure everyone's TOTALLY on board with Godzilla's backstory.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
I like the women yelling about transparency. Can't tell if they're supposed to be dumb and screechy or the wise voice of reason.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Depth charges! Awesome. Always makes me think of the Penguin sub in the Adam West BATMAN movie.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Oh, Criterion you're the best. You make everything look awesome.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
"I swear I didn't love him even BEFORE he had an eyepatch."
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
"Hey reporter guy, shut up so I can break this cyclops' heart."
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Never follow Creepy Eyepatch guy into his locked basement! This never ends well...
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Especially when you're about to break up with him! Jeebus.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED IN THAT FISHTANK???
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
"Face it man, she's never gonna leave Ceepy Eyepatch for you..."
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
I did have sushi for lunch, which feels appropriate. Wish I had some now.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
This is some excellent model train work.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Jesus Fuck, Godzilla is a BEAST. He will fuck up your miniature town like it's his job.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
I feel like Creepy Eyepatch is about to walk in on these two having an intimate dinner.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
"Everything you believe is wrong. Also, can I marry your daughter?"
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Yeah, trying to keep Godzilla out of Tokyo the same way you keep a dog in your yard probably wasn't the wisest plan.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Oh wow that heat breath is badass. The power lines melting is a sweet effect.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Wow that felt like an cut scene from nuclear test blast footage. I'd be terrified if I saw this in Japan in 1954.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
"Right now, Godzilla doesn't hold a candle to MAN OF STEEL's destruction." -An asshole
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Holy shit how did Godzilla just sneak up on these guys? They really didn't notice him?
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Godzilla is the opposite of Flava Flav: he hates clocks.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Oh wow, glowing ridges! Sweet!
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
I love all these close ups of buildings collapsing with no visible Godzilla. Like he's stepping on a different part of the building.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
Toy planes with firecrackers to the rescue!!!
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 10, 2013
So much for Tokyo...
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
When is Creepy Eyepatch's secret evil fish tank gonna come into play?
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
Hokey science ahoy! I had no idea this movie would hinge on something called an Oxygen Destroyer.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
The only thing creepier than a guy with an eye patch is a guy with an eye patch wearing a lab coat.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
I've been giving him a lot of shit, but Creepy Eyepatch is actually a great character. I should probably stop calling him creepy.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
Man, that schoolgirl choir really gets to you, huh? "Look at all the people you're about to kill, Eyepatch!"
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
"Alright Geiger counter guy, just swing the wand over the water here. If it starts clicking, start swimming."
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
Scuba diving with one eye has to suck.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
I love that they're diving down to fight Godzilla underwater. That takes BALLS.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
That guys gonna get the bends like a motherfucker...
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
No joke, the model work in this movie is top notch.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
Awwww bye bye Godzilla.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
I always thought that Godzilla was like James Bond and it was always supposed to be the same monster. Guess not
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
Wow that was fantastic. Still, I'm excited to get into some sillier Godzillas, with more monsters.
— Daley Screening (@DaleyScreening) July 11, 2013
Next up: Trollhunter...
*I'm taking a break on Saturday to see A Band Called Death at the Brattle, but I'm also planning to revisit something I've already seen just to keep the momentum going, probably The Host since I haven't actually watched it since I first bought it on DVD. Also hoping to squeeze in Godzilla: Final Wars on Sunday morning.
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Title: Gojira
Director: Ishiro Honda
Starring: Akira Hakarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Fuyuki Murakami, Haruo Nakajima
Year Of Release: 1954
Viewing Method: Criterion DVD
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