Godzilla, King of the Monsters

[death tribble 4,250]

And let us not forget that a Godzilla drop kick covers several miles cf Godzilla vs Megalon

[Starlord 5,291]

[death tribble 4,250]

That is THE GREATEST combat move in all of cinema

 

So good that he repeats it exactly

[Lord Liaden 7,458]

Oh, BTW, in regards to the earlier reference to Godzilla flying:

 

[Dr. MID-Nite 359]

The 70's was basically the era of "anything goes" and the Godzilla series...losing ground to Japanese television shows...had no choice but to try everything they could to appeal to the younger crowd in an attempt to put seats back in the theater. It sadly did not work and 1975's Terror of Mechagodzilla had the lowest attendance numbers of any Godzilla film. The series went on an uncertain hiatus that only ended after 9 years.

[zslane 2,199]

13 hours ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

appeal to the younger crowd

 

It seems that every movie studio has to learn the same lesson--sometimes over and over again--for themselves. They all seem to think that making movies which "appeal to kids" is equivalent to making movies "just for kids", thereby turning off the rest of the potential audience. "All ages" does not mean "little kids only", but few movie executives/producers seem to grok that.

[Dr. MID-Nite 359]

4 hours ago, zslane said:

 

It seems that every movie studio has to learn the same lesson--sometimes over and over again--for themselves. They all seem to think that making movies which "appeal to kids" is equivalent to making movies "just for kids", thereby turning off the rest of the potential audience. "All ages" does not mean "little kids only", but few movie executives/producers seem to grok that.

 

I agree, but in Japan at the time...sci fi tv shows targeting children were extremely popular so it's understandable at the time that they would go this route. We're of course analyzing from hindsight.

[zslane 2,199]

Did the first Gojira movie appeal to kids?

[Matt the Bruins 535]

It had a giant lizard eating trains full of people. OF COURSE it appealed to kids!

[Grailknight 603]

15 hours ago, zslane said:

Did the first Gojira movie appeal to kids?

 

Western and especially North American society shelters it's kids more than others. So while Gojira was more of an atomic horror movie with an adult theme, it was popular across all ages. And the sequels became part of the Japanese toy industry.

[Lord Liaden 7,458]

I remember when I encountered Godzilla 1954 as a kid, I was enthralled by the scenes of the giant monster rampaging through the human landscape, but rather put off by the tone and pace of the rest of the movie. I was in my thirties when I rediscovered the movie and could appreciate what it was trying to do, and how well it does it. The whole kaiju genre wasn't really part of my childhood -- I came to my love for it later in life. Maybe that's part of why I prefer the more serious stories to the lighthearted and silly ones.

[zslane 2,199]

Right, so if Gojira, which had plenty of adult themes and somber gravitas, was popular with kids then it made no sense for Japanese tv producers to take a super light, goofy "only kids will like this" direction for later movies.

[Lord Liaden 7,458]

Which, of course, they did for several of the Showa-era films. There were still echoes of that lightness in some of the Heisei and Millennium era movies, too.

[Dr. MID-Nite 359]

Most of the 60's flicks are played straight with a few exceptions. As the decade moved on, the films got lighter in tone, but even then we still got films like War of the Gargantuas in 1966.

[Bazza 4,782]

It occurred to me today from a friends post on Facebook, that Moby Dick is similar in theme to Godzilla. Both are about the dangers of Man’s over reach to control nature. 

[Hermit 6,239]

54 minutes ago, Bazza said:

It occurred to me today from a friends post on Facebook, that Moby Dick is similar in theme to Godzilla. Both are about the dangers of Man’s over reach to control nature. 

 

Now I want Patrick Stewart to quote lines from Godzilla movies

 

 

[death tribble 4,250]

12 hours ago, Bazza said:

It occurred to me today from a friends post on Facebook, that Moby Dick is similar in theme to Godzilla. Both are about the dangers of Man’s over reach to control nature. 

The difference being that the story of Moby Dick is based in part on the sinking of the whaler Essex.

[Lord Liaden 7,458]

 

[slikmar 485]

I may have to suck it up and head to a theater to watch this, even if I do have to wear a choking device the whole time. And am I the only person who thinks this movie screams for IMAX?

[Lord Liaden 7,458]

13 minutes ago, slikmar said:

I may have to suck it up and head to a theater to watch this, even if I do have to wear a choking device the whole time. And am I the only person who thinks this movie screams for IMAX?

 

Personally I don't enjoy IMAX -- I don't like my theater experience to be quite so visually overwhelming. But every fan of these kaiju movies that I've heard from, in person and online, firmly proclaims that all the "monsterverse" movies must be viewed in IMAX.

 

However, I will definitely see this in a theater if there's one showing it within reach.

[zslane 2,199]

Am I the only person who gets the distinct impression that American audiences at large did not get terribly excited for these new Godzilla movies until Kong was added?

[Starlord 5,291]

For my own experience, I never hear anyone being excited about King Kong.  At all.  

[Grailknight 603]

1 hour ago, zslane said:

Am I the only person who gets the distinct impression that American audiences at large did not get terribly excited for these new Godzilla movies until Kong was added?

 

Disagree here. The hype was large and it didn't hurt that the first two Legendary movies had some of the best trailers of any movies ever.

[Lord Liaden 7,458]

It kind of depends on whose reaction you're sampling. In North America the idea of a technically high-quality Godzilla movie was huge for existing Godzilla fans, but they're only a small fraction of the movie-viewing public in that part of the world. Most of that public had only the sketchiest awareness of Godzilla, and what they knew they tended not to take seriously. Kong, on the other hand, is an iconic American character which many more people knew something about beforehand.

 

I suspect some of the excitement also comes from Godzilla being filmed in an American storytelling style. You only have to compare the monsterverse movies to the most recent Japanese entry in the franchise, Shin Gojira -- wildly successful and popular in Japan -- to see the differing expectations the two cultures have for these movies.

[zslane 2,199]

Is it also maybe an age thing? I mean, I grew up watching Godzilla movies as a kid. I can't imagine anyone who grew up in the 60s, 70s, or 80s America who did not know who Godzilla was or think of him as a pop culture icon regardless of his nation of origin. But maybe millennials don't have the same connection to the character that 'boomers do?

 

I seem to recall that trailers for the previous two Legendary Godzilla movies did not trend very high on social media, or generate the kind of media buzz WB was hoping for. I was surprised by this since this adaptation of the character is so good that I couldn't believe it didn't have a lot more people excited about it.

 

But then Kong gets added to the mix and all of a sudden the trailers rocket to the top of social media trend lists. I don't believe for a second that Americans in general don't have the same awareness of Godzilla that they do of Kong. I believe they are equally famous giant monsters, occupying pretty much equal mindshare and pop culture prominence, so I don't understand why one would be less subject to indifference than the other.