Giant Monster Blog

Art Adams, Alan Moore and Godzilla

2007-04-24T08:09:00.000-05:00

Comic book writer Alan Moore and artist Art Adams do Godzilla: The Musical. Adams has done a lot of Godzilla work in the past, I think he even worked on Dark Horse's Godzilla series (as a writer? I can't remember for sure.) He's a true fan and these pages look great. Moore is, of course, a genius. I remember getting some of these Songbook episodes in Negative Burn. They were weird little ditties and a lot of fun.

The Monster that Challenged the World

2007-04-07T00:34:00.000-05:00

I was going to go into a long description of this film and its narrative, but Exclamation Mark has already done a terrific job and hit most of the points I would have brought up. So instead, I'd ask that you look at his review and then come back for a few of my thoughts on the film. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Back? Good review, no?

First, the filmmakers chose an interesting setting for the movie, mysterious in its own right. The Salton Sea started as a basin, a prehistoric leftover of the once world-covering ocean. The basin was once the site of mining and a small town. Both were submerged after floods at the beginning of the 20th century. (All this information gleaned from Wikipedia.) The movie, in the opening voice over, points out the prehistoric origins. The Sea is also a good setting because it sits amid a desert. We get a sense of the place's isolation and are reminded of the desert settings of "Them," the template for all these giant bug movies. (The map seen here is stolen from the Notes from the Road Web site.)

The prehistoric origins and the earthquake seem to be the origin of the monster. In fact, the scientist goes out of his way to dispute the notion that radioactivity tests had anything to do with it. And that's a strange point, because later we find out that the monster's saliva is significantly more radioactive than the surrounding water. Yet the point is never broached again. Was the monster revived thanks to radiation? Or did the movie makers decide that a giant monster just had to have radioactivity tied in somehow?

Exclamation Mark points out that the movie is slow, and I agree. It plods along with little forward drive. Even once we know that the hero must destroy the creatures before it finds its way out of the sea, the pace still moves leisurely. This and a need for more monster action really doom this film from repeat viewings. It's just not that entertaining.

But don't blame the actors for that. Lt. Commander John "Twill" Twillinger is made out to be a stickler for Navy regulations. He accepts no walking outside the lines, for whatever reason. Later, we get his softer side as he plays with Gail's child and shows his willingness to forgive errors in the field. It may not have helped viewers like the character, but the choice makes for a far more three-dimensional character than in many other giant monster movies.

And the same goes for almost all the other characters. From the archives guy obsessed with a defeated proposition to a gatekeeper shooing away kids, everybody has his own personality. It's too bad they weren't in a faster paced film.

The monster design wasn't bad. Though they say it's a snail at one point and it sure doesn't look like one. It's got hard skin, mandibles and little arms. It's a bug of some kind, not a snail.

We never see more than the top of the creature. It has a long cylindrical body and we have to assume it has a shell just out of sight, since later we see the creatures hiding in their shells.

The monster's eyes are probably its best asset. They make the monster look like something from the cover of an old pulp science fiction magazine. Science fiction and fantasy author Dave Duncan wrote the story behind the script. Here's a nice paragraph about the film from this Turner Classic Movies site:

The Monster That Challenged the World was shot in sixteen days on a budget of $200,000 and reportedly Holt suffered a broken arm during one of the film's action sequences. According to co-producer Arthur Gardner in Science Fiction Movie Stars and Horror Heroes by Tom Weaver, "The mollusk monster was conceived by us and executed by a very good special effects man named Augie Lohman. Augie went on from that picture to do many, many famous special effects films (Barbarella, 1968). The monster stood around ten feet high, and the exterior was made of fiberglass. All the movements were controlled by Augie and two assistants - it took three men to operate it. It worked with a series of air pressure values. I believe it cost around $15,000 to build, and weighed about 1,500 pounds."

This is one movie where I could see a modern remake actually being worthwhile. If they maintained the design, but gave it a mobility boost, kept the interesting characters and added better pacing, this could be a great fun film. With a modern budget, you could even play out the great warning the scientist offers: "Can you imagine an army of these things descending upon one of our cities?" Yes I can, and it would be marvelous.

Anyway, the film is certainly worth a watch. However, it's not something I'll be seeking out again.

Crustacean Domination

2007-04-05T14:15:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to check out the work of Guy N. Smith, in particular his Crabs series, for a very long time. Fortunately for me, David Zuzelo has written extensively about just those books and what's good about them. Check out his blog Tomb It May Concern and his posts Crustacean Domination parts one and two He promises a third post in the near future.

Here's a quick quote about the first book, Night of the Crabs, as well as Zuzelo's own banner:

Night Of The Crabs plays like a classic horror film of the 50's, with a good helping of 70's gritty gore slathered on top. The prose is tight and words are not wasted-each detail furthering the story towards gory conclusions. There is the tendency in Smith's world (and it is a fairly unified place to my experience) for people to act utterly illogical. But it doesn't feel that way as you read along, instead it feels as if the writing is in fast forward.

Mecha vs. Kaiju: The Soundtrack

2007-04-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

I've found, thanks to SciFi Weekly, a new entry in the giant monster music collection. Stratos plays electronica and his new concept album is all about a battle between giant robots and giant monsters. Electronica isn't usually my thing, however, the bits of "Mecha vs. Kaiju" I've heard off Stratos's MySpace page and from the samples of the album itself sound pretty good and worth a try.

Stratos was involved in another recent project I don't think I've mentioned: Kaijuice. You can read SciFi Weekly's review of that, or check out their Web site. Among the bands on that disc is one I've mentioned before, surf punk band Daikaiju. So at least some of it should be good.

Gorgo No. 15: The Land that Time Forgot

2007-04-02T14:38:00.000-05:00

(This follows is the second in my posts about Charlton's giant monster comic books, written by Joe Gill.)

The story comes straight from the pages of Edgar Rice Burroughs, so much so it even steals the title of one of his books. But let's call it an homage, rather than a theft.

The story is almost certainly written by Joe Gill, but I'm a little unsure about the artist. Steve Ditko famously drew most of these comics, but this one looks very different from No. 3. Also, in No. 3 Ditko's name was right there on the splash page. No such signature here. Looking over this checklist, I only see issues #1, 4, 11, 13, 16, 18 listed, but No. 3 was definitely a Ditko issue. So we'll have to leave it a mystery for now. If anyone has further information, leave a message in the comments.

All right, on with the story. After a splash page depicting a scene we'll get to later, we start off "many years ago" as young Professor Carl Engstrom hears about a place in the African jungle where dinosaurs still live. He decides not to go, despite his interest, because of his wife and child. But his wife convinces him otherwise and they head off to unexplored African jungles where dinosaurs are expected to live. Do you see where this is going?

Of course, their "fella boys" (I assume this is some kind of slang for the black natives) jump ship as soon as they near the "land that time forgot" and Engstrom thinks they should turn back. His wife, once again, convinces him otherwise. Three days later, they see dinosaurs along the shore and they decide to head into the jungle. They are set upon by natives, Engstrom is knocked out and left behind.

Here we have a great transition between pages. At the bottom of page 5 (seen here), we get an image of Engstrom moving through the jungle and finding his wife. We don't see the wife, we only see a stressed out Engstrom's shocked face set against vines and flowers. On the top of the next page, we get a different image of Engstrom standing before a handmade wooden cross, behind him is an empty field.

He buries her body and searches for his daughter.

"But his search was in vain and finally, exhausted, mentally and physically, heartbroken and without hope, he left that land of death that time had forgotten..."

And with that, the prologue ends and we get our first glimpses of the title hero/villain. Gorgo and Orga (his mother) are swimming up river into the African jungle. On the way, they apparently fight a giant squid for food. Engorged, the duo falls asleep on the river bottom. But Gorgo, being the energetic youth that he is, swims to the surface to check things out. He smells "the odor of creatures of his own kind" and decides to go ashore.

And now, we see what has become of Engstrom. He's a bitter old professor kicking out a student for "wasting my time and yours." This student, Jay Conners, is expecting it, however, and says he's taking a vacation. Engstrom then heads off for a meeting that has been on his thoughts.

He meets a wounded explorer at the Explorers Club (what, your town doesn't have one?). It's the same place Engstrom heard about the land of dinosaurs at the beginning of the story. The adventurer tells consistent rumors of a white goddess have come out of the jungles. Also, talking about how the information got to him, the adventurer mentions this:

"No! Even the natives shun the place! You know the stories ... about prehistoric men and beasts! The other natives got their information through some mental telepathy of their own ... very strange but always true! That's all I can tell you about it, old chap!"

Telepathic natives. Fascinating! And yet this is the only mention of it. I guess telepathy comes in handy when it's hard to get a plot point to your hero.

Engstrom heads off to Africa, hoping this white goddess will be his long lost daughter. The first person he meets in Africa is his student Jay Conners who is there for his vacation, a hunting trip in Africa. The two go their separate ways, Engstrom up river and Conners through the jungle.

We follow Conners until his native baggage handlers run away. Conners, smarter than Engstrom's wife, decides he'll need to turn back. But just as he starts, he sees Gorgo tearing up trees and heading inland. So, "almost hypnotized by the adventure," Conners follows the monster into the jungle.

Meanwhile, we turn to Engstrom who is tramping through the jungle. His baggage handlers have also taken off, but Engstrom expected it. He now is hoping to find the natives that once took his wife and child. Sure enough, they come out of the trees and take him, bringing him back to their white goddess.

The white goddess has lived with the natives since she was a baby. And yet, when Engstrom starts speaking to her, calling her Gloria and trying to get her to remember him, she does! In fact, she even knows some rudimentary English. Wow! What a memory on that kid.

Now the story gets into high gear. A dinosaur attacks! It's kind of a weird looking thing.It's yellow and it's head is like an egg on its side with a mouth. It looks nothing like the more accurate T-Rex on the cover. It still looks like a dinosaur though, and it's angry. The natives decide that their goddess is no longer protecting them, so they have to sacrifice her to "Scaley." Meanwhile, we see that Gorgo's mother has risen from the river in pursuit of her child. There's a funny panel with Orga walking and all the beasts of the jungle running before her to get away. (Sorry, I don't have the editing tools or knowhow to take single panels out.)

Engstrom and daughter are tied to posts, just like on the cover. Scaley hovers over them. It seems they are doomed! That is until Conners arrives in the next panel wielding his shotgun. Engstrom tries to tell Conners that his bullets won't hurt the creature. But Conners, the able hero, says "If I can't stop it, then I can't! Anyway, I'll know I did my best!"

Conners faces Scaley down over the next page. There's one neat panel here. It's taken from the perspective of Scaley's mouth. We see black shadows of teeth above and below (picture that scene in the Empire Strikes Back when the Millenium Falcon escapes the sea slug: "The cave is collapsing." "That's no cave.") and the view below of Conners aiming at the creature. The gunshots annoy the Scaley. Conners' gun jams. It seems they are all doomed.

But then Gorgo arrives. He and Scaley rush at each other. The tremendous noise attracts other monsters and, in a scene that Peter Jackson would love, a total of three Scaleys and one triceratops join the battle. This gives Engstrom, Conners and Gloria time to escape.

On the next page, it's all neatly wrapped up in four panels. Orga joins the fight and tosses the Scaleys aside. The three explorers make it to their boat, where Conners starts hitting on Gloria. And finally we see Gorgo and Orga playing together as they head back to the river. And Conners says:

"I imagine that after they get through with it, there's nothing left of the creatures ... in the land that time forgot!"

Well, this comic book certainly had the thrills. We get Gorgo, dinosaurs and a hidden African land from the prehistoric past. We also get references to ERB, H. Rider Haggard and about a hundred other English lost world stories.

It is odd that none of the people recognize Gorgo. When Conners and Engstrom each see him for the first time, neither recognizes the creature. Which is weird, you'd think a monster that wrecked London (in the movie), New York and a few small Central American countries (early issues of the comic book) would be pretty well known by now. It's weirder because there is definitely a continuity to the stories in the earlier issues.

The art is not Ditko. Gorgo is drawn much skinnier and the T-Rex's are just downright weird. But overall I think it works. And some of the perspectives used are just terrific. The artist adds lots of fun little details in the background and other animals (monkeys hanging over Gorgo's rising form, lions and other creatures fleeing before Orga) are done with humor.

There is, of course, some racism in this story. I think that comes with a lot of these lost world type stories. They basically come straight out of an 19th-century British imperial perspective. Still, it's something that could easily have been removed. One strong African character would have done wonders for this comic.

Having said that, a lost world story is a perfect setting for a Gorgo comic and this one takes full advantage of it. A good fun story in one issue.

Next up will be Fantastic Giants before we get into Konga.

New DVD news

2007-03-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

The always essential SciFiJapan has a new post about the upcoming Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster and Invasion of the Astro-Monsters DVDs from Classic Media. The post includes screen caps from the discs as well as Classic Media's press release. It looks awesome.

I'm surprised they are using the Astro-Monster title for that movie. I thought Godzilla vs. Monster Zero was Toho's preferred name. Shows what I know. But that's OK, I think Invasion of the Astro-Monsters is an awesome title.

As for Ghidorah, I've only seen that film on a screwed-up pan-and-scan VHS tape, and still it was one of my favorites. I really can't wait to see it in all its true glory.

This all reminds me that I'm falling behind on DVD buying. I still haven't picked up Godzilla Raids Again!

Now it's a movement

2007-03-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks to a comment on my last post, I now know there's another game in town. Check out Giant Monsters Attack, a new blog about giant monsters. It's sort of like this blog, only Mysterious Pants (that's the blogger) has a deft hand in using photos and, of course, has his own voice. He's even reviewed Gamera: The Little Braves, which I have yet to see. He also has a post speculating on what monsters will be used on Godzilla: Unleashed.

Welcome to the neighborhood Mysterious Pants. I look forward to trading links and ideas about the biggest genre of them all!

Choose your own monster

2007-03-28T08:25:00.000-05:00

SciFi Japan has the details on Atari's plan to let fans vote on the new monster that will be included in "Godzilla: Unleashed," the new giant monster videogame planned for the Nintendo Wii. (Here's the IGN article on it.) They've created four designs that "we felt were fresh, would fit into the Godzilla genre, and would fit into the group factions as delineated in the design doc for the game." Go to SciFi Japan for details about all this. Now I'm going to include my comments on each design. The photos are all snatched from SciFi Japan's page and are copyright Atari.

The Magmouth

It's a magma monster, made of molten rock and able to spew lava at its enemies. As a concept, it sounds pretty neat. I could see it fitting into the Smog Monster era of Godzilla movies, or possibly be a villain for Mothra in her solo years. In the game, it would have to be a slow, but tough monster. The only problem is it seems to lack a personality. There's no real face to it.

Firelion

My first thought on seeing this one was, why not use King Sesar? Sesar is basically the same concept, a Chinese dragon guardian, but without the flaming hair and tail. Despite that, this looks like it would be a fun character to play in the game, and the flaming hair and tail might give it an interesting look during the action. I don't like the origin story, "guardian of the lost civilization of Mu." We all know that guardian is Manda. What good would a flaming lion do underwater anyway?

The Visitor

If they actually made this thing for a film it would look ridiculous; the jaw would be flapping around in the breeze. If it weren't for that face, this could have been one of my favorites. The extra limbs could have made for some fun game play, and tying it in with the Vortaak aliens of the game is a good idea. Nice touch with the "Alien" tail, too. Even his back story is cool. It's too bad about that jaw.

Lightning Bug

This thing's wings look too small and that sack too big. The bug concept is always cool, though Megalon already fills that role. The story works fine. Despite liking some aspects of this design, I'm underwhelmed.

***

All of the images for these creatures make me think they would fit comfortably in Godzilla: The Series. I think only Magmouth and Firelion could actually work in the movies as a rubber suit.

As for my vote, I'm torn between Magmouth and Firelion. Firelion seems like he'd be a fun character to play and look at, but he's so close to Sesar that I want to stay away. Magmouth needs more personality. I'm going to tentatively side with Magmouth and hope that the designers can add some interesting details before he appears in the game.

A great film about fungus

2007-03-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

ScifiJapan takes a close look at Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People). As they point out, the film can be looked at as an allegory for drugs or capitalism, but it's much more than that. It's a good movie that cares about its characters, even though most of them are unlikeable, and makes the situation feel real, despite the rubber mushroom suits.

It's one of my favorite movies. With this film and Gojira, one can see that Ishiro Honda is a great, and criminally underrated, director.

Also at the link is the full text of William Hope Hodgson's "The Voice in the Night," which was the inspiration for the film. I would also recommend picking up the Matango DVD, which has some great extras including a story read by the screenwriter.

John Cox on The Host

2007-03-14T11:52:00.000-05:00

There's an interview with The Host's special effects director John Cox over at Fangoria (found via SciFiJapan). Here's an interesting part:

“We just saw partial storyboards,” he reveals, “so, not knowing any of the dialogue or anything, we really had no idea what it was we were working on, just that they needed this fish monster and it was part of this particular film. The director [Bong Joon-ho] having a fairly good reputation, we were expecting it to be at least halfway decent. The same thing goes, though, with a lot of films. Sometimes we read scripts and think, ‘Yeah, it’s a really good script,’ but by the end, it’s just…not. It becomes very mediocre, and it’s really hard to put your finger on where things didn’t gel. Because going into these shows, most of the time, all the key ingredients are there. I guess it depends on the meddling, whether or not the director’s vision is allowed to get to the screen unimpeded or whether everyone wants to put their two cents’ worth in it.

“In THE HOST’s case, there was Japanese money in it as well,” he notes, “so there was the opportunity for there to be interference from producers from other countries, but it doesn’t seem to have happened. From what I understand, the film is exactly the one that the director hoped to make.”

Also interesting, Cox is working on the next film by Greg McLean, director of "Wolf Creek." Apparently the film, Rogue, is about a giant crocodile. (It may be going straight to video.) Will it rival films like Lake Placid, Dinocroc and Alligator? We'll just have to wait and find out.

The Host takes America by storm

2007-03-10T14:59:00.000-05:00

Anthony Lane reviews The Host for the New Yorker. This is pretty exciting, a giant monster movie getting not only a review in the New Yorker, but a positive review. Lane makes comparisons to Little Miss Sunshine, Jacques Tati, Krzysztof Kieslowski and, more expectedly, John Carpenter. And you know what, the movie deserves all those comparisons while not being quite any of them. This should be a huge revival for giant monster movies, though it will take some expert screenwriters and directors to create anything this good again.

If you don't believe me or Lane, you can find some other reviews at these fine places:

Positive reviews: Evanston Review, The Examiner (San Francisco), Cinematical, Creative Loafing Atlanta, The Stranger, New York Magazine, Coming Soon, Cinematic Happenings Under Development (CHUD also has some thoughts on a proposed American remake.)

Mixed reviews: Real Movie News, Daily Record,

Negative Reviews: Big Picture, Big Sound, Gwinnett Daily Post

There's also a review by Rick Kleffel at NPR, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.

Alex Wald, artist of giant monsters

2007-03-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

Omni-Monster!!! has a great post about Alex Wald, an artist whose works will certainly interest those of you who come to this blog. I particularly liked this album cover posted at Wald's blog, Astromonster, but be sure to take a look around his sites. He's done Ultraman and a load of other kaiju and science fiction works.

And while I'm at it, be sure and check out Omni-Monster!!! It's a fun blog filled with giant monster toys and other plastic kaiju goodness.

Godzilla's storytelling engine

2007-03-05T11:57:00.000-05:00

I've been reading the blog Fraggmented for a few weeks now. It's mostly a comic book blog and one of the main features is "Storytelling Engines." With this series of posts, John Seavey looks at the protagonist of a comic book series and tries to delineate how the writers create "storytelling engines" -- the ongoing goals, characters and situations that keep the plot moving perpetually -- for that protagonist. (You can find some background on this idea here and here.)

This week, Fraggmented takes on Marvel's Godzilla series. Seavey talks about how Godzilla was added to the Marvel universe and how the story was run on the basis of a "false status quo" (think "The Fugitive" or "The Hulk" TV series). It's interesting stuff, Seavey thinks strongly and well about series and has interesting insights. Take a look at the Godzilla entry and let it lead you through his blog to the other Storytelling Engines, all of which are highly recommended.

The post makes me think about the Gorgo comic books (which I promise I will get back to). It might be interesting to look at the storytelling engine there, if there was one ...

More on Unleashed

2007-02-28T13:39:00.000-05:00

SciFi Japan has a wealth of new information on "Godzilla: Unleashed," including a video and screen shots. I'm still wondering how much different this will be than Atari's earlier Godzilla games. I think the use of the Wii controller could make it a totally different game. I hope so.

War of the Gargantuas

2007-02-14T18:39:00.000-05:00

I caught this classic for the first time on MonstersHD. It's quite something, pure entertainment through and through. I saw the AIP dub of the film, which took some liberties with the Japanese version (which I haven't seen) including really screwing up the soundtrack (it was quite obvious that Ifukube's music had been mostly replaced.) The dubbing also tried to eliminate all mention of "Frankenstein Conquers the World;" the Japanese version of "War of the Gargantuas" continues that story.

The story revolves around two giants, Gaira and Sanda (those names are from the Japanese version, but the AIP version only calls them gargantuas, so there you go.) Gaira starts the movie off with a bang, fighting a giant octopus and then eating the sailors he just saved from the beast. Gaira goes on to attack Japan, attempts to steal a singer and fights the military.

When the military attack, they bring on one of the key weapons of Toho's kaiju films: the Maser cannon. That piece of firepower appears again and again in Godzilla films and plays a crucial role in "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla." And in this movie, the Maser cannon does what the military is unable to do in almost any other Toho film: they actually put harm the monster. Gaira is bloody and beaten during his fight against the Masers. He is only saved by the intervention of Sanda, his brown brother.

Sanda was created from the mix of Frankenstein's monster's heart and the radiation at Hiroshima (at least, that's what created Sanda in "Frankenstein Conquers the World"). Gaira is part of Sanda's flesh that was left behind at sea, somehow regenerating into the people-eating monster.

Sanda takes his brother in and tries to heal him up. But he's outraged when he finds out about Gaira's food of choice. He attacks his brother and they fight across Japan.

That's the basic monster plot line of the movie. Meanwhile, Russ Tamblyn and friends try to come up with ways to defeat Gaira and to save Sanda.

Tamblyn looks sleepy in this film. Tamblyn, over the years, has said he thought of this job as slumming and didn't care much about it. Until recently, he had never actually watched the film. His acting doesn't hurt most of the film, in fact his scientist just comes across as exceedingly calm and put together. The acting only hurts when Akemi's life is threatened toward the end of the film. Tamblyn seems neither concerned nor excited about his girlfriend's peril. In fact, he doesn't seem to care at all for Akemi. I don't think that's what the director wanted.

Gaira running across airports and over lines of tanks looks silly, but so much fun. Despite it still being filmed in Toho's usual slowed down speeds, he seems to fly across the screen, little vehicles scattering to either side. It looks fake, no doubt, but it seems so much fun and so much unlike anything else in the daikaiju canon that I can't help but love it.

The ending of this film is bizarre. It's reminiscent of Rodan, the two creatures ending their lives in the flames of a volcano, one of the creatures doing so heroically. But where it fit naturally in Rodan, it doesn't fit at all here. In the last 10 minutes of the film, the volcano suddenly appears in the water, where the two are already fighting, and they end up falling into it. It seems purposeless, it seems as if the scriptwriter just had nowhere to go with the film and just found a way to say "and they all died."

"War of the Gargantuas is flawed, but it's a lot of fun. I would love to see the Japanese version of the film to find out how much of the film's plot was lost through its Americanization. I hope MediaBlasters adds this to its list of kaiju films it releases in the near future. It needs to be seen cleaned up and in its original version.

Mapmonster!

2007-02-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

I know most of America watched the Super Bowl, so you've probably already seen this, but if you haven't, check it out at YouTube. It's the Mapmonster! It's a fun, ridiculous Ultraman parody with a faked up heavy metal song to go with it. If you look around, you can find some mock interviews with the band and the Mapmonster.

The Host review

2007-02-05T15:47:00.000-05:00

Lucius Shepard reviews The Host favorably and in comparison to an unimpressed review of Pan's Labyrinth. I really think this is a great film and deserves many more accolades. Give the review a look.

New Godzilla video game

2007-02-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

By now, most of you have already heard the news: Atari will be releasing a new Godzilla video game, Godzilla: Unleashed. (Also of interest, they will be making a Gundam game.) Judging by the screenshots, this will be the same kind of fighting game as Godzilla: Save the Earth and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. I think this game will have to include some serious changes before I pick it up. I bought the last two and they are both very similar. They are fun fighting games with some destroying buildings included. It's not very deep, but it makes for a fun few hours with friends. Here's to hoping it will recapture my interest.

GORGO #3

2007-01-24T11:54:00.000-05:00

It's very clear this is a Steve Ditko comic as he put his name right there in the bottom left corner of the first page. As for Joe Gill, like many of his productions, he was never credited. Still, most of Charlton comics were written by him and it is common knowledge he did this series.

As with most of these reviews, this is mainly going to be a summation of the comic with a few comments from me. For those who are worried, there will be spoilers.

The story starts out in media res, the opening splash page showing the young Gorgo destroying some Central American city while in the foreground, dictator Mandel Astro convinces this country's leader to surrender because "The beast destroys your nation at my orders!" Gill is obviously pulling this story out of the headlines of his day. In the early '60s (the time of the Cuban missile crisis) Cuba was the big fear. Communists at the country's border and all that. Ditko adds to the obviousness of the caricature (Mandel Astro/Fidel Castro) by dressing the dictator in a military uniform and continually chomping a cigar.

On to the next page and we jump back "some months before" when Astro is informed of Gorgo's presence. Astro forces Dr. Valzo -- a scientific aid who has promised control over any living thing -- to go out and make the creatures obey him. Valzo is worried but Astro convinces him:

VALZO: "S-serve you president? It would destroy me, it w-would..."
ASTRO: "Perhaps, Valzo, only perhaps! But, of a certainty, I will destroy you if you fail!"

By the next panel, Valzo has set out to capture Gorgo and his mother.

On page 3 (pictured), we've gone on to the capture of the younger Gorgo. Both in the opening splash page and in this page, there are references to the creatures being wounded in a previous battle. I can only assume this is from earlier issues of the comic book. The creatures are found east of Long Island.

Valzo uses an electrical rod to control the young Gorgo in a much less wordy sequence underwater. Electricity not only hurts Gorgo, it actually stuns him, allowing Valzo to tie up the creature and tow it along back to their native country. There, for several pages, Valzo trains Gorgo to do his bidding.

Astro, impatient as any comic book dictator would be, has Valzo send Gorgo across his border (apparently this isn't an island nation) and defeat the enemy's forces. After Gorgo crushes the city, we are returned to the conversation between Astro and his enemy, who threatens to shoot him.

ASTRO: Shoot me and Dr. Valzo will send the monster after you.
ASTRO: You want that amigo? You want it coming for you, talons, teeth and tail? Or would you rather flee with the millions you have stolen from your poor, down-trodden people?

That's pure pulp dialog, but man it's fun.

But as Astro celebrates his victory, Valzo meets with his "pet" and tells him he will no longer use Gorgo to win power for others. "It is I who will reap the rich rewards!" Valzo orders Gorgo to take out Astro as he gives a speech from a balcony, telling his people not to revolt. By the end of the page, we see Valzo wearing his own uniform under the caption:

"When the dust cleared, the abused proletariat had a new master in the palace but there was no real change..."

Valzo teaches his army to control Gorgo and sets off to conquer yet another nation. Finally, as they reach the border, Gorgo has had his fill. He turns on Valzo and then faces Valzo's army. But the new dictator makes his escape as his army fights. He makes off to a waiting yacht filled with gold bullion plundered from the country's treasury.

But Gorgo follows the dictator. The yacht's crew deserts him, but Valzo makes a desperate attempt to escape the monster. Out at sea, he puts the ship on automatic and prepares to gloat. Unfortunately:

"Yes, Valzo forgot that Gorgo was a marine animal ... more at home in the water than on dry land ..."

Gorgo destroys the yacht, and Valzo floating on the sea make a desperate plea for his life. Surprisingly, Gorgo listens:

"Almost as though he understood the abject fear, as though he felt pity in his huge heart, Gorgo did resist and turn away, swimming strongly for the deep, quiet place where his mother still slept!"

Valzo is left floating at sea, his fate uncertain. The last panel shows Gorgo rejoining his sleeping mother beneath the waves, ready for the comic's next issue.

Of course, much of the excitement here is due to Ditko's work. His decisions on panel placement (I'm assuming he made those decisions) and keeping action going even when there is only talking makes this comic a joy.

But don't count out the story. With the exception of Valzo forgetting Gorgo is a marine animal (he did, after all, have to risk his life underwater to capture the creature), there is little here that would make me cringe. Gorgo acts much as he did in the movie and the surprise ending seems perfectly in keeping with that. In fact, Gorgo is really the hero of this story.

The political story is pure 1960s scare tactics. Mandel Astro is vain and power-hungry and overthrown quickly. His successor is venal. All their talk of the proletariat are just ways to control the masses. Still, stories like this were part of their age. For example, there is a Twilight Zone episode from this same era featuring a similarly thinly veiled Fidel Castro (played by Peter Falk) facing his own ego.

The worst moment in the comic is seeing the innocent civilians, Pablo and his friend wearing a bright yellow sombrero, in one of the attacked countries.

What does work well is the combination of monster and human stories. Often in giant monster movies, the hardest part is making the monster plot connected to the human story. Too often you get world leaders watching a TV screen as the monster destroys a city. Here, Gorgo is enmeshed directly in the plotting and politics of these Central American dictators.

All in all, a fun comic and a great place to start reading the Gorgo comic. Next up is Gorgo, issue 15.

RIP Joe Gill

2007-01-22T13:32:00.000-05:00

Charlton comic book scribe Joe Gill died last month. For the purposes of this blog, he would be primarily known for his work writing Charlton's giant monster comics Gorgo, Konga and others. In the next few weeks, in tribute to Gill, I'm going to describe and review the Konga and Gorgo comics I have in PDF form (You can find out more about that here.)

The Host, a short review

2006-12-29T16:51:00.000-05:00

I managed to catch the new South Korean film, "The Host", while I was on a plane to London last month. It was the best thing about that flight.

The movie is about a Korean man -- who is at best stupid and at worst deranged -- losing his daughter to a giant monster. He and his family make a valiant effort against the government and circumstance to rescue the girl and defeat the monster.

While that pretty accurately describes the story, it doesn't tell you anything about the movie. The characters are all well drawn and the tone shifts comfortably between goofiness, drama, action and black humor.

The film is easily the best giant monster movie I've seen since the Gamera trilogy. The monster, however, is not of the kaiju type. He's slightly smaller than the Rhedosaurus of "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms." And he's a scary beast. You never get a truly good look at the creature, although he seems to be some kind of mutation between a tadpole and a lizard with a wide mouth that opens in at least three directions.

I don't think I've captured the true sense of how good this film is. But watch out for it, it is expected to have a small tour of American theaters before its DVD release and an American remake. No giant monster fan could be disappointed with this film.

Classic Media's "Gojira" review

2006-09-01T13:41:00.000-05:00

If Classic Media had simply put out a DVD of the Japanese version of "Gojira," with no extras and a crappy clamshell cover, it would still be one of, if not the, major giant monster event of the year. The movie has long deserved to be seen this way, its recent tour of art house theaters was important, but being available in everyone's home is crucial.

But that's not where Classic Media stopped. Their 2-disc "Gojira" DVD set, which is officially being released Sept. 5, is a beautiful piece of work that is absolutely essential for giant monster and Godzilla fans and, probably more importantly, film buffs in general.

THE PACKAGE

The first thing that hits you is how beautiful the packaging of this disc is. The cover shows Godzilla's gray image surrounded by sea and black sky. At the top is the red lettering of Gojira, with the Japanese symbols for the monster's name a shadowy gray behind it. The case is cardboard, giving the feel of a hardcover book.

Open the package up and there is a plastic tray for each version of the movie. Beneath the disc for "Gojira" is a photo of Godzilla breathing atomic fire across the Tokyo skyline. Underneath "Godzilla King of the Monsters" is the monster rising from the sea in its death throes, our heroes' ship in the background.

Inside is a booklet with an essay called "Godzilla's Footprint" written by Steve Ryfle, author of "Japan's Favorite Mon-Star," one of the best books on Godzilla films. The essay helps put the films in perspective of the times. It also details the stories of the creators behind the films. The booklet contains a couple of nice stills from "Gojira."

THE FILMS

I was surprised by the number of pops, lines and other artifacts in the film. In this age of cleaned up films, I expected things to look much cleaner. However, the explanation for it came in the commentary. First, because of the matte work and layered film used for effects, there were flaws from the first time this film was shown. Second, Japan used a lower quality film stock than American films of the same time period. Therefore, much of the film degraded quickly and prints would not come much cleaner than this.

There is, of course, no widescreen here. The movie was not filmed in Tohoscope, so its shape is much the same as your TV screen. I detected nothing cut off or missing (however, I've never seen the film in a movie theater, having missed last summer's showings.)

"Gojira" seems to be subtitled very well. I don't know Japanese, so I can't tell the quality of translation, but it does read well. There were no mistypes or spelling errors that I could see.

Most importantly, it was wonderful to see "Gojira" again. Before this, I had only seen bootleg copies on VHS tape. The movie is truly dark and dismal. There's a seriousness to the film unlike any other giant monster film. Unlike almost all of Ishiro Honda's other work, there is no irony or humor in "Gojira." There is no doubt Honda was making a film for adults dealing with issues that were still raw for the Japanese public.

I'm also impressed with the structure of the movie. In most giant monster movies, one of the most difficult problems to overcome is creating an interaction between the characters and the monster, making the human drama as compelling as the devastation. Only during the long destruction of Tokyo are the characters removed from the center of the film. In particular, I was impressed with the love triangle at the center of the film. Emiko and Ogata confront Serizawa about the oxygen destroyer. This would be compelling drama on its own, but it deepens and becomes more powerful knowing that their argument is about more than just that issue. When Ogata and Serizawa fight, Serizawa is lashing out against a world that would use his discovery for evil and against Ogata directly. Yamane's character is also well drawn. He wants to save Godzilla, not because the monster is one of a kind or some other misguided impulse, but because he sees in studying Godzilla the possibility of saving people's lives. Despite his misgivings, however, he still helps the government in finding a way to defeat Godzilla. In an American monster movie of the time, (think "The Thing from Another World") the scientist would be a madman not really in touch with the situation.

"Godzilla, King of the Monsters" suffers from being packaged with "Gojira." The things that make the original great are hollowed out. Terry Morse and Raymond Burr did a good job with what they had, and if they hadn't done it Godzilla may never have had the level of fame it's reached, but it doesn't have the gravitas of the original. But it is still wonderful to have this film side by side with the original. This was, after all, the version that brought Godzilla to worldwide fame.

THE EXTRAS

The extras on the disc include a commentary on each film by Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski (the creator of Japanese Giants magazine as well as many other fandom publications). There are also two featurettes, one on the making of the Godzilla suit and the second on how the story of "Gojira" was developed. There are also original theatrical trailers on each disc.

All these extra materials are very informative. There were many pieces of information I had never heard before, and I've read much about the Godzilla films. In particular, the commentary for "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" includes snippets from interviews with people involved with bringing the film to America and an interview with Terry Morse Jr., the son of the American director who also worked on the film. This is great stuff and is essential listening for any Godzilla fan.

The featurettes are basically still photos while commentary continues about the movies. The featurette on story development fascinated me (although I imagine many fans will be more interested in the suit-making story of the other featurette.) After hearing it, I really would like to see the original version of Shigeru Kayama's story for "Gojira." It sounds much different from the film and fascinating in its own right. Just hearing the plot details of Kayama's story goes to show how much work Ishiro Honda put into the film. After Honda finished with the film, it was no longer Kayama's story. Honda had made it his own, and much more dramatic and affecting. (Of course, this is all judging from what the featurette tells us. Maybe Kayama's story was much more dramatic in other ways.) Regardless, I am now fascinated with Kayama as he supposedly wrote stories before Godzilla about sea creatures. I wonder if any of his work has been translated? (Actually, I just found this page about an effort to get Kayama's story translated.)

COMPARISON TO BFI

Previous to this release, the only other "Gojira" release in English was BFI's Godzilla disc. Many of the same people worked on both packages, including Ryfle and Godziszewski, but as I understand it, Classic Media's extras are all new. Still, the BFI disc (which I have not seen) includes the one Japanese version of the film, a commentary by three Godzilla experts (the third expert (I think, I welcome corrections) was Keith Aiken, who worked on the animated Godzilla series in the U.S.) It also includes two featurettes that sound very similar to Classic Media's, one on story development and one on suit building. There is also a documentary called "12 Japanese Fishermen." It's a documentary from the 1950s on the effects of radiation on Japanese fishermen.

It sounds to me, from my uninformed position, that Classic Media's release stands up well against BFI's. It's too bad the documentary on Japanese fishermen was not included, but it alone is probably not worth the price of importing BFI's disc.

SUMMATION

This disc is a dream come true for me and probably for most Godzilla fans. Finally, the original film treated with respect and care. This bodes well for Classic Media's upcoming releases of "Godzilla Raids Again" and "Godzilla vs. Mothra," which will get very similar treatment. In the meantime, "Gojira" gets a place of honor in my collection.

Godzilla sweepstakes

2006-08-16T14:35:00.000-05:00

Classic Media's release of "Gojira" is nearing and I, for one, can't wait. I hope to have a review of the DVD up by early September, thanks to a review copy I should be getting. The company is hyping the launch with a sweepstakes, details follow:

CLASSIC MEDIA LAUNCHES “RETURN TO THE KING OF THE MONSTERS™ HOMETOWN”
SWEEPSTAKES TODAY TO CELEBRATE THE RELEASE OF “GOJIRA” ON DVD

One Grand Prize Winner Will Receive an 8-Day, 7-Night Trip for 2 to Tokyo, Japan

New York, NY – August 16, 2006 – Godzilla wants to show you his hometown! To celebrate the US release of GOJIRA, the original 1954, uncut Japanese Godzilla movie, Classic Media kicks off the Return to the King of the Monsters™ Hometown Sweepstakes.

Starting today, Godzilla fans can log onto www.godzillaondvd.com to enter to win one of more than 250 monstrous prizes.

One grand prize-winner will receive an 8-day/7-night vacation to Tokyo, Japan for two, including travel and first-class accommodations. Classic Media will also give away one SONY PSP ™ per day for the duration of the sweepstakes, running from August 16 – September 16, 2006. Additional prizes include 50 “Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters” DVD sets and 200 limited-edition Gojira DVD movie posters.

For “Return to the King of the Monsters ™ Hometown” sweepstakes details, rules and regulations – please log onto www.godzillaondvd.com. This promotion is produced by T.E.A.M. Group, Florham Park, N.J.

About Gojira:

Gojira is the original, unedited Japanese version of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. On September 5th, Classic Media will release Gojira on DVD, for the first time ever in the U.S., as part of a 2-disc set that will also include the Americanized Godzilla starring Raymond Burr. Gojira will include 40 minutes of footage that was edited out to allow for the addition of Burr as an American reporter and will be available for $21.98 SRP.

About Classic Media:

Classic Media owns and manages some of the world’s most recognizable family properties across all media including feature film, television, home video and consumer products. The company’s extensive library features a diverse collection of popular animated and live-action characters such as: Casper the Friendly Ghost, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Lone Ranger, Lassie, Underdog and Rocky & Bullwinkle.

New hope for new Godzilla DVDs

2006-05-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

I almost hurt myself I'm so excited. Check out this post from Monster Zero. I've been pretty skeptical about what Classic Media would do with the Godzilla DVDs they now have the rights to, but it looks like they are coming through in a big way. Not only do we have a whole bunch of great classic G films in widescreen and with subtitles, but they include commentary by people like Steve Ryfle, Richard Pusateri, Keith Aiken and Stuart Galbraith IV. (Basically, most of the people behind SciFi Japan and some of the most informed minds in G fandom.)

And the best part is the last line:

This is just a partial list. These discs are still being worked on, so more extra features are expected to be included.

Fan-made monsters

2006-04-18T07:47:00.000-05:00

Check out the trailer for "Raki vs. Gramuda." This is the latest in a long-running series of films made by a group (TG2WAC) of giant monster fans in Ohio. The group is well known for holding "how to build a monster" events at GFest. For more information on TG2WAC or Raki, check out the TG2WAC Yahoo group.

Pulgasari director dies

2006-04-12T22:20:00.000-05:00

Director Shin Sang-ok has died. He was a ground breaking director in South Korea before he was abducted by Kim Jong-il and made to direct films in North Korea. During his stay, he filmed the giant monster movie Pulgasari. He later escaped and lived in the U.S. for years, filming 3 Ninjas movies. Salon ran a fascinating article on his abuction you can read here. Allegedly, his last interview can be read here.

Roger Corman's birthday

2006-04-05T12:29:00.000-05:00

Happy 80th birthday to the master of independent cinema, Roger Corman. Unfortunately, I haven't seen many of his giant monster movies, but others have, so here's a few reviews for your reading pleasure:
Attack of the Crab Monsters
It Conquered the World
DinoCroc (includes reviews of a few more classic Corman films as well.)
Attack of the Giant Leeches
Little Shop of Horrors

And my favorite non-giant monster movie:
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

Also, be sure to read Corman's biography How I Made Millions in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime.

And finally, check out VideoWatchBlog for an updated list of bloggings about Corman today.

Carnosaur 2

2006-04-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

The first "Carnosaur" was muddled but ambitious. It featured dinosaurs hatched from chicken eggs -- and occasionally people. The dinosaurs grew from small bitey critters to T. Rex like monsters. It featured Diane Ladd as a mad scientist who tricked the government and a corporation into backing her crazy scheme. There was lots of goo and a military takeover scene at the end.

"Carnosaur 2" loses all of that. In fact, the only references to the first film is a huge triangle cage that once held the T. Rex sized monster and a reference to the military keeping some dinosaurs "on ice" after the cleanup at the end of Carnosaur.

The movie is set at a government facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. In this facility are: atomic waste, nuclear weapons and dinosaurs. But the dinosaurs are on a top secret level, so very few know about them. In the intro to the movie, the dinosaurs escape and kill everyone in the place, except for Jesse -- a precocious kid who knows all about the facility -- who is traumatized by seeing his father killed by a dinosaur.

Our "heroes" are a systems repair group. Apparently, when things break down, these guys are called in. They have the demeanor of a grizzled Army troop. It makes me wonder what kind of systems they are normally repairing. The main character is Jack Reed. Actor John Savage does his best Harvey Keitel in the role as Jack takes a father-like role over Jesse. The whole movie is set in the rooms and hallways and outside heliport of the Yucca facility.

I almost can't call it a giant monster movie as most of the dinosaurs are raptor size. But in the last few minutes of the movie, we get the big T. Rex dinosaur to chase the heroes around, and Jesse has his revenge thanks to an "Aliens" ripoff and the line "Eat This Barney!"

The movie is an entertaining slasher flick with dinosaurs (which, if you think about it, so was the first "Jurassic Park"). There's more focus on character than the first movie in the series, but less ambition in what it tries to pull off.

There's few other reviews out there for me to link to. Also, there's little to say about the crew. It is, of course, produced by Roger Corman (happy birthday!) to tap into the dinosaur craze created by "Jurassic Park." This movie came out after the first movie, but a year before "The Lost World," which despite better production values isn't much better than these movies. The writer is Michael Palmer whose only other credit appears to be "Watchers III," also produced by Corman. (The Web offers a unreliable credits because searches seem to bring up medical thriller novelist Michael Palmer quite often.) Louis Morneau has a few more credits (also mostly Corman-produced efforts), the most famous of which is Bats.

Corman carnival

2006-04-04T09:53:00.000-05:00

Tim Lucas suggests bloggers write about Roger Corman for his 80th birthday Wednesday. A whole blog tribute. I plan to do something, though I haven't seen a single one of his most famous giant monster movies. Maybe I'll finally post my review of "Carnosaur II." We'll see. But I'd to encourage every blogger to join in on the Corman celebration Wednesday!

Gamera trailer

2006-03-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

There's a new trailer for Gamera: Little Braves. It looks good. It's totally different in tone from the early '90s films and picks up the idea of a defender of children from the '60s series. I'm hoping this will be excellent.

Negadon Web site

2006-03-15T14:48:00.000-05:00

If you haven't checked out the Negadon Attacks Web site yet, go do it. It's got a new trailer for the film and a personal message from director/creator Jun Awazu. It looks like they are trying to add more features to the site. I hope we learn more about the DVD, which will be released "Summer 2006", sometime soon. Considering this is a short film, how are they going to pad out the disc? Or are they going to sell it at a cheaper price point? Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing a new film from a real kaiju fan.

Original Gojira DVD announced

2006-03-13T11:11:00.000-05:00

According to ScifiJapan, Classic Media has announced it will release a Godzilla 2-pack DVD of the original Gojira with the Raymond Burr version. This is good news. It will be released in September.

There is talk of adding extras to the DVD. I hope they do, because I am still seriously considering buying the BFI version of Godzilla from the UK. But I will wait to see how Classic Media handles this. Cross your fingers G fans and hope for the best.

SciFi Japan

2006-03-02T14:09:00.000-05:00

There's a new site on the Web that I think my readers would be very interested in: SciFi Japan. It purports to offer complete coverage of Japanese SF films. It's staff, which includes experts such as Ed Godziszewski, Richard Pusateri and Steve Ryfle among many others. I'm looking forward to what this site will have to offer.

Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales

2006-02-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

At Bookgasm, Rod Lott gives a good review to Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales, an anthology of stories in the spirit of Japanese kaiju eiga. Lott enjoys the book and says

"But from there, all bets are off, as the book constantly surprises. Unlike the all-formula movies from which these stories draw their inspiration, you never know what you’re going to get."

I bought the book when it came out and have been meaning to write about it for a long time now. I still haven't finished it, I just dive into it and enjoy from time to time. The stories are mostly high quality. The writers are serious about the idea, even when they use it for humorous purposes. I've been very pleased with it.

The book is a creation of Robert Hood and I urge you to check out his page for the anthology, where he announces that Prime Books will be publishing a sequel. I can't wait. Also on the site, check out Hood's earlier giant monster story "Watching a Giant Monster Trash a City" and read about the movie version. There's also a few other goodies like The Drakenswode Correspondence and An Unnatural History of Giant Monsters.

The anthology is great fun for all giant monster fans, go buy it now!

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T12:12:00.000-05:00

Random thought on the holiday: Isn't King Kong (any version) the perfect movie for Valentine's Day?

King Kong Escapes

2006-02-10T10:49:00.000-05:00

King Kong Escapes was one of the first giant monster movies to infect my young mind. It and Destroy All Monsters were shown during Channel 38's (or was it 9, or 11?) "monster week." Those two films are probably responsible for my fascination with giant monster movies and kaiju in particular.

To my pre-adolescent self, there was nothing more fascinating than the giant mechanical monster known as MechaniKong. He looked like the famed giant ape, but was metal head to toe. In the movie, both he and King Kong fight a T-Rex -- at least I thought it was a T-Rex, it turned out to be a Gorosaurus, a creation of Toho. There was a lot to love in this film.

Now, it's been released in a two-pack with King Kong Vs. Godzilla. I can still see what affected me as a youth, but the movie really pales in comparison to the rest of the Toho canon, and certainly with other Kong movies.

The film was actually a sequel to a 1960s Rankin-Bass cartoon, which has recently been released on DVD. I've never seen that series, so I can't comment on how the two compare.

The good: The movie is filled with neat ideas. There's a sleek submarine that the heroes patrol the waters with. There's MechaniKong, of course. The mechanical monster would later be the inspiration for MechaGodzilla. There's a crazed evil leader, that "international Judas" Doctor Who, and a conflicted agent of a unnamed Asian country. There's a mysterious Element X that could power the world, or lead to its destruction. There's electronic mind control devices. There's an Arctic command center.

And despite all these things, the movie is just not very good. Nothing in the movie is left for the viewer to figure out when a lump of exposition can be used instead. The building of MechaniKong makes no sense. It's built to dig up Element X. But it is immediately shorted out by that element. Shouldn't that have been tested before you spent millions on building a mechanical monster? Seems like a waste of resources. And for that matter, is building a giant mechanical ape any way to run an excavation site?

Logic aside, the movie just seems listless. Things happen and there's the occasional giant monster battle, but they all seem rather boring. The effects have their moments, but are generally poor. This movie came out between Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster (initially intended to be a King Kong film) and Son of Godzilla, films that are generally considered to be the start of G's downward trend. If you look at the effects, particularly the tropical island settings, those two films are much better than some of what's seen here.

Still, the absurdity of the film is fun and I still love MechaniKong. If only Toho could bring it back. King Kong Escapes is really only for giant monster movie completists.

Image found at KensForce.

Technorati Tags: King Kong, daikaiju, kaiju

Akira Ifukube, 1914-2006

2006-02-09T11:22:00.000-05:00

Horrible news, Godzilla music composer Akira Ifukube has died. Ifukube was one of the three people who were the heart of Godzilla, along with director Ishiro Honda and special effects director Eiji Tsubaraya. In fact, Ifukube was Godzilla's voice. It was his idea to run a metal glove down a bass string that created the distinctive sound of G's roar.

Even people who don't know about who scored the Godzilla films intuitively know Ifukube. When you hear those first bass notes of Godzilla's theme, you know the giant monster is about to arrive. For me, his themes for the movements of the military and the actions of the heroes always cheer me up. They are march songs, stirring and moving. I could listen to them at any time.

Here's what Steve Ryfle says about Ifukube in his book "Japan's Favorite Mon-Star" (which is a classic book about Godzilla, a must read):

A KAIJU CACOPHONY: The illusion of Godzilla's size and irrefutable power was reinforced by the thundering sounds of Akira Ifukube, who wrote one of the most memorable musical scores in sci-fi movie history and who supervised the creation of Godzilla's distinctive, immortal roar. Despite his background in classical music and as a composer of serious dramatic films, Ifukube never shied away from [G producer Tomoyuki] Tanaka's oddball monster movie, not even when his contemporaries said it was beneath him and urged him not to do it. After just a few introductory meetings with Tanaka, Tsuburaya, and Honda to discuss the project, Ifukube enthusiastically accepted the assignment. "Something monstrous comes out and makes you jump out of your wits!" Ifukube said. "It is sheer fear, not an abstraction, and it is global. Moreover, my specialty was biology. [Ifukube had worked in forestry.] I couldn't sit still when I heard that in this movie the main character was a reptile that would be rampaging through the city."

Ifukube also did work outside of the Godzilla films, from science fiction spectacular's like The Mysterians and Atragon to samurai classics such as they Zatoichi series. For a listing of his work, check out The Akira Ifukube Page.

It is less well known that Ifukube was an accomplished classical composer. His Japanese Rhapsody won a prestigious international prize and was first performed in 1936 by the Boston People's Orchestra.

Here's an interesting passage from David Kalat's "A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series":

Ifukube's compositional style, which creates music with distinctly Asian qualities whileusing the instruments of traditiona European classical music, is one of emotional extremes and operatic values. During World War II, the Japanese military commissioned him to compose nationalistic hymns for the Pacific islands the Japanese "liberated" from the white people. Ironically, when General Douglas MacArthur arrived at Atsugi Air Force Base in August 1945 at the end of the war, the band performed Ifukubes brass band march for the Filipino people, much to Ifukube's surprise.
...
At the peak of his career, Ifukube scored as many as fifteen films per year, eventually scoring more than two hundred features. Ifukube's themes would make an indelible mark on listeners and would be used frequently over forty years, although ironically, he composed the Gojira soundtrack in under a week, without having seen any of the footage. Ifukube simply relied on Honda's assertion that Godzilla would be "one of the biggest things ever on the screen."

There's a lot more about him in Kalat's book, another essential text for Godzilla fans. You can also find information on Ifukube on Wikipedia. Tim Lucas writes a well thought out piece on the composer here.

Celebrate the man's life by picking up the King Kong vs. Godzilla soundtrack, one of the soundtracks he was most proud of. (And it's always been a crime that his music was taken out of the American version of the film.) Also, check out this Amazon Listmania! for what Ifukube music is available.

This also marks the end of an era. Ifukube was the only one of the creative masters behind the original Gojira who lived past its 50th anniversary. With the composer's passing, the creators of Godzilla pass into history. Long may their work live on.

UPDATE: Picture of Ifukube found at Tokyo Monsters.

Negadon coming to America

2006-02-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

I'm surprised to find that I never wrote about "Negadon: The Monster from Mars." It's a 20-minute Japanese film made in the spirit of '60s giant monster movies, but completely computer animated. I watched the trailer and absolutely loved it. You can tell it's made by a giant monster film fan.

The film premiered at a festival in Japan and has been getting very warm reviews. Now comes news that the film has been picked up by Central Park Media for some kind of distribution in America. According to the company's press release:

Negadon
will be released theatrically this spring and on home video this
summer. Central Park Media will make further announcements at New York
Comic-Con at the end of February.

I'm really curious to see how they release this on DVD. It's a short film, so what else is going to go on the disc? We'll know in February I guess.

Monster music

2006-01-27T10:35:00.000-05:00

I recently got an iPod, so I went searching for giant monster music on iTunes. It was a quick search, but I came up with a few things, besides soundtracks.

First of all, there is a surf rock/metal band called Daikaiju. I've been aware of them for a little while now and they seemed like great fun. I downloaded two songs from their self-titled album: "Super X-9" and "Daikaiju Die!" It's great stuff. The band is kind of interesting too. They wear kabuki masks and all their press materials sounds like words translated from Japanese by an Internet translator.

The second thing I found was a podcast by Infinite Sector Collective.

The infinite sector is a non-profit collective and netlabel dedicated to sharing and promoting free experimental music, noise, and electronica. Our members include musicians, bands, and artists from all corners of the globe.

In honor of 50 years of Godzilla, their first podcast episode is dedicated to kaiju eiga. So members of the collective do songs about Rodan, Hedorah, Biollante and others. Most of it is very experimental. If you like static and Metal Machine Music, you might like this. I like a lot of weird music, and I had a tough time with most of the songs. The song "Jet Jaguar," however, was more approachable than the rest of it. It was performed by the group Terminal Shock. The podcast is not for everyone, and clearly not intended to be, but check it out and see what it does for your ears.

I gave a search on iTunes for "kaiju" and came up with "Kaiju Babylon." It's a song by jazz guitarist Henry Kaiser. Like Infinite Sector Collective, it's experimental music, but I found it more fun. It was like some twisted combination of Sonny Sharrock and Spike Jones. I was happy to find Kaiser because I notice he has connections to other artists I like, such as Captain Beefheart, Richard Thompson, Sharrock, Bill Frisell and John Zorn, among others. And, apparently, he is a fan of giant monsters. He gives his praise to "Gamera: The Revenge of Iris" at his journal. (That just shows he has taste as well.)

Finally, something I didn't find on iTunes, but wanted to mention: King Geedorah, "Take Me to Your Leader." King Geedorah is actually MF Doom, an underground hip hop artist who has gotten much praise for his purist stylings. The album is a lot of fun and can be enjoyed even by non-rap fans. Quite a few of the songs on the album are "instrumentals" made up of sounds and clips from giant monster movies. If you do like rap, there's some great work on the album as well. Some well known rappers are here, but hidden under giant monster pseudonyms. I recommend it.

While I'm at it, I'd like to remind everybody about The Monster Project, who I wrote about here.

Jurassic Park IV, not coming soon

2006-01-27T09:48:00.000-05:00

"Jurassic Park IV" is apparently quite a ways from happening. According to producer Frank Marshall, the fourth Indiana Jones movie is in the pipeline behind the third Bourne movie. After those two are under way, then there will be movement on JP4. No confirmations on the script, but it still includes William Monahan's name and people have mentioned dinosaur commandos. [Image found at Monsters and Critics.]

Technorati Tags: giant monsters, dinosaurs, Jurassic Park, movies

New Godzilla cartoon DVDs

2006-01-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

Two new DVDs of "Godzilla: The Series" have been announced. Like the "The Monster Wars Trilogy" I don't think there will be much in the way of extras, but it will add more of the series to your collection. You can find my thoughts on the original disc here. I enjoy the cartoon and am looking forward to picking up more.

Slither trailer

2006-01-17T12:59:00.000-05:00

All right, this is only technically a giant monster movie, but I must admit it looks fun. You can find the trailer for Slither here. At first, I thought this was a remake. I know there is some movie from the 1970s about an attack by earthworms, but I can't seem to remember the name of that. It used to be on the afternoon movie alongside "Frogs" when I was a kid.

Anyway, this movie is a horror-comedy starring that guy from "Firefly" and features giant worm-leech-like things that are turning people into monsters. The trailer is funny. Could be a good time.

Atragon on the way

2006-01-14T17:04:00.000-05:00

I am so excited about getting "Atragon" on DVD. It's one of Toho's classic science fiction films and probably second only to "Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People" among the non-Godzilla films. There's a review here of the new DVD. They give it a thumbs up.

Gamera blogs

2006-01-13T16:28:00.000-05:00

Gamera has its own blog. It's all in Japanese, so I have no idea what's being said, but there are some cute pictures of a stuffed Gamera visiting various sites.

King Kong atop the world

2006-01-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

I saw "King Kong" over the weekend. I loved it. The movie took the original King Kong and used it as an outline for this movie. Everything that was in the 1933 movie has been expanded on and enriched. This made for a long movie, over three hours, but it never felt like one.
There were a few holes in the movie. Jack Black's acting is just a touch too much. Black is a ham and he is trying to rein it in here, but only partially succeeds. I don't think he could make a subtle motion to save his life. Fortunately for him, his character is over the top anyway. The film really gives a new look at Carl Denham: ambitious, self-obsessed, adventurous and probably crazy. I liked the rebuilding of the character, it made for a deeper, more interesting guy (and probably one truer to the era.)
The scene with the insects and lampreys and all was pretty exciting, but why does the calvary turn up? As far as I could tell, the writers had just put themselves in a corner and had to find a way out, despite logic. I think that Jackson just wanted to do that scene so much, he let it override his sense of story.
And the last line, the same one from the original film, was just wrong here. It wasn't as cringe inducing as I'd been led to believe, but it certainly didn't fit. In fact, in this version of the movie, Denham should have been packing his bags as the ape was rampaging.
And the movie's length: Yes, it moved right along and didn't feel like three hours, but there was still a hell of a lot of stuff that could have been deleted to make a shorter running time. Even if you love every minute of the film, it's hard to find time in the day to see a three-hour movie.
Despite all those quibbles, it was a great movie. I had a good time and would love to see it again. Naomi Watts was terrific, as she has been in everything I've seen her in. Kong was a marvel to behold. Everything on Skull Island was scary. Atop the Empire State Building, you could really feel a sense of vertigo. I don't think any movie has ever given me such a great sense of height.
This version of King Kong was a worthy remake of the original and adds itself to a list of the finest giant monster movies ever made.

Technorati Tags: kingkong, giantmonsters, movies, review

Realism and giant monsters

2005-12-30T08:51:00.000-05:00

Stephen Bissette argues against criticisms of the realism of the new King Kong by pointing out all the absurdities of the classic Kong. He asks why people aren't willing to accept the handwaving of the new film when they buy it from the classic? He essentially says, if I understand correctly, that there is a basic absurdity to the films that one must accept to enjoy the tale being offered, and if you're not willing to accept those absurdities in the first place, why bother going to see it?
This got me thinking about giant monster movies, and something that is very basic to all of them. The absurdity is the main reason we come out to see it. Once the giant monster has entered the scene, what can't happen? Once our disbelief has been that far suspended, why not hang it higher?
The pleasure of giant monster movies then, as I see it, is waiting to see what absurdity the movie brings along. The movie world is wide open to go anywhere after a giant monster enters the scene. This, I think, is why I enjoy Godzilla films so much; they take that absurdity and run with it, no worries of realism to bog them down.
Once Godzilla is on the scene, why not more monsters? Why not make monsters talk? Why not make a two legged beast fly with its tail between its legs? Why not make a monster out of sludge? Why not have a giant cyborg monster be controlled by roach-like aliens who own a children's theme park? Why not have a weapon that shoots mini-black holes?
And this is why the Heisei series of Godzilla films seems so dour now. They aimed for a higher level of realism. And that aim only served to bog the films down. The most enjoyable of those films was Biollante, which featured a giant rose monster that may have the soul of a little girl bomb victim trapped inside it.
It seems to me, the enjoyment of giant monster movies is all about the joy of unfettered imagination. And what could be better than that?

Bloggers on King Kong

2005-12-21T12:15:00.000-05:00

Stephen Bissette is doing a fascinating critique of the new King Kong. He's got three parts so far, Part the First, Part the Second and Part the Third. A fourth part is promised.
Bissette writes about the special effects, the performances, the history behind the movies and the way the new movie improvises from and improves on the original. It's great writing writing, check it out.
While your at it, check out Tim Lucas's thoughts on Kong at Video Watchblog. Lucas can always be counted on for interesting movie commentary.
By the way, the movie has an 83% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It really is about time I got to the theater to see this film.

Konga review

2005-12-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

There's a review of the King Kong like movie called Konga at Now Playing Magazine. I've never seen it and it sounds interesting.

The Conqueror Worms by Brian Keene

2005-12-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to buy one of horror writer Brian Keene's books for a while. I've read his blog, Hail Saten, regularly and he seems to be a fun guy with some writing skills. I've read a few short stories and enjoyed them, I've even put The Rising on my gift lists for Christmas.
Now I have another reason to buy a book of his. The Conqueror Worms, his new novel coming out in May. Here's the description at Shocklines:

One day the rain just didn't stop. As the flood waters rose and coastal cities and towns disappeared, some people believed it was the end of the world. Maybe they were right. But the water wasn't the worst part. Even more terrifying was what the soaking rains drove up from beneath the earth---unimaginable creatures, writing, burrowing...and devouring all in their path. What hope does an already devastated mankind have against... THE CONQUEROR WORMS.

(If you order it in advance from Shocklines, Keene will sign the book.)
So I'm expecting giant worm madness! How can that be bad. You can read an excerpt here. There's a thread on the book at Keene's Web site message board.
Looking further into this, I think this novel was previously published through Delirium Books in hardcover as Earthworm Gods. There's another thread about that edition here.

Primer for giant monsters

2005-12-12T09:09:00.000-05:00

The Morning Sun points out to the world that there are other giant monster movies besides King Kong. (You'll need to register to get in to the article. Use Bugmenot for an easy, anonymous password.) Among the movies they list are: Gamera, Mothra, Them!, The Blob and 20 Million Miles to Earth. A good selection and a nice primer for people new to giant monster movies. Although, why no Godzilla? Well, nobody's perfect.

Giant monster creates havoc in Legoland

2005-12-08T09:53:00.000-05:00

Kathryn Cramer finds this cool giant monster made out of Legos; it's even posed tearing down an elevated train! I'm loving it. It comes from this site, which seems to be made up of mostly Star Wars Lego sets.

A few Kong links

2005-12-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry, I've been lax in my coverage of King Kong news. You can find a ton of it out there, however, so I hope I haven't left you too stranded. The trailer for Peter Jackson's film looks terrific.
I should point out that the original movie is out in two beautiful editions. I'll be picking up the second one, which includes Mighty Joe Young and Son of Kong with it.
Thanks to a blog I read, I did pick up some Kong news you probably haven't heard elsewhere. Violet Crown Radio Players are putting on their own radio adaptation of the original movie. Check out their Web site, join their mailing list. They seem to have some interesting stuff there. Besides their Kong adaptation, I'm also interested in their pulp-style hero show, the Blue Menace, among other series characters.
And if you're still hungry for Kong, here's a Kong related story at the soon to be late, lamented SciFiction.

Deep Sea Monster Reigo

2005-12-05T10:08:00.000-05:00

Fangoria has a list and brief descriptions of films screened at the American Film Market. Among them is this:

"With Toho on a Godzilla sabbatical (sob), DEEP SEA MONSTER--REIGO stands out as the closest example of an old-school Japanese giant monster mash for sale this time. A humongous aquatic creature battles the WWII battleship Yamato in this low-rent period production, directed by kaiju fan Hayashiya Shinpei."

This sounds exciting, so I started looking into it. And voila! They have an English Web site. It calls it "A heartrending love story that sinks into the beautiful blue south seas."
Apparently, the story will be an alternate history of the Yamato, Japan's great battleship that sank. (The Web site has some interesting facts about the Yamato.) It will show off what armaments the ship could have had and how it would stand up to a monster.
Here's what the Web site says about the monster:

The enemy, REIGO, is a creature that propels itself through the seas like a dragon. Director Hayashiya Shinpei has specially created this new monster for the film with extensive creative input from Amemiya Keita and Haraguchi Tomoo.

And here's a little more behind the scenes:

First, the character of Monster REIGO:
It was designed by Amemiya Keita, who is known as the director of SF film "Zeiramu" and as the designer of characters for a number of special-effects films.
Based on his design, the character was made by Haraguchi Tomoo, well-known for the Heisei "Gamera" series.
This is the first collaboration of Amemiya Keita and Haraguchi Tomoo, a combination that special-effects fans have been longing for.
The deep-sea fish monsters that appear along with REIGO were made by Japan's leading plastic arts character specialists and Wakasa Shin-ichi, who is known for the Godzilla costume.

The director of the movie is Hayashiya Shinpei, who directed the fan film "Gamera 4." (I wish I could read Japanese, because his Web site looks cool.) So we have a real giant monster movie fan directing this one.
Hotaru Yukijiro will appear in this film. He's the detective who appeared in all 3 of Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera films. He was also in Battle Royale, Zeiram and Godzilla: Operation Tokyo SOS.
There is also going to be a famous Kabuki actor in the film. That should be interesting.
Also on the Web site is a trailer with English subtitles. It looks pretty good. Some of the effects seem to be cheap CGI, but it looks like there is a lot of respect for both war and giant monster movies here.
The Web zine Twitch
seems to be keeping up on the film here, here, here and here.
This is fascinating. The first truly new kaiju, unrelated to any other series, in a while. I can't wait to see it. I hope it comes to these shores.

Not Godzilla, but cool

2005-11-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

Scientists have discovered an ancient 'Godzilla'-like sea creature. Actually, it's nothing like Godzilla, outside of being amphibious. Still, the creature is pretty large and threatening looking. Check it out.

The Big Bugs Project

2005-11-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Big Bugs, an art project sure to scare the crap out of anyone who has seen "Them."

Gamera cartoon on Cartoon Network?

2005-11-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

Monster Zero is reporting that there is going to be a Gamera animated series on the Cartoon Network in 2007. There are no details as yet, so this could all just disappear in a puff of smoke. But I hope it's true. Besides Adult Swim, CN has done some great stuff with shows like "Justice League Unlimited" and "Samurai Jack" as well as the "Clone Wars" cartoon. I have high hopes they can do something good here.

Halloween G

2005-10-31T12:35:00.000-05:00

At Four Realities, Bob has posted a Steve Bissette sketch of Godzilla for Halloween. Be merry! Don't forget to check out Bissette's blog.

The Monster Project, a band

2005-10-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

Check out The Monster Project, it's the Web site of a band that plays faithful versions of music from monster movies. Most interesting to people who come here would be "Kaiju Daisenso," the group's take on Akira Ifukube's Godzilla scores. There are samples of the music and it really is good.
Here's how the band describes itself:

An evolutionary offshoot of the New York City progressive art-rock collective, the Project presents creative but faithful rock arrangements of monster movie scores. Influenced by such ground-breaking acts as Fantômas, John Zorn and Mr. Bungle, the project's current songbook includes: Swan Lake, Act II Scene X (from Karloff's The Mummy and Lugosi's Dracula); The Slasher Suite (a medley of themes from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween); and most significantly, an extensive survey of Godzilla music from 1954 to 1975 all from the original acclaimed composer, Akira Ifukube.

You can download the Godzilla music at these links: Godzilla Comes Ashore; Namikawa on Planet X; and Battle on Mt. Fuji. Enjoy.

UPDATE: For those in the New York area, The Monster Project will be appearing Wednesday, November 2, 2005 at 9:00 PM at
Knitting Factory
The Tap Bar
74 Leonard Street
New York, NY 10013
Tel: (212) 219-3132
http://www.knittingfactory.com/kfny/
Admission: $8.00
Write me if you go.

Giant monsters and the Hummer H3

2005-10-24T09:55:00.000-05:00

A new advertisement for the Hummer H3, "Monster", pays tribute to my favorite genre. If you haven't seen it, it features a giant monster (sort of reptilian, but with hair) and a giant robot meeting and falling in love. The product of their love is the H3, a "little monster."
It's a cute ad. The monster is an odd design, but the giant robot looks great. I can't tell if they are suits and miniatures or if everything is done with computer animation. Either way, it's good stuff, check it out.

King of Kong Island

2005-10-17T09:14:00.000-05:00

King of Kong Island (just called Kong Island in the film and was originally released as Eve the Wild Woman) is a true stinker of a film. I own it in my 50 Movie SciFi Classics box. I wouldn't be reviewing it here if it weren't for the descriptions I've seen of the movie. Here's John Stanley's summation in the book "Creature Features Strikes Again":

King of Kong Island (1968). Also known as EVE THE WILD WOMAN. With remote control devices, giant gorillas become robot killers. A descendant of the King himself happens along and decides enough is enough already and starts crunching skulls -- and remote-control devices. Left to its own devices, this Spanish-produced job (made as EVE THE WILD WOMAN) would fall flat on its ugly kisser. Directed Robert Morris. Brad Harris, Marc Lawrence. (VCI)

Wow, a giant ape "crunching skulls", how could that be bad? Here's the one on the DVD box:

A diabolical team of scientists land on Kong Island determined to implant devices in the brains of the gorilla population that will transform them into an unstoppable army. Their plan for world domination runs amok when a descendant of King Kong arrives and the mayhem begins.

That last sentence makes you think there will be a giant gorilla in this movie, right? Nope. In fact, there's no monsters larger than man-size (besides the many, many stock footage shots of lions, crocodiles, hippos, ad nauseum). Actually, there's not even an island in this movie. There are man-sized gorillas however. In fact, they are the worst gorilla suits I've ever seen. And the people wearing them make no attempt to be even slightly animal-like.
The plot is a total mess with one subplot after another being introduced. That is until the end when the movie just kills off one person or another (usually by rifle fire) putting an end to each silly plot line.
This is truly a bad movie. Enjoy at your own risk. You can find other reviews here, here, here, and here.

Godzilla Final Wars DVD

2005-10-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

Godzilla: Final Wars has a DVD street date of Dec. 13, pre-order now. This site has images from the DVD. I'm hoping these are early versions because there are almost no extras. On the other hand, it appears we will have the Japanese language track. It will be nice (I hope) to see this after hearing so many raging debates about it.

Toho/Universal King Kong news

2005-09-29T11:40:00.000-05:00

Apparently Universal will be releasing King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes on DVD, according to Monster Zero. Here's more info on KKvsG and KKE.
With all this great stuff coming out, my budget is going to be stretched into the holiday season. Both DVDs are being released on Nov. 29.
(Unfortunately, I'm sure we're not getting the Japanese version of KKvsG, which is infinitely better. C'est la vie.)

Atragon on the way

2005-09-29T11:36:00.000-05:00

Media Blasters will do it again come this December, according to Henshin!Online. The company has already released Matango, Mysterians and Dogora. Now they plan to release Atragon, one of my favorite non-Godzilla Ishiro Honda films. It's about a submarine that can fly, an undersea kingdom that plans to take over the world and the angst of Japan's role after World War II. If Media Blasters includes the extras from the region 2 DVD (as they have with the other films), we'll get a commentary track by Koji Kajita, Honda's assistant director. This is a must have.

Dinosaur Samurai

2005-09-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

I have no idea what this is, I happened to chance across it while looking for info on another book at the ibooks Web site. Here's the description:

Eckels, a psychotic time traveler, has shot a dinosaur and meddled with history, destroying the future and trapping himself in the past. Transported to an alternate prehistoric period by a savage timestorm, Aaron Cofield manages to link up with a Travis, a lost Time Safari guide. Together, they must hunt down Eckels and restore the shape of history. Attacked by sentient dinosaurs, Aaron and Travis escape to an alternate medieval Japan. Caught between dinosaurs, ferocious samurai warriors, and the cold-blooded Eckels, the two must fight for their own survival—and to restore the timestream of our future!

So "Ray Bradbury Presents Dinosaur Samurai" is apparently something loosely based off of Bradbury's "Sound of Thunder" and just filled with as many crazy things as the authors (Stephen Leigh and John J. Miller) can throw at it.
It includes both dinosaurs and samurai and so seems built for me. I may have to pick it up.

Roger Corman sells out?

2005-09-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Stephen Bissette writes an informative post about the end of an era. Apparently, Corman has given Buena Vista (a Disney corporation) rights to distribute 400 of his films, movies like "Little Shop of Horrors", "It Conquered the World" and his Poe films.
This is good in the sense that we'll probably get beautiful new reissues of some of these films. It's sad because now Corman is working with the major studios, something he hasn't needed to do in 50 years of film making.
I'm not all that upset about it, after all we could get some great DVDs of some great old giant monster movies. But Bissette writes well about it and about Corman's history.

Giant Monsters Journal

2005-09-13T11:53:00.000-05:00

Something called Ghostface Jackson Productions is offering a Giant Monsters Journal. I must say, it looks pretty cool. Here's a pic:

Check out some of this guy's artwork too. Lots of giant monster interest there.

Gamera news

2005-09-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

Monster Zero has a couple of interesting posts about news on the new Gamera film. The most important of which is a new trailer posted here. Secondly, they have some artwork of Gamera and Jidas. Here's Jidas:

Yummy Godzilla eggs

2005-09-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

Watermelons are really Godzilla eggs
(Link found at BoingBoing.)

Stephen Bissette blogs

2005-09-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is great news, comics great Stephen Bissette has a blog, called Myrant. Bissette's first post includes his first inspirational comic books, giant monster books Gorgo and Konga among them. I love Bissette's work and much of it has to do with giant monsters and dinosaurs. I've always been sad that his epic "Tyrant" was never completed. I can't wait to see what he does with this blog.
Check it out.

"It came out of a damn chicken egg!"

2005-08-15T10:20:00.000-05:00

"Carnosaur" was as much fun as I remember. It was weird and wild and a total cheap exploitation film. Roger Corman produced the film, which was released in 1993 to cash in on the big budget release of "Jurassic Park."
The film stars Diane Ladd (of movies like "Chinatown," "Christmas Vacation" and "Wild at Heart") as Dr. Jane Tiptree (a reference to James Tiptree Jr., the science fiction writer?) a mad scientist creating an apocalyptic virus that will wipe out the human race and make way for dinosaurs. Her work is funded by an evil corporation, Eunice, which is in turn funded by the government (and thereby, the movie creates a trifecta of B-movie villains: Mad scientist, evil corporation, evil government.) Ladd spends most of her time in a dark control room talking to people in gray rooms by camera. I imagine all her scenes were shot in one day.
Our hero, Doc, is played by Raphael Sbarge, an actor who started his career co-starring with Tom Cruise in "Risky Business" and now spends most of his time doing voice overs on Star Wars videogames. Here he plays a drunken night watchman at a quarry site. What the quarry is digging for, I have no idea. Apparently, the site is environmentally important, so the company's equipment is constantly under attack by a commune of environmentalists.
Doc drinks all the time, carries a rifle and yet has books about Gandhi and sketches the landscape. His trailer includes a poster of Alfred E. Neumann saying "What Me Worry?" as well as Doc's medical license, crossed out with the words "Just Do No Harm" written over it.
Eventually Doc meets one of the environmentalists, Thrush, (Jennifer Runyon who apparently hasn't done any work since this movie). Her only role in the plot, besides vague love interest, is to get in the Carnosaur's way.
Enough with the actors. The movie begins with a batch of chickens on a truck getting out of Ladd's lab just as quarantine begins. Among the chickens is a baby dinosaur, which of course kills the driver and escapes. Meanwhile, everyone is getting sick.
Apparently, Dr. Tiptree's plan has two parts. The first is the spread of a disease which makes women give birth to a giant green egg. The birthing process kills the infected women. The second part is baby dinosaurs born in chicken's eggs.
It's the loopiness of this plan that really makes the movie fun. A couple of dinosaurs get loose while feverish women give horrible birth. Neat.
The special effects are humorous but effective. There seems to be a combination of stop motion, puppets and animatronic models. If you've ever seen the TV show "Land of the Lost," the dinosaurs are about one step up from those. There's also some gore as the baby dinosaur rips the intestines out of people, but nothing spectacular.
The movie rips off scenes from "Alien," "Night of the Living Dead" and, believe it or not, a satirical final shot reminiscent of "Citizen Kane."
The movie is ridiculous, but a lot of fun. It never gets boring (though it veers close with static scenes in Ladd's lab and Eunice's board room.) Best of all, Clint Howard is in the first half hour of the film. Clint Howard makes any movie better.
The director, Adam Simon, also wrote the film "Bones," starring Snoop Dogg. The last two films he directed were "The American Nightmare," a documentary about horror films, and "The Typewriter, the Rifle & the Movie Camera," a documentary about director Samuel Fuller.
The film is based on a novel by Harry Adam Knight, which is apparently a pseudonym for John Brosnan, an Australian writer well known in science fiction fan circles. He died this year of acute pancreatitis. Apparently, the book is very different from the movie. In fact, some of the Amazon reviews claim Michael Crichton ripped off this book when he wrote "Jurassic Park."
The "Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" says about Brosnan's pseudonymous works "these written equivalents of exploitation ovies are slightly self-mocking but quite exciting as sf horror; all are variants on the humans-being-destroyed-by-monstrous-things theme." The Encyclopedia also points out "The initials of the pseudonyms were no accident." Brosnan also wrote as "Simon Ian Childer."
I'll have to pick up the novel and see what I think.
Finally, here are some other reviews of Carnosaur:
Dino-Source; Trash City; The B-Movie Film Vault; Cold Fusion Video Review; Stomp Tokyo; Bad Movies; At A Glance Film Reviews; Night of the Creeps; Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review; Mutant Reviewers; Broke Down Cinema; DVD Cult and Rotten Tomatoes.

Godzilla: Return scheduled for 2013

2005-08-10T14:48:00.000-05:00

According to a Monster Zero translation of a news report, Godzilla won't come back to the silver screen for another 9 years. Apparently, the producers want to wait for a new generation of fans to revive the films.

Giant monster drawings

2005-08-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

Check out Our Bullets Are Useless, a collection of monster drawings based on the Atlas (later marvel) comic books that almost always featured giant monsters. Very cool.

Kong documentary, DVD details

2005-08-08T09:39:00.000-05:00

Peter Jackson is making a two-hour documentary about the original King Kong for the DVD release of that movie. Apparently, the original King Kong will be released in November in three different packages:
1. The two-disc special edition.
2. A two-disc collector's edition that will be packaged in "a collectable tin and including a 20-page reproduction of the original souvenir program, postcard reproductions of the original one sheets, and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of a vintage 27-by-41-inch movie poster."
3. The above special edition will also be sold packaged with "Son of Kong" and "Mighty Joe Young."
Also of note, Ray Harryhausen will be doing a commentary on the "King Kong" (1933) disc.
Apparently, a two-disc special edition">Korean disc is for sale right now with just the original movie.

Carnosaur!

2005-07-27T12:50:00.000-05:00

Deep Discount DVD has a good bargain on the Carnosaur collection. This is the three Roger Corman produced "Carnosaur" movies. These are not what you'd call high art, even for giant monster movies, but they're fun and, now, cheap to buy! The films were produced to cash in on the "Jurassic Park" hype. Personally, I love the films. I can't wait to see them again and will write more after I've viewed them.
UPDATE: Carnosaur review here.

Blogcritics.org: The Mysterians DVD Review

2005-07-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

Blogcritics.org reviews the Mysterians DVD. Overall, they weren't big fans. But apparently, they felt more Mogera would have made it a better film:

It's also a mystery to the film, seemingly defeated within the opening half hour, then making a barely noticeable appearance near the finale, only to be crushed by the armed forces machinery. It feels like it was added at the last moment, and that ends up being a significant piece of trivia. There should have been more scenes involving the robot, especially to break up the war involving a stationary dome.

Of course, most films could benefit from giant monsters and robots. But maybe that's just me.

Dogora

2005-07-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

"Dogora" is now out from Media Blasters. It's the story of jewel thieves and a giant jellyfish desperately in need of carbon.
It's a strange movie. The jewel thief story seems to go on despite what's happening with the giant monster. If I understand the history of the movie correctly, a movie about jewel thieves was melded with the giant monster theme early on so Eiji Tsubaraya and Ishiro Honda could try some new technology of the time.
The new technology doesn't look so new now. The title creature is mainly jellyfish arms hanging from the skies, with only a couple of shots of the entire creature. The creature is matted in to the film - there's no rubber suits here. Unfortunately, some of the special effects near the end of the film - when the monster has been broken up into smaller "space cells" - are downright awful.
Still, the story was fun, if bizarre. Unlike "Varan," I was never bored with this movie. The disc is more basic than most of the Media Blasters releases. It only has the theatrical trailer and a photo gallery. Still, the transfer is excellent and this is the first time this movie has been released in its original Japanese form here. So another good job for Media Blasters.
Next up from the company is "Yog: Monster from Space." No release details are available yet. That's another film I've never seen and includes three giant monsters! I hope it's worth it.
There's also talk of Media Blasters looking to pick up "Atragon." Although it only has a minor giant monster part - Manda! - it's one of my favorite Ishiro Honda films. Let's hope Media Blasters is able to bring a new version here.

Varan the Unbelievable

2005-07-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

For years I've owned a video tape copy of Varan the Unbelievable put out by Something Weird. It was the U.S. version, starring Myron Healey, and it was awful. I tried watching it about 10 times and managed not to fall asleep about twice. But those images of the monster, Varan, always intrigued me. I wanted to know, what were the secrets of the original film, how had Americanization screwed it up.
Thanks to Media Blasters, now I know. The company's Tokyo Shock division has been putting out some great Japanese films of late, including The Mysterians and one of my favorite films, Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People. Varan is the first giant monster movie in the series (well, Mysterians features a giant robot, Mogera, but is really focused on the alien invasion).
And I've come to find out that Varan is still not a great giant monster movie. The first part of the film, set in the "Tibet of Japan," has some atmospheric looking locations and includes actual danger to the protagonists. But the rest of the film is bogged down in military movements and Varan thrashing around in the water. Even the smashing of buildings near the end isn't all that exciting.
Varan, itself, is a pretty good monster, as long as it stays on four feet. In those scenes, it moves like no other monster in the Toho canon. It seems to move like a cat, slinking back and forth, and often pulls its front two legs up on to a structure or mountain to get a better look at flares shot off by the military. On two legs, which only seems to happen near the end, it's just embarrassing. Varan's arms move side-to-side like the Creature from the Black Lagoon and really, it just doesn't look stable.
Then there's the flying. Completely excised from the American version, Varan flees from his homeland by getting on top of a mountain and spreading flying-squirrel-like wings. It makes the monster seem all the more interesting, but it seems to come out of nowhere and is never used again.
Still, this version is a far better film than the American, and it certainly deserves a look from all dedicated monster fans.
The disc is terrific. You get Japanese language with subtitles on the movie, plus there's a second version of the movie as it was originally edited for television. There's also an audio commentary.
But the best extra I've seen is a short video about the molding of Varan. Keizo Murase, the original molder of Varan, teaches this little course in the making of scales and skin. It makes me want to build my own Varan at home!
Media Blasters isn't finished yet, either. They've got two more giant monster movies lined up, both of which I can't wait to see. The first is Dogora, giant jellyfish that come from the sky. That DVD is out now. The second is Yog, the Monster from Space, which will go under its original American title Space Amoeba. Details on both films can be seen in the HenshinOnline archives.

JP4 news

2005-05-25T14:50:00.000-05:00

For updated info on what's happening (or not happening) with Jurassic Park IV, check out Dan's JP3 Page - The World's Greatest JP Paper. Apparently, that crazy script for the movie, mentioned in my last post, is not made up. Sayles confirms it here and here. Despite this, all the latest news seems to show that Jurassic Park IV is on hold. And once a movie is "on hold" it rarely revives. Ah well.

More Jurassic Park IV news

2005-02-21T19:24:00.000-05:00

Apparently, production on Jurassic Park IV is getting under way and the whole cast from the original film is returning, at least according to this article.
I wrote about some of the script details here. I can't imagine the story will actually be as crazy as reported.

Final Wars reviews

2004-11-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

Well, "Godzilla Final Wars" has premiered in America (the first time a G premiere happened here before Japan) and the reviews are coming in. And Ain't It Cool News has a review as well:

This past summer, I got really tired of hearing people try to defend VAN HELSING as “just fun,” because it didn’t feel to me while watching it like Stephen Sommers actually had fun making it. It just felt like he had a release date to make and thought that biggerlouderfaster was the way to cover any narrative flaws. Here, you can feel Kitamura giggling behind the camera as he piles up the insanity, and it’s infectious.
...
From the moment Godzilla wakes up to the end of the movie, Kitamura kicks out the jams and just bombards you with one fight after another. Some of them are frustratingly brief, like when he butts heads with the miserable American Godzilla in Sydney Harbor. Just about the time the real deals holds down the pale imitation and starts recreating a scene from DELIVERANCE, the sequence is over. Other fights pick up in the middle, like when we see Godzilla whup up on Hedorah, who was actually one of the toughest monsters to fight in the original series. These are minor nitpicks, though. There’s something like an hour of sustained monster action, intercut with kung-fu and spaceship dogfights and a kamikaze STAR WARS scene and did I mention that Minilla drives a car? Seriously. And he wears a seatbelt. It’s gloriously batshit, and I loved it all.

It sounds like this is a very fun movie filled with lots of references to Toho past. However, it's not a serious movie. Almost every review mentions Minya and how he just slows down the film.
Still, it all sounds immensely fun. I'm hoping it gets an American release so everybody can enjoy Godzilla's 50th in style.

Bob Eggleton on Godzilla

2004-11-22T14:23:00.000-05:00

Fantasy and science fiction artist Bob Eggleton has written a nice summation of Godzilla's career at Locus Online. It won't be anything new for Godzilla fans, but it's a nice way to get literary science fiction fans to check kaiju films out. Eggleton is a great artist and is very active in Godzilla fandom. His most recent work is the cover of Japanese Giants, which can be seen at the Locus site.

Happy birthday, Gojira!

2004-11-03T14:35:00.000-05:00

Today, Nov. 3, my favorite giant monster is 50 years old. The theatrical release of the original "Gojira" opened in Japan today. (It would be another year yet before his American sibling, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" would premiere.) Half a century of giant irradiated reptile goodness, that's quite an achievement. Here's to another 50!

Inside the suit

2004-11-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

Here's a nice profile of the latest man in the Godzilla suit, Tsutomu Kitagawa.

Gojira, Mysterians to be released on DVD!

2004-10-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

According to this little snippet from USA Today (found at Digital Monster Island), the original Gojira will be put out on Region 1 DVD by Classic Media! It's about time. This follows up Rialto's theatrical release of the film that beat Van Helsing on per theater receipts this summer (it opened on the same weekend). No date yet. I can't wait!
And while I'm at it, Media Blasters has set Jan. 25 as a release date for The Mysterians, a classic Japanese science fiction film that includes the first appearance of Mogera. There's also talk of the same company bringing out Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People) which is my favorite Japanese fantasy film. This is truly a good time to be a fan of Japanese fantasy films.

"Godzilla on my mind" review

2004-10-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

Jim Knipfel, a Godzilla fan himself, reviews "Godzilla on My Mind: 50 years of the King of Monsters." He likes the book saying that while it is filled with fannish references to the movies and bad attempts at humor, it captures the personal experience of loving Godzilla movies.
And while I'm at it, let me continue to mention "The Buzzing," Jim Knipfel's novel. For any giant monster fan, it is overflowing with references to daikaiju and the plot hinges on one well known Godzilla film as well.

More Final Wars photos

2004-09-30T12:54:00.000-05:00

New "Godzilla Final Wars" photos have turned up. These include shots of Rodan, Angilas, King Seesar and Atragon. The shots apparently came from a Japanese magazine. I don't know about the Godzilla suit in this movie, its profile looks kind of odd.
Also, since I last checked in here, a second band has been announced for Final Wars: Zebrahead; and a release date of Dec. 14 has been announced for the DVDs of "Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S." and "Son of Godzilla."

Garuda gets some attention

2004-09-16T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well the reviews are starting to come in for Garuda, a "Thaikaiju" film (I can't decide if that word is too silly or not), a giant monster film from Thailand. At Stomp Tokyo, they give it 2 out of 4 lava lamps.

For those viewers hungry for good old-fashioned romp-n-stomp destruction, however, Garuda may well be what you crave. The monster design is certainly unusual enough, especially if you haven't read many comic books, and he proves surprisingly difficult to kill for a creature with bones light enough to allow flight. (Let's just say that if you're a fan of the "villain thought dead returns" gag, you're going to love Garuda.) At fifteen feet tall the title creature technically qualifies as a giant monster, but don't be surprised when he does more damage to the city's inhabitants than to the city itself.

At Digital Monster Island, they seem to have a better view of the film.

Luckily, the film is made with enough style to elevate it above its Sci-Fi Channel brethren. While Garuda has its share of flaws, it gets enough things right for kaiju fans to look forward to more monster films from Thailand. Grade: B

Unfortunately, Rotten Tomatoes doesn't seem to have the film listed. Every time I search for it, I get The Dream of Garuda, a much, much different film. Here's an entry for Garuda at Ken's Force.
Interesting side note, Garuda is the first Thai movie to be shot entirely on digital. And another side note, if you're a China Mieville fan, you probably recognize the word Garuda. He uses it for the name of his bird people, including Yagharek, one of the main characters in Perdido Street Station.

New Japanese Giants

2004-09-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

Japanese Giants magazine has a new issue at the printer. Japanese Giants is a very irregularly published, but excellent magazine for daikaiju fans. Here's what you'll get:

Japanese Giants #10
Commemorative Issue for the 50th Anniversary of Godzilla (1954)
64 pages printed on high-quality slick paper with color cover

Featuring:
Color wraparound cover illustrated by Hugo Award winning artist Bob Eggleton
Godzilla (1954)
* Making of Godzilla by Ed Godziszewski
* Staff biographies by August Ragone and Ed Godziszewski
* Original story by Shigeru Kayama - synopsis
* Who was Gojira? by Richard Pusateri
* Deleted/Altered Scenes
* Godzilla-The Radio Drama
* Japanese Film Industry circa 1954 by Stuart Galbraith
* Haruo Nakajima interview by Steve Ryfle and Oki Miyano
* Godzilla-The Score by Jim Figurski
* Akira Takarada interview by Steve Ryfle and Oki Miyano
* Rialto Pictures-The Uncut Japanese Original by Keith Aiken
* Oxygen Destroyer Blueprints by Bill Gudmundson
Acting in Tokyo SOS by Norman England
50 Years of Movie Making and Movie Watching by Neil Riebe
Profile of Toho Production Designer Yasukyuki Inoue by Oki Miyano
Toho Production Design Roundtable Discussion by Oki Myano
Mini Reviews
* Onmyoji by Bob Johnson
* Giant Robo by Jim Walsh
* When You Sing of Love by Andre Dubois

Featuring several rare and unpublished photos, design sketches, and quotations.

Order by sending check or money order for $10 ($8 plus $2 postage), payable to Ed Godziszewski:

Japanese Giants
PO Box 30078
Chicago, IL 60630

For more information on this issue as well as back issues, please contact: edgoji@yahoo.com

Godzilla vs. Sum 41

2004-09-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

Monster Zero News informs us that "Godzilla: Final Wars" will feature a song by Sum 41.
This has increased some of the misgivings Godzilla fans are having about this movie. There was a lot of excitement about all these monsters and old ideas being thrown into this movie. But now, people are wondering, how can this movie work? It's starting to sound like it will be one big mess. I'm not prejudging, I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of monster mash Kitamura can pull off. But to have a pop-punk band attached to your Godzilla film before a composer is named, well that worries me.
UPDATE: Tokyo Monsters has an mp3 of Sum 41's song "We're All to Blame" in its media section. It's the song that will be used in "Godzilla Final Wars."

King Kong toys

2004-09-10T13:40:00.000-05:00

In other King Kong news, Playmates Toys will be in charge of making toys for the new King Kong movie. Playmates currently make the Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Kong.
On message boards at Club Tokyo there seems to be some doubt about how well this company can pull it off. But we'll have to wait and see.
In the meantime, I'm glad I have my McFarlane version of Kong looming over my computer.

King Kong site corrects unfortunate misinformation

2004-09-10T13:25:00.000-05:00

So there is this pretty neat King Kong Web site called Kong is King. It looks like it will be good for news, but an entry on their The History of King Kong section has me doubting their credibility:

"King Kong VS. Godzilla" - 1962

Another addition in the "Godzilla" series, the Japanese certainly have their own unique, and fun, take on the great ape. In the Japanese version, Kong lost, but in the American version, he won.

I can't describe to you how much I cringed when I saw this. For those of you who don't know, there has never been, never was and never will be two endings to "Godzilla vs. King Kong." There is one ending in which Godzilla and King Kong topple into the sea and we see King Kong arise from the ocean and head back to his home island. That's it. I own both versions of the film so I can confirm what any good Godzilla fan knows, there's just one ending.
The worst thing is this bit of misinformation keeps reappearing over and over at official sites. It's awful.
Also, I didn't like their description of "Son of Kong":

After the wonderful reaction to the first film, a sequel was produced. Carl Denham returned, this time meeting a little Kong. The film was considered mediocre at best. (An interesting note: Both of these early films feature a character known as a "Witch king." Sound familiar?)

Of course, "Son" was not as good as "King Kong" (few movies are) but it was far from "mediocre at best." It think it's a highly underrated film.
As for that bit about the witch king, a reference to the Lord of the Rings, what relevance does that have? Lord of the Rings was written after King Kong (and no, I don't think it influenced the books) and the characters are totally different. Whatever.
Anyway, I hope the Kong news site cleans up a bit. I would like it to be a good place to go for information, it isn't currently, though.

UPDATE: Kong is King has corrected the entry on King Kong vs. Godzilla, which makes me very happy. Hopefully everything else is fact checked. In the meantime, it's a great site to watch for the new King Kong movie news. Check it out.

Gamera series to continue?

2004-09-09T11:23:00.000-05:00

According to Monster Zero News, Kadokawa studios has mentioned doing a new Gamera movie. This is good news, although there is only one line in the original story stating that the president of the company is planning on continuing the series.
The Gamera series of the '90s was quite possibly the best (and certainly three of the best) giant monster movies of all time. Now continuing the series without director Shusuke Kaneko is a gamble, but we'll hope for the best.
(And for those who are having problems with Monster Zero hotlinks, here's the Web address, just paste it into your browser: http://www.monsterzero.us/editorials/editorials.php?catID=Nws&subCatID=15&contentID=535 )

Godzilla vs. Honda

2004-09-03T13:22:00.000-05:00

Godzilla is shilling for Honda now. The first of their commercials is online.
Actually, when I first saw the title, "Godzilla X Honda," I thought it was some cheeky name for a documentary about Godzilla director Ishiro Honda. Too bad it wasn't the case.

William Hope Hodgson

2004-08-31T14:30:00.000-05:00

William Hope Hodgson was a great weird writer of the early 20th Century. He was loved by H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, and China Mieville has often mentioned his named as an influence.
He's also a great creator of giant monsters. Books like "The House on the Borderland" and "The Night Lands" were filled with giant, mystical monsters.
Recently, I've been reading his work, collected by Night Shade Books in a continuing series. In the first volume, there is a series of stories about the Sargasso Sea. I was surprised to find out that the Sargasso Sea is an actual place. It exists in the mid-Atlantic and is filled with seaweed. The Bermuda Triangle is within its borders.
Each of Hodgson's stories I've read so far have included a giant animal. I suspect most of the other stories in the series do as well.
Anyone who is interested in giant monsters couldn't go wrong picking up Hodgson's work. It's great weird fiction anyway. And Hodgson most likely had a direct effect on some of my favorite giant monster movies. His story "The Voice in the Night" was the direct inspiration for Ishiro Honda's film Matango, better known as "Attack of the Mushroom People." It's a great little horror film. I'd be curious to learn if Hodgson was regularly translated into Japanese.
Here's a site about Hodgson (edit: web site is gone) and there seems to be plenty more if you're so inclined. I also think his work is in the public domain, so you can find much of it online. Here's "From the Tideless Sea" (edit: link also gone, here's what Gutenberg has), the first of his Sargasso Sea stories. Enjoy.

Titano: The Monster that Time Forgot!!

2004-08-31T12:36:00.000-05:00

At a flea market a few weeks ago, I picked up the No. 7 issue of "Tower of Shadows," a 1970 reprint Marvel comic. It's filled with wacky stories done by great artists. The first oneis called "Titano: The Monster that Time Forgot." Monster Blog has a few pictures and a description of the giant crab monster. It's a silly story, but fun. It has no credits, but there is no doubt that Jack Kirby drew it.
Titano splits boats in half and causes tremendous tidal waves over Japan, before our stalwart Navy hero comes on the scene. He paints his submarine in luminous yellow paint and gets the monster to chase him. Eventually, they embed the monster in a glacier in the arctic.
Kirby was the master of giant monster in comic books. Check out Monster Blog, which includes articles on all Kirby's giants. It's great stuff.

Smog Monster vs. Sea Monster

2004-08-31T11:48:00.000-05:00

The "Godzilla Final Wars" info doesn't stop coming. Here's the latest, this Japanese (I assume) blog has pictures of Hedorah vs. Ebirah. They look like they were taken from a magazine. The last picture is the most interesting to my eyes.

Godzilla (1954) soundtrack review

2004-08-31T10:23:00.000-05:00

Filmtracks reviews the Godzilla soundtrack. They are quite complimentary, although the second review seems pretty uninformed to me.

Filmtracks Recommends:

Buy it... if you have any interest in Akira Ifukube or Gojira, for the 2004 album is the definitive release of the original film's music.

Avoid it... if you do not value the history of Gojira more than the need for perfect sound quality, or if the Ifukube style has proven too foreign for your Western sensibilities.

I have the soundtrack on now and it is better than I ever imagined. The couple of excerpts on "The Best of Godzilla 1954-1975" made me think it might be boring. It's anything but. It's a definite must have for any Godzilla fan.

Godzilla clip and Hedorah picture

2004-08-30T11:09:00.000-05:00

There's a new link at Monster Zero to a Japanese television promotional clip for "Godzilla Final Wars." The clip is filled with quick shots of Godzilla, Rodan, Gigan, Monster X and Zilla. Zilla (the monster previously known as GINO) is in such a short clip, you have to pause and brighten your screen to see him.
Also at Monster Zero, the first screen shot of the new Hedorah, the Smog Monster.
(I hear Monster Zero links aren't working correctly. If you take the following links and paste them into your browser, they should work.
GFW spot:
http://www.monsterzero.us/editorials/editorials.php?catID=Nws&
subCatID=15&contentID=527
Hedorah: http://monsterzero.us/monsterzero/news/gfw/hedorah.jpg )

Fangoria on Akira Ifukube

2004-08-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

Norman England writes in Fangoria about Akira Ifukube, possibly the greatest giant monster composer of all time. He wrote the music to the original Godzilla, now available through La-la Land Records, and most of the rest of the series. The article adds a few things I didn't know about Ifukube -- such as his work as a writer -- and is a good overview of his life. Definitely worth a read.

Godzilla vs. GINO

2004-08-27T10:12:00.000-05:00

Many fans are getting their wish: the real Godzilla will face off against the Devlin & Emmerich Godzilla and annihilate it.

"I want to compete with America. I want to overwhelm the American Godzilla (which is a symbol of CG) with the Japanese technique of suitmation,"says Kitamura. In the movie, Godzilla is made from a suit, and Zilla is made from CG. "I’m putting in the movie what people all over the world want...Zilla. I want to reach the height of the series and return Godzilla back to being strong and cool again. There are times also when Godzilla behaves affectionately and humorously which I think will make Roland Emmerich laugh if he sees this movie," Kitamura says with confidence. FINAL WARS opens December 4th.