I think we should be grateful that Toho mercifully allows to show Godzilla sleeping or we'd see a bunch of stupid youtube videos claiming that he doesn't sleep because he can just recharge by floating in the ocean.
GODZILLA WORLD TOUR (1954-2024)
It took him 70 years but he finally completed his goal to visit each of the seven continents. Congrats, Godzilla. You achieved what only Metallica did before you.
A scene lost in translation? Godzilla's hospital victim is played by Tomoe Shinohara, who's a singer and a celebrity in Japan apparently considered very annoying so her death in this scene was meant to elicit laughs and cheers like Paris Hilton dying in a horror film.
Godzilla: The rags to riches story. Yeah like everyone else sometimes I remember it all happened and just can't believe it because such comeback is unprecedented. Insane return on that emotional investment. Those previous ten years really really dragged those who know... know.
GxK book also discusses the times Godzilla saved specific humans and if it was accidental or intentional. Ambiguity adds to the mystery and it's cool like in KotM in this scene I think Godzilla used humans as bait but also made sure to ambush Ghidorah before he reached the ship.
A controversy I've seen: It's bad that Godzilla is afraid of the incoming threat
Hard disagree. It's good. That's character. He's a living creature not a subtextual entity. I want him to be anxious about facing earth-ending monsters that are twice as tall as he is but not--
A nice little detail in 1954 Godzilla. People rather rudely awakened by Godzilla and peering through the window having no idea what's going on or what's making all that noise.
We didn't get it from the Jurassic franchise so Godzilla did it first ("Godzilla" being the umbrella term here). A classic fight between T.rex and Triceratops. There was a rumor they were models used for digital scanning borrowed from Stan Winston but I think that's debunked.
Serizawa's action made such an impression on Godzilla he can't stop thinking about it a couple years later. A surprising and still unexplored side to Godzilla. Another victim of him being sidelined recently that shows that there are still many things they can do with him.
The movie explores Godzilla's loneliness. For once he doesn't attack anything for the sake of it but to get the baby and he even roars softly as if not to scare it. Interesting that Junior's theme is already quite sad but I guess he was a sad character right from the start.
I love the idea of Godzilla getting slightly creeped out by something (like in Godzilla 2000).
I know it's a perfectly natural reaction to have when someone pours some suspicious liquid in your face but I love how he covers his snout with one hand and waves with the other 🩵.
Desghidorah's suit under construction. When was the last time they made one for a four-legged kaiju? It's one of the biggest challenges because human anatomy is just not suited for it.
TOP 10 GODZILLA/TOHO FRANCHISE MYTHS
A thread discussing some of the controversial topics of the franchise in an attempt to either answer them or present the arguments because not everything will be definitive and the evidence may be conflicting. Let's go on a journey.
Myth
#10
” Godzilla doesn’t have a big part to play anymore because after KoTM there’s nowhere to take his character.”
I was under the impression that KotM started a new chapter in his development instead of ending it. Do people have pitches for new movies? I came up with a few.
@Goji_Saurus
People thought living on Skull Island made Kong tougher (and looking more mature) than HE Kongs his size but no, there's clearly something in the water down there.
It's probably called power creep.
Monarch episode 6 preview from Gizmodo tells us two things.
On is that:
50s team=quality
and the other that Randa was there with them to witness it which is great.
Paywalled article I need to highlight this because I know this is something a lot of people are interested in. Yamazaki is asked about working conditions in Japan and on Godzilla Minus One. The VFX component was mostly in-house, which helped with organization and efficiency.
Is it too early to say that something changed irreversibly with Minus One?
Godzilla movies have been celebrated by the critics before (Showa era with each home release, Shin Godzilla) but this time the attention is so mainstream and even some fans see their series differently🧵
Kitamura was a huge fan of 70s Godzilla (especially Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla) so it's not far-fetched to interpret this interaction as as a homage. Godzilla is trying to speak with his friend but realizes he's mind-controlled. I'm glad at least FW Goji had bits of character.
showing it just rushing into battle regardless. He doesn't want to die but he has a responsibility. For me it's on the same level as for example 70s Goji getting beaten to a bloody pulp or fainting in Godzilla vs. Gigan. That's struggle. And no one questions Kong being afraid.
The whole scene got memed to death but it's one of my favorite of the whole era. Godzilla will be ok but they don't know that and the show finds a way to frame one of few Godzillas to not be created by nukes, as a victim of the atomic age. This empathy has always been there but--
Will they explain why Godzilla doesn't just send like 20 giant monsters against the villains?
Seriously will they? This team up suggests he acknowledges two villains may be too much for one monster but so far his role as the king and leader is reduced to tie in material.
#GodzillaXKong
villain Scar King is the MonsterVerse's greatest threat yet
"It’s really going to take a full team together to bring it down ... it’s too big for just one titan"
(via
@totalfilm
)
I don't know if Kenpachiro Satsuma played adult Godzilla Jr in this scene, it's possible because it's simply a Godzilla suit and they were fitted for each actor. If so I find this really poignant. Godzilla will live on always.
Apparently Eiji Tsuburaya had so much fun filming the fight between Frankenstein and Baragon it influenced Ultraman because he loved the contrast of a humanoid wrestling a heavy dinosaur kaiju
To me this approach has serious problems for what's supposed to be a giant-sized fight.
I'd like to take a moment to appreciate an underrated MV moment I like. Godzilla leaving San Francisco. Vivienne and Serizawa tearing up because all of their theories abut Godzilla have been confirmed. He's peaceful after all. Something that others doubted throughout the film.
Hear from writer, director, and VFX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki and learn more about the unique approach Shirogumi took with the visual effects of
#GodzillaMinusOne
.
The last word belongs to Akira Ifukube. The composer adds to the story by adding bells to signify Godzilla's soul entering heaven.
It's well-known. I talked about this before but I just wanted to say watching this made me think how much I don't want Godzilla to go ever again.
On March 10, 2024 Godzilla became an Oscar-winning franchise, an honor that once bestowed will remain with it forever. However, the success in what’s probably the only Oscar chance Godzilla will ever receive relied on a number of circumstances that had to align perfectly. 1/18
FUN TRIVIA THREAD with the KIRYU SAGA (2002-03)
The origins of the Kiryu saga can be traced back to the year 2000. It was supposed to follow the continuity from Godzilla vs. Megaguirus but Masaaki Tezuka, a huge Godzilla fanatic, had to wait for Shusuke Kaneko's turn first. 1/15
After killing the male but before the building collapses on him, there's a cool moment where Godzilla remembers he's still a mortal and allows himself a moment to catch a breath. He wasn't ready yet, his body must be so unbelievably tired.
That is also shot through a window.
Back when no one knew what the sequel to 1984 Godzilla is going to be, Mount Mihara, where Godzilla ended up in in, erupted for real (November 19, 1986). Toho quickly sent the crew there knowing they will need this a couple years before the sequel became Godzilla vs. Biollante.
Mechagodzilla essentially becoming a villain for this scene. But then again you don't have a clear villain in this movie. No one's threatning the world for once, but you have several sides of the conflict with clear motivations. Four of them in fact. And they all make sense.
OMG did...did Godzilla's actions accidently lead to these people's deaths? 😰 That's it! He's no longer a hero and a good guy! He's a neutral force of nature! 😤
Godzilla adopting Junior. 1:19 has maybe the best use of Godzilla's animatronic face. A great moment between two monsters treating them as characters and Miki communicating directly with Godzilla (and Baby) is something unique and incredibly rare.
And that look of utter contempt when looking down at a machine humans made in his image to destroy him.
This is the only time Godzilla beat Mechagodzilla in a 1v1 fight.
The alternative view of the scene from the 2014 prologue. So they used the nuke as bait making him think it's an emergency to the environment. Which it totally was. The film didn't make it look like he was actually charging at it more like he was ambushed near his dwelling place.
This is how to make children cry and this is what Grant Sputore should aim for. Godzilla can't even stand up, he receives the beating of his entire career. Besides his fight against Super Mechagodzilla he never lost consciousness (in G14 he fainted after the fight). It's so sad.
If you remember, Showa Godzilla took itself seriously and I don't mean the tone I mean the movie could be silly but it didn't look down on you, wasn't a farce like "haha we're so goofy and self-aware" like F&F that just panders to the joke. So if GxK is like that then cool.
Let's have another FUN TRVIA THREAD featuring Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). Why it's the way it is, what coud've been and the controversy that made the news and put Toho in trouble like perhaps no other Godzilla movie before or since.
1/18
And finally to close the subject of the studio logo at the end of the year this is a crude overview of maybe not the entire studio history but the movies relevant to us. There's no single perfect source about different versions of the logo but I hope it's as accurate as possible.
Godzilla Minus One is the most maritime movie in the series. About time. Usually ships play a supporting role. But there's a lot of them in the movie I'm glad I don't have to analyze the tech of Minus One just yet.
Cute? I say this Godzilla is NOT okay. Of course the things he went through would drive anyone insane. Maybe this will also be reflected in his behavior. Shodai and Heisei combined and turbocharged. Oxygen Destroyer would be an act of mercy.
I know it's IGN but I do like the quote. The most versatile character. It's something you can't measure but he is shockingly vesatile (which some fans don't like apparently) the series stays relevant with ease while so many other struggle. How does a monster series achieve this?
The way they were able to bring these puppets to life and make the entire trilogy center around them.
I love Mothra's little "come on" taunt she does there. So sassy.
The opening military scene in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (abridged). Maybe the best of that entire era? The use of tech (real & fictional) in Tezuka's films was always top notch. We always see how it works from the ground level also, finally, the interior of the Maser cannon.
Hey, did you know that in 2025 we're gonna get a documentary film about Ishiro Honda? I often complain about lack of documentaries about Godzilla (and related topics) so there's one more and a very important one.
@IAmTarrell
Just starting death in the face and having a healthy fear of his own mortality (though he has a different outlook on death) but with zero effect on his performance in a fight. Just a little vulnerability. As I said regarding Godzilla I'll take what I can get with this new movie.
@KrustaceanPlays
If only we could hear his internal monologue. I suspected it was more than a gag. Like Godzilla getting used to humans again and it was kinda related to that. In the sense that Godzilla's past with humanity is referenced.
Two other scenes that were meant to provoke such reaction from its original intended audience. The Nichigeki Theatre gag from 1954 Godzilla and the destruction of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.
The movie establishes that Godzillasaurus's eyes glow red when scared or in distress. We see Godzilla's eyes do it as Mechagodzilla is torturing him. Real angst.
@CARB0NADO0
And he spared the life of the last remaining member of the species that probably destroyed what was left of his kind.According to Dougherty so he could watch her grovel at his feet and yeah sure he must've liked it but he left her live in peace as long as she stays out of trouble
it's the first time we see in displayed on screen like that. As others pointed out it's important that it's the Japanese character who wants Castle Bravo stopped. It keeps the core meaning of the original despite Godzilla's heroic characterization in this era.
@Edrick1954
That's what they're enforcing. To imply that Godzilla only absorbs radiation even though the intention is that this Godzilla also eats regular food. So now it's a game of showing it without showing it.
@Beanmanreal
They only mentioned that the boat was physical. Toho has no pools anymore, no one caught a glimpse of any props on set. There were miniatures of the ruined post-WWII houses that were incorporated into composite shots and that's it afawk.
Frost Vark is named after Aardvark, "vark" meaning "pig" in Afrikaans. Frost pig is pretty cool. Aardvark is sometimes colloquially called the anteater however Frost Vark doesn't eat frost but heat.
Misinformation about Ishiro Honda is spreading on political twitter. Ironically it's probably based on this excellent biography (recommended to the uninformed) that explains Honda's stance on imperial Japan, war and his situation and what he actually did. He was a whistleblower.
Wanna know something creepy? Browse youtube and you will find hundreds of videos by lefty people with degrees in watching netflix, on how godzilla is really deep and about Hiroshima.
But, nobody will mention the creator of Godzilla ran a military brothel with Korean sex slaves.
#GodzillaMinusOne
apparently delivered. Not to sound too cocky because I didn't make those movies but Godzilla proves time and time again he's the GOAT of the genre regardless of his role or tone of the film. There will be comparisons to Shin Godzilla it's gonna be interesting.
@kaijunator1954
🤓Uhm akshually it's a proof that Godzilla species is solitary because if he wasn't he would be happy to see four rapidly rotating sharp blades getting closer and closer to his face.
@battleupsaber
According to Kurosawa they both celebrated the fall of the imperial regime. Of course in case of Honda, there was no escape if the totalitarian government wanted him to serve even for many years. I don't know if they're aware of the situation of an average person.
I think many of the supposed Toho rules are hearsay but I believe the "Godzilla can't be shown eating" does apply to the movies (but not IDW comics?). I thought he just evaporated Ghidorah but Dougherty said he ate some of him (and burped) as he's a meat-eater. Sneaky I accept it
You think the military in YOUR monster movies is incompetent? It will never reach this level.
65% casualty rate from friendly fire, collateral damage to the entire surrounding area, all of the survivors deaf due to the proximity of fire in an urban area.
Zero shots on target.
For some reason I never asked myself what is the base that Godzilla destroys in KKvG but now I'm interested in geography of these movies and this didn't make sense until I looked closer. Godzilla is on the disputed Kuril Islands and those tanks have Soviet insignia
Based Godzilla
@Goji_Saurus
I believe he's from the sort of stock that cares only for the main geek franchises: Star Wars, Marvel, DC without care about anything else. Only they're allowed to have 30 sequels but other franchises having 4-6 movies is too much and they should stop (even if they don't care).
I've got it. The camera used to film Star Wars which had a Mechagodzilla figure on top of the rigging. Not an archival photo but most of them don't show the front so this is the best quality.
Now while watching the battle scenes in Star Wars remember what's just above the camera.
In the 80s Akira Ifukube experimented and created synth and jazz versions of his Godzilla film music. Which reminds me of the way John Barry evolved his sound to be contemporary around the same period. But if I didn't know it existed I'd say it's a bit out of character for him.