Masaru Sato is the composer. He would take over when Akira Ifukube was either unavailable or not interested. Sato's scores were incredibly jazzy and catchy. I love both composers equally. Sato and Ifukube would also alternate in composing another iconic film series as well.....and that is Zatoichi.
One of my favourites, mostly because the lead alien spends the movie smoking cigars and drinking brandy out of crystal goblets! Who knew they had cigars in space! Fun movie!
In 1974 I was ten years old and Planet Earth was run by Joe Namath, Muhammad Ali, Evil Knievel, Bruce Lee, the Mad Magazine guys, the Iron Man comics guys AND GODZILLA!!! And we were Kung Fu Fighting!
Doctor Who was actual Doctor Who and not 'the Doctor'. For some reason, Dr. Who was the villain in King Kong Escapes. That movie was from Toho and was apparetly based on the 60s King Kong Show cartoon. Professor Bond and his family were the heroes, and Dr. Who was a main villain.
I remember watching this as a kid the 1st time it aired on U.S. TV! I was visiting my Grandparents & right when things were getting good my Granddad walked in wanting to watch (are you sitting down!?!) Sports! & just changes the Channel! (Like he owned the place!)
Saw this on its original U.S. release at a one-show only Saturday matinee. In a packed house, I was one of the very few in attendance over the age of 12 and the projectionist showed the fourth and fifth reels out of order. If anybody but me noticed, they kept it to themselves. The film was called 'Godzilla vs the Bionic Monster' then as 'The Six Million Dollar Man' was all the rage and the distributors were trying to capitalize. Universal quickly threatened a lawsuit and the title was soon changed back to 'Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla'.
Actually, after the initial law suit, they changed the name to Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster. I was about 12 at the time of release, and I saw Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster at a drive-in, then maybe a year later, I saw Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster at another drive in as part of an all-night Godzilla-thon.
Yaaaay, the quasi-annual Dark Corners Godzilla review is one of my favorite times of the year! 🥳 As for suit-actor shoutouts, the obvious choice is Haruo Nakajima, the consummate Goji actor, having worn the suit starting with the 1954 original until _Godzilla vs Gigan_ in 1972, as well as playing a plethora of other kaiju along the way 🙂
@@euansmith3699 My very first motorbike insurance policy explicitly stated that I wasn't covered if my bike was crushed by the shockwave caused by a low flying supersonic jet. I often wondered what happened that they felt the need to add that clause. I'm curious if Japanese home owner insurance has clauses that state "unless your home is destroyed by Kaiju."
a step up in tone from Megalon (which I do love), GvMG is a LOT of fun. Nothing beats Showa era Kaiju Eiga. Huge part of my childhood AND adulthood. Great review as always!
The Mechagodzilla duology from the 70s are probably my favourite Godzilla films from the late Showa era. They're such a marked improvement over the previous 4 films in my opinion.
Indeed. From Godzilla's Revenge to Godzilla vs. Megalon, the films were too cheap, too goofy, and felt like a shadow of the earlier Showa triumphs. The Mechagodzilla films had decent production value, entertaining action that wasn't too goofy, and felt more like Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964).
That's one thing I love about the Godzilla movies. Every once in a while someone will look at and/or theorize about something and come up with some weird, specific explanation afterwards. Like: Looks at metal plate under a Microscope: "That surely is Space Titanium!". And of course, they're always correct. :D
Hey there Dark Corners. Love your review of this film. Here are some fun facts. In the earliest screenplay of the film, titled "Giant Monsters Converge on Okinawa! Showdown in Cape Zanpa" is a bit different from the final film. First, Mechagodzilla is not in it and neither was King Shisa. Godzilla, along with Anguirus and Mothra fight a group of ape-like aliens called 'the Garuga' and their robot monster, 'Garugan'. In the next screenplay, "Showdown in Cape Zanpa: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla", Garuga is replaced by Mechagodzilla and the aliens, dubbed the 'The R-Aliens', also us Gigan as part of the plan to conquer Earth. Mothra is no in the story but a a precursor to King Shisa, called King Barugan or King Vulcan is introduced. You can learn more about this from John Lemay's books 'Writing Japanese Monsters' and 'The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films: Mutated Edition. Both are a need for the kaiju lover in you.
@@Gappasaurus Yo yo yo yo! I’m chicka chicka waiting on them to install internet in the new house I just moved into so that I may upload more videos. How about you?
You said it perfectly with it balancing the silliness with genuine stakes and great action. Thankyou for doing this one, Im a big fan of this genre. Any chance on doing a bad movie review on "Atom Age Vampire" as it has so much material for your type of comedy
I love the sound of the original Godzilla. Shout out to the amazing Doug Jones. From Pan's Labyrinth to The Shape of Water to What we do in the Shadows he can be any thing. And btw congrats on the T-shirt line Robin, thats awesome!
This was the first Godzilla movie that I saw in grade school and it's still my favorite one. It manages to perfectly balance goofy action with lots of blood , big 70s explosions and a decent human story
Mecha Godzilla is my second-favorite Godzilla (Space Godzilla takes the lead). As for crediting masked actors, I gotta say Old Man Jenkins, owner of the haunted amusement park. He set the bar for decades to come.
I'd like to shout out Ricou Browning, because when I was in elementary school I read a book about The Creature from the Black Lagoon and 3rd grade me was very impressed that he could hold his breath for 4 minutes at a time while filming.
I have the remastered, unedited version. Its amazingly clear and I like to watch it in its original Japanese. Never realized the film was so violent, though. A def fave, and I love the snappy theme. I'm guessing there's real significance in Miyarabi staring blankly at her grandfather as he prays for Caesar to destroy the people of Japan for what they did to his people. In the begining the woman says the King Caesar wall painting is of Korean origins.
As campy as these films were, every once in a while you will get something profound or serious in these Godzilla movies. The scene where the princess stares blankly is one of them. The look on her face lets you know that she feels sorry for her grandfather who has completely gone off the deep end at that point and that she disapproves of what he is wishing for.
I remember watching this on TV as a kid and also marvelling at how violent it was, seeing Godzilla spurting blood. I must've seen an un-edited version.
1:34 Y’know, for as many times as i’ve watched this movie i don’t think it ever occurred to me that apparently every heroic lead receives a girlfriend and a scientific advisor as standard-issue. That’s kind of hilarious, thanks Robin! 😆
I know this is not the best Godzilla movie, but it has always been my favorite since I was a child. This and Death Wish 3 have both become the same thing to me in adulthood: always entertaining background noise when I need it.
Even though I prefer Godzilla as a metaphor for Japanese history and Religion such as in GMK, or the dangers of humanity’s arrogance over science and nature such as in 1954 or Godzilla Vs Biollante, I can’t deny that we would live in a worse world without these goofier movies.
Of the five Godzilla-Films Jun Fukuda helmed, this one is certainly my favourite. Mostly because of its bigger scale but also because Nanbara is just cool as ice (edit: At least in the Japanese Version he is).
This was a great review. These movies are so sacred to me it's hard for me to be objective about them, so I really appreciate your honesty. A great film that does nearly everything right. I could listen to "Miyarabi's Prayer" on a permanent loop.
Now I want to see a film called, "The Wiltshire Saucermen"; hopefully about an alien invasion of Stonehenge, not men from Salisbury who like to cool their tea down before drinking it.
The best Jun Fukuda Godzilla movie... which puts it behind all but one of the Honda films yet ahead of Godzilla Raids Again. About the same as the rest of the Fukuda Godzilla movies to be honest.
For some reason, in North America (at least in the North Texas part of it, where I grew up), Godzilla movies were released out of order, and I saw Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, then Godzilla vs. Megalon, then Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster (this one), and only then Godzilla on Monster Island (Godzilla vs. Gigan). I saw all of them at a local drive-in, where my grandmother would climb in the back seat and sleep until the movies were over. Great times.
Nice to see the dubbing is as effective as ever... Cue cackling bad guy laughter. 😣 I was equally surprised as restaurants are still serving dinner in the middle of a monster rampage.🤔🤣
Turner Classics shows these in the original Japanese, with subtitles that go by so fast you can't possibly read them. They are purists, I suppose, but the bad dubbing is all part of the charm of these.
Hey there Dark Corners. Love your review of this film. Here are some fun facts. In the earliest screenplay of the film, titled "Giant Monsters Converge on Okinawa! Showdown in Cape Zanpa" is a bit different from the final film. First, Mechagodzilla is not in it and neither was King Shisa. Godzilla, along with Anguirus and Mothra fight a group of ape-like aliens called 'the Garuga' and their robot monster, 'Garugan'. In the next screenplay, "Showdown in Cape Zanpa: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla", Garuga is replaced by Mechagodzilla and the aliens, dubbed the 'The R-Aliens', also us Gigan as part of the plan to conquer Earth. Mothra is no in the story but a a precursor to King Shisa, called King Barugan or King Vulcan is introduced. You can learn more about this from John Lemay's books 'Writing Japanese Monsters' and 'The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films: Mutated Edition. Both are a need for the kaiju lover in you.
Sorry, but the "You Want a Song Here? Really?" Award will always be held by a different Toho kaiju eiga, War of the Gargantuas. THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRDS GET STUCK IN MY THROAT!
King ceasar is my second favorite auxiliary kaiju, after jet jaguar of course. He gets a build up second to none of any monster, including godzilla, then when he appears gets a two minute beat down and runs away with his mane between his legs. And he gets like a 4 minute song too, way longer than mothra. No one would be as anticlimactic until marlon brando in apocalypse now
Did you know that Mecha Godzilla is based on Mecha Kong from King Kong Escapes? I learned that in the past by Wikizilla and I cannot believe that Mecha Godzilla appeared in not only Ready Player One, but also Godzilla vs Kong years later! 🤯 Don't forget there's also Kiru from the other Godzilla movies!
"What men and women behind the rubber masks would you like to give a shout out to? I and many other watchers of "Svengoolie" just saw (again) "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" (1958), so I want to give a shout out to Ray "Crash" Corrigan for his work as the Martian stowaway, his final theatrical role. He also played gorillas in several jungle films in the 1940s. I also wanted to give a shout out to Paul Blaisdell (and I look forward to seeing "The She Creature" again later this month; don't you love October?), but I see that Ryan D Tibbetts has already done so. Thank you, Robin and Graham, for offering some useful merch. And I notice that the "Saucer Men" tee-shirts suspiciously resemble the star creatures from "Invasion of the Saucer Men," created by Paul Blaisdell.
Great review! This is one of only two Showa era Godzilla films that I saw in its original theatrical release. I seem to recall it was shown as a double feature, teamed with something called Those Amazing Dobermans (or a title close to that). Even as a child I was puzzled by a moment you reproduced in this review. Why was the prophecy of a monster coming to burn the city represented with a still image of King Ghidora - who is otherwise not in the film? I’ve never read any explanation for this.
"Titanium-44 is produced in relative abundance in the alpha process in stellar nucleosynthesis and the early stages of supernova explosions. It is produced when calcium-40 fuses with an alpha particle (helium-4 nucleus) in a star's high-temperature environment; the resulting 44Ti nucleus can then fuse with another alpha particle to form chromium-48. The age of supernovae may be determined through measurements of gamma-ray emissions from titanium-44 and its abundance." I think we can allow them "space titanium".
shoutout to the best Jason, Kane Hodder. he managed to give him a lot of personality and presence considering you never saw his face, as if he was a grumpy old man tired of the kid's shit.
I have just devised an all--new anime cartoon superhero. He harnesses the power of giant Japanese crustaceans. He is..."ROBSTER CRAW!" "Robster Craw---to the Lescue!" "Prease, Robster Craw! Save me prease! Oh save me preeeeeeaasse!!"
Bts fact: they used so many Pryo-technics in the final battle that the Godzilla costume caught on fire. You can see Godzilla's dorsal fins on fire in a scene
Damn you Godzilla, your mistaken if you think your powers are a match for Mechagodzilla. excellent line from one of the best reveals on film. Excellent review 👍🏽😎👍🏽
Not to mention that MechaGodzilla's original "riveted boilerplate" aesthetic is glorious.
I would like to point out that Mechagodzilla’s Theme is amazing in this movie, very jazzy!
Masaru Sato is the composer. He would take over when Akira Ifukube was either unavailable or not interested. Sato's scores were incredibly jazzy and catchy. I love both composers equally.
Sato and Ifukube would also alternate in composing another iconic film series as well.....and that is Zatoichi.
I think credit should be given to the master of low-budget sci-fi effects, Paul Blaisdell.
@@alandhopewell Alan. post your comment again separately. I think others should see it, as I agree very much with you on Paul Blaisdell
@@fletchkeilman2205 Masaru Sato is one of the greats. His score for Yojimbo is absolute perfection.
One of my favourites, mostly because the lead alien spends the movie smoking cigars and drinking brandy out of crystal goblets! Who knew they had cigars in space! Fun movie!
Cigars and booze-- the reason aliens invade Earth. Aside from dwindling resources on their home planets.
In 1974 I was ten years old and Planet Earth was run by Joe Namath, Muhammad Ali, Evil Knievel, Bruce Lee, the Mad Magazine guys, the Iron Man comics guys AND GODZILLA!!! And we were Kung Fu Fighting!
Godzilla + James Bond + Doctor Who is a pretty amazing conceptual combination.
Doctor Who was actual Doctor Who and not 'the Doctor'. For some reason, Dr. Who was the villain in King Kong Escapes. That movie was from Toho and was apparetly based on the 60s King Kong Show cartoon. Professor Bond and his family were the heroes, and Dr. Who was a main villain.
totally in.
Absolutely!
My All Time Favorite Godzilla film. Stupid, Campy, Creative & Fun...an Absolute Classic.
4:25 Love the fact that Mechagodzilla has its own logo. Promote that brand, MG!
Fun fact: in the next film _Terror of Mechagodzilla,_ the badge gets updated to “MG2” after he gets rebuilt 😁
Shout out to Teruo Aragaki who played the classic Gamera, multiple Ultraman villains, and Rodan!
Yes! More Japanese kaiju film reviews from now on! 🙏
The pacing of this film is superb. It's one of my favorites in the entire franchise.
I remember watching this as a kid the 1st time it aired on U.S. TV! I was visiting my Grandparents & right when things were getting good my Granddad walked in wanting to watch (are you sitting down!?!) Sports! & just changes the Channel! (Like he owned the place!)
How Cheeky of him!
Your grandfather was into sports? How perfectly normal of him.
Saw this on its original U.S. release at a one-show only Saturday matinee. In a packed house, I was one of the very few in attendance over the age of 12 and the projectionist showed the fourth and fifth reels out of order. If anybody but me noticed, they kept it to themselves. The film was called 'Godzilla vs the Bionic Monster' then as 'The Six Million Dollar Man' was all the rage and the distributors were trying to capitalize. Universal quickly threatened a lawsuit and the title was soon changed back to 'Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla'.
amazing!
Actually, after the initial law suit, they changed the name to Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster. I was about 12 at the time of release, and I saw Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster at a drive-in, then maybe a year later, I saw Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster at another drive in as part of an all-night Godzilla-thon.
Yes this is well within that campy era of Kaiju Godzilla movies. Still loved watching them when I was a kid though.
Yaaaay, the quasi-annual Dark Corners Godzilla review is one of my favorite times of the year! 🥳
As for suit-actor shoutouts, the obvious choice is Haruo Nakajima, the consummate Goji actor, having worn the suit starting with the 1954 original until _Godzilla vs Gigan_ in 1972, as well as playing a plethora of other kaiju along the way 🙂
Plethora? I missed that one.
Home Insurance premiums must be a nightmare in Japan.
It depends if you go for "third party, monster and theft".
@@euansmith3699 My very first motorbike insurance policy explicitly stated that I wasn't covered if my bike was crushed by the shockwave caused by a low flying supersonic jet. I often wondered what happened that they felt the need to add that clause. I'm curious if Japanese home owner insurance has clauses that state "unless your home is destroyed by Kaiju."
Kind of like living in Angel City when Rita Repulsa kept unleashing monsters for the Power Rangers to defeat.
@@cord113 " I wasn't covered if my bike was crushed by the shockwave caused by a low flying supersonic jet." That is bonkers.
On the other hand, construction companies have almost no slow season.
I love that movie actually. And yes, I love the song as well. Both this and Mothra's praying are absolutely catchy.
I love the twins in Mothra and the Mothra song. It's very catchy.
I think a studio executive in Japan said, "that music seems to work OK in Mothra films, maybe we should try it for Godzilla".
Not a Godzilla movie but Kevin Peter Hall did a great job as the Predator in the original film giving the monster real personality.
Godzilla and Dark Corners together is a dream come true.
a step up in tone from Megalon (which I do love), GvMG is a LOT of fun. Nothing beats Showa era Kaiju Eiga. Huge part of my childhood AND adulthood. Great review as always!
The Mechagodzilla duology from the 70s are probably my favourite Godzilla films from the late Showa era. They're such a marked improvement over the previous 4 films in my opinion.
Eh, Hedorah was by far the best of the 70's.
Indeed. From Godzilla's Revenge to Godzilla vs. Megalon, the films were too cheap, too goofy, and felt like a shadow of the earlier Showa triumphs.
The Mechagodzilla films had decent production value, entertaining action that wasn't too goofy, and felt more like Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964).
That's one thing I love about the Godzilla movies. Every once in a while someone will look at and/or theorize about something and come up with some weird, specific explanation afterwards. Like: Looks at metal plate under a Microscope: "That surely is Space Titanium!". And of course, they're always correct. :D
Running a lavish nine minutes and forty-one seconds, this review takes the time to savor the small details ….. that make up a classic.
Had this on tape as a kid growing up. Loved it.
WE HAVE MERCH! Head on over to TeePublic to pick up your very own Dark Corners' merchandise! www.teepublic.com/stores/dark-corners?ref_id=26415
Hey there Dark Corners. Love your review of this film. Here are some fun facts. In the earliest screenplay of the film, titled "Giant Monsters Converge on Okinawa! Showdown in Cape Zanpa" is a bit different from the final film. First, Mechagodzilla is not in it and neither was King Shisa. Godzilla, along with Anguirus and Mothra fight a group of ape-like aliens called 'the Garuga' and their robot monster, 'Garugan'.
In the next screenplay, "Showdown in Cape Zanpa: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla", Garuga is replaced by Mechagodzilla and the aliens, dubbed the 'The R-Aliens', also us Gigan as part of the plan to conquer Earth. Mothra is no in the story but a a precursor to King Shisa, called King Barugan or King Vulcan is introduced.
You can learn more about this from John Lemay's books 'Writing Japanese Monsters' and 'The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films: Mutated Edition. Both are a need for the kaiju lover in you.
Shoutout to Yuhmi Kaneyama. The first woman to ever play a giant monster. In this case, it was Super Gyaos in Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.
yo Tyrant, what’s up?! 😁
Shoutout too to Rie Ota, winner of the Dark Corners “Most Adorable Kaiju Roar” Award for behind-the-scenes GMK Baragon 😆
@@Gappasaurus Yo yo yo yo! I’m chicka chicka waiting on them to install internet in the new house I just moved into so that I may upload more videos.
How about you?
@@tyrantgregcagkaiju71 New house? Congrats! 😁👍 Me, just my usual post-work TH-cam binge before bedtime. Same-old-same 😅
This film is a true classic
i remember as a kid renting this film constantly on VHS, loved it
Thank you for a wonderful review of this movie! I've loved this since I saw it as Godzilla vs The Bionic Monster. Great movie, great review!
Dark Corners makes a Godzilla movie review.
Toho's Lawyers: "So you have chosen death!"
You said it perfectly with it balancing the silliness with genuine stakes and great action. Thankyou for doing this one, Im a big fan of this genre. Any chance on doing a bad movie review on "Atom Age Vampire" as it has so much material for your type of comedy
Seems like something we should have done by now.
I love the sound of the original Godzilla.
Shout out to the amazing Doug Jones. From Pan's Labyrinth to The Shape of Water to What we do in the Shadows he can be any thing.
And btw congrats on the T-shirt line Robin, thats awesome!
Besides from the original Godzilla, this my favourite one. Always liked Mechagodzilla as an enemy.
This was the first Godzilla movie that I saw in grade school and it's still my favorite one. It manages to perfectly balance goofy action with lots of blood , big 70s explosions and a decent human story
Another Godzilla review; bless your soul, Robin. 👍
May fav Godzilla film - fell in love with it as a child when my dad rented it for me to watch on rental VHS lol
Mecha Godzilla is my second-favorite Godzilla (Space Godzilla takes the lead). As for crediting masked actors, I gotta say Old Man Jenkins, owner of the haunted amusement park. He set the bar for decades to come.
Jinkies! 😆
This episode would have been a good one for science advisor commentary!
It's always a good day when a new Dark Corners Reviews video drops.
Easily one of my favorite Godzilla films
I'd like to shout out Ricou Browning, because when I was in elementary school I read a book about The Creature from the Black Lagoon and 3rd grade me was very impressed that he could hold his breath for 4 minutes at a time while filming.
I have the remastered, unedited version. Its amazingly clear and I like to watch it in its original Japanese. Never realized the film was so violent, though. A def fave, and I love the snappy theme.
I'm guessing there's real significance in Miyarabi staring blankly at her grandfather as he prays for Caesar to destroy the people of Japan for what they did to his people. In the begining the woman says the King Caesar wall painting is of Korean origins.
As campy as these films were, every once in a while you will get something profound or serious in these Godzilla movies. The scene where the princess stares blankly is one of them. The look on her face lets you know that she feels sorry for her grandfather who has completely gone off the deep end at that point and that she disapproves of what he is wishing for.
I remember watching this on TV as a kid and also marvelling at how violent it was, seeing Godzilla spurting blood. I must've seen an un-edited version.
Those old Godzilla flicks are so damn fantastic. You have to love them ❤️
1:34 Y’know, for as many times as i’ve watched this movie i don’t think it ever occurred to me that apparently every heroic lead receives a girlfriend and a scientific advisor as standard-issue. That’s kind of hilarious, thanks Robin! 😆
I know this is not the best Godzilla movie, but it has always been my favorite since I was a child. This and Death Wish 3 have both become the same thing to me in adulthood: always entertaining background noise when I need it.
I saw this in the theater as a kid in the late 70s and thought it was a cinematic masterpiece.
Mechagodzilla’ looks better here than he did in the recent film.
Damn you for the King Cesar Earworm 😱
'"' with a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound'"
". . .He pulls the spitting high tension wires down."
Even though I prefer Godzilla as a metaphor for Japanese history and Religion such as in GMK, or the dangers of humanity’s arrogance over science and nature such as in 1954 or Godzilla Vs Biollante, I can’t deny that we would live in a worse world without these goofier movies.
Of the five Godzilla-Films Jun Fukuda helmed, this one is certainly my favourite. Mostly because of its bigger scale but also because Nanbara is just cool as ice (edit: At least in the Japanese Version he is).
Paul Blaisdell, who was the man in the monster costume of many an AIP production.
He deserves special praise because he designed and built his monster suits too. And a lot of then still hold up today.
Your reviews are so good that I want to watch every movie after it. Even the shitty movies. 👍
This was a great review. These movies are so sacred to me it's hard for me to be objective about them, so I really appreciate your honesty. A great film that does nearly everything right. I could listen to "Miyarabi's Prayer" on a permanent loop.
Now I want to see a film called, "The Wiltshire Saucermen"; hopefully about an alien invasion of Stonehenge, not men from Salisbury who like to cool their tea down before drinking it.
The best Jun Fukuda Godzilla movie... which puts it behind all but one of the Honda films yet ahead of Godzilla Raids Again.
About the same as the rest of the Fukuda Godzilla movies to be honest.
2:57 The scene of Godzilla punking out Angkerus (sp?) was recently re-enacted by Draymond Green and Jordan Poole at basketball practice.
My favourite Godzilla film of all time. Nothing beats this classic.
For some reason, in North America (at least in the North Texas part of it, where I grew up), Godzilla movies were released out of order, and I saw Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, then Godzilla vs. Megalon, then Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster (this one), and only then Godzilla on Monster Island (Godzilla vs. Gigan). I saw all of them at a local drive-in, where my grandmother would climb in the back seat and sleep until the movies were over. Great times.
One of my favorite Godzilla movies of all time and my favorite movie to feature Mechagodzilla in any form! Thanks for the review!
Nice to see the dubbing is as effective as ever... Cue cackling bad guy laughter. 😣
I was equally surprised as restaurants are still serving dinner in the middle of a monster rampage.🤔🤣
In the Godzilla universe, Japan is attacked so frequently by giant monsters people just get on with their lives and shrug off the carnage.
Turner Classics shows these in the original Japanese, with subtitles that go by so fast you can't possibly read them. They are purists, I suppose, but the bad dubbing is all part of the charm of these.
Hey there Dark Corners. Love your review of this film. Here are some fun facts. In the earliest screenplay of the film, titled "Giant Monsters Converge on Okinawa! Showdown in Cape Zanpa" is a bit different from the final film. First, Mechagodzilla is not in it and neither was King Shisa. Godzilla, along with Anguirus and Mothra fight a group of ape-like aliens called 'the Garuga' and their robot monster, 'Garugan'.
In the next screenplay, "Showdown in Cape Zanpa: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla", Garuga is replaced by Mechagodzilla and the aliens, dubbed the 'The R-Aliens', also us Gigan as part of the plan to conquer Earth. Mothra is no in the story but a a precursor to King Shisa, called King Barugan or King Vulcan is introduced.
You can learn more about this from John Lemay's books 'Writing Japanese Monsters' and 'The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films: Mutated Edition. Both are a need for the kaiju lover in you.
In spite of its silliness, the final battle is the greatest in all of Godzilladom.
I really enjoyed this review. I did not know that this movie marked the 20th anniversary of Godzilla. Thanks for posting.
The shades wearing reporter gives off Ray Danton vibes.
Good thing he was amused by his own humor. It didn't appear anyone else was.
One of my favorite movies, for almost 40 years.
One of my favorite Godzilla films.....too much fun....
My shout out goes to Kevin Peter Hall...The Predator, Harry the Bigfoot....RIP
Sorry, but the "You Want a Song Here? Really?" Award will always be held by a different Toho kaiju eiga, War of the Gargantuas.
THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRDS GET STUCK IN MY THROAT!
One of the best of the Showa era + easily a top 10 favorite
MERCH!!!!!! YAY!!!!!
"I have to get up at six?" My thought, exactly!!!!
Always loved that steampunky retro design to Mechagodzilla…
I could tell the difference by their roars...I was 10
King ceasar is my second favorite auxiliary kaiju, after jet jaguar of course. He gets a build up second to none of any monster, including godzilla, then when he appears gets a two minute beat down and runs away with his mane between his legs. And he gets like a 4 minute song too, way longer than mothra. No one would be as anticlimactic until marlon brando in apocalypse now
that one guy who strangles the guard is the dude who plays Dracula in the two Toho Dracula pictures. He's pretty cool
Did you know that Mecha Godzilla is based on Mecha Kong from King Kong Escapes? I learned that in the past by Wikizilla and I cannot believe that Mecha Godzilla appeared in not only Ready Player One, but also Godzilla vs Kong years later! 🤯
Don't forget there's also Kiru from the other Godzilla movies!
This film is definitely the highlight of the final phase of the Showa era films.
"What men and women behind the rubber masks would you like to give a shout out to? I and many other watchers of "Svengoolie" just saw (again) "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" (1958), so I want to give a shout out to Ray "Crash" Corrigan for his work as the Martian stowaway, his final theatrical role. He also played gorillas in several jungle films in the 1940s. I also wanted to give a shout out to Paul Blaisdell (and I look forward to seeing "The She Creature" again later this month; don't you love October?), but I see that Ryan D Tibbetts has already done so. Thank you, Robin and Graham, for offering some useful merch. And I notice that the "Saucer Men" tee-shirts suspiciously resemble the star creatures from "Invasion of the Saucer Men," created by Paul Blaisdell.
How about a shoutout to the late David Prowse, the man in Darth Vader's armor?
Gojira!
When the cc showed, "this in-flight movie really speaks to me", it sure sounded like "stinks to me".
I loved seeing this on TV when I was a kid.
"People waiting to kill me, as usual..." You kill me
Grew up with, and loved the Godzilla movies. Great job, I love it!
I loved these movies so much when I was a kid!
Great review! This is one of only two Showa era Godzilla films that I saw in its original theatrical release. I seem to recall it was shown as a double feature, teamed with something called Those Amazing Dobermans (or a title close to that). Even as a child I was puzzled by a moment you reproduced in this review. Why was the prophecy of a monster coming to burn the city represented with a still image of King Ghidora - who is otherwise not in the film? I’ve never read any explanation for this.
"Titanium-44 is produced in relative abundance in the alpha process in stellar nucleosynthesis and the early stages of supernova explosions. It is produced when calcium-40 fuses with an alpha particle (helium-4 nucleus) in a star's high-temperature environment; the resulting 44Ti nucleus can then fuse with another alpha particle to form chromium-48. The age of supernovae may be determined through measurements of gamma-ray emissions from titanium-44 and its abundance."
I think we can allow them "space titanium".
Not going to lie, loved this as a kid. Fond memories.
shoutout to the best Jason, Kane Hodder. he managed to give him a lot of personality and presence considering you never saw his face, as if he was a grumpy old man tired of the kid's shit.
Totally counts because in his four turns as Jason, the guy had basically turned into a rubber-suited monster with all the damage he'd soaked up.
I have just devised an all--new anime cartoon superhero. He harnesses the power of giant Japanese crustaceans. He is..."ROBSTER CRAW!" "Robster Craw---to the Lescue!"
"Prease, Robster Craw! Save me prease! Oh save me preeeeeeaasse!!"
Bts fact: they used so many Pryo-technics in the final battle that the Godzilla costume caught on fire. You can see Godzilla's dorsal fins on fire in a scene
The words get stuck in my throat!
Damn you Godzilla, your mistaken if you think your powers are a match for Mechagodzilla. excellent line from one of the best reveals on film. Excellent review 👍🏽😎👍🏽
1. Mechagodzilla is the coolest, 2. Sesar looks like a mad furby, 3. I laugh my butt off everytime that alien says, "does it make your mouth WATTA?"
Great movie
🙋🏾♂️ It was originally called Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster. I was 6 years old when this came out.
Ray "Crash" Corrigan in every gorilla suit and Ricou Browning because we met him a few times and he isn't feeling well
The Japanese have a fantastic sense of humour. I’m a big Kurosawa fan but I really love these films. I speak Japanese & it’s even better undubbed. ✌️
I remember this movie; it was called Godzilla vs The bionic monster.
Yeah he killed him the first time in Godzilla Raids Again or as it sometime called Gigantis the fire monster.