This online book features an analysis of the various on-screen aspects of the King of the Monsters, the greatest movie dai kaiju (Japanese for "giant monster") of all time. It's the work of a single lifelong fan of the genre, and this book represents my effort to share all of my insights and opinions concerning the decades long career of the Toho Titan with all of my fellow G-fans, as well as kaiju-fans and sci-fi fans in general who may wish to augment their knowledge base of Godzilla.
Now, for the following necessary disclaimer: please note that this online work is in no way, shape, or form authorized by Toho Co., Ltd., who owns the copyright of Godzilla, as well as every other character and piece of technology included in this text (with the sole exception of King Kong, who is owned by Turner Network, and Charles Barkley, whose image is, of course, copyright himself). Also note that I haven't made a single red cent off of this work, and it's presented here free to all of my fellow G-fans and other general sci-fi fans who may benefit from reading its contents. Thus, I am in no way violating Toho's copyright with this work, and my very limited use of pics (now and in the future) stay well within the realm of fair use according to U.S. law. Since there is already an ample supply of Godzilla pics all over the Web and in numerous print magazines, I am going to include only a small amount of pics on this site, and I will instead endeavor to make this online tome text and information heavy, as opposed to picture and graphics heavy. Accordingly, there will be no graphics at this time, since not only can such eye candy be readily found elsewhere on the Net, but as pretty and impressive as graphics can be, they ultimately slow down the download time for the page, knock out browsers and sound cards on slower computers, and take up huge amounts of bandwidth. Thus, if you are looking for eye-pleasing stuff like that, you have come to the wrong site; however, if you are looking for a lot of information on all of Godzilla's big and small screen exploits (both live action and animated), then you have come to the right place. This site will be constantly expanded and updated, though what it includes right now is considerable. So read on and enjoy! :)
This work is respectfully dedicated to the memory and astounding career of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, who died April 2, 1997 at age 86. Not only was he the creator of Godzilla, as well as the producer/executive producer of the first 22 Japanese G-films over a period of 41 years (which encompasses every movie in the first two film series), but he was also responsible for many of the legendary Akira Kurosawa films, often hailed as some of the greatest movies in international cinematic history. Every G-fan the world over mourns the loss.
This work owes a high level of gratitude to the creative staff of Toho Co., Ltd., past and present, particularly Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda, Jun Fukuda, Eiji Tsuberaya, Teruyoshi Nakano, Akira Ifukube, Takao Okawara, Kazuki Omori, Koichi Kawakita, Shogo Kumiyama, and the many others whose talents combined to bring us the exploits of the King of the Monsters over the past four decades.
Also, this book probably would never have been possible if not for the hard work and inspiration provided by the many G-fans of North America who have written and published material on Toho’s atomic titan of terror. These include, in no particular order, Greg Shoemaker, Forrest J. Ackerman, Henry G. Saperstein, John Rocco Roberto, Guy Mariner Tucker, August Ragone, J.D. Lees, David Kalat, Ed Godziszewski, Keith Sewell, Jim and Cheryl Cirronella, Modstoon, Edward Holland, David May, Dan and Diane Reed, Robert Biondi and Brian Culver. Your efforts are much appreciated by this particular G-fan, as well as numerous others.
Special thanks must also be given to my grandmother, who is greatly responsible for my life long interest in the Big G. Due to her employment as a secretary of the film industry in the 1970’s, she acquired a huge amount of G-film pressbooks for me when I was a young child, brought me to see the last few Godzilla movies of the original series when they first opened in U.S. theaters, and to this day never fails to remind me when a Godzilla movie marathon is playing on TV. I strongly appreciate her active role in nurturing and preserving my status as a die hard G-fan!
Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, continues to stand as the most famous figure in the history of dai kaiju eiga (Japanese for “giant monster movies”), as his only real rivals in this area are King Kong and Gamera, although Mothra also made a foray into a solo film series. Godzilla, who has been referred to by his creator, Tomoyuki Tanaka, as the “sacred beast of the apocalypse,” has become synonymous with destruction and atomic horror in the annals of popular fiction, and he’s been the subject of three separate movie series, produced by Toho Co., Ltd., over a period of five decades, and a completely new version of the character was the subject of a 1998 American made film from Tri-Star Pictures. During this time he has gone from being depicted as a mindless engine of devastation and the personification of the misuse of nuclear power, to a super-heroic and sometimes even near-comical figure, and back to being a feared menace to humankind again. In fact, audiences in the Western world continue to perceive Godzilla as a campy rather then menacing figure, due partially to the mishandling in America of the first movie in the second (Heisei Era) film series, released by New World Pictures in 1985, and partially due to the disproportionate amount of attention the semi-juvenile films produced by Toho in the original (Showa Era) series of G-films during the 1970’s receive on Western shores. Furthermore, the Tri-Star film and its accompanying advertising campaign with Taco Bell (“here leezard leezard!”) did absolutely nothing to improve his image. As a result, G-fans (as we devout Godzilla fans call ourselves) are often ridiculed when we admit our interest in the Big G’s movies.
Within this online book, you will find a synopsis and review of all G-films as they are released (with the first two film series complete thus far), along with creative credits, detailed comments about numerous aspects of each film reviewed, and descriptions of the differences between the Japanese and American versions of these films. Each movie will be listed with the title it is currently known as on U.S. video and TV, not its original U.S. release title, which have often been ludicrous, deceptive of the film’s content, and exploitive of popular but unrelated film material. Many G-fans believe that the original American release title should be highlighted in these reviews for reasons of historical posterity, or that even the usually very different Japanese titles of the films should be given center stage for reasons regarding loyalty to Toho's original intentions, but in my personal opinion, doing either of the latter two things just makes it confusing for current G-fans in the U.S. who are not familiar with the entire fulcrum of G-film history to find the current versions of the films on video. Nevertheless, I will list the original American release title and the Japanese and international release titles of each film in the reviews (and please note that different sources tend to have somewhat different interpretations of how the Japanese film titles precisely translate into English, so be aware of these variations); for my English-speaking visitors from the U.K., please compare the American film titles with the listing of international film titles to figure out what each film may be titled on home video or TV in your respective country. This may work for the U.K., but in Germany, France, Italy, etc., the G-film release titles have often been extremely varied, and I couldn't begin to guess what film title they would currently carry on home video and TV, and for this I apologize.
Also here you will find an overview of the classic Godzilla commercials by Dr. Pepper and Nike Shoes, a synopsis and analysis of the Tri-Star film, a section covering the Hanna-Barbera animated Godzilla series from the late 1970’s on American television, an analysis of the Tri-Star produced animated Godzilla series from the late 1990's, some info on Club Daikaiju (which is perhaps the best place to acquire Godzilla merchandise), and a long glossary featuring detailed descriptions of every major kaiju, piece of technology, locale, and even individual to be featured in Godzilla's live action appearances on the big and small screens in every conceivable Godzilla continuity. New sections of the site are added from time to time, also.
Finally, a word on Video Daikaiju will be provided, including the arguments by G-fans for and against purchasing the high quality bootleg videos that the company distributes.
I have endeavored to be as accurate as possible in this work, but some bloopers in a venture like this, from random grammatical and spelling errors to a few factual inconsistancies, are commonplace in a project of this nature, and I will be continually reviewing this work and making corrections of all kinds as necessary (ah, the advantages of an online book!).
The links on this page will take you to the various different sections on the site...so go ahead, explore the universe of Godzilla, and enjoy :)
If anyone would like to get in touch with me in care of this site, and would rather not leave a private entry in the guest book, you can reach me at g_saga_admin[AT]fastmail[DOT]us
2/11/06 I plan on putting up some new Godzilla polls in the near future. The next poll will ask all of you to rate the best/most popular G-film of the Millennium Series. Though I think "GMK" is a likely winner, you never know what might happen. I want to wait about a month to put this up because I want to give everyone a chance to see "GFW" now that it's out on video in North America. I presume that by March, most inveterate G-fans will have either purchased or rented the film, thus making it a good month to put up that particular poll.
Hanna-Barbera's "Godzilla: The Original Animated Series" is now beginning to be released on DVD by Sony! This series is surprisingly good for a Saturday morning '70's toon, and G-fans who are not too quick to judge should really give it a look.
Today marks the launch of my newest web site, The Warrenverse: The Amazing World of the Warren Comics Characters, which covers in details the many awesome b&w comic book series that were published by Warren Comics from the 1960's into the early 1980's. The site will mostly be composed of indexes to many of Warren's most prominent series, with a focus on those which are definately or arguably part of the Wold Newton Universe. Hence, this site will be of great interest to both fans of the late but unforgettable Warren Comics and of creative mythographers (i.e., Wold Newton para-scholars) seeking information on how many of the Warrenverse series fit into the schema of the greater Wold Newton Universe.
I plan to duly expand the site as time passes, so get over there and check it out.
I am pleased to announce to my visitors the forthcoming publication of a book that should be of immense interest to all of us fans of pulp fiction, sci-fi, horror, adventure, and numerous other fictional genres! November of 2005 will see the long-awaited publication of MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE:
Philip José Farmer’s Wold Newton Universe, edited by Win Scott Eckert, one of the foremost scholars of the Wold Newton Universe today (check out the link to his way cool web site in the Other Great Links section of this site, and you will find out precisely why!). I previously introduced my fellow G-fans to the concept of the Wold Newton Universe in my essay that appears in the section of this site for my Godzilla Event Timeline (if you haven't read it already, then what are you waiting for? Armageddon? A kaiju to come along and stomp on your house? Another extinction level Apollo asteroid colliding with the Earth? Go read it already, before any of those things happen and you lose the opportunity to do so forever!;-)
The Wold Newton Universe is a concept which includes Godzilla among many, many more characters of pop fiction, from the bygone days when great epic tales like "Beowolf" were written, all the way through the great Victorian literature of yesteryear, through the great pulps of the early 20th century, through the advent of cinema and its later home-based progeny known as television, all the way up to the present era. It will feature essays from a diverse array of creative mythographers, including some rarely seen essays by great sci-fi writer Philip Jose' Farmer himself, as well as a very detailed timeline for the entirety of the Wold Newton Universe painstakingly put together via extensive research over the course of years by Mr. Eckert himself. Contributions to the book's great timeline come from many different sources, among them yours truly and two other creative mythographers I worked closely with for this small contribution, Crazy Ivan Schablotski and Jay Lindsey (I couldn't have done it without them...their knowledge of pop fiction truly put's me to shame, and I was damn lucky to be included in the research for the slasher film characters!). And if not for the hard work of creative mythographers like Win Scott Eckert and Jess Nevins during the past several years, creative mythography would hardly be the burgeoning field of fiction writing that it is :-) Now, thanks to Win's book, several more creative mythographers will officially become published authors, and a small sampling of the work of others will make their way into the print medium for the first time in the Wold Newton Universe Chronology, in addition to giving us a look at some rarely seen work from the great Philip Jose' Farmer himself (get out there and find copies of TARZAN ALIVE, DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE, A BARNSTORMER IN THE LAND OF OZ, THE ADVENTURE OF THE PEERLESS PEER, and many other popular works of fiction by Mr. Farmer from past decades that combined creative writing with anthropology to create a field that has created a modern form of myth-building and the incorporation of great fictional characters from many different sources into one coherent universe).
Go to the official web site of MonkeyBrain Books, check out their section for 2005 titles, and pre-order this upcoming book...as I believe that its first printing is likely to be sold out quite fast when it hits the bookstores in Nov. '05, so be sure to pre-order directly from the publisher...you won't be disappointed :-)
[And while you're visiting the site, don't forget to check out Jess Nevins's THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASTIC VICTORIANA, also due out in Nov. '05...it's also well worth pre-ordering for the same reason!]
COOL AND IMPORTANT NOTE: As of today, 12/1/04, I have just launched a new web site in collusion with Crazy Ivan, the webmaster of the Amalgam Chronology Center, that will likely interest many of the regular visitors of The Godzilla Saga, even though it's not strictly G-related. It is, however, a response to the popularity of the polls I ran on The Godzilla Saga in the past.
The new site is called Last Man Standing, based upon the popular feature in the great WIZARD magazine, which will allow all of you to vote on imaginary battles between various characters taken from the entire spectrum of fantasy and fiction (e.g., movies, literature, comic books, video games, TV series, etc.).
The first poll, now officially up and running, is Superman vs. Thor...so go over there, read the rules, make an objective decision based upon the anecdotes that Crazy Ivan and I wrote (in favor of Superman and Thor, respectively)...and vote, people! :-)
And btw, I do plan on having Godzilla vs. Gamera as the second poll on The Last Man Standing site.
Just added 11/16/06:
Two new articles have been added to the Guest Section, courtesy of Gordon Long.
Just added 2/24/06:
A new article in the Guest Section, Life, The Showa Tohoverse, and Everything by Andrew B, covers Andrew's thoughts on various aspects of Showa Series continuity as covered in previous articles and the timelines on this site, including how Atlantis may fit into the overall schema.
Just added 1/5/06:
Review for Godzilla: Final Wars has now been added to the Millennium Film Series section. Glossary entries for the GFW kaiju and various characters and mecha will be added soon.
New article for the Guest Section by Den Valdron, VALDRON'S THREE LAWS---A FURTHER LOOK AT THE SHOWA TOHO ALIENS, provides more insights on the nature and connection between the many aliens who appeared in the Showa Toho Kaijuverse.
Just added 7/14/05:
Added full Glossary entries for Magma, the Martians, Gorath I, and Saladia.
Just added 7/10/05:
Just added 5/31/05:
Just added 5/24/05:
Just added 5/13/05:
Seven new essays have been added to the Guest Section (yup, you read that right!) by the inimitable Den Valdron. These new essays discuss 1) the reasons against (and for) the Showa Godzilla and Gamera series existing on a single timeline (a subject of great interest to kaijuphiles); 2) a theory regarding the ancient origins of the Showa Gamera that puts the continuity of the Showa Daiei Universe into perspective with the Showa Toho Universe; 3) arguments in favor of placing non-Toho dai kaiju who appeared during the Showa Era (e.g., Yongary, Gappa, Guilala, Gorgo, the Rhedosaurus, the Deadly Mantis, etc.) on the same timeline as the Toho Showa Universe; 4) a theory displaying how all cinematic versions of King Kong, including the Toho version, can be included on a single timeline and explanations towards the King of the Apes's significant size fluctuations from movie to movie; 5) an examination of Monster Island; 6) an exploration into the possible true nature of Gabara, everyone's least favorite Toho kaiju--was he "real" within the context of his single film appearance or not?; and 7) an examination of the origin and nature of Gorath, the infamous "mystery planet."
Many thanks from the administration of The Godzilla Saga to Den for his time-consuming, prolific contributions to the new Guest Section! Just added 4/16/05:
The Guest Section is now officially up.
There you can read the first (quite excellent!) contribution by Den Valdron, The Aliens Of The Showa Toho Universe: Common Origins?, which explores the very logical notion that these alien races are interconnected, and all are intrasolar societies who derive from Lemurian/Muan colonists who fled to various locales in the solar system following the Great Cataclysm. In the near future, my Showa Series Timeline will be ammended to include many of Den's ideas.
Just added 2/9/05:
I have just added reviews to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., along with the attendant additions to the Glossary.
Also added to the site are the Heisei Series Timeline and Godzilla's Wold Newton Universe Timeline.
I've also added various updates, with previous information reconsidered on the basis of new evidence, to both the Glossary and the Showa Series Timeline.
I would also like to take this space to thank all of my regular visitors, and those who have commended the site. Granted, it's not an elaborate site, and no writer in existence is liked by everyone (nor should any of us expect such an unrealistic thing). Rather, I think we should simply endeavor to do the best we can for those who do admire the work we produce. I also expect many of my regular visitors to have some questions about the future of the The Godzilla Saga, now that Toho has officially pulled the plug on The Millennium Series, and decreed that it has no plans to produce any more G-films following the recent release of "Godzilla: Final Wars" to commemorate the Big G's 50th anniversary. So some of you may be wondering...once I put up a review for "Godzilla: Final Wars" [which is now up], will The Godzilla Saga then cease all updates?
1) I will, of course, definately be putting up a review for "Godzilla: Final Wars" by the spring of '05 (hopefully), as soon as the film becomes available in America and I am able to see it and conduct a bit of research on it. At the same time as I post my forthcoming review for "Godzilla: Final Wars," I also plan to post an essay that will feature my personal retrospective on Godzilla's 50 year cinematic career, comparing and contrasting the quality of all 28 G-films and all three film series, analyze precisely what impact Godzilla has had on pop culture during his initial 50 years, what he has represented to our culture as an iconic figure, his changing faces over the course of five decades, my predictions for what the future may hold for the Big G, and my personal opinions on what I think Toho should do to create a successful Godzilla film series, if they ever decide to take a shot at it again.
2) I am now planning on adding a section to the site that will feature reviews on Toho's kaiju-films from both the Showa Era and the Heisei Era that didn't feature Godzilla. These reviews will (usually) be briefer than those I devoted to the G-film reviews, but they will follow much the same format. However, I intend to give a G-film sized review to "Mothra," since she is the only Toho dai kaiju other than Godzilla to break out into films of her own following her initial solo film appearance.
3) Related to the above, I am planning on creating a sub-section of this site dedicated to Mothra, and will feature reviews on all three "Rebirth of Mothra" films, as well as anecdotes, articles, virtual paintings, and many other things related to the Kaiju of Peace. I hope to take a site partner on this venture. Any knowledgable Mothra fan who would like to assist in this proposed venture is welcome to offer their services.
4) I am planning a section of the site that will review Marc Cerasini's series of Godzilla novels published in the late '90's by Random House (I just wish they would go through the legal red tape with Toho and get the final book in the series published!).
5) Yup, I'm still planning a section devoted to the Godzilla video games, which will be updated continuously as more video extravaganzas featuring the Big G are produced...especially since the video game medium will likely represent all the new onscreen material featuring the King of the Monsters that we are likely to see anytime soon.
6) More polls! I was pleased that my visitors liked the polls, and I will be adding more cool G-polls regularly in the very near future :-)
7) I am now planning on adding a Guest Section, that will feature essays, reviews, and artwork provided by you, the visitors (I will be editing, of course).
8) I am considering adding a Millennium X Timeline, which included the G-films "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" and "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S."
9) A section devoted to Godzilla and general kaiju fan fic. I'm sure many of you are aware that I also write fiction, correct? Well, if you didn't, now you do :-) I am hoping to compose short stories and novellas on the Big G for that section, as well as accepting submissions from the visitors.
10) Of course, I will be periodically adding more pics to the Picture Gallery in the future.
11) The Glossary entries, reviews, and the G-News section on the home page will be updated whenever more relevant information is available. In fact, I will be adding much more to the Glossary in the near future, and a big update to that section will occur once I have had the chance to review "Godzilla: Final Wars."
12) Finally, I am considering creating a new site, The Gamera Saga, which will feature my reviews of the Showa and Heisei Gamera series.
So, The Godzilla Saga will continue to be updated and expanded even after my review for "Godzilla: Final Wars" and my 50 Year retrospective essay on the Big G are posted :-) And I again want to take the time to thank you, the visitors, for making all of the hard work worthwhile, and for sharing my interest in the Kaiju King with me!
Just added 9/4/04: Added G-NEWS to the site, which debuts just below.
Toho Showa Science and Space Technology details Gordon's theories as to the every day technology in general and the space technology in particular that the Earth of the Showa Tohoverse had in comparison to the world we live on, based upon the evidence in the Showa Era films, as a result of dealing with several alien invasions and dai kaiju, two elements lacking in the real universe.
Escaping the Wrath of Gorath's Path: How Did the Earth Survive, Anyway? deals with Gordon's theories regarding the technology utilized in the Showa Era film "Gorath" to move the Earth out of the lethal stellar object's path. Was it really gigantic rockets used to perform the incredible feat? Or was it actually a very different technology? This is what Gordon explores in this article.
I'm pleased to announce that a new article has been added to the Guest Section, courtesy of Gordon Long, detailing how the science and space technology of the Showa Toho Universe diverged and differs from those of our own mundane universe, beginning in the late 1950's and continuing into the present, and it can be found here.
Two new articles in the Guest Section, one by Den Valdron detailing how the G-commercials produced by Dr. Pepper (one featuring his romantic interlude with Newzilla) and Nike Shoes (featuring his imbrogglio with a giant Charles Barclay) my fit into the Big Guy's continuity (it's here), and another by Gordon Long that deconstructs the history of cities targeted by dai kaiju in the Showa Toho Universe and reasons why these particular locales may have been targeted (it's here).
The Showa Toho Timeline has been updated to include the speculations of Den Valdron as to the nature of the alien races encountered by the Earth in that universe, and to incorporate the events of the Toho sci-fi flick "The War In Space."
A new section of the site featuring the Godzilla monster magazine covers that have graced the newstands over the years, with a starting focus on the 1970's, when the Big G received his first covers on mainstream monster mags like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND.
Big update today!
Short answer: No. Definately not. Just because our fave Atomic Titan is on another long hiatus (perhaps for good this time), it doesn't mean that The Godzilla Saga needs to cease and desist its activity. The appreciation I have received from my visitors has meant a lot to me, and I owe too much to both my lifelong love for the Big G and my own appreciation for my visitors to cease work and/or further expansion of this site once the review for "Godzilla: Final Wars" and the retrospective essay are completed and posted. So I have every intention of expanding The Godzilla Saga for the forseeable future.
Regarding the retrospective essay...I am working on getting that essay published in the print medium. If I am unable to do so, then I will post the essay right here.
But what, specifically, lies ahead for The Godzilla Saga? Most of my plans are tentative, but I do have many plans, among them:
But after my review for "Godzilla: Final Wars" and my retrospective essay on the Big G's first 50 years are posted, what then?
Review of "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" has been updated to include mention of the successful American theatrical release of "Godzilla: The Uncut Japanese Original."
Just added 7/1405:
"Godzilla: Final Wars" will be available from Video Daikaiju, beginning on August 8th, 2005! This will be a magnificent 4-disc DVD set, which includes one disc featuring the English sub-titled Japanese version of the film, 2 discs of special features, and a 4th disc providing a CD soundrack of the movie. All of this for only $29.95, this is one hell of a good deal for G-fans to take advantage of, and this package will be at least as good as the eventual American version of the movie (which hasn't even been announced as of this writing, more's the shame; I can only imagine that Tri-Star Video will officially release the final G-film direct to home video sooner or later, which will probably include an English dubbed version with the usual awful dubbing job).
Just added 3/28/05:
The American version of "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" is finally available in the U.S. again, this time courtesy of the folks at Cheezy Flicks Entertainment.
Thank you to Angelfire for this news.
Added 12/4/04: "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." will be out on DVD, courtesy of Tri-Star video, on December 14, 2004. Watch for it, or go to Amazon.com and pre-order it!
Thank you to Stomp Tokyo for this news.
My review for "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" in the Showa Film Series section of this site has been updated accordingly.
Once I purchase this DVD, I plan to add back-to-back reviews of "Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla" and "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." to The Godzilla Saga.
Godzilla's formidable image is currently being featured on a new American commercial...though this usage of the Big G is rather, um...ignominious.
McNeil-PPC, Inc., the pharmacautical company who bring us Immodium A-D...the anti-diarrhea medication...are using the image of the King of the Monsters to personify diarrhea for their latest TV adverts! Now, I'm sure that anyone who has ever suffered from the quick intestinal evacuation syndrome can readily appreciate the symbolism, but should G-fans be thrilled over this particular instance of publicity for the Atomic Titan? Isn't this a rather crappy thing to happen to the image of the Big G, and doesn't this run the risk of allowing all respect for the Kaiju King to go right down the toilet?
And some of us once thought it was bad when Dr. Pepper was using his image to endorse their product!
Well...maybe Toho needed the money, and Immodium was willing to pay big. However, after seeing this commercial enough times, chronic sufferers of diarrhea can now expect to experience severe abdominal cramps...followed by a quick run to the bathroom...every time they see a G-film.
Since Toho is presumably using the money acquired from McNeil to help finance the impressive budget of "Godzilla: Final Wars," which is intended to be the last hurrah of the Big G (at least for a long time), they better make the 'final' G-film good!
But look at it this way, fellow G-fans...it could have been worse. Godzilla could have ended up in a tampon commercial. I hope I didn't just give the folks at Tampax any ideas by mentioning this.
I *cough* thank my TV for bringing me this news.
Added 10/26/04: Godzilla will be celebrating his 50th Anniversary with an American showing of the last G-film, "Godzilla: Final Wars," at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on November 29th, 2004. There, Godzilla will walk the red carpet accompanied by Ryuhei Kitamura, the director of "Godzilla: Final Wars." Toho itself will be hosting this event.
Moreover, the Big G's 50 year history and final cinematic appearance will also be commemorated with a float at the Hollywood Christmas Parade, which will take place on Sunday, November 28th, 2004, on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard, beginning at 5:00 PM. This 28 foot long, 12 foot wide, and 14 foot high float will feature Godzilla standing over a cityscape montage with smoke billowing from his maw, and surrounded by signs plugging both "Godzilla: Final Wars" and the Big G's 50th Anniversary.
"Godzilla: Final Wars" producer Shogo Tomiyama was quoted as saying, "We're so pleased to be able to commemorate the anniversary of this star of 28 films and huge cult-figure by having these special celebrations in Hollywood, the place where he began to ascend to universal stardom."
Thank you to Kensforce Science Fiction News and Updates for this news!
Added 10/18/04: In late October of 2004, the Big G will receive an honor for his 50th anniversary that is quite impressive. The University of Kansas in Lawrence will be holding a special conference featuring a retrospective analysis of the first G-film, which will last for three days. This conference will be attended by several academics and scholars who also happen to be G-fans to explore the iconic nature of Godzilla and to discuss precisely what his films and popularity have represented from a historic and anthropological perspective. This event will be attended by historians, anthropologists and other scholars from universities as auspicious as Duke, Vanderbilt, and Harvard. It will also include free screenings of "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" and other G-films.
The full story of this academic G-conference can be found here.
Thank you to the Associated Press for this news, and a very special thank you to a certain lovely lady and talented author named Nicole, webmaster and writer of the terrific August Dreams online diary, who brought this article to my attention.
As many of you are probably aware, the uncut Japanese version of the first G-film has been released to many theaters across the U.S., complete with English sub-titles, as part of Godzilla's 50th anniversary celebration. It's not only received good critical reviews across the U.S. media, but it's also enjoyed enthusiastic audience response. It would appear that more respect for Godzilla in America will result from this.
Thank you to Henshin! Online and ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY for this news.
Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment has now acquired the rights to several G-films, and will be releasing several of them to DVD, often in packages containing three films each. These DVD's will offer a rare treat, the opportunity to view both the English dubbed international versions produced by Toho during these films' initial releases, and the uncut Japanese versions, with English sub-titles as an option. This is the first time ever that the Japanese versions of these movies will be officially released in the U.S., and it's nice to see that Toho has seen the value of doing this...finally.
These Tri-Star releases will feature the international film titles in many cases as a result. For example, "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster" is the American version of the 1966 G-film, but its international title is "Ebirah: Horror of the Deep." As another example, "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" and "Godzilla vs. Hedora" are the American and international versions of the same film respectively.
These different titles for the same film represent different versions produced for different parts of the world...just as "Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster" and "Godzilla On Monster Island" are the edited for American TV versions of "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" and "Godzilla vs. Gigan" respectively, the latter versions being the uncut international theatrical versions (and the superior versions, IMO).
And best of all, Tri-Star will reportedly be releasing the 2003 "Godzilla: Tokyo SOS" on DVD.
Thank you to Henshin! Online for this news.
Tri-Star will also be releasing two DVD's of "Godzilla: The Series" to home video. These will include "Godzilla The Series: Trouble Hatches," featuring the unedited two-part first episode "New Family," along with the best of the series, "The Monster Wars Trilogy," which features the amazing three-part ode of the series to "Destroy All Monsters."
These DVD releases will unfortunately be bereft of any extras, but they will offer viewing options (along with a few annoying adverts for other Tri-Star releases), but their picture quality will be excellent, free of commercials, and uncut.
Their success can spell the release of the entire series to DVD, including the few episodes never released to American TV, so save up some coin :-)
Thank you to Henshin! Online for this news.
December 4, 2004 will see the Japanese release of the well-anticipated "Godzilla: Final Wars." Some of the reports regarding this allegedly final G-film has to be seen to be believed, so
let's wait and see after the film's release what turns out to be
rumor and what had a degree of validity to it.
Here are ten of the most recent reports regarding the movie's content.
1. This movie is said to be the last G-film that Toho will
ever produce. As many of my fellow G-fans will say in response to this, Toho
has announced this several times before in the past, and always changed
their mind afterwards based upon good box office performance and/or
incessant fan demand. This time, however, Toho says it will
definately be at least ten years before they produce another G-film
after this one, if ever.
Prior to this, the longest interim between
producing a new G-film since Godzi's 1954 debut (between the Showa
and Heisei Series) was nine years.
Sayonara, Godzilla.
2. As a means of redeeming the Godzilla image after the mess Tri-
Star made of the Kaiju King's image worldwide, producer Shogo
Tomiyama said that he made the decision to actually add "Deanzilla"
(a.k.a., "Gino") to the film, and to have the real Godzilla defeat his
American counterpart in battle, thus ending the "stain" on the real
Big G's reputation once and for all.
In this film, "Deanzilla" will
simply be referred to as "Zilla," removing the "God" from his name.
To be more "true" to the differences that each version of the Big G
represents, Toho Godzilla will be filmed with the suitmation
technique, whereas "Zilla" will be rendered entirely by CGI. Godzilla
will eradicate his inferior American counterpart in a battle that
takes place in Sydney, Australia.
3. This movie will depict the most dai kaiju featured in one film since "Destroy All Monsters" 36 years earlier. Some of the kaiju slated to appear, other than Godzilla, (according to various reports) include "Zilla," Anguirus (or "Angilas," of you prefer), Gigan, Manda, Minya/Minilla (ugh!), Hedorah, Rodan, Mothra, Spiega, King Seesar, and the mysterious "Monster X," who some sources say may be a variant version of King Ghidora. "Monster X" is supposedly going to be responsible for Godzilla's death during the climactic battle sequence.
4. This film will take place at some unspecified date in the future,
where the various wars and nuclear energy accidents produced by the human governments will not only be responsible for awakening the dormant kaiju,
who proceed to menace the entire planet (not just Japan), but has
also produced posthuman mutants. Yes, it's been confirmed that the
posthuman soldiers in this film will indeed be mutants, who will
form a military group known as M-Force (X-Men fans take heed!). They will use their posthuman
powers in addition to advanced military mecha against the kaiju.
One
of these posthuman mutant soldiers, Kazama, will be played by Kane
Kosugi, the son of the popular martial arts expert and actor Sho
Kosugi, whose heyday in America was during the 1980's, during the
ninja craze, when he made such memorable films as "Revenge of the
Ninja," "Ninja 3: The Domination," and "Pray For Death" (along with
increasingly mediocre stuff as the '80's progressed, such as the
decent "Rage Of Honor" and the embarrassing camp-fest "Seven Deaths
of the Ninja"). Kane Kosugi is now a popular
martial arts action star in Japan in his own right, and as a kid
actor, he co-starred in many of his dad's earlier ninja films (including very memorable roles in "Revenge of the Ninja," "Pray For Death," and "Seven Deaths of the Ninja"), where
he was respectfully depicted as a skilled warrior in his own right
despite his young age, and was never relegated to silly kiddie films
as he would likely have been if he was an American kid actor.
Kane
Kosugi also starred as Ultraman in the failed, short-lived American
produced sentai series "Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero."
5. This worldwide crisis will force the human nations to cease warring on each other and turn their attention to defending themselves from the dai kaiju attacks (where is Ultraman when you need him?). To this end, they form a new version of the Earth Defense Force, made up of the scientific and military minds of all Earth governments united on the basis of sharing a planet, last seen during the Showa Era in "The Mysterians," when all Earth nations united their resources to repel an alien invasion, rather than a worldwide attack of kaiju. It was the Earth Defense Force that developed maser weaponry and experimental space craft in the Showa Universe by the late '50's in response to the Mysterian invasion (thus accounting for this anachronistic technology in the Showa Toho kaiju-films; see the Showa Series Timeline elsewhere on this site for detailed info and conjectures on this by yours truly).
6. This film will also feature the second cinematic appearance of the versatile and formidable war machine Atragon (last seen in the memorable eponymous Toho adventure film from 1963). For those who remember, Atragon is designed to function in the air (it has retractable wings and thruster engines for that purpose), underwater (where it functions much as a military submarine does), the land (where it can use tank- like threads to achieve motility), and underground (using its conicle drill to burrow beneath the surface of the earth). It has much powerful weaponry at its disposal, among its most notable (in the original film) being the Zero Cannon, which spews forth a powerful freezing mist (cadmium spray?).
7. Reportedly, in this film, Rodan will attack New York City.
8. This film will also feature the return of the Xians, the turncoat number-fixated humanoid alien race who first appeared in "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero." From what I've read, they nullify most of the kaiju with their advanced technology and then claim to be friends to the Earth people...which likely turns out to be a ruse, thus forcing the human race to revive the most powerful kaiju of all, Godzilla, to battle the Xians' own kaiju, "Monster X" (referred to in some sources as "Kaiser-Ghidora," thus providing further evidence that this creature may be an incarnation of Godzilla's oldest and perhaps greatest foe).
9. Sorry, no Mechagodzilla :-( Then again, the Bionic Monster appeared in the last two G-films, so the Robotic Terror's fans did get to see much of him before the end.
10. This final G-film is said to have the biggest budget of any previous G-film, and it's supposed to end Godzilla's career with a proverbial bang, for his 50th anniversary.
Thank you to Kensforce Science Fiction News and Updates, and Monster Zero for this news.
Addendum: Is it too much to hope that since this is (supposedly) the final G-film, with a big budget, in celebration of Godzilla's 50th anniversary, and likely the most spectacular ever produced in terms of scope, that Tri-Star will consider releasing it to the big screen in America rather than directly to video? If anyone of influence from Tri-Star happens to see this anecdote, please consider it! A G-film filled with both posthuman mutants (very popular over here!) and dai kaiju, along with the announcment that this is the last G-film, may very well garner very decent American box office. No, it won't make nearly what "Titanic," "Spider-Man 2," "Shrek 2," or "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy took in, but it will likely be well worth big screen distribution in America prior to a DVD release nevertheless.
Also, keep in mind that since this is the last G-film that Toho will be producing in at least a very long time (they announced that at least ten years will pass before they consider producing a fourth Godzilla film series), this may very well be the last chance for an American big screen release of a G-film.
N., Christofer: The Godzilla Saga; Jan. (2002)
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For any long-time visitors who would like to re-read my ruminations on the results of the various kaiju polls that have been run and tallied on The Godzilla Saga in the past, or for newer visitors who would like to read them for the first time, I now have them stored on a new section of my site, the Poll Archives. This new, permanent section of this site will house the results and my conclusions drawn from Kaiju Polls that have since run their course and vanished from my home page (you can also find a link to the Poll Archives alongside my other links down below).
Very off topic note: If any of you G-fans out there also happen to be NFL fans, and would like to participate in a petition to convince the NFL to hold some of its Super Bowl games in cold weather climate areas in North America rather than limiting all performances to warm weather climate environs only, then simply go here to get the skinny and the addy where you can register your vote!
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