Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

Been a steadfast fan of this film since the first time I saw it.

Being in the same boat as you, I saw a lot of Showa era and the first two or three Heisei era Godzillas before I saw the english dub of Gigantis/GRA in 1992. (It was a cheapy VHS that actually had the "Godzilla Raids Again" title on the cassette box.)

I found it unique having the first Godzilla kaiju brawl and it's in B&W. In a way I think that added a coolness factor for me.

Also even though shutter speed on the fight footage was screwed up, I still find the tooth n nail fights in this much more interesting than any of the beam battles, and more gritty than the pro wrestling stuff.

GRA gets slammed for the corny human drama element but I actually felt that these very normal type people with normal conversations made a great contrast to the fantastic element of the giant monsters.

Oh yeah, and how can you not love Banana Oil?!?

I strangely found the Gigantis version to be OK. All the didactic narration didn't bother me until someone pointed it out.

The funny thing is, watching it, I didn't get tripped up on the dialog. But actually reading some of the lines they came up with, especially when they are looking at the dino book and explaining the kaiju origins is utterly bizarre and doesn't even make sense.

I couldn't comment about any other differences as I haven't watched Gigantis since 1993 and saw the Japanese version in 1998. So it's been a while. To remedy that I just finally got the CM DVD.

I first saw "Gigantis" in the mid-1960s when KHJ-TV in Los Angeles played it every day for a week.

From the first, it was obvious this was a Godzilla movie, but the "Gigantis" name was odd, even back then.

It is not as good as the first one, but still entertaining.

This one is just kind of "there" for me- Its not bad, but its not great either. It was obviously rushed as hell. I do really like the human characters in this one and there are some great moments (like Hiroshi Koizumi's wife seeing the destruction from her window). Also, it introduced my 2nd favorite monster Angilas. I also love the animalistic fight scenes in this one. Its some fierce stuff.

And the Gigantis version is hilariously bad (especially the narration, which seems like it was written for blind people... he literally says EVERYTHING that's on screen). And who doesn't find the footage that Yamane shows of "the beginning of the earth" hilarious.

I bought this on VHS when it was first released to home video in the early 90's. Video Treasures was it? Anyways, this and Destroy All Monsters were the only two I'd never seen (besides a few clips or catching the very end of on TV), so finding it was like finding a Holy Grail for me! Younger fans don't realize how lucky they have it with virtually every kaiju film at their dvd finger tips. It's not my favorite movie in the series, but it's good and with plenty of action.

I was fortunate enough to see this one at a time when VHS was all the rage (I was still, like, 5 years old, but whatever!) I cried when Kobayashi died! So it's kind of hard for me to trash a movie that I have such strong sentiment towards (see my castration of Godzilla 1985 in the Heisei forum). But the truth of the matter is, in either form, Godzilla Raids Again is not good. I can't even get through the original Japanese version, because it is so, damn sleepy. Masaru Sato is one of the greatest film composers ever, but here, it really seems like he doesn't know what do do. Thus, you only hear, maybe four or five pieces of music through-out the whole movie. And as far as Motoyoshi Oda is concerned...perhaps this is a bit presumptuous, but this movie would have been alot better if Jun Fukuda directed it, because I've never been so tempted to fast-forward to the monster scenes. Gigantis The Fire Monster is more lively, but among many other things, I just can't get over the fact that both Gigantis and Anguirus have the same roar (Godzilla didn't roar enough in the original version either). Still, Godzilla Raids Again remains an oddity to me, because despite all that I've said, and no matter how many times I've seen it, I always feel as if I'm seeing something that's never been seen. There's just something about it, as bad as it may be.

I just rewatched it. I still consider it to be one of the weaker entries. Its not bad, but its basically just a typical monster movie, and comes nowhere near the original.

However, I'll always have a soft spot for this one because it introduced the always dependable Anguiras, who was always fun to watch.

I've blogged my Osaka Castle spotlight (originally in G-FAN #79):

http://armandsrancho.blogspot.com/2008/ ... astle.html

I think the film is weaker compared to G54', but I don't think its bad at all. It's our first versus flick and it plays more like a scifi action film than the scifi horror we got last time. What is interesting is that it plays closer in tone to G54' than King Kong vs. Godzilla will a few years later. I realize GRA is nowhere near as dark and depressing as G54', but it is not a campy sort of romp. G54' was created in part due to 50's American monster scifi, and GRA plays very much like that. Though I think there's already something noticeably different (continuity, the same character being used) in the film. I've always liked this movie and will continue to do so for many years, plus when the camera angle is right I really dig the Gyakushu-Goji suit.

Question about this movie if anyone out there is still paying attention...

There's numerous pictures out on the web

LIKE THIS ONE:

or
THIS ONE:

where Anguirus' carapace (i think that's the word) looks to be flying off his body.

I was wondering where these images come from or if anyone knows anything else about them since I've never seen a moment in this movie where it looks like this is happening...and i've looked, with eyes this wide: this wide: and even this wide:

^Those stills were made before the film was completed using images of Godzilla from the first film and the initial model of Angilas, not the finished suit.