TALKBACK #4: Mothra vs. Godzilla

[eabaker]

[Rodanex]

Whaat?! I've never noticed this. Which scenes?

[king_ghidorah]

When the webbed Godzilla falls into the ocean

[Benjamin Haines]

The '62 suit is used for the water scenes when Godzilla is heading to the offshore island and later when the Mothra twins have Godzilla all webbed up and he tumbles over the cliffside.

[jellydonut25]

[eabaker]

[Goji 84]

And here I thought this was common knowledge among Godzilla nerds.

I never noticed it in the VHS days, but it's pretty noticeable on DVD/in HD, even if you're not looking for it.

[eabaker]

[Legion]

I learned about it in the Godzilla suit article G-Fan did in 1995 I believe.

Actually yeah, it was 1995.

http://www.historyvortex.org/GodzillaEvolution.html

[eabaker]

[jellydonut25]

[Goji 84]

[MekaGojira3k]

I don't think I noticed the 62' suit being used until I got Mothra vs. Godzilla on dvd in that first CM boxset.

[Giganfan]

I think that edition of "Godzilla In America" was featured in...issue #13 if my memory serves me correctly. Because issue #15, like many of you here was also my very first issue of "G-Fan" back in the day, and that one was covering Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla's Revenge. Damn, that seems like ages ago haha!! That brought back some fond memories of my own personal "golden era of Godzilla". I was buying all the toys, and seeing all the subtitled prints for the first time...good times.

Yeah, the '62 Godzilla suit in Godzilla vs. The Thing appears so fleetingly, and his back is to the camera off into the distance, it's understandable that one might miss it. Unless you know that you're looking for it in the first place, ya know?

Oh, and...the best Godzilla movie ever, no doubt.

[Goji 84]

Whoops, it was actually issue #16 that was my first; which is the one that covers the various Godzilla suits that existed up to that point.

[Russzilla]

I first saw this movie in 1975 when my Dad took me to a local theater to watch it. I was just 5 years old at the time and it was the first time I had ever seen Godzilla. I can still visualize to this day the Godzilla vs. the Thing billboards that were hanging outside the theater. I've been hooked ever since. THANKS DAD! Am I the only one in here that sometimes watches the AIP version of this movie more than the Japanese version just for that Frontier Missle sequence? The movie was Americanized so masterfully that you're hardly not missing anything from the original version. Still the best one from the Golden Age.

[Dr Kain]

This was my favorite Godzilla movie when growing up and there is a reason for it. This movie is without a doubt Ishiro Honda at his best. This movie is by far the best Godzilla movie in the entire Showa series, and one of the best Godzilla movies of all time. There is just so much here to love that you can even forget about the negatives because they are well hidden behind everything else.

First off, this movie has one of the best set of characters in the franchise from the human point of a view. The story itself revolves around greedy business men who care for nothing but money, which has always been a problem with society, even to this day. The trio of main characters that are trying to help Mothra and the good of humanity are extremely likable, as they feel more like just normal people rather than some type of super geniuses who can just fix a problem. On the other hand, that is where I feel one of the negatives comes from in the later portion of the movie. Their trip to Infant Island is a just one, but the fact that these three people are able to convince a giant monster and the natives to help them after they just explained why they will not do so two minutes before hand seems misplaced and superficial. I also find it odd how Ichiro and Junko are just suddenly friends with Miura and in the same hotel room together when in the previous scene, he had no idea who they were and was getting annoyed by them trying to question him when he was working. Regardless, that is a minor nitpick to some really interesting characters. I especially like when Ichiro was just going to give up on writing about the corporation’s greed as it is giving them publicity and his boss tells him that means he is just letting them win instead of finding better words to use to make his persuasion more powerful.

My only other complaint revolving around the story of the movie is how suddenly at the end there is a teacher and students stuck on an island. What were they doing there? Clearly the island was being evacuated. Did no one know they were there? Did they not here about Godzila being on his way? How did they get stuck there? It just seems more like a plot convenience that anything else.

Plot aside, the effects and monsters in this movie are by far some of the best in the series. The Godzilla costume is without a doubt the best of the Showa era, as not only does it take the positives of his previous movies, but it also incorporates a look of ferocity in the monster’s face. I just love how mean he looks even if he is a bit clumsy. Mothra also looks incredible. In fact, as much as I enjoy the designs from the future eras of Godzilla (especially GMK’s), this is the best Mothra has ever looked. I just love how furry she is, the colors used for her, and that she is able to stand on her own when facing Godzilla without the help of another monster or a stinger. The concept of her having two priestesses (the Peanuts, as they are called in the credits) is interesting despite them being nothing more than walking exposition. The fights are enjoyable to watch, they do not look campy, and even the ending battle between Godzilla and the two larvae is entertaining. One of the best things about this movie is the lack of visible wires. There is nothing like enjoyable a monster fight only to be pulled out of the immersion by seeing wires pulling on a monster’s wings or dragging a Mothra larva around. The effects used to keep the Mothra twins small when next to the other characters was also well done even if they do look faded out in today’s video market.

Overall, I am not sure what else I can say about this movie that others do not already know. It has the best Godzilla suit until 1989’s “Godzilla vs. Biollante,” it features a Mothra that has yet to be topped, great characters, an interesting story that is well paced, and some of the best effects to be found. As I previously said, there are nitpicks to be had with the movie, but it does such a great job on everything else that you cannot help but overlook them. With that said, I give “Mothra vs Gozilla” an outstanding 9/10 stars.

[jellydonut25]

:thumbs up:

though I think the nitpick about Miura and the reporters becoming friends is a bit misplaced; they are all clearly very offended by Kumayama, and since the setting goes from day to night, it's fairly safe to assume that when Kumayama kicked Junko and Sakai off the site of the egg, he also kicked out Miura, and the three of them spent the day together talking trash about him and brainstorming how to get around his nonsense.

[Dr Kain]

[H-Man]

[Russzilla]

[lhb412]

[Russzilla]

[H-Man]

I wonder if the Bambi Pair were hired because the Shobijin role was so much smaller in SEA MONSTER. Like lhb said, they likely accepted a smaller paycheck than the Peanuts. If that were the case, it could mean that the Peanuts were never meant to be cast in the movie.

[william newell]

Just watched this after having not seen it in awhile and I gotta say, the story to this has some major issues...I know it's heresy to complain about this film, but why would the fairies even ask to have the egg returned, why doesn't Mothra just take it back? She would obviously be able to return it herself a lot easier than any human effort would be able to, which also begs the question, how did they ever get the egg onshore to begin with? Something that size would require moving equipment a little beyond what the local fishermen had at their disposal,imo. Plus, the fairies claim that they want the egg returned so that the caterpillar's won't cause any collateral damage after they hatch. Sounds like another reason for Mothra to just take it back in my book. Also, Godzilla's obviously going after the egg when Mothra intervenes and drags Godzilla away...then, after Godzilla defeats Mothra (or she expires on her own) suddenly he loses all interest in it. Then there's Torahotta and Kumiyama's demise. Seems to me they should have met their fate more towards the end since once they're gone, any overriding theme ends and the movie becomes just another vs. film. And then there's the "children on the island" bit at the end. This would appear to be a rather LARGE island yet our hero's more or less just step off the boat and immediately locate them with a couple of yells. That seem's awfully convenient and re-enforces the idea that the kids are there just as an excuse to get our heroes to the island so they can witness the final battle. I have other quibbles, but these are my main complaints. Yeah, I know, this movie has one of the better g suits, the cast is likeable and well directed, and this film has one of the better dubs of the series, but, for me, the story problems take this down a couple of notches. In fact, if I were to rate the Showa films, I would have to place this somewhere below "Monster Zero". Entertaining movie, yes. Best of the Showa sequels, ehhhh, not to my eyes...