TALKBACK #6: Invasion of Astro Monster

[jellydonut25]

and just to elaborate on my "it's a damn good sci-fi movie" take...really THINK about the first seven Godzilla movies:

Gojira - yes, a monster movie, but also a character study and star-crossed lovers type of story.
GRA - okay...a monster movie.
King Kong vs. Godzilla - a salaryman comedy.
Mothra vs. Godzilla - an environmental film with heavy themes of man vs. nature.
Ghidrah - a secret agent/cop film
Monster Zero - a sci-fi/alien invasion film
Ebirah - an espionage/spy film

It pretty much takes until Ebirah to SORTA start recycling ideas, and it takes until Son of Godzilla for them to just kinda abandon the "other type of film with monsters also in it" approach, as the kaiju in SoG really are front-and-center and central to the film.

[MekaGojira3k]

Well, even though the Kaiju are more or less front and central the thing that makes Son of Godzilla so wonderful is that it's really about a group of scientists trying to solve a real world problem in a world of kaiju. Though I suppose the experiment isn't featured enough to be considered the main film, but I adore that movie's attempt to show how people sort of get along in a world filled with kaiju.

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[Russzilla]

[Dr Kain]

[Jorzilla]

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[william newell]

My apologies if any of what I'm about to say has been covered before...back in the late 60's/early 70's, when you had no idea a movie was coming until you happened to catch a commercial for it on T.V., I saw an ad for the double feature of "Monster Zero" and "War of the Gargantua's". I was immediately smitten. Unfortunately, when said double feature was finally released in my area, I was unable to get permission to see it. For many years, all I had were memories of that wonderful commercial. When it finally made it's way to television, I was still out of luck as the only channel which ever broadcast it was one I was unable to pick up as our VHF reception was a little weak. Then, on one occasion when my Dad was in the hospital (which was able to pick up said VHF channel) I saw that "Monster Zero" was going to be aired. I'll never forget the thrill of finally being able to see this film, even though it was on a black and white T.V. with a 6" screen. I even brought my cassette recorder so that I could capture the audio to enjoy later. Fast forward to Scimitar's DVD release. This was the first time I was able to see it in widescreen and was amazed to the point that I fell in love with it all over again. In fact, I was so happy with the dubbed version that I had no desire to watch it subtitled. Even after getting the Classic Media disc. Well, last week I finally decided to watch this subbed. I personally was surprised at the difference. I found that without Mr. Adam's "spirited" vocal performance, this movie was rather eerie. Yoshio Tsuchiya's alien leader in particular struck me as, well, alien, in an unexpectedly creepy fashion. I also was able to really see, and agree with, Mr. Honda's opinion the the Godzilla "Shie(?)" dance had no place in this film as it really ran counter to the mood of the rest of the picture. In the dubbed version, it really doesn't seem so out of place, what with the rest of the wackiness going on. In fact, with Mr. Tsuchiya's follow up line, "A happy moment." it fits in okay and seems almost logical. Needless to say, this film remains one of my favorites, regardless of which version I watch. Even though I enjoy Ghidrah's performance more in "Three Headed Monster" (which also had more epic urban destruction) the (then) originality of the "aliens controlling the monsters" storyline and the great performances along with some nifty effects, keep this in my top 5.

[Russzilla]

[william newell]

^^Ahhh yes, back in the day when 25" was as big of a big screen as you could get for home viewing. There's actually a lot of things from that era (candy displays that ran for miles with absolutely nothing sugar free in sight, for one! ) that kids today will never know or get to enjoy, and that saddens me...Oh well, time marches on...

[Garasharp K7]

[Hybrid Gojira]

^ Agreed. I rarely noticed wires or SPFX gaffes as a kid. I noticed stock footage and when Gigan's arm destroyed planes (when it was supposed to be Megalon).

Anyway, I think I'm going to watch AstroMonster soon. I miss the days of TNT's MonsterVision and the Memorial Day Godzilla marathons.

[MekaGojira3k]

I noticed more of the effects goofs in the Heisei stuff as a kid than I did anything else, and really I don't look for that sort of thing anyhow. It won't ruin the films for me, but it does degrade the experience ever so slightly. My favorite thing nowadays is when I discover something is a painting or miniature that for years I thought was real or whatever. That's always cool.

[klen7]

[Russzilla]

Wow. I must have had really good vision when I was a kid because wires in certain films when they aired were always noticeable to me. DAM, TOMG, Rodan, and MZ especially. I know I keep harping on this now and then, but seeing the wires doesn't bother me in the least. It's still part of the charm in watching these movies, and it reminds you just how hard and coordinated they had to be to get those shots to work. (Jelly pointed this out also) I guess after watching these movies for 40 plus years, I just know when and where those wire shots are.

[Russzilla]

[kiryugoji04]

[jellydonut25]

Boy do I love this movie. I used to not like it that much, but over the years I've really REALLY come to appreciate the scifi aspects of it and the alien invasion plot.

As a 7 year old kid, there's probably not enough city-smashing, but as an adult who watches actors and characters this movie gets better and better. It's got a really groovy score, and is just chock full of awesome ideas.

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[XvGojira]

[kiryugoji04]

I think it's high time I rewatch this. I mean, it's never going to be as good as Ghidrah but it's one of my least-watched Showa films and I think I need to change that.

[jellydonut25]