TALKBACK #9: Destroy All Monsters

[daikaijusaurus]

I've been a Godzilla fan since early childhood, and I didn't get a chance to see Destroy All Monsters until I was a sophomore in college. For so many years I saw pictures and read stories about how awesome the movie was. For years I searched through TV Guides, video stores, comic shops looking for this movie with no success. The movie just didn't seem to exist in spite all the pictures and stories from books and magazines.

But when I finally did see these movie, I will never forget just how disappointed I was. Don't get me wrong, this movie does have a special place in my heart, but for me this was the weakest entry in the showa series. I have seen most of the Godzilla movies at least 50 times from beginning to end, but Destroy All Monsters I have only seen maybe a few times from beginning to end. Most of the times when I want to see this movie I just skip to the monster parts, as few as they may be but wonderful none the less.

The monster battles and destruction are absolutely beautiful, no arguments there, but for me this movie has the most uninteresting human scenes out of all the movies in the entire series. I enjoy the human scenes in Godzilla Vs Megalon, Godzilla's Revenge, and yes EVEN Final Wars a lot more fun and entertaining than Destroy all Monsters. Just my opinion

[Russzilla]

[tbeasley]

Ghidorah's back is bloodied after Godzilla takes a bite out of it too.

[Dorkzilla]

I have a LOT of nostalgia for this film.

I remember my cousins coming over and we all watched it with the lights off and under the covers as kids.

Sure, from a critical perspective, the human characters aren't very interesting, and the story itself is a bit slowly paced, but it still holds a special place in my heart.

[davezilla]

Rewatching DAM now and I remember that it simply is not one of my favorite films. Honestly I think the script is pretty weak. It's such a shame how bland of a film it really is. I remember reading about DAM in books but never seeing it cause it never seemed to be released on video and when I finally saw it I was like "That's it!" Sure the fight with Ghidorah and all the other monsters is a classic, it's just the other 80 minutes leading up to it...blah.

I think it could have been a longer film too. However, it needed a more solid script and more set up. All of a sudden the Kilaaks take over Monsterland base...and so easily. The aliens in this film are so boring compared to the alien invaders in other films like Monster Zero and GvsGigan. It completely lacks the magic of previous Godzilla films...even weaker ones like Ebirah have more magic than this. The human cast is oh so very bland. Just not interesting at all.

That being said I hope Gareth Edwards does make a Destroy All Monsters movie at some point. He could improve it. Sure it's a classic Godzilla film and there are some interesting monster action, but it's still an incredibly weak film. Give me Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster or Invasion of the Astro Monsters over this anytime

[Gwangi]

Even though it may not make one iota of a difference, to all of the detractors, I have to keep stressing which version did you watch? (and it is a good bet it was probably the dreaded international dub, which does lower the notch on this film – at lot!).

And while the Kilaaks may have not looked as menacing at the Xians, at least their approach is much more logical. Take over the island along with the scientist and monsters (and causing major damage around the world) before announcing your presence. In “Monster Zero” (a movie which I love), the Xians, with their mind control could have easily taken control of Godzilla and Rodan (without any permission) and with Ghidrah, could have started a surprise attack and catch the Earth’s defenses flatfooted.

And as far as the cast, they did fine on what was written for them. The plot does not call for highly developed Hitchcockian characters. If it helps the narrative, I’d rather see simple characters than overblowing them liked in Peter Jackson’s Kong movie.

[DannyBeane]

So I just finished DAM again and one thought I want to scream at my TV ever single time I watch this movie is how worthless Manda is. "SERIOUSLY MANDA GET YOUR CRAP TOGETHER! KAMAKIRAS AND EVEN GIANT CONDOR ARE MORE DESTRUCTIVE THAN YOU! IT TOOK YOU LIKE 2 MINUTES TO DESTROY A TRAIN BRIDGE!"

[walshiam]

My one and only problem with the film is when Gorosaurus was substituted for Baragon. It's still not clear to me how they screwed that up. I've read that the Baragon suit was in such bad condition that the substitution had to be made. Then why didn't they change the script to the correct monster's name?

[lhb412]

Just watched this.

You know, nothing increases the quality of this film more than watching only '90s and '00s Godzilla films for the past few months. While I think DAM is a lesser '60s film watching it this way just makes you appreciate the style and fun of the picture. It was really a special time and place to make these sorts of movies.

Also, once I fiddle with the color settings on my TV while watching Media Blaster's Blu-Ray I end up with a picture that I actually think is superior to the Toho transfers of many newer Godzilla movies. Gives me hope for further Showa Blu-Ray releases.

[canofhumdingers]

Speaking of the bluray, I noticed something interesting just last night. So I've been going through the domestic Godzilla blurays available because I wanted to make a post compiling a list of the various US blurays that are sourced from Japanese transfers and thus necessitate tweaking your tv settings to get a decent looking picture that's not all washed out and faded. Most of the Toho HD transfers I've seen (G'84, GvsBiollante, GvsMG '93 for example) have a noticeable amount of video noise that was apparently introduced due to the outdated telecine machine used to make the transfer and really hinders the overall picture quality. I've had some decent success reducing this issue by actually turning on the DNR function of my TV (something I am normally vehemently against) to low or even medium in some cases.

Anyway, I was surprised to notice that the DAM HD transfer does NOT have this awful video noise. Once you get the brightness, black levels, and color tweaked properly it actually looks really good. Sure it's not as sharp as it probably could be but it's a heck of a lot better than any of the other HD transfers I've seen from Toho.

And it's saying something when I went straight from watching 2001: A Space Odyssey (a stunningly good looking bluray) to watching DAM and I was actually impressed with how well the picture quality of DAM held up in comparison.

[lhb412]

[Rody]

Destroy All Monsters was one of my favorite films as a kid, but I hadn't revisited it in years. I remedied that tonight, though, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed it as much as I hoped I would.
That isn't to say I don't understand why others might feel less positive about it. The plot is shallow and slowly paced, and the characters are very flat and static. There are some pretty odd moments like the fire dragon sequence, as well. However, I think DAM does a fine job at capturing the scale of the spectacle it offers. All of the sets look beautiful, although the suits are hit or miss: the new ones look great, but the older suits are showing their wear. One feeling I couldn't shake was that DAM would work better in a serialized form; there are various small story arcs within the whole plot (e.g. the Mt. Fuji raid and the moon base attack), and I wonder if each of these parts would feel less tedious to many if they were presented independently and fleshed out more. I actually didn't mind the pacing of this movie, but that's probably all nostalgia talking.

Destroy All Monsters isn't quite one of my favorites, but it's a film I could easily go back to; it's a simple "pleasure food" monster movie for me.

[UltramanGoji]

I like DAM well enough, but it's definitely one of the weakest Godzilla films when it comes to the human elements. The characters aren't terrible, but they're not very memorable.

The special effects scenes are simply amazing and something I don't think we'll ever see the likes of again. It's this film that introduced me to some of my favorite monsters including Gorosaurus, Baragon, and Anguirus.

[Inui Takumi]

I watched Destroy All Monsters for the first time earlier this week. For me, it was okay at best. None of the characters really stuck out to me. Even though it was more of a team running around, none of them felt distinct enough to remember. The plot was pretty minimal, which can work if done right. But there wasn't really a sense of threat or danger from the aliens as they were invading. They sorta just showed up and said "Yup, this island is ours. Step off." As far as alien invasion plots go, Monster Zero did it so much better and was a lot more fun.

The monster battles and special effects were also very middle of the road. I can usually give that a bit of a pass if the characters and plot are intriguing enough. But since that part was already lacking, I hoped that the monster fights would at least be entertaining. Aside from a couple of cool shots, there was nothing special about any of it.

I'd say that so far, Destroy All Monsters is my least favorite of the Showa movies that I've seen.

[battrafan]

One thing that bothers me about this film is the effects.

The miniatures really do look like miniatures, even beyond normal Toho standards.

Especially the monster attack on Tokyo, save for the aftermath showing the devastated city.

There are other movies that are somewhat similar in this regard(KK vs. G, KKE, WOG) but those films have a kind of overall goofy charm to them that helps me overlook it.

Plus most of the city scenes in those films take place at night, probably helps to cover up inadequacies.

[eabaker]

Some of the miniatures do look flimsier than when Tsuburaya was at his best, but the compositions are so dynamic that I still get a kick out of those scenes.

[lhb412]

Some of the miniatures do look a bit flat in some scenes, but not in others.

Maybe it's because the secret is really in filming, composing the shots and whatnot and they simply had so much to do for DAM with all the monsters swarming Tokyo that the effects team just took the direct approach with maybe a bit less finesse to accommodate the volume of setups they had to make?

[Gwangi]

Happy 50th "Destroy All Monsters"!

First saw this on my b-day back in 1975. With a piñata, cake and ice cream and then this feature, best birthday ever! First time being introduced to such monsters as Angillus, Manda, Baragon and Varan (though, the last two I barely noticed).

This one also marked a bunch of lasts. Last G-film Eiji Tsuburaya was involved with. Last G-film the four fathers (Honda, Tanaka, Tsuburaya & Ifukube) worked on. Last G-film for Jun Tazaki. Last G-film (to date) for Akira Kubo. Last G-film for Yoshio Tsuchiya (until "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" in 1991).

[lhb412]

^ Was it a rerelease or a television airing?

...Oh, and happy 50th DAM!

[Gwangi]

T.V. airing, though I was totally unaware that a Godzilla movie was playing. "Destroy All Monsters" sounded like a kaiju flick, but I really was not sure. it would have been cool to watch this on the big screen back in the day, and ultimately I did in the 2000s, unfortunately, it was the international dub .

[O.Supreme]

Awesome! A Welcome anniversary for my favorite G-Film (and favorite Kaiju Film) of all time. Definitely going to try to watch this again as soon as I have some free time. DAM & Smog Monster were the Holy grails for me growing up in the 80's as they were (seemingly) never on TV in the SF Bay Area, even with such prominent individuals as Bob Wilkins and Creature Features. (I do here in retrospect they played quite a bit in the 70's but that was before my ability to recollect time, and before most people had VCR's)

I did see parts of Smog Monster once, but it was probably sometime between 80-82, and never did see it again until I rented the Orion VHS from BBV in 1990. DAM however, I never saw. It was literally the stuff of legends. My dad told me of seeing it at the drive in while dating my mom (probably in late 1969), I had many sci-fi books and magazine pics. I even tried to save up money to get one of those Super 8 film reels that Famous Monsters used to advertise. But despite scouring TV guide for nearly a decade, I never found it. Then finally through dubious means (early mail order bootleg VHS), I was able to get a copy in raw Japanese in 1991, and I didn't care, it was still amazing. A year later I found a copy of the AIP dub at a convention, and it was like finding that familiar friend, because it looked and sounded like many of my other favorite Godzilla films that also had AIP dubs.

Seeing it on Sci-Fi in the mid-90's was a bit bittersweet. the Video Print was nice and pristine, but the voices were odd and unfamiliar (obviously the Toho International dub, the same with Hedorah). When ADV finally released their VHS in 1999, I was disappointed that it again was the Toho dub, so I wisely held on to my AIP VHS. I still have it to this day, and have it as a video file on my hard drive. I mean I love what MB attempted to do, but the way that audio cuts, like from a bad splice in a projector on the Blu-ray is so annoying, they could have got a much better audio source. Sadly this audio version will probably never be made available again, so I'm definitely glad I have it preserved to the best of my ability.

Also Gwangi- as someone slightly older than myself (with all due respect), I very much enjoy reading your comments, and your experiences in theaters, and what you saw on TV during I time I either cannot recollect because I was too young, or simply because I was not born yet. (I was born in Feb 1976, and am 42).

[Gwangi]

[zibbazabba]

I remember when Destroy All Monsters came on in theaters in the sixties. They showed the preview quite a bit on TV here, I was 8 and talked my older sister into taking me to see it. I had never seen a Godzilla movie before and when we got to the theater, and I saw the long line of kids(Saturday Matinee only), I decided it might be too scary and told her I didn't want to see it. Didn't go, and the first Godzilla movie I finally did see was Godzilla's Revenge. It was probably 1972 before I did get a chance to see Destroy All Monsters on late night Chiller Theater.

[Rody]

I got my (belated) anniversary viewing of 'DESTROY ALL MONSTERS' in today. I used to watch it a lot, recorded off of Scifi Channel on VHS; while I don't think this was one of Toho's strongest efforts overall, it still delivered lots of great spectacle, and I remain nostalgically attached to it (also, Ifukube's main theme for the film rocks).
I do wonder, though, if DAM could have worked better, narratively, in a longer-form story. There are a lot of underdeveloped characters and sub-plots which come and go rather quickly without detail. While a TV production certainly wouldn't have had the same production values, maybe a hypothetical modern re-imagining like a tv serial or film saga could bring out the best of the story.

[lhb412]

I'm sure I've already discussed this here, but since we're talking about our first viewings of Destroy All Monsters here it goes:

I read about the movie in Thee Official Godzilla Compendium, I had seen clips of the movie in a ad for some Godzilla marathon in either 1997 or 1998, but I didn't manage to actually see the film until I got ADV's VHS in 2000. Unfortunately, I watched the film that first time with my cousin who preceded to riff condescendingly to the entire movie. Not the best way to first experience a movie. I had built the movie up so much of my mind by that point that it was quite the disappointment. However, about a year letter the Syfy channel showed the film and free of any kind of expectation I just enjoyed it. I kind of think of that second viewing is my real first viewing.