TALKBACK #4: Mothra vs. Godzilla

[lhb412]

[Xenorama]

GODZILLA VS THE THING really is, despite the overhype, the best Godzilla movie ever made. this comes from it being a great movie overall, well acted, directed, scored and spfx- it's all amazing when it works together.

it's not my favorite Godzilla movie though. seeing it the first time i was greatly disappointed in it, but that was because the tv guide said "Four Super Monsters Battle for Control of the Earth" and i was expecting something more like GODZILLA VS MEGALON (sue me, i was 13, it was 1978).

i've always wondered why Godzilla was after the egg.

David

[Legion]

I'll post deeper comments later but I agree: best Godzilla movie ever.

[kiryugoji04]

[MouthForWar]

[McGodzilla]

[Alpha OTS]

[Mexigojira]

[ultrazilla2000]

This was one of the first Godzilla movies I'd seen from beginning to end as a kid...found it for rent along with Monster Zero. Not sure if it's because of nostalgia or what, but it's always been my favorite in the series. The effects are wonderful and I love how Godzilla is portrayed. Plus the whole concept is so bazaar yet played out so seriously! A radioactive, mutant dinosaur fighting a giant moth! I found the human cast to be very likable as well...and that always helps in monster movies.

[MekaGojira3k]

Just as I consider the original Gojira to be the best monster movie of all time, this is the best kaiju vs kaiju film of all time. It's the third try with the series, and it certainly is the charm. The great kaiju suit, the tone, and how the stories tie together work perfectly. It works pretty well in GRA, as Godzilla and Angilas have a bout before they demolish Osaka. In King Kong vs Godzilla the battle (final one atleast) is definitely forced. The movie is pretty much the ordeal of Mothra's Egg. However in the universe in which the movie takes place a common thing is Godzilla's rampage. The two intersect and we get one of my absolute favorite Showa films.

[lhb412]

-BTW guys, I will do more of these talkback threads when I have the time. This semester's classes hit me like a ton of bricks.

[Giganfan]

Well, it seems that I can't really say anything that hasn't already been said. So...

Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda, Senichi Sekizawa, Eiji Tsuburaya, Akira Ifukube, Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Emi & Yumi Ito, YOSHIBUMI TAJIMA, Kenji Sahara, Jun Tazaki, Yu Fujiki, Susumu Fujita...and company...


THE BEST GODZILLA MOVIE EVER, IN ANY LANGUAGE.

[goji4ever]

best godzilla movie of the era....(sorry gojira doesnt count, that movie is a cinematic achievement that exists beyond the trappings of being part of a mere franchise...it exists as something as simple as a film masterpiece to something as complex as a portrait of a very unique time in history)

anyhow the godzilla suit is great, the movie overflows with imagination, the human plots are all well done. Everything is treated with seriousness which helps ground the story and helps establish godzilla as a threat. I still hate mothra.

[kiryugoji04]

[Andrew Nguyen]

[Irish Gfan]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

[kent]

Along with Monster Zero, this has to be my other favorite Showa film for many of the reasons people have already stated...except for the suit.

I don't hate the suit, but I find the wobbly jaws to make Godzilla look like he's under some sort of hypnosis that he can't shake off. It was way too much latex. The eyelids being smooth always bothered me for some reason too. With Godzilla being this reptilian creature, shouldn't his eyelids also be scaly? And, while I'm sure Nakajima had a much easier time moving around in this suit, I found the rest of the body too closely resembling that of a human's body. Didn't seem to be as realistic as, let's say, the KingGoji suit.

But that's a really minor nitpick. The movie is spectacular in every sense of the word! The actors are great, the characters memorable, fight scenes are unforgettable, and the music is phenomenal! I, personally, believe this is one of Ifukube's top three scores for the franchise. The wonderful themes are marches are amazing!

Monster Zero and this movie take home my award for two of my all-time favorite Godzilla films!

[fools-gold64]

I don't have anything substantive to add... this movie deserves the praise it's getting.

I would just like to mention how much I love Godzilla's entrance in this movie, especially when they point a Geiger counter in his general direction (before he's even surfaced!) and it starts clicking like crazy. All those characters must have gone on to get cancer.

[heroforhirerob]

[ryuuseipro]

I have to second the popular opinions here. In both a personal and objective view, Mothra Vs. Godzilla is perhaps the best Godzilla film ever produced, and perhaps the most iconic. The story was very well conceived, the acting is memorable, Akira Ifukube's score is dazzling, and the SPFX and photography are perhaps among the most beautiful ever done by Toho and Eiji Tsuburaya. Godzilla and Mothra both look their best here. The Mosu-Goji is often hailed as the best Godzilla suit ever made, and that reputation is quite deserved.

Both the Japanese and US versions are worth viewing. (The Japanese version has beautiful visuals, especially the TohoScope logo and credits, and the US version has the "Frontier Missile" sequence not seen in Japan!)

Seeing the deleted footage recently made the experience even more intriguing! Some of the camera angles were incredible.

[zekend01]

[Destroysall]

[Tyler E. Martin]