by August » Tue Jan 11, 2005 5:37 pm
Ryuusei Pro said: "Brian Culver said that the original title card for Bionic Monster was split-screen: It had the title in a red space in one side (at the right, I think), and on the other (the left), was Basil Gogos' artwork for this film."
Yes. That is true. The same style "split-screen" was also done for the film under the "Cosmic Monster" title -- you wouldn't notice it on a pan-and-scan print, though -- I saw both versions in theaters, back in 1977. Even though Universal stopped them from advertising the film as "Bionic Monster," they still circulated a few prints with that title card.
Also, the original Cinema Shares one-sheet for the film was the original Japanese movie poster artwork, with a blue border -- under the title "Bionic Monster" -- they also used the Basil Gogos art for both "Bionic Monster" and "Cosmic Monster." I have all three one-sheets.
BTW, MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA started production in January of 1964. It was customary that Toho knocked all of their films during the "Golden Age" in three months. In fact, ATRAGON went from scriptwriting to theatrical release within 90 days!
August Ragone
Showa GAMERA Special Features Producer
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