Your favorite Toho Showa *Non-G* SCI-FI FILM...

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[Flame of Udin]

[heroforhirerob]

[MekaGojira3k]

[ebirahsmeg1]

I just saw The Last War for the first time recently (bought a cheap R2 of it over here) and it was very solid....it's really a shame this gem has been pretty much lost state side...one of the more underrated SFX Sci-fi Tsuburaya
films out there...

[Inferior Rodan]

War of the Gargantuas

[Enshohma]

That's rather hard to do, since almost all the Toho sci-fi films of the 1960's are connected to Godzilla is some way or another, but my top picks include...

"The Human Vapor" - has a very good "Invisible Man" vibe going for it, but with a title character that stands on his own merits, super-villain wise. Its also the only Japanese tokusatsu film where I can't decide wither I like the Japanese version over the American one, especially since their both so different, and yet so strong in their individual terms. The Japanese version plays out like a real-life police drama until the half-way point, when the Human Vapor reveals himself and his abilities fully, while the US cut tells the whole movie from our anti-hero's point of view, giving into the "Invisible Man" structure totally.

"The H-Man" - has a wonderfully nasty edge to it, with both the Yakuza angle, and more so, the insidious Liquid People and their horrendous abilities of melting and consuming human beings. Basically showing us all the horrific details that movies like the original "The Blob" only hinted at off-screen. And unlike the aforementioned "Human Vapor" or "Dogora the Space Monster", this film combines the police / crime thriller, and fantasy elements with better, more successful results. I also love the unorthodox idea of a scientist and night club singer falling for each other, amongst the oozing carnage.

"Latitude Zero" - admittedly this move takes a good while to really get going, and coming off as one of the first victims of the post-1960's decline in Japanese cinema. And the rise of the painfully slow second act of Japanese films because of it, which we still suffer with to this day. But that, and the film's own troubled history aside, I love this tokusatsu take on the pulp adventure and sci-fi stories of a pre-WW2 America, complete with an international group of characters, mad scientists, various monsters, scientific heroes, and a fantastical, if not hopeful secret world of Latitude Zero itself. There's so much going on here, that a remake, sequel, or even a television spin-off would be a welcome re-visit.

"Frankenstein Conquers the World" - again, it's practically a Godzilla spin-off due to Baragon's (and the Giant Devilfish's) presence within it. And of course a lot of Frankenstein purists rate it among the worst films based on Marry Shelly's iconic monster, which is quite unfair in my opinion. The movie is actually a pretty cleaver play on the concept, while also being its own stand-alone tale. And does an effective job at connecting the Godzilla universe to that of the 'Modern Prometheus', and without undermining the original text in turn. Plus, it's almost near perfect as an example of the Kaiju Eiga genre at its best, if not most colorful, and an enjoyable movie period. I know people prefer "War of the Gargantuas" and "Monster Zero" over this one, but Nick Adams still adds to the film's appeal, and the giant Frankenstein mutant himself is a seriously underrated giant monster. Oh, and Baragon and the Giant Devilfish are good too of course.

[Barnzilla]

[Tyler E. Martin]

I saw this thread resurrected, and it occurred to me that I've seen a few more films since my initial post, and would like to add The Last War to my list of favorites. It's very different from the rest of the bunch, as the scenario is all too real. It makes no bones about its anti-war message, which resonates very deeply with me on a personal level. True, it does get schmaltzy and the gaijin actors (who get plenty of screentime) are pretty bad, but its strengths--vivid special effects, and a superlative cast, among others--greatly outweigh its weaknesses, and I consider it one of my all-time favorite films.

Prophecies of Nostradamus also deserves a mention. While it tends to be all over the place in terms of narrative and includes some bits that either go nowhere or have nothing to do with the plot or central themes of the movie, I just can't get over how haunting the thing is. There's so much that sticks with you and won't leave you alone, from the apocalyptic tone and imagery, to Tetsuro Tamba's impassioned speeches and soliloquies, to the by Isao Tomita...I could go on all day. It's definitely one of the most unique movies in Toho's repertory.

[king_ghidorah]

[MekaGojira3k]

Yeah, Yog isn't very good or amazing, but there's a charm about it that makes it one of the most watched non-G toho dvds.

[Tyler E. Martin]

Ah heck, throw in Yog/Space Amoeba for me, too. Sure, it's not very good from a technical standpoint, but it's just so much FUN! Man, I love these movies.

[MekaGojira3k]

The things about Yog is that it
1. Has Three Kaiju, which is always fun
2. Has the great trio of Kubo, Sahara (Who plays one of my favorite Showa characters, period), and Tsuchiya.
and 3. Has a really neat idea. An alien that takes over other organisms and controls them and morphs them to its will?

Other things may not be up to snuff, but these things more than make up for it.

[baragon123]

Prophecies of Nostradamus-Not only my favorite Toho Scifi flick but my favorite movie of all time. I just love it to death. Everything about this movie just clicks with me. Tetsuro Tamba as Dr. Nishiyama is just a breathtaking performance. Its probably the all out insanity that does it for me. The scenes of chaos and destruction always kept me glued to my seat. Also, the score effing rules. I wish I could find it on vinyl. I hope one day this gets a proper release in the US but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

Other favorites:
War of the Gargantuas
Giant Monster Varan
The Last War
Frankenstein Conquers the World
The Mysterians
Mothra
Rodan
King Kong Escapes

[ebirahsmeg1]

While it's not in my top 5 non G TOHO SFX films (War of the Gargantuas, King Kong Escapes, Rodan, Frankenstein Conquers the World, and Dogora), I've always enjoyed YOG immensely...I especially dig Gezora and Kameba and think they are very basic, tooth and claw kaiju, but at the same time really "out there", which adds to their charm (Ganimes is ok...but he pales in comparison to Gezora and Kameba [as well as Ebirah] for my tastes). YOG is without a doubt one of TOHO's underrated gems....

I really want to see the The Secret of the Telegian....was it ever released in the US? Tokyo Shock did a nice job with their respective TOHO DVDs (Mysterians, Matango, Varan, Latitude Zero, Atragon, Frankenstein Conquers the World, YOG, Dogora), so I would love to see take a crack at The Secret of the Telegian, The Last War, Gorath, Human Vapor, ESPY, Birth of Japan, Submersion of Japan , etc. just to name a few, or maybe even Classic Media could try their hand at them. Of course, I don't know if there are rights issues surrounding some of these titles or not....perhaps August, KPA, or someone could shed some light on this? :dunno:

[king_ghidorah]

[elfnogg]

I think my top three would have to be:

Rodan
Matango
Frankenstein Conquers the World

[william newell]

Rodan, by a wide margin, would be my favorite non-war Showa effects film. This movie contains, in my opinion, the most consistent, and in many cases, stunning, effects work of Tsuburaya's career. In many cases I find this to be the closest that suitmation came to rivaling stop-motion in terms of realism. Thanks go to Classic Media for providing the beautiful print of the Japanese version(oh how I wish that someone would re-master the DCA version as this is one of the few films that I think were actually improved in the dubbed version, the additional sound effects of Rodan eating the Meganeurons, and the wonderful narration of the Rodan's demise are 2 reasons I feel this way...)which contained a couple of effects shots that I found to be breathtaking and were not visible in the DCA copy due to the age of the print. The one shot that really stood out in my mind was the first jet encounter with Rodan. In the DCA version, all you see is Rodan doing a loop the loop, while in the Japanese version, you can clearly see the jet climbing through the loop on an intercept course. Really sat me back in my chair when I first saw it. Throw in a good story, good acting, and one of, if not the best, monster vs. military sequences ever and you have a real winner in my book. For a distant second, I would go with War of the Gargantuas. One thing I have to say, and I know many will disagree, I really don't care too much for The Mysterians or Atragon for one reason, The Alpha and Beta flying ships from Mysterians, and the flying sub in Atragon, pull me out of their respective movies every time they come on screen. Come on Eiji, you were supposed to be such a fan of aircraft and flying, I can't believe that you would approve designs that are so clearly un-air worthy. I mean really, a cylinder would provide no lift, especially at the speeds shown and these certainly look to be much heavier than a lighter than air craft such as a dirigible. I know that to many, this would be a small, trivial complaint, but as I stated earlier, they really suck me right out of their films. One more thing I would like to add, as mentioned before by Ebirahsmeg, if your looking for Tsuburaya's best effects, you really need to check out his war films. The aforementioned Battle of the Japan Sea, The War at Sea From Hawaii to Malaya and it's color re-make I Bombed Pearl Harbor have some really fantastic effects work full of little touches that really sell the shots and go a long way towards convincing the viewer that what he's seeing are actual planes, ships, etc., etc...and not miniatures. I often wonder why no one has ever picked any of these up for U.S. distribution. Anyway, for what it's worth, those are my opinions...

[king_ghidorah]

I agree about The Mysterians...the begining is kind of cool...but it's right up there with Varan with films that have very large amounts of dead time where it feels like you are watching paint dry.

As far as Atragon goes...well, I might have to give it another viewing. Now that I think about it, I think I might actually like Latitude Zero more in all of it's campy glory even though Atragon the more appreciated sci-fi classic...Latitude Zero is just so damned fun!!

And I never thought about the Gotengo not having any lift...haha, it's gonna bug me a little every time I see it now, though it won't stop me from enjoying the film. (Just like the fact that there's no way Gamera could ever exist doesn't stop me from enjoying that series)

My favorite mechs from the Showa era actually are the Masers and the Ultra Mechs from the first two series...but I still like the Gotengo...it's just so darned iconic.

[Giganfan]

Lend me your eyes for a minute...

The Mysterians
Frankenstein Conquers the World
Rodan
Matango
Mothra (1961)
War of the Gargantuas
Atragon
Dogora The Space Monster (sorry, Mr. McRobie, I didn't grow up with "Dagora")
King Kong Escapes
Battle In Outer Space
Yog, The Monster From Space
The H-Man
Varan The Unbelievable
Latitude Zero (this film was torpedoed with so many problems, I just can't get past it's imperfections; still, Honda and Tsuburaya do flex their creative muscles here)

The Secret of the Telegian - the reason I single this film out is because if nobody mentions it, I'm pretty sure it will be truly forgotten. Which is a fitting desciption of the movie itself, because it really is "forgettable". But give Jun Fukuda credit. He was a very sound "x's and o's" action director, and Telegian (by the way, what the hell is a "telegian" anyway), moves like gang-busters.

I know I'm forgetting a few movies. I'm doing this on the fly right now. And it has been a "hot-minute" since I've seen a few of these flicks. I did watch 'Frankenstein Conquers Baragon' tonight though, and loved every minute of it.

[Rodanex]

[The Real McCoy]

[MekaGojira3k]

[The Real McCoy]

Couldn't be further from the truth. I don't get the praise that WOTG (a supposed sequel to this film) gets sometimes. It has cool monster battles and good music. FCTW has good monster battles and cool music too, plus the characters aren't boring as a stump.