Best effects of the the 70s

[DannyBeane]

[Legion]

I can't read most of Kain's posts in this thread without wanted to split my head open with my bare hands, tear my brain out and stomp all over it.

[Dr Kain]

[lhb412]

I've thought about it, and I really do think Hedorah has the best effects of '70s films. The shots are very well composed, and have a lot of atmosphere. They do a lot to set the tone of the film, which is subdued and melancholy while at the same time outrageous and entertaining.

While most Godzilla films featuring the kaiju always moving about, or at least about to spring into action, Godzilla vs. Hedorah has a lot of shots of the monsters pausing to look around or think about what to do next. It's its own unique approach, and I think only Godzilla '84 is similar.

[Legion]

[MekaGojira3k]

Godzilla vs. Megalon has its fair share of issues, but its portrayal of Godzilla isn't really anything to complain about.
HE'S AMAZING AND DEFENDS THE EARTH WITH HIS ROBOT CHUM, JET JAGUAR!

[Giganfan]

I like this thread, because it celebrates one of the unsung artistans of the classic era of Toho's kaiju fantasy genre, "mr. Pyrotechnics" himself, Teruyoshi Nakano. This guy was a true champ for having to work through the most difficult times of the Japanese film industry. His effects work may appear a bit shoddy at times, but as it has been reiterated many times already in this thread, the blame cannot really be placed solely at his feet.

So, I guess the question being posed here, really, is "which seventies Godzilla movie contains Teruyoshi Nakano's best special effects work"? In my opinion, it all comes down to a two-way tie: Godzilla On Monster Island and Terror of Mechagodzilla. i know what you're probably thinking, "But Godzilla vs. Gigan is half stock-footage!" This is true, but still, the main idea behind that whole production was to make it look as much like a "traditional Godzilla movie" as possible, and I honestly believe that, despite the over-abundance of stock-footage, the artificial darkening of some scenes, and some rough-looking models and prop-work, Nakano really does some of his best work here. The arrival of Godzilla, and the following battle at the oil refinery is expertly photographed, well-lit and overall beautifully staged. Nakano plays to his strength, which is basically blowing alot of stuff up, and he goes all out, with King Ghidorah simply lighting up the entire dock section of Tokyo with his lightning breath. It is definitely a high-light of the series. Overall, I think that Godzilla On Monster Island contains effects work with alot of guts and dedication in the face of Toho's crippling budget constraints. Nakano even said himself in and interview back in '97 "I tried my best", and the way he spoke of his work on this movie bears this out. Or perhaps, I love this movie so much, I just wanted to give it some extra love by pumping up the credibility of the guy who created some of my all-time favorite kaiju fight scenes! Seriously, Teruyoshi Nakano is The Man!! I just watched the original version of Godzilla 1985 and I thought to myself "yeah, Nakano was really giving it his all on this one!" Do you agree?

Anyway, yeah, my vote goes for Terror of Mechagodzilla however, with Godzilla On Monster Island getting a very honorable mention. I think that having Ishiro Honda at the helm really inspired Nakano to embrace a wider scope, and get out of the oil refineries and mountainous terrains of the previous four Godzilla movies. In Terror, you get to see Mechagodzilla literally level an entire city, and Nakano really blows that muther****** up! Sure, there are some painfully awful moments here and there, but I think that was merely a result of Nakano challenging himself to create more different kinds of effects than he was previously used to. I truly believe that Terror of Mechagodzilla was a learning experience for the man, because the overall look of his work here is pretty damn-good.

[Dr Kain]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[MekaGojira3k]

[jellydonut25]

[DannyBeane]

I'd say he was definitely friendlyish in Ghidrah after chatting with Mothra, there was collaboration between Godzilla and the humans in Smog Monster, Gigan, Megalon to a small extent and both MG films. Yes Godzilla probably did not recognize that humans were helping him but I still believe it counts. Also Godzilla stopped attacking the military at this point and the military had stopped attacking Godzilla as well (yet Anguirus was still attacked in Gigan which makes no sense. Also Godzilla has "broken out" of Monster Island) So while I think there was a truce between kaiju and humans, they were still under careful watch and maybe not entirely trustful.

[jellydonut25]

^this was something I was discussing on facebook, kinda.

There was a comment that G2014 is "problematic" (though they specifically said, "Well, I'm not saying it's a PROBLEM, but it's....interesting") because Godzilla never attacks the military and it got me thinking.


From late 1964 through 1975, Godzilla directly attacked non-evil humans like a total of 3 times, two of which were under alien mind control. Yet, there's a perception some people have that a large military fight against Godzilla is a requisite for a Godzilla movie...

[Dr Kain]

Man, I can not believe I never noticed how gorgeous Terror of MechaGodzilla looks. The scene when Godzilla meets Titanosaurus for the first time and the camera moves around their fight behind the buildings is just so incredible looking. Not to mention the attack on the city from the titanic duo.

[battrafan]

I think all of the scenes in Gigan of the attack/monster battle in Tokyo Bay(that obviously aren't stock footage) are pretty close to on par with the Mechagodzilla oil refinery sequence.