Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956) Review

While Gojira was a serious film about the horrors of nuclear tests, Godzilla, King of the Monsters turned the Japanese original into a mere monster movie of the type so common during the 1950s. It isn’t without its charms, however. The spectacle of the title monster trashing Tokyo is complete and the human suffering that causes is still there to elevate this slightly beyond a normal B-movie. UPDATED August 2012 with better screencaps and expanded snark, err… text.

From the comprehensive booklet included in the 50th anniversary DVD release, we find how the American version came to be. Harold Ross and Richard Kay brought the film to America on the cheap to take advantage of the explosion in B-movies.  Described as “Hollywood bottom-feeders,” they had one problem with the movie – all the Japanese in it.  At the time, hatred of the Japanese was still strong ten years after World War II and a movie starring “Japs” couldn’t make money.

The solution was to shoot new material starring an American actor and splice it in.  About 20 minutes of the 80 minute movie would consist of the new scenes and insertions, heavily diluting the original story.  But that didn’t matter because audiences would be going to see the “King of Monsters” not the story. The result raked in $2 million and turned a tidy profit while making fans of Godzilla such as Gomer Pyle.

Now on to the review starring Raymond Burr and his pipe!

The Americanized version starts with the sound of explosive footfalls and the new title appears over the sea. In a jarring shift, the first scene of the movie is the devastated ruins of Tokyo in miniature.  A voice over narration by Raymond Burr begins while he makes his first appearance pinned under rubble.  After failing to free himself, he passes out.  Not an auspicious debut for the hero of the movie.

Gojira (Godzilla 1954) Review

In 1954, Gojira hit Japanese theaters and was a sensation that eventually spread world wide. For those who don’t know, Gojira is the original Japanese Godzilla movie that started the series. This first film is a serious movie, unlike nearly all the ones that followed. In 2004, Toho Studios decided to restore and remaster the epic for its 50th anniversary DVD release. So now that I have my hands on it, does it live up to its reputation as a classic? UPDATED:  August 2012 with expanded text and better screen captures.

As a kid, I grew up with the later Godzilla movies and it was not until I was a teenager that I saw the heavily recut American version of the film starring Raymond Burr. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise, being a darker and more serious story than I had expected. Once the Internet age dawned, I found out that it paled in comparison to the Japanese film it originated from, but there was no way to see it.

Years went by and then rumors of a New York City showing of the original movie for the 50th anniversary of Gojira got my attention. Hopes of a DVD release turned into reality thanks to ClassicMedia, but it ended up being out of my price range. Time went by and a sale at a Target in Indiana landed the very nice deluxe release in my hands. This review applies to it and to the discs in The Godzilla Collection also put out by the same folks.

The movie starts with a strident and bombastic theme by Akira Futabe that fits the tension that permeates the entire production. After the credits roll, an idyllic scene of a merchant ship’s crew relaxing on deck seems very serene.  A bright flash of light draws their attention to a strange glowing mass in the water. Another flash and the ship explodes into flames. The distress call of the Kingo Maru results in the Eiko Maru being sent to find it, whereupon it promptly sails into a glowing circle of water and explodes like the first ship.

1987 Looks at 2012

Twenty five years ago a group of science fiction authors were asked to predict where the world would be in 2012. Most of them were off and not by a little. Orson Scott Card got the closest, with Roger Zelazny next best. Isaac Asimov and Tim Powers were so far off as to be laughable.  Still, it is a fascinating glimpse at the difficulties of prognostication even from the most imaginative of us.

Bleach Ep. 17: Ichigo Dies!

Despair dominates the story when Ichigo finds out just how powerful Soul Reapers really are during a bloody battle over Rukia. Action filled, this episode marks a turning point in the storyline and sets up the next big arc.

In the previous episode, Ichigo found out that the zanpakutos are more than magic swords that can cut up spirits. They have names and special powers which the villainous Renji demonstrated in easily overpowering the substitute Soul Reaper during the opening recap. Brought to his knees trying to rescue Rukia, things look very bad indeed.

Clearly shocked, and in shock, the high school student is helpless as Renji prepares to finish him off. He is not the only one shaken, for Rukia is horrified to see him so badly injured. Desperate to provide him a chance to escape, she attacks the tattooed Soul Reaper and tries to restrain him despite her weak body.

Yes, Idiots Mistake Sikhs for Muslims

Something that irked me about commenters on some right wing blogs (not owners or official posters) has been the immediate rejection of the idea that the temple shooter in Wisconsin might have confused the Sikhs with Muslims. While I despise the use of the word “reactionary,” this seems to fit the situation. It is not an illogical motive for the murders and certainly not out of the realm of speculation.

Depending on whether the neo-Nazi left any letters behind, we will possibly find out what his real motivation. It probably was pure racism, rather than against a specific religion, but I have found white supremacist types to be ignorant middle grade morons so getting two very different beliefs confused would be easy. Time may tell.

Actually, many educated people have no clue who the Sikhs are for that matter. About the only portrayal in mass media I can remember would have been Bend It Like Beckham ten years ago. With the growth in immigrants from India in the past twenty years or so, people would be wise to get a little more familiar with the various cultures and religion from that large nation.

My father just returned from a two week stay with my sister and on the way down on Amtrak he had a conversation with a Sikh gentleman. The topic of being mistaken for being a Muslim came up and the man said that he had experienced that kind of hostility. He also said the people responsible for that reaction were idiots. The conversation took place well before the shootings.

Parking Lot Conversations

Over the past few years, I have noticed a strange pattern of having extended conversations in parking lots with friends and acquaintances. Parking lots are not the best locations in the world for talking, but it keeps happening. It does not matter what time of the year it is or what temperature it is out there, though precipitation will drive us indoors or into our cars to finally head home.

Did I mention this happens when we are supposed to be going home? It never happens on the way into a building or to meet up. There appears to be an unwritten (and unsaid at that) rule that the later it is at night the longer the conversations will be.

But most alarming is the development of talking where cars should be during the daytime. Why is that alarming? When I got up this morning, my nose and forehead looked like a boiled lobster, that is why. I could not understand how it had happened until I remembered what happened after church yesterday.

Yes, you guessed it: a parking lot conversation. Actually it was closer to three rather than a single event, which would explain why I was out there too long in the sun. Obviously, we need to outlaw parking lots to prevent this kind of thing happening to the unwary.

A Prelude to Hate

After reading the news this past week, it has struck me that there is a pattern that groups of people exhibit that show a steady decline  towards hostility of the armed and unarmed kind. While I have long understood some of the mechanisms involved, one that had escaped me until recently was how false labels of hatred and bigotry (or oppression back in the day) can be used to foster the very things they claim to be combating. This has become the main weapon of choice on the political left in the United States over the past few years.

It is all very basic “us vs. them” behavior, but as I dwelt on it, I realized this is how societies crumble. Breaking down people into special interest groups is the same as forming tribes or, in a more modern urban variation, street gangs and mafia. This segregation leads to growing feelings of distance toward any group that is not your group. It then becomes easy to attribute falsehoods to the “others” because the are obviously bad – if they were good, they would be part of the group.