Review
GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Sony, 1966
Review
GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA II
Directed by Takao Okawara
Sony, 1993
In 1954 a gigantic lizard by the name of Godzilla lumbered out of the Sea of Japan and decimated Tokyo. Part camp sci-fi romp and part nuclear cautionary tale, the unassuming black-and-white movie spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs, making it the longest running franchise in film history.
To commemorate 50 years of Godzilla, several of the big green guy’s movies are getting DVD releases from a number of sources. Sony alone has released no less than nine DVDs (not including the animated Godzilla TV series) and for those who have been wearing out vintage VHS copies, the new discs are a welcome boost in image quality.
The new releases come from both eras of Godzilla. The classic films – from the mid-’50s to the late ’70s – are generally lower budget, goofy creature flicks (and for my money the best entries in the series) and the later instalments – starting with Godzilla 1984 and running through to the present day – definitely have higher production value, but tend to be much more humorless.
In Godzilla vs. Sea Monster, a trio of men stow away on a stolen boat in hopes of finding a missing friend. Their journey leads them to a deserted island where they find a top-secret military operation using slave labour. Oh yeah, there’s a giant lobster in the water that tries to kill anything that tries to leave the island. Our heroes attempt to help the native slaves, but are quickly found out by the troops. When they take refuge in the island’s smouldering volcano they find – here it comes – Godzilla.
For a movie called Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, it sure takes a long time to get to the money shots. The main characters don’t even find the big G till an hour of screen time has elapsed. When you consider that the film is only 87 minutes long, the title seems tenuous at best. However, a series of lightning bolts wakes up ’Zilla, and lizard meets lobster in an oddball game of pseudo-tennis – Godzilla picks up a huge boulder and chucks it into the ocean and the Sea Monster handily volleys it back with his claw. If you think that’s cool, just wait till Mothra shows up.
Despite taking too long to get to the monsters, the payoff is totally worth it. Plus the setup is so ridiculous that getting to the monsters proves to be half the fun. The camp factor combined with a three-monster climax makes this film an essential part of the Godzilla canon.
After that, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II is a bit of a snooze. By the time the ’90s rolled around, Godzilla’s enemy status had become ambiguous and despite the fact the Japanese government has established G-Force – an elite group of soldiers and scientists whose sole purpose is to kill you know who – they never seem to be able to take him down. As you might have guessed by the title, Godzilla had met Mechagodzilla before (and triumphed), so this time G-Force will stop at nothing to get him. To add a little something to the mix, scientists have discovered a large reptile egg that happens to contain Baby Godzilla, and between papa and the pterodactyl-like Rodan, Tokyo has its hands full.
Like many of the later Godzilla films, the models are better, the special effects are more (but not completely) seamless and the level of destruction is higher. However, because it takes itself so seriously, this film winds up being less fun. Aside from the laughably bad Caucasian actors in the film and the questionable English the G-Force uses (but only when they are fighting Godzilla), the cheesy fun that made the early films so great has completely evaporated.
Feature films aside, these DVDs are bare-bones affairs with no special features to speak of aside from a few Godzilla trailers. When somebody turns 50 you usually like to celebrate by doing something special, but that is not the case here. While the option of watching dubbed or subtitled versions of the film is a plus, it’s hard not to compare these discs to the inexpensive Godzilla DVDs released by Simitar video in 1998 – they had art galleries and a hilarious trivia game. Still, these new widescreen editions are great, so whether you are a longtime fan or discovering Godzilla for the first time, his enormous adventures have never looked better.
Godzilla milestones
With 50 years of cinema history, Godzilla has more than a few notable moments:
· Best film overall: Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965). Filmed in Cinemascope with a hyper-futuristic design, this instalment features several monsters and a sombre alien race obsessed with numbering everything – thus Monster Zero. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Godzilla do a jig.
· Best fight: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962): The two screen giants meet in the best knockdown drag-out brawl in cinema history. There is no clear winner, but they both go the distance.
· Best human characters: Godzilla Vs. Mothra (1964). Before meeting a giant flying moth, audiences are introduced to her pint-sized keepers. Dressed in matching outfits, and mimicking each other’s speech, the mini-ladies wear fuzzy hats that make them look like cappuccinos.
· Best superfluous dance number: Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (a.k.a Godzilla vs. Hedora) (1971) In one of the more eco-oriented films, a black sludge monster creeps into an underground disco in Japan. Before mayhem ensues, check out the great costumes and hot dance moves.
· Biggest copout: Godzilla’s Revenge (1969): Remember those episodes of Family Ties where the writers got lazy and the Keaton family just sat around in the living room flashing back to the good old days? That is this movie in a nutshell. Like a Godzilla greatest-hits movie, this outing features a geeky kid dreaming about his favourite giant lizard.
· Most noteworthy: Godzilla vs. Destroyer (1995). Despite the fact that Toho Studios made Godzilla movies well into the new millennium, our hero actually dies in this one. |
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