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Destroy All Podcasts DX Episode 196 - Godzilla Raids Again a.k.a. Gigantis the Fire Monster

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3 comments posted
Might be good to watch the Jap Version.

I've only seen parts of the old dub, but I did see the Japanese version in it's entirety a few years ago.

I remember really enjoying this and finding it to be an actual "film" like the first movie as opposed to the later movies.

Not to say it was Citizen Kane or anything. I remember the entire cast being upset at Kobayashi's death and the environmental message being more prevalent.

Superdeformed's picture
Posted by Superdeformed on 17 July, 2011 - 09:52
Gigantis

Great Podcast!

The original Godzilla costume from the first film was sent to the USA supposedly to be used for pick up shots for the US version but was subsequently lost.

The DVD has both version of the films as it was the same film with just different dubbing so the Japanese audio is the original version and the English audio has the Gigantis version. I only watched the Japanese version.

Are you going to be reviewing the Godzilla films in order? King Kong Vs Godzilla should be next and like the 1st film the English and Japanese versions are almost two completely different films.

With collecting Japanese records from the 1960's I notice that many actors had records and many singers acted in films. I'm sure they were just trying to promote her as a singer or she was already a singer and they just wanted to give her a scene to sing in the film to promote her records.

LF

Showapop's picture
Posted by Showapop on 27 July, 2011 - 17:03
As Requested

I quite enjoyed the Godzilla Raids Again podcast, and had intended to comment upon it not long after release, but I can be sorta absent minded about stuff like that. So, since you complained about it on the Zeiram podcast, I decided to go ahead and do so.

Skip right to the list if you'd like.

First off, GRA was one of the few Godzilla films I've yet to see, and it was never a priority to me because I'd heard it was sorta middling. It's something I'll get around to eventually I suppose.

Secondly, probably more importantly, there's a very nice biography of Eiji Tsuburaya (the special effects guy for just about all the Toho scifi films up to 1970, and the creator of Ultraman) on the market nowadays, "Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters" by August Ragone. Tons of behind the scenes pictures, very well done overall. Some of the info in the book helps answer your lingering questions over the movie, so I relay it to you now.

1) Yes, it WAS a rushed sequel. The box office returns for Gojira were so good that Toho demanded a second film as quickly as possible.

2) The composer was Masaru Sato in the Japanese version, who later became the second choice composer for the Showa-era Godzilla films when they couldn't get Akira Ifukube. The American version might've replaced the score with stock music, as happened with other Showa Godzilla films.

3) The decision to speed up the monster fights is still a bit of a mystery.

4) The initial Americanization called for only the special effects scenes to be used, and even new ones shot, for a film called THE VOLCANO MONSTERS in which dinosaurs would attack San Fransisco. Tsuburaya and his crew made new monster suits to be shipped to America for filming, but that film never came to pass.

5) All the blatantly obvious stock footage wasn't in the Japanese version

6) The American dub featured both George Takei and Keye Luke (Gremlins, Enter the Dragon, Battle of the Planets).

7) This movie has some rather unfortunate MST3k connections. The adaptation of GIGANTIS THE FIRE MONSTER was helmed by Hugo Grimaldi, who was the man that later brought us THE HUMAN DUPLICATORS. For additional pain, GIGANTIS was released in 1959 as a double feature, paired with TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE. Torcha! indeed.

Love the show, guys. I'd recommend getting somewhat drunk and podcasting on Godzilla vs. Hedorah if you haven't already, that movie's a total trip.

Mr. Ultraseven's picture
Posted by Mr. Ultraseven on 29 July, 2011 - 12:43