Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

[Goji]

What does the condition of the suit have to do with the film taking place in '99? It was still filmed in the 60's.

It was already 3 years old at the time. That's "what happened to it".

[miguelnuva]

What does the condition of the suit have to do with the film taking place in '99? It was still filmed in the 60's.

It was already 3 years old at the time. That's "what happened to it".

When I say the suit makes me think the film takes place in 99 is because how old the suit looks compared to how it looked in Monster Zero, it looks like Rodan aged.

[menschenjaeger]

THAT'S why G and Rodan couldn't take down the SY-3...they're geezers. Also explains Godzilla's constant "gumming:" he's trying to keep those huge dentures* in place.

*space titanium?

[ebirahsmeg1]

I think Rodan's role was small simply due to logistics and the challenges the SFX crew faced in pulling off such a massive battle. King Ghidorah alone takes numerous people/technicians to operate, and adding another flying monster in Rodan would have added even more challenges to an already ambition battle scene. The regular standing/crawling kaiju (Godzilla/Gorosaurus/Angilas) were most likely far easier to operate, hence why they had the biggest roles in their battle. Of course, like everyone else, I wish Rodan would have had a bigger role in the battle...but I still think this battle was vintage Tsuburaya and co. at their best...

[Killswitch]

I like this film, but find it hard to beleive humans can capture all those monsters and place them on an island - lol

Now thats something I would like to see!

[Tyler]

Now thats something I would like to see!

Corral All Monsters

[eabaker]

I would assume that they didn't so much capture and transport them as they probably lured and confined them there.

Of course, Mothra might have gone voluntarily. All it would take would be one impassioned speech about keeping an eye on the other monsters for the sake of all life on Earth or some such.

[miguelnuva]

I think Mothra went to the island because by 1999 Godzilla had done his superhero thing, Angurius and Rodan were loyal to him, Rodan also to Mothra maybe so once the 4 of them got the the island any other monster had no other choice but to obey.

[eabaker]

I think Mothra went to the island because by 1999 Godzilla had done his superhero thing, Angurius and Rodan were loyal to him, Rodan also to Mothra maybe so once the 4 of them got the the island any other monster had no other choice but to obey.

And, if we assume that GvsGigan and GvsMegalon take place in the years that they were released, most of the monsters seem to have gravitated towards the island decades before the events of DAM.

[Terrier]

We know that Mothra tried to escape at the begining, but couldn't because of the defense mechanisms... I makes me wonder, did the mechanisms activate to stop Mothra from leaving, meaning that humans actually have her prisioner? Or did they activate to stop Godzilla, who was trying to escape at the same time, so preventing Mothra from leaving for the time being?

Her last scenne is similar to her first scenne, she is going the same direction while Gorosaurus watches, wich would mean that she is trying to leave again, and this times tere is nothing stoping her. My guess is that she returned to the island to make sure that everything is alright with the monsters, and now is returning to Infant Island.



And does anyone know what is that "typhoon from 20 years ago" that is mentioned?

[miguelnuva]

I think Mothra went to the island because by 1999 Godzilla had done his superhero thing, Angurius and Rodan were loyal to him, Rodan also to Mothra maybe so once the 4 of them got the the island any other monster had no other choice but to obey.

And, if we assume that GvsGigan and GvsMegalon take place in the years that they were released, most of the monsters seem to have gravitated towards the island decades before the events of DAM.

I had forgot about that, I guess since Monster Island was destroyed when Monster Land was built all the monsters were already use to living with each other and just went to Monster Land.

I still don't know if Mothra decided to move and hang out with her fellow allies or what but I'm not going to think to hard about it.

I still wish Kong or one of the Gargantuas could have been in the film though. If time machines ever get made I'm going back to 1968 and giving Toho enough money to not only include Kong, but build suits for Baragon, Varan, Rodan and Manda so they can help in the final Battle against Ghidorah.

[ruel]

Friends,
After finally getting myself a Showa Ghidorah figure, I've been thinking about Ghidorah's fight against the Earth monsters in "Destroy All Monsters." I think Ghidorah could have won this fight if he'd followed that classic principle of military science: Occupy the high ground on a low slope with a minor obstruction.

If he'd done that, the battle might have unfolded like this:
1. Ghidorah takes up position above the monsters on Mt. Fuji and uses his lightning to make entrenchments at the foot of the mountain.
2. Ghidorah starts firing on the monsters with his lighting.
3. Rodan and other flying monsters charge Ghidorah's position but are shot down by lightning.
4. The walking monsters charge uphill but are slowed by the entrenchments, making them easy targets for Ghidorah's lightning shots.
5. As the monsters fall back, Ghidorah starts an avalanche to trap them, and then melts the rock with his lightning to encase them in molten earth.
6. Finally, Ghidorah fires lightning into Mt. Fuji to induce an eruption, burying the monsters in lava.

Thoughts? I don't have all the monsters from the movie, but I'll try making a preliminary diorama sequence to illustrate this scenario.

[MaxRebo320]

Sounds interesting to me. What monsters do you still need that participated in the fight?

[ruel]

I only have Godzilla, larva Mothra, Baragon, and Anguirus (though he's 8" instead of 6" like the others). I have some dinosaur and animal figures that could stand in for Gorosaurus, Rodan, Kumonga, and Minilla until I get those. But since the fighting during that scene was handled primarily by only three monsters -- Godzilla, Anguirus, and Gorosaurus -- it probably doesn't matter much who the background monsters were; they were more spectators than participants in the fight.

[Arbok]

3. Rodan and other flying monsters charge Ghidorah's position but are shot down by lightning.

Not that the humans were controlling him very well in the movie, but: in Invasion of Astro-Monster Rodan proved quite capable of not only being able to withstand King Ghidorah's beams, but being able to maintain his flight while his wings were being struck by them. So assuming Rodan was being more aggressive than we saw in the film, he would have been hard to take out of that fight without a more prolonged battle between the two.

[edgaguirus]

It seems like a winning strategy. It would be effective against most of the monsters.

The only problem I see with it is Mothra and Kumonga. They both have effective distance weapons that could enshroud Ghidorah or distract Ghidorah from attack. All those two need is Godzilla and the other monsters to provide defense for them.

[Crimson_Raptor]

I would have to say, even with King Ghidorah taking the high ground, Godzilla would still have been able to defeat him. Godzilla could have used his flame breath to knock out ground from beneath the golden dragon's feet.

Although the humans lost control of the Earth monsters for the final fight, it would stand to reason that the Kilaaks forced King Ghidorah into a battle he would have otherwise gotten away from or at least fought completely different. I use both, Godzilla versus Gigan and Invasion of Astro-Monster as proof of concept. Ghidorah the three-headed monster could be used as well.

[King Caesar]

If the Kilaakians utilized the Fire Dragon during the final battle, Ghidorah would stand a better chance. It's not definitely in his favor, but the Fire Dragon could certainly provide some needed support against the monsters. I'm going to assume it's immune to the webs produced by Mothra and Kumonga, since the Fire Dragon is encased in fire. It's questionable how much Godzilla's atomic ray would do to the ship, but he's the only monster (besides Baragon) who has any sort of long range weapon, giving the Fire Dragon even more of an advantage. The thing King Ghidorah would need to do is avoid being surrounded of caught off guard. He managed to keep the monsters at bay for a short time, but he needs to take advantage of only one (excluding Varan's gliding ability) flying opponent. Stick to the air, utilize the beams, bring in the Fire Dragon, and King Ghidorah might have this battle in the bag.

[ruel]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies friends; critiquing this battle certainly does generate alot of interesting analysis.

* I agree that Rodan took a surprisingly minimal role in this fight, considering his more aggressive stance in previous encounters with Ghidorah. As noted, if the alien ship had been used simultaneously with Ghidorah, it might provided cover for Ghidorah against Rodan's aerial attack, and maybe the combined fire from the ship and Ghidorah could take him (and Varan) out.

* Might Ghidorah have been able to use his wings to generate a hurricane that would blow back against Mothra's and Kumonga's webbing? But even without doing that, those two are slow moving monsters who should make easy targets for Ghidorah's lightning strikes. The ranged firing weapons would seem to be Ghidorah's biggest threat, but as mentioned Godzilla and Baragon are the only others who have them and so Ghidorah might try to neutralize them first by fly-over attacks. He might also simply reposition himself on adjacent mountain slopes if the the monsters manage to charge him, and repeat the same distance attack. We all can probably agree that the key to a Ghidorah victory lies in preventing the monsters from closing ranks, where they could contain his fire and "ground & pound" him (exactly what happened in the movie).

* Another strategy might be for Ghidorah to simply start his attack by detonating the volcano first. That would force the monsters to break formation and scatter, and probably eliminate many of them from the fight. Afterward, Ghidorah (and the Fire Dragon) could engage them in isolation.

[123go]

If the Fire Dragon were to keep Godzilla and Rodan busy, would the combined forces of everyone else be enough? I think it would be close.