Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

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eabaker
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by eabaker »

Crazy Jim Films wrote:It didn't "ruin" the series, per se, but it kept the property from doing much in the States for quite some time.
Even there, it's not like the property was doing a lot in the States anyway. The Trendmasters toyline, the Dark Horse comics, and the Random House books were all pretty niche properties. Heck, Godzilla 2000 was the first Japanese Godzilla movie to get a theatrical release over here in 15 years, and that came two years after the TriStar flick.

As for Hedorah, it's hard to make a case that it ruined a series that was already experiencing diminished box office, and that still managed to produce a movie per year for the next four years.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by Rodan »

Re; Above: For what it's worth, too, if we hadn't had Banno making a psychedelic passion project out of this assignment, we'd likely have gotten another shoestring budget child-oriented affair akin to vs. Gigan or Megalon. The Japanese spectacle film industry was suffering at that time with or without Hedorah. At least we got one more urgent and unique film out of the series before it was shelved.

Superhero Godzilla was certainly in the pipeline with or without this film as well, as Toho was increasingly going after child audiences in the '70s. Good-guy Godzilla fighting bad-guy monsters was part of that shift. (And that had been the direction of the series since Ghidorah showed up anyway, even if Godzilla was less openly heroic previously. Even then, Hedorah probably tempered that more than any of the films to follow -- the news sites something like two-hundred deaths and injuries following the monsters' fight at the harbor.)

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by edgaguirus »

Toho's budget cutting and the increasing market for television were the main causes of decline for the last 60s and 70s films. Banno's style makes G vs Hedorah stand out from them, and whether that's good or not depends on opinion. Personally, it's weird to me, but still a good one.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by AbudJasemAlBaldawi »

I like the movie a bit more than I used to, but I still despise the soundtrack, especially that really stupid sounding elephant circus music that plays whenever Godzilla shows up. I feel either a more funk/psychedelic rock based or a darker more serious (but not Ifukube-esque) soundtrack would've done wonders for this film, but not both and definitely not what was used in the movie.

edit: actually I think something like the Prophecies of Nostradamus soundtrack would've been perfect.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by cmdmstudios »

AbudJasemAlBaldawi wrote:I like the movie a bit more than I used to, but I still despise the soundtrack, especially that really stupid sounding elephant circus music that plays whenever Godzilla shows up. I feel either a more funk/psychedelic rock based or a darker more serious (but not Ifukube-esque) soundtrack would've done wonders for this film, but not both and definitely not what was used in the movie.

edit: actually I think something like the Prophecies of Nostradamus soundtrack would've been perfect.
That was the biggest thing I fixed with my fan edit. I ended up using Masaru Satoh's scores, with the H-Man themes used for some of Hedorah's appearances, and using the theme he wrote for Godzilla in 'Ebirah: Horror of the Deep' used for Godzilla's entrances.

https://www.facebook.com/kaijuandwhatno ... 962443859/

There's a taste of what this edit ended up being like.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by AbudJasemAlBaldawi »

cmdmstudios wrote:
AbudJasemAlBaldawi wrote:I like the movie a bit more than I used to, but I still despise the soundtrack, especially that really stupid sounding elephant circus music that plays whenever Godzilla shows up. I feel either a more funk/psychedelic rock based or a darker more serious (but not Ifukube-esque) soundtrack would've done wonders for this film, but not both and definitely not what was used in the movie.

edit: actually I think something like the Prophecies of Nostradamus soundtrack would've been perfect.
That was the biggest thing I fixed with my fan edit. I ended up using Masaru Satoh's scores, with the H-Man themes used for some of Hedorah's appearances, and using the theme he wrote for Godzilla in 'Ebirah: Horror of the Deep' used for Godzilla's entrances.

https://www.facebook.com/kaijuandwhatno ... 962443859/

There's a taste of what this edit ended up being like.
Hmm, interesting edit. But yeah, I do feel like that soundtrack change is a significant improvement.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by jackzilla »

I don't like this one, but I don't hate it either. It's a bit too weird and trippy for me, but, it's not terrible.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by g2vd »

I never did get the "Too trippy" complaint, sure there are some pretty trippy moments throughout the movie such as the Club and the Animation scenes, but beyond that there really isn't that much and if you think about it the entry is arguably the most grounded of the 70s G movies.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by Goji »

Yeah, and it's almost always used as some kind of negative, I don't get it. "It's just so weird". That's part of what makes it so great. It's different.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by Rodan »

g2vd wrote:I never did get the "Too trippy" complaint, sure there are some pretty trippy moments throughout the movie such as the Club and the Animation scenes, but beyond that there really isn't that much and if you think about it the entry is arguably the most grounded of the 70s G movies.
Nah, it's a pretty weird film, from the dream-like development of events to that TV transition with the skulls that seems like it was just dropped in from a better film. (No knock against Hedorah, which I love, but that bit is too good.)

Manabe's score probably compounds the psychedelic feeling for many.

I'd honestly like it to be even weirder, for what it's worth.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by g2vd »

Goji wrote:Yeah, and it's almost always used as some kind of negative, I don't get it. "It's just so weird". That's part of what makes it so great. It's different.
I know right? I mean a Godzilla movie that's weird? I mean I can take a person who has ESP abilities that just stands around doing nothing, a Plant possessed by the Ghost of a Human being who was killed by a act of sabotage and is than brought back to life as a Godzilla plant hybrid after a Scientist injected Godzilla Cells into it, M11 roller-skating, King Ghidorah being created by the fusing of Ewok rejects, The Earth being revealed to be a living entity, A Godzilla Clone from Outer Space being created when Godzilla Cells found their way into a Black-hole merged with some crystal thing became totally evil and somehow found their way back to Earth, Gorosaurus's Kanagroo Kick, Godzilla Dancing, Godzilla Kanagroo Kicking Kong, Godzilla using bad language, a Princess randomly being possessed by a Alien from Venus, The Japanese having their own Black Hole gun, Space Apes from a black hole dressed in tin foil, the Giant Octopus's random appearance in King Kong Vs. Godzilla, Little Godzilla, All of Final Wars

But a person briefly suffering hallucinations of people in Fish Heads and cartoons "Madness! Madness I say! this is too trippy this is the weirdest thing! Weird is wrong!"

:lol: I mean It is indeed a weird movie no doubt about it I mean it has people in fish heads! But still I mean I just don't understand why weird or different is bad especially when it's what makes the movie as good as it is. but in truth when you think about it Hedorah just plays it as it is where as other movies play the weird stuff completely normal and act like it's the most normal thing in the whole world "Oh you thought a Rose Flower held the Ghost of you're long dead daughter and tried to bring her back by injecting Godzilla Cells into the flower which ended up creating a giant Half Plant Half Godzilla hybrid? Ehh, it's cool just yesterday I created a new race of volcanic fire breathing monkeys their pretty cool If I must say so."
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by LamangoKaijura »

Is it wrong I wished Land/Quadroped Hedorah was used more?

Also, fun note, when Godzilla uses his beam to dry out Hedorah between the electrodes, and then knocks a boulder onto it? The hedorah that flies from the dried husk wasn't flying hedorah, but actually Tadpole Hedorah.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by Godzillian »

LamangoKaijura wrote:Is it wrong I wished Land/Quadroped Hedorah was used more?

Also, fun note, when Godzilla uses his beam to dry out Hedorah between the electrodes, and then knocks a boulder onto it? The hedorah that flies from the dried husk wasn't flying hedorah, but actually Tadpole Hedorah.
I do too. It was used so briefly and was an interestingdesign
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by DaiKamonohashi »

Just finished this last night:

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by edgaguirus »

Very good, DK.

Although someone should tell Hedorah smoking is bad for him.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by Rodan »

edgaguirus wrote:Very good, DK.

Although someone should tell Hedorah smoking is bad for him.
Nah. I think he should stick to smoking. All that intravenous stuff's no good.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by ILL GREEN »

There's money to be made with a Hedorah bong.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

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There's an unusual line of Toho merchandising.
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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by OneMillionTomsBC »

DaiKamonohashi wrote:Just finished this last night:

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I'm watching this one right now, actually. I paused (to write this) at the scene where all the people are throwing torches at Hedorah and it shows the things bouncing off his head and upper body, like all those puny humans were able to throw sticks some 60 meters in the air without olympian superpowers.....

This is one of my favorites because it's the grooviest of the series :lol: with the pollution message and the soundtrack and all those hippies in the club. I found reading about what happened during production was very interesting too, like Kenpachiro Satsuma coming down with appendicitis and having to undergo surgery while still in the Hedorah suit... I wholly disagree with those who believed it ruined the franchise at the time, it was much better than some of the movies that kept reusing footage from other films. I think every installment of the series can and has been as radical and off-kilter as it should be because the original idea of Godzilla and what he means is still very pure in the first film and all the sequels are just candy for sugar junkies. It can go as bonkers as it wants to, and I think it should.

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Re: Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Post by Shobijin »

I never liked the horn theme, but smile when the rapid song comes when Godzilla flies (and the looks on the soldier's faces). It is not offensive to me at all. For some reason, the satire works, or perhaps it is part of the psychedelic theme and tone of the movie.

The doc is the only real human character in the film- the kid, other dude, and women didn't do anything for me.

This was always a mind-blowing movie for me. As a kid, The Smog Monster was gross and bizarre. He really gave my hero Godzilla a run for his money. I always seem to catch something I didn't notice before with every viewing. As an adult watching a Japanese version marathon, I have to say that this is the most unique Godzilla film so far.

It is dark, has a moral message, has super long battles (which I always wanted), a seemingly unstoppable opponent, shows human casualties, and great personality from Godzilla. Hedorah himself is such a wondrous beast that I can't take my eyes off him. Should have been a better part of Godzilla's rouge gallery instead of being a one-shot villain. And was he really a villain? It wasn't his fault. It was ours.

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