Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

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Monster Zero
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Monster Zero »

I'm literally holding the DVD for this right now. I plan on watching it tonight.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

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Lain Of The Wired wrote:I find the dub atrocious
Oh, banana oil!
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Space Hunter M »

Gigantis is wonderful. Keye Luke is music to my ears.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

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Space Hunter M wrote:Gigantis is wonderful. Keye Luke is music to my ears.
Last time I watched Gigantis, I found it pretty entertaining for about the first twenty minutes, then I quickly drifted off.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by BARAGONZILLA »

I found this one a bit scarier than the first one. Just because if the dark tone and the music. I love it when Godzilla walks out of the water. Enjoy watching that scene.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

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BARAGONZILLA wrote:I found this one a bit scarier than the first one. Just because if the dark tone and the music. I love it when Godzilla walks out of the water. Enjoy watching that scene.
While it's uneven movie, at its best it is very eerie.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by tymon »

Lain Of The Wired wrote: I DID like the brutal way that Godzilla dispatched Anguirus, although I wonder how they managed to get rid of Anguiruse's stinking corpse afterwards :lol:
They used it to open a restaurant called Black Anguirus.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by GodzillaFanatic2001 »

Space Hunter M wrote:I love that one cue that's also in Rodan when the convicts break out.
I've always loved that one too. Does anyone know where I can find a copy of that song, on youtube maybe?
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Piccolo »

I just recently re-watched this film (Japanese version with English subtitles). I thought it was pretty good. The movie did a good job creating a scary atmosphere when Godzilla was attacking Osaka. The black and white helped out a lot in this respect. The fight between Godzilla and Anguirus was well done and very animalistic, keeping with the tone of the movie. I felt that Kobayashi was a very likeable character. In fact, it was somewhat refreshing to see a film with "regular" people (the fishery owner and his workers) as the main stars instead of military officers and scientists as are typical of monster films. It gave you some glimpse of how regular people dealt with the aftermath of a monster attack. Masaru Sato's music was also fitting, although one does miss Akira Ifukube's signature scores.

On the downside, the movie is not terribly exciting. The movie can be boring in spots. I also felt that Kobayashi's fate could have been handled differently.
Spoiler:
I felt that Kobayashi's death seemed somewhat pointless in that it did not seal Godzilla in the ice itself but only gave Tsukioka the idea of burying Godzilla in an avalanche. This reduced the dramatic impact of his death.
It is pretty clear that Toho had done all that they could with the heavy, serious Godzilla. That is why the next movie, King Kong v. Godzilla, was such an important change of tone. Still, I think GRA was a good attempt to try to recapture the feeling of the first movie while making if different enough to warrant a viewing.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by eabaker »

A single person's action - even the sacrifice of a major character - bringing about victory wouldn't really have fit the with the movie's theme of community action, and would have wrung a little dramatically false. The problem, to me, is that it takes so long for the action to resolve after Kobayashi's death, and the movie really loses the momentum that it's only just regained.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

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eabaker wrote:A single person's action - even the sacrifice of a major character - bringing about victory wouldn't really have fit the with the movie's theme of community action, and would have wrung a little dramatically false. The problem, to me, is that it takes so long for the action to resolve after Kobayashi's death, and the movie really loses the momentum that it's only just regained.
I think you make a good point. That is one of the problems with this film, in that the action does not keep rolling consistently. This might be why the film sometimes feels boring, especially compared to the later entries in the series.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Israha »

The thing I dislike the most about GRA is the fact that, few tweaks aside, it's nothing more than a copy of original Gojira. Only significant difference between the two movies is the presence of Anguirus, which itself is kind of less impactful than it should be. City destruction scenes are pretty impressive and the monster fights are also executed quite well, but otherwise, this movie feels like a rushed re-telling of Gojira, with far less engaging human subplots and awfully dragging pace.

While not the worst, it is certainly one of my least favourite Godzilla movies.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Bubbazilla »

I loved 'Gigantis the Fire Monster'[1959]. It has that dark tone that Rodan, Mothra, and Gorgo had, too. 'Gigantis' on late night TV creature features is what introduced Godzilla to most of America, too. Remember, most people in the early 1960s thought 'Frankenstein' or 'Revenge of the Creature' when they thought monster movie. Despite smash hits like 'Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' and 'It came from Beneath the Sea', but black bear-sized creatures were about what people thought of monsters in movies. 'Gigantis' playing on their new B&W portable TVs literally rocked people's worlds culturally, too.

I look forward to seeing Godzilla Raids again, too.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Legion1979 »

Bubbazilla wrote:'Gigantis' on late night TV creature features is what introduced Godzilla to most of America, too.
'Gigantis' playing on their new B&W portable TVs literally rocked people's worlds culturally, too.
...what?

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Giga Kaiju »

The buildup to the battle and itself were great in the movie. That part where people were just hearing that Godzilla and Anguirus were coming to the city was alright.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

The one thing I do love about it is the fact it is maybe the only film in the entire franchise to show things from the perspective of everyday ordinary people. Unlike practically all kaiju film protagonists they aren't soldiers, or reporters, or scientists. They're simple everyday working stiffs like you or me. Its an approach that is sadly and severely lacking in the franchise. There's also a rather creepy/otherworldy atmosphere to it (similar to Rodan in some aspects where again the main characters are mostly ordinary men and women. A combination Ford in G14, Akane in Mechagodzilla, and Kiriko in Megaguirus really made me realize how sick I am becoming of military leads in these kinds of films. Doesn't help that most of them have been flat and lifeless in recent years. Gigantis took a direction that I'd really love to see taken again.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Rodan »

Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote:The one thing I do love about it is the fact it is maybe the only film in the entire franchise to show things from the perspective of everyday ordinary people. Unlike practically all kaiju film protagonists they aren't soldiers, or reporters, or scientists. They're simple everyday working stiffs like you or me. Its an approach that is sadly and severely lacking in the franchise. There's also a rather creepy/otherworldy atmosphere to it (similar to Rodan in some aspects where again the main characters are mostly ordinary men and women. A combination Ford in G14, Akane in Mechagodzilla, and Kiriko in Megaguirus really made me realize how sick I am becoming of military leads in these kinds of films. Doesn't help that most of them have been flat and lifeless in recent years. Gigantis took a direction that I'd really love to see taken again.
Yes. Yes, yes, yes. That only started happening after the Showa era too, though the Showa era is fond of reporters and scientists as characters with jobs tangentially related to the action (I'll always take a reporter character, so I'm on board there).

Anyway, I also enjoy Raids Again for that aspect, as well as for the fact that it's the last Showa film to adapt a truly grim take on events (more an artifact of where the rest of the series went than a real strength of this film, but it still affects re-watches). It's definitely Godzilla by of standard '50s B-movie, but it's a good enough time. The characters are likable and realistic, and while I know some feel it's too languid, I think the pacing works fairly well. The artistic ambitions are gone, from the script to the cinematography, but what's here is a serviceable, somber monster movie. It's not as good as Rodan in that regard, but it's not that far off either.

Raids Again falls into the upper half of my series ranking.

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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Giga Kaiju »

Sadly it is regarded as one of the worst films in the series by many, but I wouldn't say that exactly considering those facts mentioned above. The relatable protagonists, the feel of danger that the monsters give off, considering that is a sequel to Gojira aids that, and the mission of urgency (sort of) that the characters have to deal with them. The movie MAY have bad things going for it, but it also has some good that are mostly overlooked, for better or for worse, depending on the person seeing the movie.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Stevo_1985 »

i dont think this one is as bad as alot of people say. I quite enjoy it.
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Re: Talkback Thread #2: Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

Rodan wrote:(I'll always take a reporter character, so I'm on board there)
Yeah I'm really hoping that's the route Gareth and Co go in Godzilla 2.
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