Toho Kingdom

UltramanGoji wrote:

Golden Bat wrote:One thing that's always baffled me...

The Japanese title is San Daikaiju - Three Giant Monsters...

But there is FOUR of them? How did they work that out?

I always interpreted that as referring to Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra facing Ghidorah in "The Greatest Battle on Earth".

Exactly. The heroes are the "Three Giant Monsters."

There are way more than seven samurai in Seven Samurai, but those seven are a unit.

Ivo-goji wrote:You weren't supposed to know King Ghidorah would be in this film.

Uh... what makes you say that? As Golden Bat noted, he's featured very prominently on the posters and even at the end of the trailer. No one seeing this movie at the theater would have been surprised.

That's just how I always interpreted the set up of having Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan cross over in much the same manner as KKvsG and MvsG, only for the appearance of a entirely new monster to provide a 'twist', as explaining the logic behind the title.

Dissonance between how a film reveals a character and how the promotional material reveals a character is pretty common, it never occurred to me to question that, but you've got a point there.

Ironically enough the film was re-released as Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Greatest Battle on Earth for the Toho Champion Festival, with Rodan being absent from the title.

King of the Monsters wrote:Ironically enough the film was re-released as Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Greatest Battle on Earth for the Toho Champion Festival, with Rodan being absent from the title.

That's what i'm talking about. Rodan's rep got tarnished when he just flew off in DAM. He never recovered from that. Sad.

So this movie is the original GMK?

No wonder Toho somehow thought such a long name like 'Godzilla x Mothra x King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack' was no problem, they were honoring an ancient tradition.

Just look at the original title of G vs TSM.

What was the average time of production for a Godzilla movie, during the time? I understand that this movie was pretty rushed, and came out only a few months after Mothra vs. Godzilla, which seems apparent. While I love this movie, it feel like a dip in quality.

KingKaiju wrote:What was the average time of production for a Godzilla movie, during the time? I understand that this movie was pretty rushed, and came out only a few months after Mothra vs. Godzilla, which seems apparent. While I love this movie, it feel like a dip in quality.

Don't quote me on this, but as far as I know they usually took about 4-5 weeks. Mothra vs Godzilla had an even longer production, which is probably why it stands head and shoulders above the other 60's entries.

Mr_Goji_and_Watch wrote:

KingKaiju wrote:What was the average time of production for a Godzilla movie, during the time? I understand that this movie was pretty rushed, and came out only a few months after Mothra vs. Godzilla, which seems apparent. While I love this movie, it feel like a dip in quality.

Don't quote me on this, but as far as I know they usually took about 4-5 weeks. Mothra vs Godzilla had an even longer production, which is probably why it stands head and shoulders above the other 60's entries.

Oooooohhhh, that makes sense. Yeah, that movie is definitely my gold standard for Godzilla movies.

You really need to realize that the Godzilla movies weren't made in a vacuum. The same Honda crew was working probably nearly continuously in 1963, 1964, and 1965. Atragon was made in a very brief period at the end of '63. Mothra vs. Godzilla, an April release, probably had a very short production schedule too. Certainly Ghidorah was rushed (made during the gap between Dogora's release in August and Ghidorah's release in December), but probably not a whole lot more so than the other tokusatsu films of this period.

I might be mistaken, though wasn't Ghidorah a last minute affair to substitute for a delayed Kurosawa film? Red Beard I think?

kamilleblu wrote:I might be mistaken, though wasn't Ghidorah a last minute affair to substitute for a delayed Kurosawa film? Red Beard I think?

Yes.

Really? Didn't know that. I trust that that is true, but where does that information originate from? Just curious.

Goji wrote:Really? Didn't know that. I trust that that is true, but where does that information originate from? Just curious.

It can be found in the Ishiro Honda biography by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski.

Ah, okay. I read that a looong time ago, so that's probably why I don't remember. There's a lot of information to digest in that book.

Anyone else prefer the American cut? I feel like it's editing just moves the movie a little faster

Godzillian wrote:Anyone else prefer the American cut? I feel like it's editing just moves the movie a little faster

I definitely prefer the way that the American cut intersperses the human and monster action during the final confrontation; they feel totally separate in the Japanese cut.

I think the sequence of events in the American version is more logical than in the Japanese version, especially considering the introduction of Ghidorah.

I think the American cut tightens the overall continuity and flow of the film. Plus including the monster roars during the gunfight is a vast improvement over the silence of the Japanese version of that same sequence. My only complaint is that the American editors completely butcher Godzilla's "attack" on the city. Obviously, Godzilla coming ashore twice is jarring. But the stock track and how much they cut up the scene is a travesty. Makes it feel like a generic attack. Ikufube's score worked perfectly with the editing and Rodan's flight sound effect in the Japanese cut. Somehow it exudes a unique sense of dread and Godzilla's frustration with Rodan is priceless. And Rodan silhouetted against the night sky is an awesome visual. It's not just one of my favorite sequences in the film, it's one of my favorite sequences in the entire series.