Discussion: When did the Showa Age go Wrong?

[King Caesar]

King Ceasar should of had more screen time, IMO. I would of liked to have seen more one on one fighting between KC & MG, before Godzilla arrived.

I agree with you on that. King Caesar really didn't do much in the fight, even before Godzilla came. He was kind of just there just cuz for must of the final fight scene

[GotengoXGodzilla]

I don't think the Showa era ever went wrong. It was consistent from start to finish. There were some good films, great films and bad films in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and is overall the best series of Toho daikaiju films.

[Space Hunter M]

The very last frame of Terror of Mechagodzilla.

[Giga Kaiju]

I don't think the Showa era ever went wrong. It was consistent from start to finish. There were some good films, great films and bad films in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and is overall the best series of Toho daikaiju films.

This. I Agree i Like the continuity that all the Showa Series Has.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

I don't think the Showa era ever went wrong. It was consistent from start to finish. There were some good films, great films and bad films in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and is overall the best series of Toho daikaiju films.

One must admit, however, that the sheer number of films in the Showa series gave Toho more at-bats during the game. If you strike out a few times out of fifteen, it's not as bad a few times out of seven.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

I don't think the Showa era ever went wrong. It was consistent from start to finish. There were some good films, great films and bad films in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and is overall the best series of Toho daikaiju films.

One must admit, however, that the sheer number of films in the Showa series gave Toho more at-bats during the game. If you strike out a few times out of fifteen, it's not as bad a few times out of seven.

Personally, I think the only "strike-outs" during the Showa era were Godzilla Raids Again and All Monsters Attack. Other than that, every film is good on its own merits.

[shinmattiathekaiju]

I don't think the Showa era ever went wrong. It was consistent from start to finish. There were some good films, great films and bad films in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and is overall the best series of Toho daikaiju films.

One must admit, however, that the sheer number of films in the Showa series gave Toho more at-bats during the game. If you strike out a few times out of fifteen, it's not as bad a few times out of seven.

Personally, I think the only "strike-outs" during the Showa era were Godzilla Raids Again and All Monsters Attack. Other than that, every film is good on its own merits.

Even Godzilla vs Megalon?

[GotengoXGodzilla]

One must admit, however, that the sheer number of films in the Showa series gave Toho more at-bats during the game. If you strike out a few times out of fifteen, it's not as bad a few times out of seven.

Personally, I think the only "strike-outs" during the Showa era were Godzilla Raids Again and All Monsters Attack. Other than that, every film is good on its own merits.

Even Godzilla vs Megalon?

Yeah. Godzilla vs. Megalon is so much fun to watch. It knows exactly what it wants to be, and it keeps the audience entertained the entire time. Watching the MST3K version of it is some of the best entertainment you'll get in an hour and a half.

[StonedHope]

To answer the discussion question, "when did the showa age go wrong?": Son of Godzilla.

A good film but it was the first trip down a slippery slop.
The fear was taken out of the monster and never given back.

[Legion1979]

To answer the discussion question, "when did the showa age go wrong?": Son of Godzilla.

A good film but it was the first trip down a slippery slop.
The fear was taken out of the monster and never given back.

That started with Son of Godzilla? I'd say that started the very first time Godzilla laughed at Kong in 1962.

[Tyler]

The very last frame of Terror of Mechagodzilla.

I know you're joking but the music at the end of TOM is heart breaking. It's so emotional. It's like they knew Godzilla wasn't coming back for a while.

[King Caesar]

I think once Ebirah came around with his volleyball skills, something went wrong in the mood department.

[Tamura]

I absolutely adore this poster.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

I think once Ebirah came around with his volleyball skills, something went wrong in the mood department.

Well...the mood in the Godzilla films certainly changed (it changed before that, but I won't debate when it started), but who says its a bad mood? The mood in Godzilla films like Ebirah, Horror Of The Deep and Son Of Godzilla is more lighthearted and friendly, but that doesn't mean that the Showa era was going downhill at the point. If anything, it helped save it. A lighthearted Godzilla film is remembered more than the standard serious-toned Godzilla films like Invasion Of The Astro-Monster and Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster.

The films at that point where in a decline, and the creators needed to do something to shake things up. Making more lighthearted and non-serious Godzilla films helped to keep Godzilla alive. Not to mention giving us some amazing films like Son Of Godzilla and Ebirah, Horror Of The Deep. The mood was different, but it was far from "wrong".

[JVM]

The real question isn't when it went wrong but what went wrong.

Some people like the fun and say it didn't. Some people do and generally agree it occurred in the late '60s.

[shinmattiathekaiju]

Personally, I think the only "strike-outs" during the Showa era were Godzilla Raids Again and All Monsters Attack. Other than that, every film is good on its own merits.

Even Godzilla vs Megalon?[/quote]

Yeah. Godzilla vs. Megalon is so much fun to watch. It knows exactly what it wants to be, and it keeps the audience entertained the entire time. Watching the MST3K version of it is some of the best entertainment you'll get in an hour and a half.[/quote]

So you like to watch an insult to Godzilla?

[JVM]

Personally, I think the only "strike-outs" during the Showa era were Godzilla Raids Again and All Monsters Attack. Other than that, every film is good on its own merits.

Even Godzilla vs Megalon?

Yeah. Godzilla vs. Megalon is so much fun to watch. It knows exactly what it wants to be, and it keeps the audience entertained the entire time. Watching the MST3K version of it is some of the best entertainment you'll get in an hour and a half.[/quote]

So you like to watch an insult to Godzilla?[/quote]

AMA knows exactly what it wants to be, too - a kids movie about bullying featuring stock footage and a shoestring budget.

Just putting that out there.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

Even Godzilla vs Megalon?

Yeah. Godzilla vs. Megalon is so much fun to watch. It knows exactly what it wants to be, and it keeps the audience entertained the entire time. Watching the MST3K version of it is some of the best entertainment you'll get in an hour and a half.

So you like to watch an insult to Godzilla?

What are you referring to: Godzilla vs. Megalon or MST3K?

Well, it doesn't matter, neither is an insult to Godzilla. Megalon is a lot of fun with the character of Godzilla. And have you watched the MST3K version of Godzilla vs. Megalon? They don't "insult" Godzilla at all. Hell, they hardly even tear the movie apart. All they do is provide a fun and enjoyable commentary, especially during the final fight. If they find holes in the plot, they pointed them out, but they don't do that too often in Godzilla vs. Megalon to the point where it ruins the overall enjoyment of the film.

AMA knows exactly what it wants to be, too - a kids movie about bullying featuring stock footage and a shoestring budget.

Yes, but All Monsters Attack suffers from different problems. While it knows that it wants to be, its not enjoyable. In a film called All Monsters Attack, plus a film that features Godzilla in the film for quite a while, I want to see monsters duking it out. Instead, its all about a little kid as he fights off bullies and has lots of stock footage fights in it.

The only reason I ever watched the film as a kid, was because I was under the impression that it had a lot of Godzilla scenes in it, because...you know, I want to watch Godzilla. But, the reason that I hated it as a kid was because all of the Godzilla stuff that was in All Monsters Attack, I could find in other films like Ebirah, Horror Of The Deep and Son Of Godzilla, and then the rest is about a kid that I don't give a crap about, because he's in a movie called All Monsters Attack. If you have a title like that, then it should be about the title characters, ie. the monsters. Not some kid.

Here's an example: Lets say that you're watching a family argument at a dinner table, but in the corner of your eye, you can see a television playing old Bruce Lee films. What are you going to be more interested in: the family argument or Bruce Lee? That's the problem with All Monsters Attack. That while you have this dilemma with Ishiro, I lose complete interest in his problems when the monsters show up. The fights maybe stock footage, but they're still more interesting than what's going on with Ishiro. Especially when there is so much monster action in the film already. Everything about Ishiro is just overpowered by the monsters, that in the end, I simply do not care about him. Which in this film is really bad, since he's the only thing that's slightly interesting about it.

So yeah, while it may know what it wants to be, that doesn't stop it from being unenjoyable.

[JVM]

^ But that's everything it's intended to be. Don't get me wrong, I don't enjoy it myself. But if we're going to give Megalon points back for knowing what it's supposed to be we, we can't really go against AMA because it's in that same shoe. The only difference being Megalon is a funner film.

[King Caesar]

I think once Ebirah came around with his volleyball skills, something went wrong in the mood department.

Well...the mood in the Godzilla films certainly changed (it changed before that, but I won't debate when it started), but who says its a bad mood?

The mood swing between 1954 and 1966 (or even 1964 for that matter) isn't bad, but it really damaged the Big G's reputation for being a big mean green eating machine. (Don't get me wrong, I love all the Showa movies, the tone they set just changed)

A lighthearted Godzilla film is remembered more than the standard serious-toned Godzilla films like Invasion Of The Astro-Monster and Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster.

The first Ghidorah movie and then the one that had Godzilla doing his first dance routine (plus Nick Adams) are not as memorable? Heh, strange. Those two stand out in the Showa series to me. Granted, the lighthearted ones still hold a special place in my heart, I tend to look at the earlier years in theShowa series for the noteables.

Question for everyone: Do you think they would have been better off letting the series go once DAM was finished? Did they need to continue on?