Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

[Arrow]

http://lh4.ggpht.com/weirdposters/SHsNv ... ter_03.jpg

Discuss people!

I honestly don't have too much to say about this one. It's been a personal favorite of mine and features a great Toho cast. Unfortunately, there are parts of the movie that are a bit boring. Overall, it's in my Top Ten... but it's got its flaws.

[Legion1979]

Gotta fix the poster link.

I love this one. It isn't the best Godzilla film, but it's my personal all-time favorite. It's a shame newer/younger fans can't really get into this movie.

[Arrow]

Gotta fix the poster link.

Yeah, for some reason I can't post images. Something about only 1x1 pixels allowed...

[Mr. Clean]

Fantastic. Just fantastic. Kind of bittersweet though, it truly is the "grand finale" of the golden era of the showa days, but at least there's still the wacky awesome 70s films that followed.

The final battle really makes this films though.

[Hellspawn28]

I loved the movie. The story, setting, the music, and the whole idea behind the movie was great. I have not seen it in over 12 years, but I give it a 4/5 from what I can remember.

[Ethan]

It's only major flaw is the anticlimatic battle with Fire Dragon. Otherwise it's got some great acting, special effects and music. Granted Monster Zero is the definitive invasion flick.

[HayesAJones]

I adore this movie. It brings together some great monsters and has a spectacular final battle. One of, if not my single favorite Showa flick.

[Legion1979]

I was lucky enough to see this movie the final time it aired on TV in my area before it disappeared completely. So I got to grow up with it alongside all the other films and never had to go through the period where this was basically a lost film. Additionally, I got to see this first via the AIP version of the movie and not the godawful International version most people have seen in the past 15 years. Really, if the only version of this movie you've seen is the pathetic ADV version you're missing a lot.

[Chris55]

It was a favorite for a long time but now when I see it, I just skip to the monster battles. I find myself doing that with most of the Godzilla movies I watch for some reason. Oh wel

[ZigraDude]

Destroy All Monsters is one of my favorite Godzilla movies. It feels like a nice ending to Toho's golden age of monster films, and I do know that it was originally planned as the last Godzilla movie. It also made the debut of my favorite Godzilla design and would later be recycled for three more movies. It was also the first movie I saw as a kid that starred my favorite Godzilla opponent, King Ghidorah. I already knew who he was, but this was the first time I saw him in action. The final battle is awesome, although I wished Baragon and Varan got something to do in the movie than just standing around, but of course the Baragon suit was in terrible condition and Toho only had the gliding Varan prop by the looks of it. Oh well.

[Legion1979]

When I first saw Destroy all Monsters I had no clue who Varan or Baragon even were so their absence didn't even bother me.

[ZigraDude]

When I first saw Destroy all Monsters I had no clue who Varan or Baragon even were so their absence didn't even bother me.

I had the Godzilla Likes to Roar book from Random House as a kid so I always liked Varan from the beginning. When I found out Varan was in DAM, I remember thinking to myself "It's about time Varan was in a Godzilla movie!" After finishing the movie, I was a bit disappointed. Some people complain about Manda, Kumonga, and Mothra not doing much in the movie. I was always satisfied with their roles in DAM because Manda was destroying Tokyo with Mothra, Godzilla and Rodan, while Mothra and Kumonga actually participated in the final battle. That's what I meant by Baragon and Varan doing nothing but just standing there. They could have done something, but of course that couldn't happen with the time or budget. But it really doesn't bug me that much. I'm just glad most of the monsters in DAM had a role in the film.

[Hellspawn28]

When I first saw Destroy all Monsters I had no clue who Varan or Baragon even were so their absence didn't even bother me.

I was the same also. My favorite part of the movie is where all of the Monsters attack the major cities on Earth, and seeing Godzilla attack New York in the movie was so cool at the time.

[Tyler]

I've only seen the crappy version on the ADV DVD, but I still like it. I like how it ends with all the monsters living in peace on the island. The final shot with Godzilla and Minilla is nice.

[Blackout286]

This movie is a good one, but as stated before. Some parts are boring. But it made up for others like:

1. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra and Manda attacking Tokyo
2. Godzilla and Angurius guarding the base and attacks the military while Rodan handles the skies
3. Monster Island Monsters vs. Ghidorah
4. The Ending, showing all of the Monsters back on Monster Island

There's not much that I can really say about this film, some or most parts are boring. But it makes up for it in kaiju packed action. Although I saw this movie with my friends, seeing it now my friend Brandon said " You know, this is the only kaiju alien invasion movie in which hot females try taking over the world. WHY CAN'T THIS HAPPEN OFTEN!"

I couldn't help but lol, because he didn't care that those "hot females" were strange looking metal alien slugs or whatever xD

[Chris55]

I couldn't help but lol, because he didn't care that those "hot females" were strange looking metal alien slugs or whatever xD

I had a friend watch the movie and he was like "those are some of the sparkliest looking Muslims I've ever seen"

[Guardian7]

A good and fun movie.
I am lucky I have both the AIP and Japanese versions of this film.

I wish we could have learned a bit more about Monsterland/Ogasawara Island and maybe a little of its history. But that is minor and just me.

A lot of the human characters were pretty well done.
Kyoko Yamabe (Yukiko Kobayashi) starts out kinda innocent. While under control of the aliens and in "under siege" Tokyo she gives that creepy grin/smile/smirk... Just pure gold. Now that was a sinister look.
Dr. Otani (Yoshio Tsuchiya) died too soon in the film. I really liked his character and felt he was better than Dr. Yoshido (Jun Tazaki) who's acting for some reason seemed a little flat to me.

Favorite Scenes:

Manda, Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra attacking Tokyo. Manda was so cool in this portion of the film. It was great to see Manda rampage in a city.

Gorosaurus' rise in Paris... pretty cool looking!

Ghidorah Smackdown!

Rodan taking on the Fire Dragon/saucer.

G7

[DaikaijuSokogeki!]

One of the few Godzilla flicks I've only seen dubbed (sadly, just the International dub). It's a fun film to put it simply. Although Toho was careless quite a bit during the production of this one (seriously, Gorosaurus looks NOTHING like Baragon), it still has a lot going for it including the sheer number of kaiju and the solid work from the FX and music. Still, the heroes are plain and the Kilaaks are, honestly, unmenacing villains. On the other hand, this movie introduced my favorite Godzilla suit so I have to give it props for that, and making Anguirus and Gorosaurus complete bad-asses.

So yeah, not a bad film but one I don't praise too much. It's fun, but flawed.

[TokyoVigilante]

A fitting end to the first half of the Showa era. An interesting and engaging story, some flat-out perfect special effects shots (the shots of the men around Godzillas feet around Mt. Fuji just blow my mind how seamless they are), great score and cast, as to be expected from this era.

But the Kilaaks SUCK. Worst Toho invader, period. Interesting origin, sentient mineral slugs, but their human portrayal was incredibly lame and their motivation was non-existent. Seatopians were better. It's such a shame that after The Mysterians and the Xilians that they dropped the ball so hard for these aliens.

Whatever. The final battle on Mt. Fuji is glorious.

[GotengoXGodzilla]

One of the more entertaining films of the series. Basically, this film says "Screw the plot and character!! Lets focus on nothing but the action!" Normally, that would be a bad thing for me. But, the execution on this is what makes this film so fun to watch. While the plot isn't all that interesting, and the characters are forgettable, that's not the reason I watch DAM.

The fight scenes are spectacular, especially the final battle on Mt. Fuji. They really went all out with this, and that's what makes it so much fun.