Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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edgaguirus
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by edgaguirus »

I do this film In production order as well. While this film technically occurs later in the Showa era, continuity and timelines have never made the film less enjoyable.

You can understand the date the film uses when you consider that this film was originally going to be the end of the Showa era. That's why they put so many kaiju in it and seemed to kill KG.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Jeff-Goldblum1 »

Just rewatched Destroy All Monsters again and a few thoughts occurred to me whilst doing so.

I don't know how many of you here have seen the Japanese language version, but just after the scene where Gorosaurus burrows out of a hole into Paris, a radio announcer calls the monster Baragon.

Yes, I'm aware it was originally meant to be Baragon. Still funny this dialogue made it to the final cut long after the monster had been changed in this scene.

On Monster Island, why do they need anti-Mothra and anti-Godzilla gas when they already use a force field to keep Rodan in?

Also, does anyone else find this to be one of the weaker Showa films? Most of the movie is Japanese astronauts faffing about in yellow spacesuits trying to outwit Japanese ladies that are avatars for mineral based aliens.

The whole movie lives and dies on the monsters coming together in the final fight.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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Jeff-Goldblum1 wrote:Just rewatched Destroy All Monsters again and a few thoughts occurred to me whilst doing so.

I don't know how many of you here have seen the Japanese language version, but just after the scene where Gorosaurus burrows out of a hole into Paris, a radio announcer calls the monster Baragon.

Yes, I'm aware it was originally meant to be Baragon. Still funny this dialogue made it to the final cut long after the monster had been changed in this scene.

On Monster Island, why do they need anti-Mothra and anti-Godzilla gas when they already use a force field to keep Rodan in?

Also, does anyone else find this to be one of the weaker Showa films? Most of the movie is Japanese astronauts faffing about in yellow spacesuits trying to outwit Japanese ladies that are avatars for mineral based aliens.

The whole movie lives and dies on the monsters coming together in the final fight.
The Baragon flub is extremely well known. To like. Everyone.

You need anti-Mothra and Anti-Godzilla measures because why wouldn't you have them? The Rodan force field is aerial.

There are some weaker moments that drag, but I really enjoy this film. There are some MAJOR MAJOR high points, such as the Tokyo attack, the final battle, and the incredible score. It was also one of the first Godzilla films I saw.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Terasawa »

This is one of the weakest ‘60s Godzilla films, but I think that speaks for how strong the others are. It’s a flawed movie but I think the pace is perfect, it keeps moving despite the lack of characterization. The movie’s big mistake is putting the anticlimactic Fire Dragon sequence after the monster showdown.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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Terasawa wrote:The movie’s big mistake is putting the anticlimactic Fire Dragon sequence after the monster showdown.
100% this.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Mr. Yellow »

Easily my favorite Godzilla film, even though the ending is quite disappointing. I wish they would’ve literally included all kaiju at the time though.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Dr. Professor »

I watched this movie today for the first time since I was a kid and I found it a lot more enjoyable than I remembered. While this time around I felt the final battle was a bit anticlimactic, I can forgive that because the rest of the film was riveting and fun. I don't think it's quite top 10 material, but I definitely love it a lot more than I thought I did.

Happy 50th, Destroy All Monsters.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by MechaGoji Bro7503 »

Happy 50th anniversary of Destroy All Monsters!

Wow, it's been half a century since the end of the golden age of kaiju.......
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote:Happy 50th anniversary of Destroy All Monsters!

Wow, it's been half a century since the end of the golden age of kaiju.......
Well, at least we're not living in the timeline where it's been half a century since the Godzilla series ended.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by MechaGoji Bro7503 »

Dr. Professor wrote:
MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote:Happy 50th anniversary of Destroy All Monsters!

Wow, it's been half a century since the end of the golden age of kaiju.......
Well, at least we're not living in the timeline where it's been half a century since the Godzilla series ended.
You're absolutely right!!!!! Not surprised since you're a doctor and a professor! :P
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote:
Dr. Professor wrote:
MechaGoji Bro7503 wrote:Happy 50th anniversary of Destroy All Monsters!

Wow, it's been half a century since the end of the golden age of kaiju.......
Well, at least we're not living in the timeline where it's been half a century since the Godzilla series ended.
You're absolutely right!!!!! Not surprised since you're a doctor and a professor! :P
Yes, exactly! I have several PhD's.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by GojiDog »

To be honest, Destroy All Monsters is a top five for me. I remember the first time I saw it. It was on one of the Sci-Fi channel's old Godzilla movie marathons one year and I specifically told my school chums "You can either come over and watch or make plans without me...I'm not missing this movie". DAM was the final Showa film that I had never seen, but I always saw footage of it used (most notably in Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi, where they showed behind the scenes footage of ROTJ along with movie inspirations for the effects, like Harryhausen, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and yes, Godzilla).

It is strangely appropriate that DAM was the last one to check off my list of Showa films as it does kind of feel like a big ending. I credit this movie with making me a huge Gorosaruas fan too. Godzilla pairs up with a blue T-Rex that does Kangaroo Kicks? That's awesome! He's not one of the more famous monsters, but he's the only monster I know of in history to share screen time with both Godzilla and King Kong, he got inserted into the Paris destruction scene due to production woes, and he got to be one of the heavy hitters in the final battle. Its like he accidentally had his day in the sun. He's like the Doug Williams of Monsters, and this was his Super Bowl II!

Except for Baragon and Varan, pretty much every monster got to shine. The four monster attack on Tokyo and the Battle on Mt. Fuji are still to this day two of my favorite scenes that Toho ever did for any of these films. The shots of Manda wrapping around the train tracks, all the quick city destruction scenes throughout the film, Rodan and Anguiras getting big moments throughout the film, and Godzilla getting to be the one to deliver the coup de grace to the Kilaaks...its all golden! Heck, I even cheered for Minilla getting the killshot on Ghidorah (friggin hilarious, i don't care what anyone says). And the focus on the Astronauts gives it that action/adventure serial feel to it that wasn't always common with these films. Normally it would be scientists, reporters, and military personnel, but here, it feels like the heroes are of the Flash Gordon/Commando Cody variety, which is kind of neat.

The Kilaaks also don't get enough love as far as Godzilla aliens go. I mean those outfits are every bit as nutty as the Planet X aliens, and the fact that they are all female kind of sets them apart from the rest. Of course my favorites will always be the black hole aliens from the Mechagodzilla films, but the Kilaaks are pretty cool too.

And as the end of the golden age of Kaiju, the film is appropriate. We get Honda, Ifukube, Nakajima, Tanaka, and at least Tsyburaya's team all working together one last time to produce the ultimate monster battle royal at the time.

My issues with the film:

- Okay, the Fire Dragon sequence might be the most pointless action sequence in any Godzilla movie. Once Ghidorah was defeated and the Kilaak base destroyed...I kind of felt like the movie was over. Maybe if they had done the scene in a way where the SY-3 saves one of the monsters from the Fire Dragon, and then they return the favor (showing a mending of the fence between monsters and humanity) then it might have worked. As is, it feels like a pointless tacked on climax.

- As I said, every monster had a moment to shine, except for Baragon and Varan. Its a shame too because for years, I always thought it was strange that Baragon was included in so much Godzilla merch and the like. Kid me was like "But I've never seen him do anything" and I kind of assumed that he had a large role in DAM. When I watched DAM and saw that he did nothing, I was even more confused. "Gorosauras did more than he did...where's the love for Gorosauras!" (my love for that T-Rex looking thing will never die, lol). And one of my favorite memories was my reaction to Varan randomly popping up at the end. I had never seen the original Varan and had no clue who he was, so when I saw him, I was like "Who the hell is that?". Hindsight being 20/20, it would have been nice if Baragon got to do, ya know, something. Even if it was something simple, like Ghidorah is walking across the field towards the monsters, and then suddenly, the ground collapses underneath him, and its revealed that Baragon burrowed underneath Ghidorah. As for Varan, dude, the Kilaaks had an air force with him and Rodan! You'd think they'd take more advantage of it. Even quick sequences of him jumping up at planes would have been cool. Or heck, include him in the frigging role call at Mt Fuji. He shows up in the background and I completely missed him the first time.

- Building off that idea, while the monster cast was impressive for the time, there are a few notable omissions from Toho's menagerie, the most significant of which being The Gargantuas. Granted, Nakajima's performance was a huge part of making Gailah one of the best kaijus of the era, and he couldn't play both Gailah and Godzilla, but try explaining that to 9 year old me that wanted the Gargantuas in a Godzilla film is like trying to explain why we can't have Christmas. It also would have been neat if the Kilaak's bolstered their forces a bit with some mechas like Moguera and Mechani-Kong. And Magma would have made a neat addition as well. Again, I am asking way too much here, and should just be happy with what we got, but the imagination is a wonderful and uncontrollable thing.

- And building off of that, while I love the final battle sequence with Ghidorah and the Earth Monsters, it also would have been nice if it wasn't so one sided. I mean 10-1 when it only took 2 or 3 to defeat Ghidorah in the past? Yeeeeeah, that's not going to go well for him. Again, if they had brought in Moguera and Mechanikong to even things out a bit, or even just have towers and weapons rise from the ground to shoot at the monsters and even the score a bit, it would have made it cooler and fixed that initial problem. But again, I know I'm asking a lot of Toho given the constraints of the film.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by SonOfGorgo »

I nearly forgot this film just turnt 50 this month. What's wrong with me?
Anyways, happy anniversary and I hope we'll see a new take on Destroy All Monsters in the near-future.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by Rody »

Maritonic wrote:
Terasawa wrote:The movie’s big mistake is putting the anticlimactic Fire Dragon sequence after the monster showdown.
100% this.
I think the Fire Dragon sequence would have worked much better if it took place before the Mt. Fuji battle, with the Dragon ultimately being revealed as Ghidorah himself.
"How can it live while it's on fire?" Guys, you KNOW Ghidorah announces himself in a coat of flames, right? :P

I got my (belated) anniversary viewing of 'DESTROY ALL MONSTERS' in today; as a kid it was probably one of my favorites, recorded off of Scifi Channel. While I don't think this was one of Toho's strongest efforts overall, it still delivered lots of great spectacle, and I remain nostalgically attached to it.
I still think DAM might have worked better, narratively, in a longer-form story format; there are a lot of sub-plots and characters which come and go rather quickly without detail, which something like a tv serial could have brought out the best of.
Granted, as mentioned last time, a TV production wouldn't have had the same production values; but maybe if there's ever a modern re-imagining of the story, this would be the direction to take.

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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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Rody wrote:
Maritonic wrote:
Terasawa wrote:The movie’s big mistake is putting the anticlimactic Fire Dragon sequence after the monster showdown.
100% this.
I think the Fire Dragon sequence would have worked much better if it took place before the Mt. Fuji battle, with the Dragon ultimately being revealed as Ghidorah himself.
"How can it live while it's on fire?" Guys, you KNOW Ghidorah announces himself in a coat of flames, right? :P

I got my (belated) anniversary viewing of 'DESTROY ALL MONSTERS' in today; as a kid it was probably one of my favorites, recorded off of Scifi Channel. While I don't think this was one of Toho's strongest efforts overall, it still delivered lots of great spectacle, and I remain nostalgically attached to it.
I still think DAM might have worked better, narratively, in a longer-form story format; there are a lot of sub-plots and characters which come and go rather quickly without detail, which something like a tv serial could have brought out the best of.
Granted, as mentioned last time, a TV production wouldn't have had the same production values; but maybe if there's ever a modern re-imagining of the story, this would be the direction to take.
A. I LOVE Destroy All Monsters
B. Fire Dragon pre. Ghidorah would have worked so much better.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by miguelnuva »

I'm only regret for this movie is if they could have found a way for all the earth monsters to battle Ghidorah. Imagine if it did take 10 monsters to finally bring down Ghidorah.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by edgaguirus »

It's not the best Showa film, but I like it. The brave captain is one reason; His bravado and attitude make for a performance that I find both fun and amusing. The monster bits, though, are the best part, especially the big fight.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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I always just love how grandiose this film just feels for me. Even though it has it's flaws, it still feels like such a grand, huge, adventure. I also believe it has the better ending than Terror of Mechagodzilla - meaning Godzilla and Minilla watching the helicopter fly away and the camera pulling back from the island.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

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Maritonic wrote:I always just love how grandiose this film just feels for me. Even though it has it's flaws, it still feels like such a grand, huge, adventure. I also believe it has the better ending than Terror of Mechagodzilla - meaning Godzilla and Minilla watching the helicopter fly away and the camera pulling back from the island.
Despite me liking Terror of MechaGodzilla more, I agree about the ending. I've always found that ending very heartwarming. I especially agree about how grandiose this film feels. One scene that stands out to me in particular is the shootout on Monsterland. It's my favorite scene in the movie and, in my opinion, has the most gravitas in a human scene since Emiko and Ogata confronting Serizawa about the Oxygen Destroyer. It really makes the stakes feel as high as they are.
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Re: Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Post by GojiDog »

Destroy All Monsters does kind of have the "end of an era" feel to it.
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