Talkback Thread #9: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

[KaijuMaster]

One of my all time favourites. Destroy All Monsters was the last half-descent film for me until Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla (1974). Whilst the plot is quite cliched and poor, This is Tsuburaya's last and best special effects film. (I don't really count Godzilla's Revenge). The battles are a throwback to the glory days of Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster for me, with the scale and violence of them making up for slightly iffy suits for Godzilla. There is so much in Destroy All Monsters, Godzilla vs Gigan essentially became Destroy All Monsters Stock Footage with a couple clips of a new monster. Oh, and when I find it I'll the picture of a publicity event that I believe was the last public sighting of Eiji Tsuburaya, Ishiro Honda, and Tomoyuki Tanaka.

Actually my bad... A lot of that footage is from War of the Gargantua's.

[shinmattiathekaiju]

Love this movie,is my second favourite.

It features almost all the Toho monster,what can you ask for more?

The music score is great as always.

4/5

[Kubo]

I love this movie, the plot, even the characters. Their is a good balance of human conflicts and monster clashes, but I was mad as hell when Varan, Baragon, Kumonga, and even Manda lacked much screen time. Get rid of the stupid Fire Dragon thing and just put in the other monsters to fight someone or something!

Special effects and some shots in the movie are impressive as well.

My rating: 4/5

[Kubo]

^ That was Zilla who did that (according to GMK and GFW)...but yeah that is kinda funny.

I got the ADV for my b-day a while back and yeah it kinda sucks..

[Goji]

Yes, he said "A Godzilla movie made in NYC". Even if I personally don't consider it a "Godzilla" film, it technically still is, regardless of what us fans have to say on the matter.

I also don't recall FINAL WARS making any reference to his attack on New York. The character is simply featured in the film.

[miguelnuva]

the only problems I have with the film were

All monster should hae fought ghidorah and the fire dragon battle.

everything else was great.

[Kubo]

^ Ha, that's great. Godzilla has attacked NYC twice then, according to the whole franchise. In DAM and in an unlisted 1999 movie.

[ScottA]

This was one of my favorites.
My dad took me to see it at the movies when I was a kid.

-ScottA

[Kubo]

^ It's a great movie...you know you can put your name in the signature instead of just typing it everytime.

[Battra2346]

This was one of my favorites.
My dad took me to see it at the movies when I was a kid.

-ScottA

Wait,your telling us that you were actually a kid in the 60s that got to see the A.I.P. version of the film and not the international version that's on VHS and DVD? If it's that,I envy you.

[miguelnuva]

Now I know due to budget and tech in the 60's they couldn't have done this on flim but are we the fans suppose to assume that all 10 earth monsters battled and Killed King Ghidorah?

IMO I look at the flim like all monsters minus minya actually took on Ghidorah at some point even though on screen they couldn't have done this.

[TokyoVigilante]

I want that Tattoed on my back.

[Showa Gyaos]

Baragon, Varan, and Manda were chicken shits. I don't count them in the battle unless they were actually fighting Ghidorah (which they were not).

[The Dark Uniter]

Baragon, Varan, and Manda were chicken shits. I don't count them in the battle unless they were actually fighting Ghidorah (which they were not).

LOL. Yeah, I wish that Baragon, Varan and Manda had more screentime and helped battle Ghidorah. That's one of the things I didn't like about Destroy All Monsters.

[Tamura]

Baragon got a smaller role due to his suit being used in one of the Ultraman episodes at the time,

Is this actually true? If Baragon's suit was so unusable, then how come we saw even a few seconds of it?

[Tohosaurus]

time, money and better SFX been available to them back then that's what Toho would have made the final battle be like. Shit if we get a remake of DAM (GFW does not count, I don't care what you say) then that's what the final battle should look like.

Maybe that's what FW should've been?

[edgaguirus]

They did a pretty good job for what they had. A fight like that picture shows would be incredible, though.

[G-fan4life]

Yea like the "Fire Dragon" They should have made it an actual Bad ass monster... Instead of a saucer, would have made things a little more interesting.

[Lord Gappa]

I love DAM, but I always thought it was overkill to have so many earth kaiju beating the shit out of King Ghidorah alone. It doesn't seem like a fight, more like a pummeling. It's too bad Toho didn't dig out (or create, though the costs would've skyrocketed) a couple of cronies to go into battle with KG. They could have set them up earlier in the film, led everyone to believe they were the final enemies, and then...POW! King Ghidorah appears on the scene as well!

Godzilla, Anguirus, Rodan, Minya, Manda, Varan, Baragon, Mothra, Gorosaurus, and Kumonga
Vs
King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Gigan, Hedorah, and Megalon

Genius.

[Lord Gappa]

Or maybe have Fire Dragon be King Ghidorah's ultimate form after they supposedly kick his ass.
Like a mighty phoenix, the King of Terror rises from his ashes and wages a new war against the eath monsters.
Fire Dragon King Ghidorah is born!