Favorite Showa Military Scenes?

[Space Hunter M]

We've talked about our favorite monster-against-monster battles, so what about your favorite man-versus-monster battles, or military scenes in general? Fights against alien invaders are included. Me, I greatly enjoy the battle against the first Moguera in The Mysterians. Godzilla vs. the JSDF in Mothra vs. Godzilla seems to be a fan favorite.

[The H-Man]

I like in DAM where the military tries to fight off the monsters, mainly because of the great music that accompanies those scenes

[MaxRebo320]

Hmmm... Tough call, but ''War of the Gargantuas'' has some great scenes.

[JAGzilla]

Gotta agree with the battle from Mothra vs. Godzilla. Very epic. Others, off the top of my head:

- The JASDF fighter jets saving Godzilla from Mechagodzilla in ToMG.

- The light ray cannons disabling the Xillien mind control at the end of IoAM, while the Mega Monster War March plays in the background.

- The tanks trying to stop Godzilla from coming ashore in King Kong vs. Godzilla.

[King Caesar]

I'd say War of the Gargantuans. That was the first movie that came to my head with the military. I think what's so different about this movie is that the weapons hurt and nearly kill Gaira. Rarely has a Godzilla flick matched this feat (one of the rarities being Mothra vs Godzilla, which Godzilla is almost beaten by the electric towers)

[Space Hunter M]

- The tanks trying to stop Godzilla from coming ashore in King Kong vs. Godzilla.

I personal favorite of mine. His dramatic escape from the iceberg coupled with the way he mercilessly tears apart that base, Godzilla is actually quite frightening in this scene. Ifukube's score is simply fantastic and I really love the way the camera slowly pans as the fire rages on.

[ebirahsmeg1]

Some of my favorites off the top of my head:

Mazor Cannons vs Gaira in WOTG.

Godzilla vs the Lightening Towers in MothravsG

Godzilla/Rodan/KG vs the military in GvsMonster Zero

Godzilla, Rodan, Manda, Mothra vs military in DAM

Titanosaurus vs the Supersonic beam in TOMG

[The Midnight Man]

Probably all of the military scenes in Mothra vs. Godzilla. They really pull out all the stops here, and there's just this sense of desperation as each of their lines of defence fail that you don't see in many of the other movies.

Also like the forest battle in WOTG, because as someone else said, it's very refreshing and cool to see these fancy weapons actually *do* something.

[Living Corpse]

DAM Tokyo shoot out. The battle at the Red Bamboo base was pretty well done too.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

The anti-Godzilla efforts in Mothra Vs. Godzilla are my favorite by far, but I think the missile barrage against the monsters rampaging through Tokyo in DAM was really impressive as well.

[Arrow]

The Godzilla vs. military scenes in Mothra vs. Godzilla rank up there as some of my all-time favorites. In particular, there's the missile scene that was added to the US version. Really enjoyed that one.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

I've heard people bash that scene as pointless or just not impressive, but I seriously don't know what the hell they're talking about. The Frontier Missiles look astonishingly convincing. Perfect launches and smoke trails, sharp, powerful impact blasts...and the whole scene is shot in that beautiful, moody, twilight darkness. I love the entire sequence.

[Arrow]

I've heard people bash that scene as pointless or just not impressive, but I seriously don't know what the hell they're talking about. The Frontier Missiles look astonishingly convincing. Perfect launches and smoke trails, sharp, powerful impact blasts...and the whole scene is shot in that beautiful, moody, twilight darkness. I love the entire sequence.

Well, to be fair, if you cut the entire scene out it wouldn't make much of a difference in the movie. But that doesn't stop it from being pretty cool anyway.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

Granted, but you could say the same about the destruction of the castle, or many other moments of action when taken in isolation. The Frontier sequence is effective, in my opinion, because it's just one more obstacle where Godzilla saunters into the attack, takes the hits, and then calmly soldiers on. Sure, there are other moments that accomplish the same thing, but having one more (particularly a well-realized one) does bolster the overall effect.

[Rody]

In particular, there's the missile scene that was added to the US version. Really enjoyed that one.

I can't say I remember that scene. Now I wish I could.

[Living Corpse]

In particular, there's the missile scene that was added to the US version. Really enjoyed that one.

I can't say I remember that scene. Now I wish I could.

It's the part where the suit catches on fire and Godzilla changes direction. Thankfully the actor wasn't harmed and for an accident it's pretty cool looking.

[Rody]

Oh, THAT scene. Yeah, that was cool.

Isn't that in the Japanese version?????

[edgaguirus]

The frontier missile attack was an excellent sequence, but I like the artificial lightning. It was proving effective until the cables overheated.

I also like the fighter plane sequence in Rodan.

[The H-Man]

Oh, THAT scene. Yeah, that was cool.

Isn't that in the Japanese version?????

No, the ships firing at Godzilla in the dubbed version are American (I'm guessing because of the demiliterization clauses applied to the Japanese armed forces by the treaty that ended WWII Japan still didn't have much of a navy by 1963, so they had to show ships firing as U.S.)

[Rody]

Oh, I think I see the confusion. I think in the Japanese version, the missiles are fired by airplanes. I KNOW those explosions were in the Japanese version (obviously).