Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

[mikelcho]

I just remembered that Godzilla vs. Hedorah wasn't the only anti-pollution kaiju film in 1971.

So was Daiei's Gamera vs. Zigra. and it preceded this film to the movie screens by a few months. The similarities end there.

I don't recall it being as integral in the story but that doesn't surprise me.

1960's-to 70's were a horrible time for pollution in Japan.

[MaxRebo320]

No mention of Spectreman? Pollution is essentially the theme of the show!

[Xenofauna]

Inspired by this week's climate strikes as well as based on a poster I made for the climate strike I attended last Friday at the Georgia State Capitol.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Inspired by this week's climate strikes as well as based on a poster I made for the climate strike I attended last Friday at the Georgia State Capitol.

You made this? I dig it.

[Xenofauna]

Thanks! I'm going to be selling prints since I've gotten a lot of requests for that.

[Terasawa]

Very nice!

[mikelcho]

No mention of Spectreman? Pollution is essentially the theme of the show!

Didn't even think of this one, thanks.

When did this show premiere? Was it in 1971, too, or was it some other time? How long did it last and how many episodes were made? And did Toho release it, or was it another studio that did it?

[Xenofauna]

It wasn't just a Japan thing. The Lorax was not coincidentally published the very same year.

[Terasawa]

Pollution is also referenced by the aliens in Godzilla vs. Gigan and Terror of Mechagodzilla. In the former, particularly, the aliens mention having left their planet after its dominant species ruined the ecosystem through mass pollution and eventually some sort of nuclear power.

Kinda like what we’re doing with our planet. (:

[Xenofauna]

Don't forget the very intentional setting of Godzilla's Revenge, where Honda was visually criticizing the kinds of environments we were forcing our children to grow up in.

Anyway, it's almost as though we only fixed anything on a superficial level instead of addressing any real systemic issues and that capitalism run amok will be the death of us all!

I pissed off a bunch of people on the Facebook Godzilla groups with my poster because they're the sorts who demand their kaiju to be free of any politics, ignorant of the fact that A. Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster has always been wildly political and not just a simple fable about not littering and B. just because things look a little cleaner than the industrial hellscapes of the 70s doesn't mean Banno's film is any less relevant today.

ALTHOUGH, the best kaiju film about the climate crisis is Gamera 3.

[edgaguirus]

Godzilla films have been used to send several messages about society. While G vs H is strongarm with its message, others have done it in a subtle way.
It's impossible to separate film and politics or film and society as people will always use film as a platform for messages.

[LockBite]

I used to have a pretty low opinion of this one, but upon rewatching it, I learned how special it really was.

The main issue I had was the pacing of the kaiju scenes. There are moments that drag on and ON, like when Godzilla shoots at sludge in the ocean. But now I see an almost Lynchian quality in them, coupled with outstanding atmosphere that really permeates the whole film. While the music maintains a distinctly campy tone, it works against the visuals. It’s grungy. It’s nasty. And yet it can be colorful, psychedelic even. I’m not saying the film is perfect; it does have issues. But perhaps it’s underrated.

I will say, there’s something cool about being able to show Godzilla vs Hedorah to the uninitiated. Just revealing to others the fact that such a bizarre film exists. Stepping back, this actually seems like one of those outlandish scrapped concepts. Godzilla was going to fight a ghost version of himself. Godzilla was going to fight Batman. Godzilla was going to fight a living blob of sludge against a backdrop of depressing visuals and goofy music. Except it actually happened! We actually got this one. Even if you don’t really care for the movie, think of how special that is.

[MinorBone Good]

Have some news about the never made Godzilla vs. Hedorah II film. Comes from page 225 in THE BIG BOOK OF JAPANESE GIANT MONSTER MOVIES: THE LOST FILMS. I'll just quote the entire thing here, since t's fairly smaller than the other stuff that I find.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah II (1971) For many years there has been a long standing rumor that Yoshimitsu Banno always wished to do a sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah wherein the pollution monser reemerges in Africa. However, in a September 2014 interview for Sci-fi Japan TV , Banno says never wrote such a story. "I remember I wrote and provided some scripts for the next Godzilla film, but they weren't Hedorah 2. Though they were rejected because they'd cost too much," he said and unfortunately never elaborates on what these stories entailed. One of these could be another rumored Banno project wherein Godzilla battles a starfish monster spawned by pollution called Godzilla vs. Hitodah in fan circles, though in fact the script was never officially titled. Instead, Banno's idea for a Hedorah 2, revealed during the Sci-fi Japan TV interview, would exclude Godzilla and have Hedorah return to destroy all the rainforests. Hedorah would be opposed by a "big eyed" green algae monster named Midora.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Have some news about the never made Godzilla vs. Hedorah II film. Comes from page 225 in THE BIG BOOK OF JAPANESE GIANT MONSTER MOVIES: THE LOST FILMS. I'll just quote the entire thing here, since t's fairly smaller than the other stuff that I find.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah II (1971) For many years there has been a long standing rumor that Yoshimitsu Banno always wished to do a sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah wherein the pollution monser reemerges in Africa. However, in a September 2014 interview for Sci-fi Japan TV , Banno says never wrote such a story. "I remember I wrote and provided some scripts for the next Godzilla film, but they weren't Hedorah 2. Though they were rejected because they'd cost too much," he said and unfortunately never elaborates on what these stories entailed. One of these could be another rumored Banno project wherein Godzilla battles a starfish monster spawned by pollution called Godzilla vs. Hitodah in fan circles, though in fact the script was never officially titled. Instead, Banno's idea for a Hedorah 2, revealed during the Sci-fi Japan TV interview, would exclude Godzilla and have Hedorah return to destroy all the rainforests. Hedorah would be opposed by a "big eyed" green algae monster named Midora.

https://www.tohokingdom.com/cutting_roo ... rah_2.html
Gets dicey, as there's quotes of him also talking about a film taking place in Africa, or Hedorah showing up.

The Midora thing was something I noted a few years ago that is recent:
https://www.tohokingdom.com/forum/viewt ... a#p1199182

I think what's going on here, is that Banno post Godzilla vs. Hedorah had a lot of ideas that he wanted to make, and wanted to continue making them. It's not the only one, there's various ones like Deathla and even G14. A lot of quotes of him just talking about ideas he had, could have been interpreted to be something that he intended to make, or the same idea just continually evolving.

[Major sssspielberg!]

Just watched stoned, skreeonkin perfect movie

[LSD Jellyfish]

Just watched stoned, skreeonkin perfect movie

I've watched Godzilla vs. Hedorah about 30 times. I think two of those times I was really high. I remember the entire film being really funny and horrifying. I remember having an almost out of body experience when Hedorah started hitting the bong. Another specific memory is a friend in the group, was laying in her boyfriends lap high as skreeonk, and when Ken started yelling "PAPA" out towards the sea she got really paranoid that her dad was nearby and freaked the skreeonk out. Good times.

I think the great thing about the film is that it works well as an experimental art film, and has a great message, but you can totally enjoy it through "another lens".

[ArchdukeSquidlyIII]

Love the scene where Hedorah flies through the building with ZERO audio playing, very bizarre sequence, but it certainly fits in really well with the rest of the film!

I remember trying to get my Dad and my Step-Mom to watch this film around 6-7 years ago; it expectedly didn’t go too well. It still remains one of my favorites of the franchise (probably second to Terror of Mechagodzilla). I’d have to compare Godzilla vs. Hedorah to Eraserhead by David Lynch, I’ve always preferred uniqueness over “cohesiveness” when it comes to films!

[Major sssspielberg!]

I think the great thing about the film is that it works well as an experimental art film, and has a great message, but you can totally enjoy it through "another lens".

Man, you said a mouthful! Out of all the times I've seen it this time I really noticed how great the editing and cinematography are. Between Hedorah ripping a bong and literally shitting on Godzilla, then laughing about ut, I never noticed how raunchy he is.
Like you say, great film sober or otherwise.

[LSD Jellyfish]

https://godzilla.store/shop/g/gGSG0180237/
The Japanese Godzilla Store is listing this amazing Hedorah shirt for sale. It's not just Hedorah, but also tons of really trippy images and things that sort of encompass the film. I'd totally get it, if it wasn't like 80$. Hmmm....

[edgaguirus]

All it lacks is fish head people.