Talkback Thread #8: Son of Godzilla (1967)

[Arbok]

Human characters have little adventures on the island that only take away from the good stuff, i.e. the oddly-entertaining father-son dynamic.

Personally, I thought the human aspect was "part of the good stuff"... especially seeing the reporter try to fit in with the others after forcing himself on the group.

The touching ending almost forgives the rather slow and uneventful movie that preceeded it, but all of the other good scenes made it to All Monsters Attack.

Slow? The movie might be a little goofy at parts, but I wouldn't call any of the Fukuda Godzilla films slow.

The ending was excellent though, and was helped greatly by Sato's wonderful music for that sequence.

[Mini-Godzilla]

I found the Akira Kubo character to be annoying and his story to be trite. And I'd call all of the Fukuda films slow. Even GvGigan, a film I adore (for all the wrong reasons) plods along.

But hey, just opinions, you know?

[TokyoVigilante]

Finished re-watching this. The best Fukuda film, easily. The characters are better defined then in EBIRAH and Sato's music manages to finally strike a balance between the tropical flavor and the monster movie side of it, with EBIRAH's music swaying a little to far on the side of being a tropical adventure film.

If you asked a much younger me, back when I only had six Godzilla films on VHS, what my favorite human character was, I'd either say Dr. Serizawa (eye patches are cool!) or Goro Maki. "Jumping out of a plane because I smelt a story" is probably the most ridiculous motivation Sekizawa ever cooked up, but Akira Kubo totally sells it. Whether he's playing a grizzled moral anchor in MATANGO or a dopey inventor in MONSTER ZERO, Kubo is always plays his parts with such sincerity and here is no different. He doesn't get enough appreciation, IMO.

Playing the exotic Riko (Saeko?) is Bibari Maeda, who is more or less doing the same part as Kumi Mizuno from EBIRAH, but she lacks the intensity that Mizuno was able to bring to her "Jungle Girl" part and is the weaker of the two, coming off as much to soft IMO, even though her character is given considerably more back story. Riko is probably derived from the "Jungle Girl" archetype, ala "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle". Featuring a vast knowledge of Solgell Island, swift on her feet, deadly with her knife (which sports a leopard print sheath at that!), and is able to communicate with the local fauna (able to call Minya with her strange hand call) her background is very Tarzan-esque and It'd be interesting to hear about how popular "Jungle Adventure" fiction was in Japan at the time.

Dr. Kusumi is played by Tadao Takashima, which is an interesting casting choice. On paper, the character seems tailor made for Tohos token grumpy old man actor Jun Tazaki, or even Akihiko Hirata, who plays instead Dr. Kusumi's level-headed assistant. Takashima's previous Toho fantasy film roles had been almost exclusively as comedy relief (or the vaguely villainous Dr. Kawaji in FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD), but this is some really fresh casting and he plays the role of the stern and motivated Dr. Kusumi well.

Special Effects wise, this is some really great work. Lots of really well done matte shots through-out, the brightly colored Solgell Island HQ and weather control towers are all well constructed and interesting to look at. The scenes of the monsters interacting with the human characters are really well composed and exciting sequences.

Monster wise, the Kamacuras are great looking props and despite being basically the same, all three props are given a distinct look, featuring different shaped claws and heads; an appreciated extra little detail. The Godzilla suit looks good everywhere but the head. It's got a lot of bulk, almost Kingoji levels of chunkiness and some nicely shaped dorsal spines but the face is pudgy and stiff, coming off as less expressive then the previously used suit. Minya is effective in looking like a young Godzilla-like creature and his antics are genuinely humorous, but some elements of the head (like the really high eye ridges) look strange.

Kumonga is awesome. Really friggin' awesome. Despite being a basic creature like Ebirah, it has its own unseen mini-mythology like Ghidorah did. The journal of Riko's father mentions Kumonga numerous times and the cave Riko lives in has remains of old webbing around the entrance (a little creepy foreshadowing). Kumonga also inhabits its own part of the island, a shadowy domain with geysers of steam, that it sleeps under until its awakened. Really cool stuff.

The theme of parental roles and the passing on of knowledge runs through out the film; Dr. Kusumi is a patriarchal figure to his team of scientists who look up to him for guidance. He's fiercely determined and dedicated to his goals and seemingly oblivious to the effects his dedication has on his team. Only when he pauses to look over his "family", stricken with fever does he decide to cancel the experiment, only trying for a second time when he sees it as a means to save his team and allow them to escape. Riko's knowledge of the island saves the scientists on a couple of occasions, even her dead father is able to help protect them with information left in his journal. Of course there is the passing on of knowledge between Godzilla and Minya, with Godzilla also accepting his role as a parental figure in the end.

This film is awesome. One of my favorites and the whole Minya thing earns this film way to much flak; it's a shame the finer points of it get over-looked.

[The Dark Uniter]

This film is pretty underrated . Its very funny, relaxing, has a great score by Sato and a good human story.

[Lord Gappa]

I guess some people hate it because it has Minya in it?

[TokyoVigilante]

That's a dumb reason to hate a movie. I don't like Heisei Godzilla, but that's not a legitimate reason to dislike an entire film.

[Tormentor]

The only movie...In which a seemingly weaker creature's projectile weapon stalemates Godzilla's Atomic Breath. Some may hate it, but damn its surprisingly impressive and makes Kumonga more badass.

[Gojira-Fan]

Believe it or not, my dad liked this movie more than Mothra Vs. Godzilla.

[The Dark Uniter]

Well, I kinda agree and disagree with your father. In a way, Son of Godzilla is less serious and more "fun" to watch. I personally hate that Godzilla was defeated by two larvas. Yet I disagree because Mothra vs Godzilla was a better constructed film. Still love them both to death though.

[Mothman]

Who did Godzilla fornicate with to produce his son?

[Lord Gappa]

I used to have a theory is I had was that the original Godzilla was female (because females are usually agressive) and the second one was male.
That would explain why GMK Goji had a beer belly (she's pregnant with a GMK Minya)

[Goji]

I'm pretty sure that Godzilla just happened to find an egg of another creature like him that was mutated due to radiation. That makes the most sense to me.

[Mothman]

I'm pretty sure that Godzilla just happened to find an egg of another creature like him that was mutated due to radiation. That makes the most sense to me.

Someone still would have had to lay the egg. And somebody would have had to be impregnated to have the egg.

[Lord Gappa]

I'm pretty sure that Godzilla just happened to find an egg of another creature like him that was mutated due to radiation. That makes the most sense to me.

Someone still would have had to lay the egg. And somebody would have had to be impregnated to have the egg.

As there are two Godzillas, and there related in a way, and that Minya is a baby Godzilla that was laid by someone, one of the two has to be a female and the other a male.

[tymon]

Two unrelated creatures f@cked, she laid an egg, it got mutated, then Godzilla found it.

[TokyoVigilante]

No they don't. Solgell Island is near South America and Minya only vaguely resembles Godzilla, who spent the movie neglecting his apparent "spawn"

The simplest explanation is just Godzilla found Minya and became his (initially) unwilling parent.

[Lord Gappa]

Two unrelated creatures f@cked, she laid an egg, it got mutated, then Godzilla found it.

There's actually a picture on the Net that proves Minya is Godzilla's son.
Can't find it though.

[Mothman]

Two unrelated creatures f@cked, she laid an egg, it got mutated, then Godzilla found it.

Did you find that out when you were two? My gosh, I hope you didn't use that language....

[TokyoVigilante]

You mean that fan-made piece of art that appeared in an issue of G-Fan showing a theoretical life-cycle?

Doesn't count.

[Lord Gappa]

You mean that fan-made piece of art that appeared in an issue of G-Fan showing a theoretical life-cycle?

Doesn't count.

It was fan made?
Dammit.

So i guess Minya's a baby dino from the Lost World now?