Talkback Thread #12: Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

[Rody]

^ I don't even remember that scene.

[Space Hunter M]

It's a washing machine structure meant to inspire Japanese kids to wear clean clothes.

And shorter shorts!

[Godz]

^ I don't even remember that scene.

Its a building that looks like its made out of silver boxes, with a weird silver cylinder on top. They get on either side and just smash it.

[edgaguirus]

I didn't see any signs on or around it, so the building could be anything. I, personally, think it was used for storage of some sort.

[Living Corpse]

I think I know what they're talking about. It's pretty close to the building that is shaped and painted to look like a bunch of giant mushrooms.

[Rody]

^ I don't even remember that scene.

Its a building that looks like its made out of silver boxes, with a weird silver cylinder on top. They get on either side and just smash it.

Ohhhhh... I think I remember it now.....

[Captain Aktion]

It was a prototype for a new Japanese apartment block...

[ebirahsmeg1]

Godzilla vs Gigan is a guilty pleasure of mine. It has tons of flaws, and I probably shouldn't like it...but it's just too much damn fun! Sure, this film gets ripped on alot for these flaws (and rightfully so), however, if this film had the same budget as the early/mid 60s showa films (and used the original intended script Godzilla vs the Space Monsters), I personally feel this would have been one of the top G films of all time (though it still is for me sentimentally).

I think Gigan alone is what makes this flawed film work so well for me and allows one to overlook all its faults. Gigan is hands down one of TOHO's best creations. You know, we always hear about the elite "big 5" being Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Rodan, and MechaGodzilla in regards to monsters that *must* appear every new G film series, G video games, G book/comics, etc...well, I think we should extend this to "the big 7" and throw Gigan in there as well (and Angilas too)...as far as I'm concerned, he's equal to any kaiju in the "big 5" and he deserves to be mentioned in this elite class.

Scanned some pics of Jun Fukuda from GvsGigan. For someone who supposebly "didn't like" working on daikaiju flicks, he actually seems to be having fun in these photos





One interesting tidbit about the above photo: The Japanese sign in front of the cast/crew photo says "Godzilla vs King Ghidorah: Earth Destruction Directive (Gojira tai Kingu Gidora Chikyū Kogeki Meirei), *not* Godzilla vs Gigan. Now, I always knew of the unused scripts and titles considered for this film (G vs the Space Monsters and Revenge of King Ghidorah), but I never heard anywhere that this film was under the title G vs King Ghidorah all the way through the filming of the movie (that group photo is usually taken when shooting had almost wrapped). They must have changed the title to G vs Gigan well after filming had commenced (or rather late in production/post-production)...

[Space Hunter M]

Watched this again on my old Anchor Bay reissue tape. The film has some serious pacing issues. After the stock footage laden destruction sequence and the dragged out oil refinery battle, the sudden switch back to the laughable human protagonists is like "Oh, these guys still exist?". The stock footage of 'Ghidrah's aerial raid on Tokyo gives the film a metaphorical feeling of "Here we go again!". It feels like nothing really happens in this film, just another boring week in the Toho universe. It feels like nothing more than a sequence of vague tokusatsu related imagery intercut with vague imagery of orange colored jackets and tape reel computers. But it's still possible to enjoy, if you're in the right mood. Also, the selection of Ifukube cues is fantastic.

[ebirahsmeg1]

It feels like nothing really happens in this film, just another boring week in the Toho universe.

[Moonewe73]

Just a reminder. Next Monday (3/12/12) is the 40th anniversary of the film! I'm gonna be watching it that day to celebrate! Hopefully on a new HD tv.

[King Caesar]

Oh wow, I'm marking me calendar for this (figuratively). And nice photos ebirahsmeg1. It's always cool to see the full cast and crew together for a movie, particularly one that I really like.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

I used to watch that movie a lot when I was a kid, then it just sort of fell out of my standard rotation. I recently started watching it again, and I find that I still enjoy a lot of it. The goofy characters and absurd moments tend to bring a smile to my face, and since I was a bit down in the dumps tonight, that was exactly what I needed.

As far as the action goes, we all know Gigan's weaknesses. Still, even with all its flaws and stock footage, a lot of Nakano's new SFX footage (like the shots of Gigan amidst flaming wreckage in the dark) is actually damn impressive. It's really tragic that they didn't give that movie a larger budget, because it's easy to see the potential for more memorable monster carnage.

[skuzzy-punk-kid]

I remember when I was a kid, I was lucky to see Godzilla vs. Gigan on an annual syndicated Godzilla marathon via public broadcast television. I was grateful for my dad for getting me into Godzilla when he first bought those bargain VHS tapes from the bargain bin at Wal-Mart (sometime in 1989) when he did; those 2 movies being King Kong vs. Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Megalon.
Reading the Crestwood books (sometime before I saw Godzilla vs. Gigan), I was intrigued that Gigan was in a movie with Anguirus and King Ghidorah (at the time, I could only associate Gigan with Megalon). About a year or so later (enter the syndicated Godzilla marathon), I saw with my own eyes what the picture meant; that there was indeed a movie with King Ghidorah and Gigan. Ever since then, I felt like I deserved my own copy of this movie, since I only got to watch it on public television.
Looking back, I realized that there was a bit of a difference in the Gigan suits ('72 and '73); the thought was there in my head, but I never actually acted upon this observation until 8 years ago, when I rented the movie and copied it onto a blank tape. It was then I spoke out loud the observation: Gigan's 1972 appearance looked much taller (head much smaller, mouth opens wider, body is not as wide nor as long, and eyes look angrier) than the 1973 suit. Yes, the belly does stick out in depth as the '73, but that's didn't seem all that big of a deal.
Also, I now hold a little more value to Godzilla vs. Gigan over Megalong due to the sound quality of the latter.

I guess my thoughts on this film were a little too long-winded here...

[Showa Gyaos]

As of 3/12/12, this movie is 40 years old. I forgot about that tidbit, and it seems I am not alone.

[Rody]

Happy belated birthday, Gigan!

Let's get a Gigan smiley in celebration.

[Goji]

I definitely didn't forget. I watched his debut on Monday night over Xbox Live with a friend of mine. Good times.

[edgaguirus]

I watched the film on Wednesday, but better late than never. People say it's flawed, but I don't care. It's a fun and enjoyable film with a ton of DAM music scores.

[skuzzy-punk-kid]

I enjoy it every now and then. Another plus in my book would be the fact that it has better clarity than Megalon; Gigan's metallic screech is heard with yet again better clarity.

Did I mention better clarity...?

[Legion1979]

I enjoy it every now and then. Another plus in my book would be the fact that it has better clarity than Megalon; Gigan's metallic screech is heard with yet again better clarity.

Did I mention better clarity...?

To be fair, this isn't the movie's fault. It's the fault of the audio on the print of the American version that's been available for so long.