Just got the Icons of Sci-Fi set - which to watch first?

[menschenjaeger]

The subject says it all. I figure that question would lead to some interesting discussion, too, so THREAD.

It's going to be me, a big bowl of popcorn, a glass of Duvel, and the three discs in the poll tonight. I'll let you guys decide. You have until I get home from work

I've seen Mothra more times than I can count, but never the Japanese version, so I assume it'll be swell. I've seen about 5 seconds worth of clips from BIOS, and I bought the "Icons" set specifically to have The H-Man.

Share your thoughts and feelings, and please vote - it's your duty as a citizen. Remember: I can't run my life without your help!

[Space Hunter M]

I suggest Battle in Outer Space. The plot is simple at best, but the vintage effects work and shear spectacle make up for it.

[Gawdziller]

Mothra is head and shoulders above the other two, but the better of the remaining flicks would be the H-Man.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

Mothra is by far the best movie in the set, but I wouldn't make the Japanese version your priority if you've seen the US cut countless times already. So, I'm voting for The H-Man, since it's been a favorite Toho picture of mine for years, and I was thrilled to finally see it get a legit DVD release.

[Tamura]

I suggest going in chronological order, starting with THE H-MAN.

[Megalon-5]

Mothra is probably one of the best kaiju flicks I've ever seen and in my opinion, a great way to start the set by watching first.

[The H-Man]

<--------


Mothra is great and probably my favorite of the non-G movies. I personally found "Battle" to be a disappointment, really slow moving and dull.

[Megalon-5]

I honestly think Mothra has to be Toho's best non-Godzilla kaiju flick. It has got gorgeous cinematography, beautiful sets and SPFX and a really good human story. It's the best of the best imo.

[menschenjaeger]

Edga G moved me with the power of his words...

Even though it won, I've seen the US version of Mothra so many times that I can wait. And it wasn't a problem that H-Man and Battle were neck-and-neck: I just made last night a double feature.

I dug the hell out of The Beauties and the Liquid People. (Heh heh) WAYYYY better than The Blob, even though it did run out of steam at the ending. I think the problem was the "car chase" ripping across the screen at a searing 10-12 miles per hour. Seriously, the professor could have caught up to them just by getting out of his car and running.

Battle in Outer Space was TERRIBLE, but it was a good kind of terrible. The subtitles were...strange. There were several spots where a conversation was taking place in text at the bottom of the screen, but nobody was saying a word. I think what happened there was the English dub being used as the source of the subtitles, and there must have been some dialogue added that wasn't present in the original Japanese release? I'll find out when I get around to watching the dubbed version. Every time I see him, I like Yoshio Tsuchiya more. "Goodbye, my friends!"

Another thing I noticed about BIOS was something I've never heard anyone else point out (maybe I'm not looking around enough?) is...this was DEFINITELY something a young George Lucas watched. I can't think of any other movie that has protracted space battles like that pre-Star Wars. (feel free to correct me, but keep in mind I'm NOT counting things like This Island Earth or The Phantom Planet. I mean actual dogfighting) And before last night, I would have said Star Wars was THE first to have dogfights in space as a central part of the action.

And, oh, is BIOS ever riff-worthy. I almost laughed popcorn out my nose when the SPIPS took off for the moon. I noticed one was red, the other blue, and that inevitably led to "one SPIP, two SPIP, red SPIP, blue SPIP!" I almost laughed popcorn out my nose.

heeheeh "SPIPS"

[Cimmerian Dragon]

And before last night, I would have said Star Wars was THE first to have dogfights in space as a central part of the action

While the ariel combat isn't as frentic as that in Star Wars, and may not be exactly what you're talking about, old Buck and Flash did see plenty of spacecraft blowing the hell out of each other.

[menschenjaeger]

Really? I used to live on a diet of Flash Gordon on Sunday mornings...I don't remember the space battles...but that was even before I was watching Ultraman, so ANCIENT, ancient history. I remember the horrible, crappy noises the rocketships made...BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ *CLUNK* (when there was a landing)

And I meant "Cimmerian D" instead of "Edga G."

OH! Speaking of serials, did anyone ever see the USA Night Flight staple J-Men Forever? I'm probably the only one old enough to remember it, but it was a comedy, using edited-together pieces of old Republic serials, then dubbed with a new vocal track. It was funny when I was in Junior High...

[Arbok]

I always found H-Man to be the most engaging and interesting of the three. Mothra would be the runner up, but has major pacing issues for some of the destruction segments going on way too long.

[Cimmerian Dragon]

Really? I used to live on a diet of Flash Gordon on Sunday mornings...I don't remember the space battles...but that was even before I was watching Ultraman, so ANCIENT, ancient history. I remember the horrible, crappy noises the rocketships made...BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ *CLUNK* (when there was a landing)

And I meant "Cimmerian D" instead of "Edga G."

Like I said, they weren't "Star Wars" kind of dogfights, but from what I recall, there were (mostly in-atmosphere) ship-battles that occurred. I have them all on DVD, but I haven't watched them in quite a while either, so don't expect me to name the chapters or anything. My brain barely functions with any memory further back than a week.

Also, the BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ... noise kicks ass!

[menschenjaeger]

^ "memory?" What's that, again?

I always found H-Man to be the most engaging and interesting of the three. Mothra would be the runner up, but has major pacing issues for some of the destruction segments going on way too long.

H-Man was pretty darn good, except for the climactic scene being the police round-up at the club. There was plenty more movie to go, but it really felt like it ended there. The cops, with the exception of Tomanaga, disappeared - I went into Tsuchiya withdrawal. The shots of the flaming river should have been dramatic, but they were just kind of "there." Still, if this were the Olden Times of monster movies on Saturday afternoons, I could see myself watching H-man every time it was on. And that has nothing to do with all the ladies, either.

I'm SHOCKED that Battle in Outer Space got a commentary track, and H-Man didn't.

You know...I KNOW I've seen some of the old Buck Rogers serials - they starred Buster Crabbe, too, right? - but I have zero memory of them...

[Cimmerian Dragon]

^ Yup, Crabbe was the man. I'm actually a bigger fan of Buck Rogers than Flash Gordon, despite the fact that his serial was produced on a lower budget than FG's were.

[edgaguirus]

I would say Mothra, like the rest of us, but The H Man is a good film, too. It's the best blob type monster film I've seen.