Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

[Megalon-5]

There's multiple theories to what the heck those things are. Most people think it's some sort of organ that allows Hedorah to reproduce or use it's power. The scientist in the film mentions a material known as "Headrium" which is what Hedorah is made out of and it's assumed those two spheres are composed of that.

[Living Corpse]

I once heard that the "eggs" in Hedorah are really large Hedoriam deposits, the mineral he is made of, and the source of his powers.

[skuzzy-punk-kid]

You are allowed to say it; but it's perfectly fine if you don't.

Well, thanks for the head's up. At first, I wasn't sure if I could say it, lest I would be subjected to by the adminstrative skreeonks on this forum...so I have to be careful not to say the wrong thing here. 'ed

[Cimmerian Dragon]

They did go for a bit of the Gamera vibe with this one, because of the kid who seems to have some sort of connection with Godzilla. Offtopic, was this same kid playing the same character also in "Terror of Mecha"? One of the two kids who almost get rampled by Titanosaurus was named Kengi, and when he calls for Godzilla, G suddenly appears.

That's really cool, it never occurred to me to think of it like that. I doubt that was intentional, but it would be a neat cameo if it was.

[anguirusrules356]

great movie!ive only seen it once.

[BigBaragon]

great movie!ive only seen it once.

Watch it again, watch it now.


More of this film's greatness: When Hedora attacks the disco just after homeboy realizes that he is F'ED UP (always assumed that a bit of LSD found its way into his drink...watch this scene closely.) and begins tripping, seeing the go-go dancers as FISH PEOPLE....The slurping/knocking sounds of Hedora's grotesque cry.....Hedora flying overhead and dispersing toxic mists, dissolving people into skeletons.....The lawn ornaments and trash littering the ocean floor used to display the level of the pollution.,....THE VINYLS that the kid is playing with!!

"Is Godzilla your favorite?"

"Superman beats 'em ALL!"

[Legion1979]

"Is Godzilla your favorite?"

"Superman beats 'em ALL!"

LOL you're getting dialogue from the International version mixed up with the AIP version.

International version:
"Is Godzilla your favorite?"
"Superman is too."

AIP version:
"Oh you like Godzilla, right?"
"Superman beats them all!"

[BigBaragon]

"Is Godzilla your favorite?"

"Superman beats 'em ALL!"

LOL you're getting dialogue from the International version mixed up with the AIP version.

International version:
"Is Godzilla your favorite?"
"Superman is too."

AIP version:
"Oh you like Godzilla, right?"
"Superman beats them all!"

^ Nice! I KNEW it was something CLOSE, though!

My version:

Older brother: "Oh, are you as creeped-out as me at those little plastic chirping birds over there? Are they wind chimes? Mini robots?? WTF??"

Kid: "Papa looks like the Phantom of the Opera now 'cause Hedora pooped on his face!!"

[GojirO]

Now I'm not sure if anyone what noticed this but I noticed an odd connection between the original Godzilla movie and Godzilla vs. Hedorah:

1. We have a scientist who works in an element (Serizawa in oxygen, Yanno in water)

2. We have these men scarred (Yanno by Hedorah, Serizawa by...will it isn't explained)

3. We have a monster created by man's carelessness

4. At the end if the movie we are left with the message that as long as (atomic power; pollution) exists there will be another (Godzilla; Hedorah)

Anyone else find more or notice any of this

[Cimmerian Dragon]

Banno was making an effort to evoke the same sort of activist filmmaking as the original. Even so, the parallels described are more-or-less archetypal for socially-conscious science fiction films.

[GojirO]

Ummmm alright

[eabaker]

The one aspecvt that seems to have been a conscious referencing of the original is the scarring of the scientist, resulting in his having one eye covered.

[junkerde]

Would've been cool if Hedorah took on a form my like Godzilla in a toxic symbiotic form instead of a tadpole walking trashpiece, but still.

[Jon]

Sorry to bump this topic but just wanted to lend my thoughts. Godzilla vs. Hedorah is easily my favorite Godzilla movie of the series. It has a very campy '70s style, but it also has some of my favorite cinematography. Hippies, split screens of people yelling about the pandemic crisis, Schoolhouse Rock-ish animated propaganda scenes here and there in between. It's awesome. While it doesn't have Akira Ifukube music, I enjoyed that horn Godzilla theme for this and the reprisals of "Save the Earth"/"Kaese!" throughout the movie. The main title sequence and use of the song is right out of a James Bond movie.

There's just some cool stuff that you don't really see in other Showa Godzilla movies. Godzilla has a more primate way of challenging for fights here, with that mouth wipe and arm taunt that the kid later mimics. After the first fight with Hedorah, Godzilla goes out into the ocean and is blasting the water and you see the water geyser up, which I thought was a nice touch. Hedorah was basically Godzilla's toughest enemy, because he was elemental and could seemingly keep growing forever. It was established that 2 Hedorah tadpoles could join together to make a bigger one and we see the parts of Hedorah that fly off when Godzilla swings him crawling back to rejoin his body. He even changes forms between flying and walking at will. So he's like the T1000 from Terminator 2.

There are some good horror moments like the dad being attacked while scuba diving (Jaws hadn't even been made yet), the cat being covered in the sludge, the kid seeing the people burned down to skeletons, the fish dying, Hedorah on top of the cars. I've seen the Angry Video Game Nerd and the OP mention the structure melting without any sound as some "WTF" moment. To me it worked as a subtle creepy thing just see the acid melt a huge building's framework without any sound. That was probably the point. One of the most amusing parts is after Hedorah is dead and Godzilla turns his attention to the people and they're all gasping in fear with that music cue.

I know it's a weird movie, That's a lot of why I love it. Yeah, Godzilla flying is ridiculous, but whatever, hahaha. I grew up with the dubbed version on VHS but now the only way I watch it is in Japanese with English subtitles. I find the movie to be a LOT better this way.

[Rody]

I definitely should watch it again. I like it more each time.

[Beef Bigshot]

alot of people think this movie is weird but i actually like it alot

[eabaker]

alot of people think this movie is weird but i actually like it alot

There is no inherent contrast between "think this movie is weird" and "like it a lot."