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

[Godzilla 1995]

He must have thought it was a gun.

No, he must've thought it was corn.

[Starfishman]

One of my personal favorite Godzilla films. It gueshes with so much energy. Perhaps the best Godzilla films from the 1970's

[Goji]

Perhaps the best Godzilla film from the 1970's

I love it too...but it's definitely not that good.

[Mini-Godzilla]

This film seems to stand out as the most beloved of the "bad" Godzilla movies.

[Tyler]

No, he must've thought it was corn.

But my corns always hurt!

[Battra2346]

No, he must've thought it was corn.

But my corns always hurt!

I don't care about your corns!

[Tyler]

I don't care about your corns!

But they always hurt when a monster is near!

[Godzilla 1995]

No, he must've thought it was corn.

But my corns always hurt!

I don't want to hear about your corns!

[Starfishman]

I don't care about your corns!

But they always hurt when a monster is near!

Great when you & the monster meet be sure to tell him all about your corn problems

[Gojira-Fan]

After watching the Honda films, it was sad to see the series go in this direction. The special effects weren't that great, and then they used stock footage from movies I have already seen that have better special effects; which just makes the comparison all that bad.
I didn't find the characters all that likeable either. Godzilla "talking" brings it even more down for me.
Too bad though, I like Gigan's design. Too bad all the movies he appears in are crap.
I can't blame anyone's talents, although. Well, maybe Sekizawa for re-using a same old tired formula in this script. But I am aware this was made on an extremely low budget, and Fukuda is fairly competent when given a good budget.
All of these issues bring this movie down, especially when compared to Godzilla's heyday. Also, I can find little positive in this movie. The fight wasn't even that entertaining. Ghidorah looks barely alive. And it makes me upset when they re-use the same shot like 3 or 4 times. I get it. Godzilla is throwing King Ghidorah over his back. There's no need to show it again.
I'm glad you guys can enjoy the movie though.

[I_Am_Gigan]

I forgot all about that magnificent conversation between Godzilla and Anguirus. Puhahahahahaha
Then they proceeded to warp Godzilla's roar into... disc scratching...
Atleast the Japanese version had the talk bubbles for Godzilla and Anguirus, and kept their real roars.

And you would think Ghidorah would have seen moves like that coming ahead of time, having fought Godzilla before.

[123go]

Man, every time I see this movie talked about it makes me wish the original version King Ghidorah Returns would have been made in its place. It would have been sweet to see Varan in action as well as watching Rodan kick Gigans butt as it was originally written.

[I_Am_Gigan]

Man, every time I see this movie talked about it makes me wish the original version King Ghidorah Returns would have been made in its place. It would have been sweet to see Varan in action as well as watching Rodan kick Gigans butt as it was originally written.

It definitely would have been interesting to see that approach, but at the same time, I was pleased with Godzilla vs Gigan. It was a fun movie, and had it's dramatic "oh my god... Godzilla is gonna lose" intensity. It felt like it was taking forever to get to that point, and if anything I wish they would have had more monster fighting than humans scurrying... but overall I wouldn't say I was or am disappointed with it.

Gigan definitely made an awesome introduction into the Godzilla Universe with this film, and gave a name for himself as a violent and brutal opponent. Gigan paired with King Ghidorah was B.A. as well, they worked extremely well together I thought.

Now to see Varan and Rodan tag team with Godzilla against Gigan and King Ghidorah would have been a sick fight nonetheless.

[RodanRedux]

I just got the dvd of this at the store last week (now that they finally got a shipment of Godzilla films). A really fun movie, not my favorite but it was entertaining. Gigan is awesome, what interesting an original kaiju design. The whole manga artist vs the cockroach aliens trying taking over the world story was great. Also my buddy Anguirus was in it.

[Sam]

I just got the dvd of this at the store last week (now that they finally got a shipment of Godzilla films). A really fun movie, not my favorite but it was entertaining. Gigan is awesome, what interesting an original kaiju design. The whole manga artist vs the cockroach aliens trying taking over the world story was great. Also my buddy Anguirus was in it.

I agree. I loved this movie as a kid, and probably still would now. The use of Ifukube's music, even if it is stock music, really adds something.

[Guardian7]

I don't know if anyone had already done this or not. but here is a pretty decent image of the flash from Gigan's forehead (I assume they were suppose to put an optic beam travel line in it originally - or at least that is what I have read).



The frozen image looks pretty good. It does indeed look like something is going to happen from that spot on his forehead.

Cool pic that I am sure everyone will enjoy.

[Living Corpse]

Yeah but due to budget I think the added the scene of the boulder hitting it as an in universe excuse to say that it broke before it could fire.

[Guardian7]

Still would have been cool to see a beam of that intense lighting (such as in the pic) striking Godzilla (more than likely Anguirus!).
So based on the Movie poster... Is he suppose to fire a beam?
I know he never has (and GFWs showed him using what maybe was a tribute to this lost ability) which is too bad.

Great character. He did a lot in the time he was around and was probably for his period one of Godzilla's most consistent foes.

[King Caesar]

Some people hate this movie!! With a fury passion. But I, like some, have considered this my favorite Godzilla movie ever.

Give your opinion on the movie and why you hate it or love it.

[Tyler]

I don't like it as much as I used to, but I still enjoy it.