News Article:
Godzilla and Friends IV: Washburn University Screenings |
Date: |
04/19/2009 |
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Author: |
(Press Release) |
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Source: |
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Once
again the world is in peril and giant monsters are invading
our major cities….Washington, New York, San Francisco,
Tokyo and……. Topeka, Kansas? Yes, they’re
striking at Washburn University again! For the past three
years, Godzilla (that mythic monster from the depths of the
ocean off the coast of Japan) has risen up and stomped through
the Henderson building on campus. In the past, he has been
accompanied by a variety of other South Korean, British,
Japanese and American creatures including Gamera, the fantastic,
flying turtle!
The Godzilla & Friends Festival celebrates the cultural
history behind these giant creatures in all of its bizarre
diversity. This new edition of the Festival will be presented
on Friday evening, May 1st from 7 to 10 pm and Saturday – May
2nd from 10am to 10 pm (approximately) with breaks for lunch
and dinner between films. The event will be presented in
Room 112 of the Henderson building on the Washburn University
campus and it’s a free event.
Author and KU professor William Tsutsui will return for the
Festival’s fourth year to introduce more of the films.
His excellent book - Godzilla on my Mind – discusses
the impact of Godzilla and his prolonged effect on Japanese
culture. Friday night - May 1st, we’ll host the Midwest
premiere of Gamera the Brave, the newest film to feature
the giant flying tortoise. Gamera has always been Godzilla's
main competition (created by a rival studio). This 2006 film
was only released in Japan (but is dubbed in English here).
Previews of other Gamera films will be featured and several
items relating to the big turtle will be given away to the
audience.
Then on Saturday morning, one of the most famous Godzilla
films will be shown along with a variety of previews for
newly available Godzilla videos. The film to be shown is
King Kong
vs. Godzilla (1962), which features the titanic
battle between America’s biggest (and most lovable)
giant gorilla and Japan’s biggest (and no less loved)
giant prehistoric monster. In case you couldn’t guess
from the title, this is the third entry in the Godzilla (GOJIRA)
series and it’s also the most financially successful
film in the entire Godzilla franchise. Critics and fans point
out that it’s also the film that introduced considerable
humor and goofiness to the series.
Saturday afternoon offers a unique and special treat – Godzilla
authorities Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski will do a presentation
on Godzilla (and his kin).
Featuring highlights from their recent documentary film project,
Bringing Godzilla Down to Size, Steve and Ed have
both participated in the commentary tracks for many of the
recent Godzilla Special Edition DVDs. These DVDs include
Gojira - Godzilla (the original Godzilla film for which Ryfle
also contributed the text for the souvenir DVD booklet), Godzilla
Raids Again and Mothra
vs. Godzilla.
The full documentary appears in the recently released Rodan
/ War of the Gargantuas DVD set.
Ryfle is the author of the book, Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star
and Godziszewski edits the excellent fanzine, Japanese Giants.
Copies of both items will be on sale at the event. The duo
is currently co-writing a biography of Japanese director
Ishiro Honda (the director of the vast majority of Japan’s
Science-Fiction / Godzilla films). In the afternoon, we’ll
also take time for our annual Godzilla roar contest and offer
the Godzilla coloring and drawing contest for young fans.
Then Washburn History Professor Mark Peterson will present
the Japanese Science Fiction gem, Atragon (1963) which reveals
a long missing super submarine (scraped after World War II)
that flies and contains a drill nose cone. It’s also
our only hope when the earth is invaded by aliens from the
Mu Empire who intend to control the world from their undersea
domain. We’ll also be looking at a selection of Japanese
and American previews for other great monster flicks.
Finally, Professor Bob Beatty, Bill Tsutsui and our guests
(Steve and Ed) will host a panel discussion and field questions
from the audience about all things Godzilla followed by our
surprise feature presentation. It will be a slam-bang finish
for our fourth Godzilla & Friends Festival. As with previous
years, there will be prize drawings throughout the event.
To top all of this off, KTWU (your public television station
and our media sponsor) will be showing their own giant monster
movie late Saturday evening - Yongary, Monster from the
Deep – starting
at 10:30pm on Saturday night – May 2nd, 2009 to climax
the Godzilla Festival. This oddball offering is a ‘Godzilla’ knock-off
from South Korea, made at the end of the giant monster craze
in the 1960’s. Various experiments have caused serious
tremors that awaken a giant horned monster with laser breath,
who then lays waste to Seoul, Korea (or a miniature Seoul,
Korea). Don’t miss this rare gem Saturday night on
KTWU.
This program is free and open to the public. Seating may
be limited so come early. The program is subject to change
so please bear with us. This free Godzilla & Friends
Festival is co-sponsored by the Office of Multi-Cultural
Affairs (WU), the Center for Diversity Studies (WU) and the
Center for East Asian Studies (KU).
