Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Living Corpse wrote:
shadowgigan wrote:Honestly I prefer an edited cut that combines both versions. I honestly love Raymond Burr's scenes. I think he is underrated in the fandom.

Edit: He has an amazing speaking voice.
Fans are working on doing just that. And amen to that.
The red menace cut is outstanding.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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I found a redesign of the Super-X by tyo0911. No I have nothing new to add. The artist's dad was not a fan of the Cadmium Rounds so the top was replaced with a Maser gun, while the laser guns on the bottom were removed and instead put on the sides under the armor piercing rockets and missiles.

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/53847312

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Those are outstanding! I'd love to see the Super X return in some form one day.

I think I've spoken about this before, but this film never ceases to amaze me in that it's score produces a multitude of complex emotions within me. It's almost as if the score perfectly encapsulates the sound of an era, and the changing of times. If you listen to some of these tracks away from the film, and hadn't heard them before, you'd have no idea they came from a giant monster movie. Very moving compositions.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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I watched The Return of Godzilla last night. I still think it's the best Godzilla movie since the original. I love the dark tone of the movie and the apocalyptic look of Tokyo. The soundtrack is amazing and Godzilla's design is really scary and mean looking. A perfect design for this type of movie. Also, I think the original Super X is the best because it actually took down Godzilla.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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shadowgigan wrote: Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:22 pmThose are outstanding! I'd love to see the Super X return in some form one day.
Well they are in the PS4 game, so they at least get to return in some games and comics. Even just making new aircraft/water craft just as good as them would be nice since almost everything after has been a letdown. I still think it'd be cool if the Raptor-One from the Godzilla 2000 novel was put on film. That thing was almost like a Super-X4.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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CrimsonBloodX wrote: Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:54 am I watched The Return of Godzilla last night. I still think it's the best Godzilla movie since the original. I love the dark tone of the movie and the apocalyptic look of Tokyo. The soundtrack is amazing and Godzilla's design is really scary and mean looking. A perfect design for this type of movie. Also, I think the original Super X is the best because it actually took down Godzilla.
I have to agree with much of this. I was beginning to think Shin was creeping up to it, but after a couple of recent viewings of ROG its not there yet in terms of my head-rankings.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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ROG is for me, the only film that broaches the grimness of the original. This is no dissing on Shin, but a friend of mine observed something about the three. Shin is, arguably, the most optimistic of the three solo outings as it's the only one humanity "beats" Godzilla with no dire consequences to the victory. It doesn't come at the loss of a great mind and the bleakness that it took another WMD to kill a creature spawned/awakened by another WMD; nor it is ROG's ending which is basically appealing and using one force of nature to just hold down another with the hopes he'll stay imprisoned.

ROG is, as I've stated in another thread, the most anti-humanist of all the films to me. Time and time again we're presented with 1980s Japan's prosperity, from the towering skyscrapers that now dwarf an even bigger-than-last-time Godzilla to wonderful weapons like the Super-X. And yet the Cold War still looms long shadows, Godzilla opens his major acts up with destroying a symbol of Cold War power (a nuclear submarine), literally eats the very power that helped fuel 1980s Japan, the Super-X ends up just provoking him into destroying more of Tokyo and it's heroic pilots die crushed to death under one of those very skyscrapers that 'dared' to tower so high. In the end, the best option is to use another force of nature to just try and hold Godzilla down, with no one convinced he's gone for good.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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That's a fantastic redesign of the SX.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Does anyone happen to know a list of filming locations for this? Ever since I was a kid, I've loved the look of Tokyo in this film.

In particular, near the start of the film, when Goro first travels to the Hayashida Bioscience Institute, there's a brief shot of him getting off an escalator, and I really like how that building looked. I'd love to know if anyone knows what building that is, if it still exists, etc.

(I actually own the Making Of Godzilla 1985 book, but my knowledge of Japanese is, on a GOOD day, limited to katakana, lol)

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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I'm oddly obsessed with this film. I watch it every other week. I've probably watched it over 200x. I listen to the music when I'm studying. Honestly, this has probably become my favorite film of all time.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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This is a very good movie. The second half almost feels like the end of the world. It has that apocalyptic feel to it. I can't think of any other Godzilla movie that feels like this. Godzilla is mean again and compared to the past band of movies is quite serious and menacing. I would say this is one of the best and up there in my favorites.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Just finished this film and currently doing a marathon of all Godzilla films. Have to say that this is so far my least favorite film.

It isn't bad but it's super slow paced especially if you just came out of the showa era. Godzilla for the most part is static, the original film from 1954 I feel did the slow and unstoppable feeling for Godzilla far better. Godzilla once he reaches the city barely moves at all, was disappointed considering we saw his beam destroy that entire military force and his little burst of power that took down the helicopter and ended up destroying city blocks.


It does pick up towards the end with his "revival" that was cool. All in all an OK film, I definitely wouldn't recommend this for a first time viewer though.


I did like the aesthetics for the film, like the poster above me this had a very "apocalypse Now" kind of vibe.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Locutus wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:53 pm Just finished this film and currently doing a marathon of all Godzilla films. Have to say that this is so far my least favorite film.

It isn't bad but it's super slow paced especially if you just came out of the showa era. Godzilla for the most part is static, the original film from 1954 I feel did the slow and unstoppable feeling for Godzilla far better. Godzilla once he reaches the city barely moves at all, was disappointed considering we saw his beam destroy that entire military force and his little burst of power that took down the helicopter and ended up destroying city blocks.
It is sort of disappointing how Godzilla after annihilating the military on the shore just sort of isn't confronted again, minus the laser cars and super X. I suppose they just thought they'd stop Godzilla there, and quite frankly who could blame them. It would've been cool to see more, but I think it's fine. There's definitely an aspect of him becoming a bit complacent at that point.
I did like the aesthetics for the film, like the poster above me this had a very "apocalypse Now" kind of vibe.
If you liked that aspect of the film, I suggest seeking out these:
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/magnitude_79.htm
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/prop ... adamus.htm
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/subm ... _japan.htm
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/virus.htm

Some of them differ, but a lot of them have the same overarching feelings of anxiety and fear that 1984 replicates. Godzilla 1984 is more of a Godzillfied version of those films. I liked 1984 a lot more after watching these films.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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LSD Jellyfish wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 10:05 pm
Locutus wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:53 pm Just finished this film and currently doing a marathon of all Godzilla films. Have to say that this is so far my least favorite film.

It isn't bad but it's super slow paced especially if you just came out of the showa era. Godzilla for the most part is static, the original film from 1954 I feel did the slow and unstoppable feeling for Godzilla far better. Godzilla once he reaches the city barely moves at all, was disappointed considering we saw his beam destroy that entire military force and his little burst of power that took down the helicopter and ended up destroying city blocks.
It is sort of disappointing how Godzilla after annihilating the military on the shore just sort of isn't confronted again, minus the laser cars and super X. I suppose they just thought they'd stop Godzilla there, and quite frankly who could blame them. It would've been cool to see more, but I think it's fine. There's definitely an aspect of him becoming a bit complacent at that point.
I did like the aesthetics for the film, like the poster above me this had a very "apocalypse Now" kind of vibe.
If you liked that aspect of the film, I suggest seeking out these:
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/magnitude_79.htm
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/prop ... adamus.htm
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/subm ... _japan.htm
https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/virus.htm

Some of them differ, but a lot of them have the same overarching feelings of anxiety and fear that 1984 replicates. Godzilla 1984 is more of a Godzillfied version of those films. I liked 1984 a lot more after watching these films.
To this point, The Return of Godzilla is basically a lesser remake of Submersion of Japan with Godzilla taking the place of the various disasters caused by seismic activity. The structure of both films is pretty much the same, even the characters' functions in either are extremely similar.

I think this movie's underwhelming second act is an artifact of so closely mimicking Submersion's: in that film, act one (about an hour into the 2.5 hour movie) ends with the showstopping Tokyo earthquake sequence (which rolls over into roughly 10+ minutes of carnage caused by the quake). Act 2 reveals that another even bigger disaster is inevitable and so sets about solving the problem of how to protect Japan's population before another earthquake wipes the islands off the map. An earthquake, by nature, is a sudden and short-lived phenomenon, so there's adequate justification for it "disappearing" from the film until another quake is required in the concluding act.

On the other hand, if Godzilla's to stay in Tokyo until the start of the third act, at which point he becomes the big threat again, the film has to supply a reasonable explanation for his diminished presence. IMO, RoG doesn't do that well enough. Godzilla just kinda wanders around without much incident until the Super X all too easily puts him out of commission. Because the film's structure dictates Godzilla can't be the primary menace in act 2, the threat of his presence in Tokyo is undermined. I think the film would have been more successful here had it taken a cue from the 1954 Godzilla and had Godzilla temporarily wreak havoc, return to the ocean (for whatever sufficient reason invented by the writer), and come back to an already-reeling Tokyo for the final act.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Terasawa wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:09 am I think the film would have been more successful here had it taken a cue from the 1954 Godzilla and had Godzilla temporarily wreak havoc, return to the ocean (for whatever sufficient reason invented by the writer), and come back to an already-reeling Tokyo for the final act.
I see where you're coming from in terms of story structure, but for me one of the most effective elements of this movie is the sense of unease produced by Godzilla's prolonged presence in Tokyo. I suppose that, more than the political/military elements of the movie, it's these scenes that best capture that underlying feeling of Cold War-era dread, the interminable wait for a disaster that seemed inevitable.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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eabaker wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:19 am
Terasawa wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:09 am I think the film would have been more successful here had it taken a cue from the 1954 Godzilla and had Godzilla temporarily wreak havoc, return to the ocean (for whatever sufficient reason invented by the writer), and come back to an already-reeling Tokyo for the final act.
I see where you're coming from in terms of story structure, but for me one of the most effective elements of this movie is the sense of unease produced by Godzilla's prolonged presence in Tokyo. I suppose that, more than the political/military elements of the movie, it's these scenes that best capture that underlying feeling of Cold War-era dread, the interminable wait for a disaster that seemed inevitable.
Doesn't Godzilla sort of do that, with his initial appearance at the power plant? Granted it's not a full on all-out destruction scene, but it's a parallel to the Odo Island incident.

To me, there's that pause with the sequence in which Godzilla is temporarily defeated with the cadmium missiles.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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eabaker wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:19 am
Terasawa wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:09 am I think the film would have been more successful here had it taken a cue from the 1954 Godzilla and had Godzilla temporarily wreak havoc, return to the ocean (for whatever sufficient reason invented by the writer), and come back to an already-reeling Tokyo for the final act.
I see where you're coming from in terms of story structure, but for me one of the most effective elements of this movie is the sense of unease produced by Godzilla's prolonged presence in Tokyo. I suppose that, more than the political/military elements of the movie, it's these scenes that best capture that underlying feeling of Cold War-era dread, the interminable wait for a disaster that seemed inevitable.
Fair point! Actually I didn't consider the impact that change might have had on the film's atmosphere. But, that said, I think that dread could have just as easily been maintained by having Godzilla temporarily exit, with the characters and audience respectively knowing he could and will strike again at any time. Alternately, you leave Godzilla in Tokyo but give him a more eventful rampage than taking out the only busy intersection in Ginza.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Terasawa wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 5:26 pm
eabaker wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:19 am
Terasawa wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:09 am I think the film would have been more successful here had it taken a cue from the 1954 Godzilla and had Godzilla temporarily wreak havoc, return to the ocean (for whatever sufficient reason invented by the writer), and come back to an already-reeling Tokyo for the final act.
I see where you're coming from in terms of story structure, but for me one of the most effective elements of this movie is the sense of unease produced by Godzilla's prolonged presence in Tokyo. I suppose that, more than the political/military elements of the movie, it's these scenes that best capture that underlying feeling of Cold War-era dread, the interminable wait for a disaster that seemed inevitable.
Fair point! Actually I didn't consider the impact that change might have had on the film's atmosphere. But, that said, I think that dread could have just as easily been maintained by having Godzilla temporarily exit, with the characters and audience respectively knowing he could and will strike again at any time. Alternately, you leave Godzilla in Tokyo but give him a more eventful rampage than taking out the only busy intersection in Ginza.
I would definitely be in favor of a more eventful rampage. :)
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Anyone else like how this movie is the only one where we get to see in real time Godzilla feed on radiation?

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