Protip: look in the anime section of your local video store 'cause that's (somehow) how I found mine.Strain42 said:Yeah, someone posted links to them earlier in the thread.cojo965 said:Strain42 said:
I have them on DVD, just throwing that out there. (Don't take the image seriously, I just wanted an excuse to use it and you gave me one.)
So yeah, I'm gonna go back and correct that post.
So who else enjoys Kaiju movies?
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I grew up with Godzilla. In general I enjoy a giant monster mash, I'll even admit to having enjoyed the American Zilla movie, even tho it was not a true Godzilla movie. Even something like Jurassic park I really enjoy as a monster flick. But Godzilla is king to me. I was upset by King Kong Vs Godzilla when I was little. You have no idea.
Yeah, I liked it a lot. There were a few things that kinda bothered me about it, but overall I thought it was a fun movie.LauriJ said:
There's a comic book store near my dorm that acts as a video store, they do have a lot of Kaiju movies on DVD (many of which I picked up) but I've yet to find the Gamera trilogy there.cojo965 said:
I'm at home for the summer though and we've got a MovieStop and a 2nd&Charles, so maybe I'll look into those. The latter always has great prices on stuff like this, so I may pick up a bunch of kaiju films there (plus I've got store credit there so...Yay)
I find it kind of funny that you'd describe Godzilla's usual status as the lesser of two evils as far as the other monsters go, but then make reference to one of the comparatively few movies where Godzilla is unambiguously the antagonist, and the opposing monster is a protagonist.stormeris said:Oh, i love kaiju movies.
I remember watching them through the night, when i was a kid. Mostly old Godzilla movies, though i always liked the "antagonist" kaiju more than Godzilla himself (even though he isn't really a good guy, when he's wrecking shit up, but whatever).
My favorite kaiju, was probably Biollante. A giant plant/dinosaur hybrid thing with tentacles
At any rate, it's good you brought up Biollante, because I consider Godzilla vs. Biollante to be, bar none, the best of the '80s/'90s ("Heisei") series, and the best of the entire franchise apart from Gojira, Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964), and maybe GMK. Anyone out there who cares to agree or disagree?
A bit of advice: If you're meaning to watch it without any irony, do so during the daytime, or in a room with the lights on. If you approach it from a "so bad it's good" angle, do so at night/in the dark. If, after having done one or the other, you're still confused as to why, rewatch Megaguirus's reveal scene using whatever lighting you didn't use the first time.Strain42 said:
I'll keep that in mind.
I went to the store I mentioned earlier today and they actually did have both Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and Revenge of Iris on DVD, for 15 and 25 dollars respectively. It was a great find, but no matter how much I'd like the DVDs, it's hard for me to justify slapping down that kinda dough for something I already have on blu-ray.
But while I was there, I was able to pick up a few other DVDs
I got the special edition of the original Gojira that comes with the Japanese version and the American Godzilla, King of the Monsters with Raymond Burr. I got two double features of the older Gamera movies (Gamera vs. Guiron/Gamera vs. Jiger and Gamera vs. Zigra/Gamera: The Super Monster) I got a double disc feature of Rebirth of Mothra and Rebirth of Mothra 2. Only downside is these ones only seem to include the English dubs, and lastly I got the Broderickzilla because...well it was basically free, they were having a special.
Oh hey, have any of you ever seen the Daimajin films? Are they any good?
I went to the store I mentioned earlier today and they actually did have both Gamera: Guardian of the Universe and Revenge of Iris on DVD, for 15 and 25 dollars respectively. It was a great find, but no matter how much I'd like the DVDs, it's hard for me to justify slapping down that kinda dough for something I already have on blu-ray.
But while I was there, I was able to pick up a few other DVDs
I got the special edition of the original Gojira that comes with the Japanese version and the American Godzilla, King of the Monsters with Raymond Burr. I got two double features of the older Gamera movies (Gamera vs. Guiron/Gamera vs. Jiger and Gamera vs. Zigra/Gamera: The Super Monster) I got a double disc feature of Rebirth of Mothra and Rebirth of Mothra 2. Only downside is these ones only seem to include the English dubs, and lastly I got the Broderickzilla because...well it was basically free, they were having a special.
Oh hey, have any of you ever seen the Daimajin films? Are they any good?
I've been a fan of kaiju since I saw Godzilla vs Megalon at age eight. I must have seen fifty movies and series by now. Mothra, Gamera, Mechagodzilla, giant spider-things I can't name, the list goes on.
Pacific Rim was made for people like me.
Those looking for a good entry into kaiju might try Godzilla: Final War. It's pretty epic.
One of my favorite terms is The Godzilla Threshold: The point where things have gotten so bad, summoning the King of Monsters to get rid of whatever's causing the problem actually seems like a good idea.
Pacific Rim was made for people like me.
Those looking for a good entry into kaiju might try Godzilla: Final War. It's pretty epic.
One of my favorite terms is The Godzilla Threshold: The point where things have gotten so bad, summoning the King of Monsters to get rid of whatever's causing the problem actually seems like a good idea.
Okay so...I just watched the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy and...I just...I can't...
...what happened? Okay, maybe I was partially thrown off by the bad dub, but I mean these movies looked terrible. The little dragon that the evil Elias rides around on just looked awful...like REALLY awful (so bad I included a pic) It seemed like every shot from these movies was either badly green screened or had some really bad looking CGI in it.
I love Mothra, but these were just not great movies. How is it the Mothra from 1961 looks better than the one from the late 90's?
And like the second one had this scene of a bunch of tiny little CGI mothra flying around shooting lasers like the attack on the death star...which sounds cool, but was very disappointing to watch.
Sorry, don't mean to just complain in a thread about how much we love these movies, but these ones really threw me for a loop, especially since Mothra was one of my favorites when I was a kid.
So I guess that gives us a new conversation topic. What are some Kaiju films you all just flat out didn't like?
It looks even worse when it's actually moving around and just...ugh...
...what happened? Okay, maybe I was partially thrown off by the bad dub, but I mean these movies looked terrible. The little dragon that the evil Elias rides around on just looked awful...like REALLY awful (so bad I included a pic) It seemed like every shot from these movies was either badly green screened or had some really bad looking CGI in it.
I love Mothra, but these were just not great movies. How is it the Mothra from 1961 looks better than the one from the late 90's?
And like the second one had this scene of a bunch of tiny little CGI mothra flying around shooting lasers like the attack on the death star...which sounds cool, but was very disappointing to watch.
Sorry, don't mean to just complain in a thread about how much we love these movies, but these ones really threw me for a loop, especially since Mothra was one of my favorites when I was a kid.
So I guess that gives us a new conversation topic. What are some Kaiju films you all just flat out didn't like?
It looks even worse when it's actually moving around and just...ugh...
I always liked Angiurus best. He doesn't breathe fire, or spit out bombs, or shoot lightning from his nose...but that guy can scrap with the best of them!
(Got my kid a little Anguirus plush for her plushie collection a couple of years ago.)
Watched War of the Gargantuas with my kid a couple of months ago...her first time seeing it, my first time since the 1980's....
I also have a soft spot for King Kong Escapes...nostalgia I'm sure.
My first Kaiju movie was Godzilla VS Megalon in it's original American theatrical release...yah, I'm old....
(Got my kid a little Anguirus plush for her plushie collection a couple of years ago.)
Watched War of the Gargantuas with my kid a couple of months ago...her first time seeing it, my first time since the 1980's....
I also have a soft spot for King Kong Escapes...nostalgia I'm sure.
My first Kaiju movie was Godzilla VS Megalon in it's original American theatrical release...yah, I'm old....
An Angiurus plush? That sounds awesome. I'd love to get some kaiju plushies to give to my potential future children xD Right now I just have a couple of figurines on my shelf (and rainbow Mothra hanging from the ceiling)
I think Godzilla vs. Megalon was actually the first Godzilla movie I ever saw too, except I first saw it as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Pretty sure that's also how I got into Gamera now that I think about it, and to this day that's the only way I've seen Gorgo.
King Kong Escapes is a great one too. Gotta love Mecha Kong.
Oh, on a slightly off topic note, I've been reading this novel called Project Nemesis which is, as the cover points out, "A Kaiju Thriller." I'm a little over halfway through it, and it's a pretty good book. I wasn't sure how well a kaiju story would translate into novel form, but it's doing alright. Thought it's kinda hard to imagine it as a guy in a monster costume type of movie though, but if it ever got made into one I think it should star Garret Dillahurt and Christina Hendricks.
I think Godzilla vs. Megalon was actually the first Godzilla movie I ever saw too, except I first saw it as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Pretty sure that's also how I got into Gamera now that I think about it, and to this day that's the only way I've seen Gorgo.
King Kong Escapes is a great one too. Gotta love Mecha Kong.
Oh, on a slightly off topic note, I've been reading this novel called Project Nemesis which is, as the cover points out, "A Kaiju Thriller." I'm a little over halfway through it, and it's a pretty good book. I wasn't sure how well a kaiju story would translate into novel form, but it's doing alright. Thought it's kinda hard to imagine it as a guy in a monster costume type of movie though, but if it ever got made into one I think it should star Garret Dillahurt and Christina Hendricks.
Out of curiosity, did you watch the entire trilogy, or just the double pack you mentioned buying in an earlier post? Because for whatever it's worth (likely not very much, honestly), I'd hesitantly point to Rebirth of Mothra 3 as the best of them.Strain42 said:
I've never seen Gamera the Brave and I remember you mentioning you had, so let me know if you find this comparison accurate: Based on the clips I've seen of it, it seems Gamera the Brave ended up being to Godzilla's Millennium series what the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy was to Godzilla's Heisei series years earlier. Like the Millennium Godzilla films, the Heisei series was mostly dull and samey, but it was at least adult-oriented so that adults watching it wouldn't get irritated; meanwhile, kids only watch kaiju films for the monster fights anyway, so it really doesn't matter whether the rest of the movie is aimed at adults or not, and thus the adult-oriented angle was a good direction to take. Something that apparently eluded the makers of the Rebirth of Mothra movies, who - like the makers of Gamera the Brave - proceeded to shift the target audience squarely to children, without so much as reverting to the campy style that made the kaiju films of the sixties and seventies appealing to adults despite the similarly young age of their target audience. The sort of lack of logic that, indeed, makes you honestly wonder what they were thinking.
As for kaiju movies I don't like, I was surprised when I quasi-recently watched both King Kong vs. Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Mothra ('64) and discovered how much I disliked the former, especially compared to how much better than I remembered the latter turned out to be. Naturally, this was virtually all to do with the movies' stories. Godzilla vs. Mothra had an interesting human drama, a surprisingly bleak and extensive view of corporate influence in modern society without resorting to heavy-handed preachiness, and a genuinely touching unifying theme of the nobility to be found in camaraderie when temptation bids us to abandon each other, all propped against a backdrop consisting of one of the most menacing depictions of Godzilla ever and the very real threat of him wiping Japan off the map.
King Kong vs. Godzilla, by contrast, was ninety minutes of meaningless B-movie plot occasionally interrupted by a token monster fight. What's worse about that is that this isn't the case at all in the Japanese version, which was a parody of the very commercialism that led to its own existence. Mind you, this was decades before the likes of Freddy vs. Jason or Alien vs. Predator made this sort of thing commonplace, which renders the Japanese King Kong vs. Godzilla's self-awareness all the more impressive. Buuut no, apparently the American distributors thought audiences would be too brain-dead to accept anything other than the movie playing itself 100% straight, which is exactly what they turned it into.
On a less long-winded note, Godzilla: Final Wars was a fairly abysmal way to celebrate Godzilla's fiftieth anniversary, and while Pacific Rim is by far my favorite movie to come out this year, it could have gone from being a very fun film to a truly great one if it hadn't taken itself seriously at all and treated its plot with the same stylized, over-the-top self-indulgence that characterized its action sequences. As I mentioned before, the only human scenes that emulated what the entire movie should have been were the ones centering around the two kaijuologists and/or Ron Perlman. As it stands, the majority of Pacific Rim's plot belongs in a different movie altogether.
I watched all three of them. After I watched the dual pack I picked up I went ahead and checked out the third one online. I agree the third one was the best of the three (second one was...urgh...) but I'd still rather just watch pretty much any of Mothra's other appearances.GodzillaGuy92 said:
And yeah, I coulda sorta see Gamera the Brave in a similar way as the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. I mean it's nowhere near the beast that the 90's Trilogy was, but I still felt it was mostly on par with the Showa era films, but yeah, it does feel like they were sorta missing an ingredient that made all of the earlier films so interesting.
I've never seen the English dub for Godzilla vs. King Kong, but based on what you were just saying, I'm not sure I ever want to. Though I must confess, I did kinda enjoy the dub done for King Kong Escapes.
Pacific Rim was great, but there were a few problems I had with it. I was kinda bothered that the other Jaegers didn't get to do much. I understand they didn't wanna spend too much time characterizing these other pilots, but they had cool robots and they still could have done a bit more. Also, it seemed like the Kaiju themselves didn't get much attention, and I know this is a weird complaint but...did it have to be raining in like every single fight? Sometimes that made it a bit hard for me to see what was going on.