Hmmmmm....
Godzilla/King Kong/Gamera/Mothra/The Giant Claw/Rodan?
Well...Lets look at the aspects of each monster....
Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira?) (also known as The King of the Monsters, and Gigantis, the Fire Monster) is a kaijū (fictional Japanese monster). It was first seen in the 1954 film, Gojira, and has appeared in 28 Japanese produced films. Being one of the most iconic characters in film history, Godzilla has also appeared in numerous comic books, Video games, novels, and parodies.
In 1998, TriStar Pictures produced a remake set in New York City. The film's name was simply Godzilla; however, the character had been completely redesigned and only had superficial characteristics in common with the original Godzilla. The remake was met with mixed critical reception by long-time Godzilla fans and critics alike. The American remake monster was later identified by Toho as Zilla in Godzilla: Final Wars.
Contents [hide]
1 Appearances
1.1 Films
1.2 Television
1.3 Literature
2 Concept and creation
2.1 Name
3 In popular culture
4 See Also
5 References
6 External Links
[edit] Appearances
Godzilla is the primary antagonist/anti-hero in all of the Godzilla films, though there are numerous different incarnations of the monster. The silver screen is not the only place Godzilla has appeared; there have been literary sources that have expanded the universe of Godzilla.
[edit] Films
Godzilla made its first appearance in the original 1954 film Godzilla. In the film, as a result of American testings of the hydrogen bomb, Godzilla is awakened and mutated. Throughout the film, Godzilla rampages through Japan and destroys the city, while scientists try to figure out a solution to kill the monster. In the end of the film, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) uses an oxygen destroyer that he created and opens it underwater, dissolving himself and Godzilla.[5] An "Americanized" version entitled Godzilla, King of the Monsters! was also released and contained original scenes from the film with re-shot footage of Raymond Burr's character and his narration.[6]
Godzilla returned in Godzilla Raids Again, though it was a different Godzilla. This is the first film in which Godzilla battled another monster, who was defeated. Eventually, the military fires missiles at a mountain Godzilla was near and buries it deep beneath an avalanche, which soon turned into an iceberg.[7] In King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla breaks out of the iceberg when an American submarine got caught in it. Meanwhile, King Kong is transported to Japan, and breaks out of the raft that was holding him. A fight later ensues between the two monsters, and Kong eventually retreats, while the JSDF try to stop them. However, their attempts are futile, and they decide to transport Kong to Godzilla in hope that they will fight each other to their deaths. The fight later brings them underwater, and Kong manages to emerge from the water, swimming back to his native island.[8] Godzilla's next appearance was in Mothra vs. Godzilla, which sees Godzilla fighting Mothra. The same Godzilla returns from Kurada Beach (his hiding place after he was defeated by Kong), and fights Mothra near the end of the film. Godzilla soon fires his atomic breath at the monster and kills it. However, Mothra's egg hatches and the two larvaes wrap Godzilla in a cocoon, plunging it into the ocean.[9]
[edit] Television
Godzilla made his American series debut in the 1978 Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning show The Godzilla Power Hour, in which he gained a sidekick, Godzooky, described as his nephew. In addition to his trademark atomic breath, (retooled as flame breath), he was also given the power to shoot laser beams out of his eyes. He was routinely summoned by his human friends using a signaling device or by the cry of Godzooky. Godzilla cartoons were paired with cartoons featuring Jana of the Jungle. The series ran, both as part of the hour and with the Godzilla segments airing as a separate half-hour show, until 1981.
In the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Godzilla's roar was not the same as his trademark roar. Instead, it was provided by Ted Cassidy.
The second cartoon series, which aired on Fox Kids, was based on the events of the 1998 American movie. Godzilla: The Series featured a juvenile Godzilla from the 1998 American remake which had grown to full size. In a similar fashion to earlier animated works, Godzilla traveled around the world with a group of humans called H.E.A.T, including scientist Nick Tatopoulos (which the new Godzilla believed to be its parent), battling monsters. The offspring not only had the abilities and physical forms of his parent, but the creators of the show gave him even more powers and attitude more resembling the Japanese Godzilla. There were even references to the Japanese Godzilla series.
[edit] Literature
Main article: Godzilla (comics)
Godzilla has been featured in the occasional comic book, most often in American production (from Marvel Comics in the mid-1970s and from Dark Horse Comics in the 1980s and 1990s. Japanese Godzilla comics do exist, however.
The Marvel series told original stories and attempted to both fit into the official Toho continuity and avoid referencing it too directly. It also integrated Godzilla into the Marvel Universe, making use of many of its main regular characters such as the Avengers. It was published from 1977 to 1979, neatly fitting between the Showa Period movies and the "VS Series" of the Heisei Era. This series described the adventures and confrontations of Godzilla while he wandered in various regions of the United States, from Alaska to New York City.
The general situations of the series were fairly similar to those of the Showa Period movies, but other than Godzilla himself all characters were new creations, albeit in sometimes strangely familiar roles - for instance, Red Ronin somewhat resembles Jet Jaguar and Mechagodzilla in its story role. Likewise, the JSDF are absent but S.H.I.E.L.D. pretty much fills its role in the story, complete with a Behemoth IV Helicarrier in an eerie foreshadowing of the Super X.
[edit] Concept and creation
[edit] Name
A statue of Godzilla, located near the Toho Pictures Building in Ginza, Japan.The name "Godzilla" is a rough romanization of Gojira (ゴジラ, Gojira?), a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ, lit. "gorilla"?) and kujira (クジラ, lit. "whale"?). At one planning stage, the concept of "Gojira" was described as "a cross between a gorilla and a whale," alluding to Godzilla's size, power and aquatic origin. A popular story is that "Gojira" was actually the nickname of a hulking stagehand at Toho Studio.[10] The story has not been verified, however, because in the more than 50 years since the film's original release, no one claiming to be the employee has ever stepped forward, and no photographs of him have ever surfaced.
There is disagreement as to exactly how the creature's name should be pronounced. While purists often use the Japanese pronunciation [godʲʑira] listen (help·info), most favor the anglicized rendering of its name, [gɑd'zɪlə] (with the first syllable pronounced like the word "god", and the rest rhyming with "vanilla"). Back in the 1950s when Godzilla was created—and Japanese-to-English transliteration was less familiar—it is likely that the kana representing the second syllable was misinterpreted as being pronounced [dzi]. Had the more conventional Hepburn romanization system been used, Godzilla's name would instead have been rendered as "Gojira".
[edit] In popular culture
Main article: Godzilla in popular culture
Godzilla's star on the Hollywood Walk of FameGodzilla is one of the most recognizable action/fictional symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and remains an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. He has been considered a filmographic metaphor for the United States. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original Godzilla, attempted to portray Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla was a representation of the fears that many Japanese held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the fear of those types of attacks occurring again.[11] As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character as the films became increasingly geared towards children. Today, the character has fallen somewhere in the middle, sometimes portrayed as a protector of the Earth (notably Tokyo) from external threats and other times as a bringer of destruction. The usual explanation of Godzilla's character is that the reason he defends Earth from other kaiju is not because of any likeness towards humans, but because he perceives other monsters as threats to his territory, as well as being a natural hostility toward those other monsters. Godzilla is portrayed as a villain, a hero and an anti-hero.
Godzilla's appearance has changed over the years, but many of his characteristics have remained constant. One characteristic that has remained stable is his roar. It was first created by Japanese composer Akira Ifukube by rubbing a resin glove over the strings of a contrabass. Other characteristics that have remained constant across all the Japanese films have been: Godzilla being depicted as a gigantic dinosaur with rough, bumpy charcoal grey scales, a long powerful tail, and bone colored dorsal plates shaped like maple leaves. Although his origins vary somewhat from film to film, he is always described as a prehistoric creature, who first appeared and attacked Japan at the beginning of the Atomic Age. In particular, mutation due to atomic radiation is presented as an explanation for his great size and strange powers. Godzilla's iconic design is composed of a mixture of various species of dinosaurs; specifically, he is based on a Tyrannosaurus Rex, augmented with the dorsal fins of a Stegosaurus and the forelimbs of an Iguanodon.
King Kong is a 2005 remake of the 1933 King Kong film about a fictional giant ape called Kong. It was directed by Peter Jackson and written by Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and its cast included Naomi Watts in the role of Ann Darrow, Jack Black as Carl Denham, Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll and, through performance capture, Andy Serkis as Kong. Serkis also played Lumpy, the galley chef on the SS Venture.
In 1933, Great Depression-era New York City, actress Ann Darrow has just lost her job at the local theater and is recruited by film director Carl Denham because of the presence of her favorite writer Jack Driscoll. They set sail to a remote Indian Ocean island known as Skull Island, inhabited by prehistoric creatures and the mighty giant gorilla Kong.
The film's budget climbed from an initial $150 million US to a record-breaking $207 million. The film was released on December 14, 2005 and made an opening of $50.1 million. Kong turned out to be very profitable as domestic and worldwide grosses eventually added up to $550 million,[1] becoming the fourth-highest grossing movie in Universal Pictures history. Strong DVD sales also added over $100 million to the grosses.[2] It also received positive reviews, with some considering it one of the all-round best movies of 2005, though it has been criticized for its length at three hours and eight minutes. It won Academy Awards for visual effects, sound mixing, and sound editing.
Contents [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Release
5 Reception
5.1 Critical reaction
5.2 Possible future
6 Cinematic and literary allusions
6.1 References to other versions of King Kong
7 Soundtrack
8 DVD release
8.1 Extended Edition scenes
8.2 HD DVD Release
9 References
10 External links
[edit] Plot
The film takes place in New York City, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression. Having lost her job as a vaudeville actress, Ann Darrow is hired by troubled filmmaker Carl Denham to be an actress in his new motion picture. With time running out, Ann signs on when she learns her favorite playwright Jack Driscoll is the screenwriter. On the SS Venture, they slowly fall in love. As for Carl, a warrant is out for his arrest and Captain Englehorn begins to have second thoughts, following the fears of his crew over the legend of Skull Island. Despite his attempt to turn around, their ship is sucked up into a fog and crashes into one of the encircling rocks.
Carl and his crew explore the island, with a deserted village against a wall, but they are attacked by the vicious natives. Mike, the sound technician, is speared, one of the sailors has his head crushed, and Jack is knocked out. Ann screams, and a roar beyond the wall responds. The matriarch vows to sacrifice her to "Kong". Englehorn and his crew break up the attack and return to the damaged ship. They finally lighten the load to steer away, until Jack discovers Ann has been kidnapped. On the island, Ann is hung from a balcony to the other side of a valley. The crew comes armed, but are too late. Carl sees the 25 foot gorilla that has taken her. Englehorn gives them 24 hours to find her. In the meantime, Ann discovers the remains of the previous sacrifices, and stabs Kong's hand with her ceremonial necklace to no avail. Kong proceeds to take Ann through the jungles of the island far away.
Ann and Kong share one last moment atop the Empire State Building, before the arrival of the biplanes.The rescue party is caught up in a Venatosaurus pack's hunt of Brontosaurus, and four of them are killed while Jack and the rest of the crew survive. Ann manages to entertain Kong with juggling and dancing, but he does not kill her when she refuses to continue. He leaves her. The rest of the rescue party come across a swamp. It is here that Bruce Baxter and two others leave the group. The survivors stumble across a log where Kong attacks, flinging them off the log into a ravine. He returns to rescue Ann from three Vastatosaurus rexes, and takes her up to his mountain lair. Englehorn and the rest of the crew rescue whomever is left of the rescue party from the pit of giant insects, and as Jack decides to continue to search for Ann, Carl decides to capture Kong. Jack comes to Kong's lair, and disturbs him from his slumber. Kong then has to fight a swarm of Terapusmordax. Ann and Jack escape by grabbing on the leg of a Terapusmordax and then jumping to a river and come to the wall with the angry Kong following them, where Ann becomes distraught by what Carl plans to do. Kong bursts through the gate and struggles to get her back, but he is knocked out by chloroform.
In New York around Christmas, Carl presents King Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World on Broadway. Ann has become an anonymous chorus girl and a double of her is no replacement for Kong. Camera flashes from photographers enrage the gorilla. Kong breaks free from his chrome-steel chains and chases Jack across town, where he encounters Ann again. They share a quiet moment on a frozen lake in Central Park, before the army attacks. Kong climbs onto the Empire State Building, where he makes his last stand against the Curtiss Helldivers,[3] downing three of them. Ultimately Kong is hit by several bursts of gunfire from the surviving planes, and gazes at a distraught Ann for the last time before falling off the building to his death. Ann is greeted by Jack, and the reporters flood to Kong's corpse. Carl takes one last look and says "It wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast."
[edit] Cast
Naomi Watts as Ann Darrow: A struggling vaudeville actress who is desperate to continue acting. Carl Denham discovers her attempting to steal an apple from a fruit stand, only to pay for it himself. She is a big fan of Jack Driscoll, but knows nothing about acting in a movie and during the course of the voyage, she falls in love with him. She also forms a special friendship with Kong. Ann herself is very confident, beautiful, and capable of handling herself in a tough situation.
Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll: A playwright who falls for Ann. He is on the voyage mistakenly, when he delivers 15 pages of script for Denham, and he delays him as the SS Venture begins its voyage. Jack is quickly enchanted by Ann's beauty and charm, and plans to write a play for her. He refuses to give up on her rescue, even continuing on alone when the rest of the Venture crew turn back. He is also heavily involved in Kong's final moments in New York.
Andy Serkis as King Kong (motion capture and voice): A 25 foot gorilla who is around 120-150 years old.[4] He is the last of his species.
Jack Black as Carl Denham: A film director who obtained a map to Skull Island. Due to his desperate situation - involving debts and theft - Carl is obsessive and slowly loses his moral compass during the film. His producers are convinced he is on a wild goose chase and the police have a warrant for his arrest.
Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Englehorn: The German Captain of the SS Venture.
Evan Parke as Ben Hayes: Englehorn's second mate, who leads Ann's rescue mission. He is killed at the log chasm scene after Kong snatches him and subsequently throws him against the rock wall.
Jamie Bell as Jimmy: A boy who was found on the SS Venture, wild and abandoned. He is a kleptomaniac and views Hayes as a father figure.
Colin Hanks as Preston: Denham's neurotic personal assistant.
Kyle Chandler as Bruce Baxter: An actor who specialises in adventure films such as Tribal Brides of the Amazon, Rough Trader and Dame Tamer. He abandons Ann's rescue mission but brings Englehorn to rescue them from the insect pit, and is given credit for rescuing Ann during the Broadway display of Kong. He has sense once more to leave before Kong escapes.
John Sumner as Herb: Denham's loyal camera man. He is killed by Venetasaurs after the Brontosaur stampede.
Andy Serkis as Lumpy: The ship's cook, barber and surgeon. He is a brave sailor who goes to search for Ann but is killed in the pit after fighting a group of worm-like creatures.
Lobo Chan as Choy: Lumpy's best friend, who falls to his death in the valley of insects.
Craig Hall as Mike: Denham's soundman for the journey and ends up being the first person to be killed by the Skull Island natives.
[edit] Production
Peter Jackson was a nine year old in the New Zealand town of Pukerua Bay when he first saw the 1933 version of King Kong. He was in tears in front of the TV when Kong slipped off the Empire State Building.[5] At age 12 he tried to recreate the film using his parents' super-8 camera and a model of Kong made of wire and rubber with his mother's fur coat for the hair, but eventually gave up on the project.[6] In 1996, he developed a version that was in pre-production for 6-7 months, but the studio cancelled it.[7] This is most likely because of the release of Mighty Joe Young and Godzilla the same year.[6] During this time Jackson had achieved the designs of the Brontosaurus and the Raptors.[6] He then began work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy.[8] No casting was ever done, but he had hoped to get either George Clooney or Robert DeNiro.[9] With the overwhelming box office and critical success of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Universal contacted him during production of the second film,[6] and he was paid $20 million USD to direct this film, the highest salary Hollywood ever paid a director.[10]
Peter Jackson has stated that the script significantly changed between the 1996 and 2005 drafts. In Jackson's original 1996 draft of the script, Ann was the daughter of famed English archaeologist Lord Linwood Darrow exploring ancient ruins in Sumatra.[11] They would come into conflict with Denham during his filming, and they would uncover a hidden Kong statue and the map of Skull Island. This would indicate that the island natives were a cult religion that once thrived on the mainland of Asia, and all trace of the cult was wiped out, except for the few on the island. Instead of a playwright, Jack was the first mate and an ex-First World War fighter pilot still struggling with the loss of his best friend, who is killed in battle during a World War I prologue.[11] Herb the camera-man was the only supporting character in the original draft who made it to the final version. Another difference was that Ann was actually caught in the V. rex's jaws in the Kong/3 V. rex fight. According to the draft, Ann was wedged in the mouth and slashed by the teeth; after the fight, Kong got her out but by some reason Ann got a fever, from which she recovered. (It didn't say how Ann got it, but it was almost unmistakably an infection in one of her cuts). Jackson's first rough draft was described as a "tongue-in-cheek comedic film with elements of Raiders of the Lost Ark and other films," according to Jackson himself. Originally, he wanted a comical "monkey-farce" to be released, but he credits Universal for pulling the plug, as he was able to rework things into what ended up on screen.[6]
Other challenges include the rewriting of the script between 1996 and 2005, adding more character development to the 1933 story and acting as though the 1976 version never existed.[12] The process began with a nine minute animatic created by Peter Jackson and shown to the writing team, causing Philippa Boyens to cry. Jackson, alongside Christian Rivers and his team, created animatics for all the action sequences which wound up becoming the first stage in animation. The Empire State Building animatic in particular, was completely replicated in the final film.[6]
Peter Jackson decided early on that he did not want Kong to act human, and so they studied hours of gorilla footage.[13] Andy Serkis, who modelled his movement, went to the London Zoo to watch the gorillas, but was unsatisfied. He ended up going to Rwanda to observe mountain gorillas in the wild, with a company called Rainbow Tours. Possibly as a result of this, Kong acts and moves very much like a real gorilla.[14]
Andy Serkis in his Kong bodysuit.Apart from Kong, Skull Island is also inhabited by dinosaurs and other large fauna. However, though they may look similar, they are not the familiar species. Inspired by the works of Dougal Dixon, the designers have imagined what 65 million years or more of isolated evolution would have done to the dinosaurs.[6] The creatures are presented as more scientifically accurate than those portrayed in the 1933 version. The names of these and hundreds of other beasts are found in the book The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island.
The film's budget climbed from an initial $150 million US to a record-breaking $207 million,[15] making it at one point the most-expensive film yet made. Universal Studios only agreed to such an outlay after seeing a screening of the unfinished film, to which executives responded enthusiastically. In addition, it is estimated that marketing and promotion costs were about $60 million. Production had difficulties, such as Peter Jackson's decision to change composers from Howard Shore to James Newton Howard seven weeks before the film opened.[16] Also, the film was originally set to be 135 minutes, but soon grew to 200, prompting Universal executives to fly to New Zealand to view a rough cut, but they liked it so their concerns were addressed.[17]
[edit] Release
The marketing campaign for King Kong started in full swing on June 28, 2005, when the teaser trailer made its debut, first online at the official Volkswagen website at 8:45 p.m. EST, then 8:55 p.m. EST across media outlets owned by NBC Universal (the parent of Universal Studios), including NBC, Bravo!, CNBC and MSNBC. That trailer appeared in theatres attached to War of the Worlds, which opened on June 29.[4] In a unique co-promotion, New York State held a special King Kong lottery game in which tickets were sold for a one time drawing to be held on December 5, 2005 offered a grand prize of $50 million and several second prizes of $1 million.[18]
Jackson also regularly published a series of 'Production Diaries', which chronicled the making of the film. The diaries started shortly after the DVD release of The Return of the King as a way to give Jackson's The Lord of the Rings fans a glimpse of his next project. These diaries are edited into broadband-friendly installments of three or four minutes each. They consist of features that would normally be seen in a making-of documentary: a tour of the set, a roving camera introducing key players behind the scene, a peek inside the sound booth during last-minute dubbing, or Andy Serkis doing his ape movements in a motion capture studio.[19] The production diaries were released on DVD on December 13, 2005, one day before the U.S. release of the film. This was one of the first occasions in which material that would normally be considered supplementary to the DVD release of a film, was not only released separately, but done so in a prestige format; the Production Diaries came packaged in a box with a set of prints and a replica 1930s-era clipboard. It is also the first time such material was published prior to the release of the film.
A novelization of the movie and a prequel entitled The Island of the Skull was also written. A multi-platform video game entitled Peter Jackson's King Kong was released, which featured an alternate ending. There was a hardback book entitled The World of Kong, featuring artwork from Weta Workshop to describe the fictional beastiary in the film. A number of spin-offs from the remake's franchise include books, novels, comics and video games.
[edit] Reception
With a take of $9.7 million box office on its opening day, and an opening weekend of $50.1 million, King Kong failed to live up to its pre-release hype, and did not meet expectations of Universal Studios executives. Some media outlets even considered the film to be a flop after its weak opening weekend, as at that point it wasn't on pace to make back its $207 million budget.[20] Its opening weekend of $50.1 million, while good for most movies, fell short of the inflated expectations caused by the movie's enormous budget and marketing campaign.
However, King Kong was able to hold its audience in the subsequent holiday weeks and ended up becoming a domestic hit, grossing $218.1 million at the North American box office (putting it in the top five grossing films of 2005 domestically).[21] King Kong fared much better in the international market, as it grossed $332.158 million outside North America, leading to a worldwide total of $550.238 million (putting it in the top five grossing films of 2005 Worldwide).[22]
Other factors also affect a film's profitability besides box office sales, such as the DVD sales. King Kong, as of April 3, 2006, sold more than 7.2 million DVDs,[23] over $100 million in the largest six-day performance in Universal Studios history.[24] As of June 25, 2006 King Kong has generated almost $38 million from DVD rental gross.[25]
Thus, despite the film's inauspicious start at the box office, King Kong turned out to be very profitable. Ticket and DVD sales combined, the film earned well over $700 million,[26] becoming the fourth-highest grossing movie in Universal Pictures history. Its release on home video and DVD was also a great success.[27]
[edit] Critical reaction
King Kong received a favourable critical response, garnering an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[28] The most common criticisms of the film were due to excessive length, over-use of slow motion, and several moments where the audience was aware of CGI effects. Positive critical reviews regarded it as one of the few good epics and all-round best movies of 2005. Roger Ebert gave the movie four stars, and listed it as the 8th best film of 2005.[29] Similarly, King Kong has been included in many critics' Top Ten of 2005 lists.[30] The film received four Academy Award nominations for Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Art Direction, winning all but the last.[31] Entertainment Weekly called the depiction of Kong the most convincing computer generated character in film in 2005.[32] Some criticized the film for retaining racist stereotypes present in the original film, though it was not suggested that Jackson had done this intentionally.[33]
[edit] Possible future
Peter Jackson has expressed his desire to remaster the film in 3-D at some point in the future.[34] Though this has been officially disclaimed as a potential project by Universal Studios, both Shrek and Terminator 2: Judgment Day had short 3-D versions made for the Studio as theme park attractions. Jackson was also seen shooting with a 3-D camera at times during the shoot of King Kong.[35]
[edit] Cinematic and literary allusions
Jamie Bell's character is repeatedly shown reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a novel about a journey into a primitive land and mankind's exploitation of fellow man. Jack Black and critics have noted Carl Denham's similarity to Orson Welles.[36] When Jack Driscoll is searching for a place to sleep in the animal storage hold, a box behind him reads 'Sumatran Rat Monkey — Beware the bite!' - a reference to the creature that causes mayhem in Peter Jackson's film Braindead (1992)[37] (in that film, the rat monkey is described as only being found on Skull Island).
[edit] References to other versions of King Kong
Fay Wray, the original Ann Darrow, was asked by Peter Jackson to do a brief cameo and say the film's signature line, "It was beauty killed the beast." At first she flatly refused, but then seemed to consider the possibility, but passed away soon after.[36] The line went back to the character of Carl Denham (played by Jack Black).
An ad for Universal Pictures is visible while Kong is tearing up Times Square; in actuality, an ad for Columbia Pictures was in the same spot in the 1933 film, but the studio asked for a large amount of money for its use, so effects artists replaced it.[37]
When Denham is considering who to play the part before meeting Ann, he suggests "Fay," but his assistant Preston replies, "She's doing a picture with RKO." Music from the 1933 original comes on, and Denham mutters, "Cooper, huh? I might have known." Fay Wray starred in the 1933 film, which was directed by Merian C. Cooper and released by RKO.[37]
The 2005 remake, in a different way, also quotes the fake "Arabian proverb" about "beauty and the beast" that Merian C. Cooper made up in his 1933 film.[37]
Kong's New York stage appearance looks very much like a re-enactment of the sacrifice scene of the 1933 film, including the posts the 'beauty' is tied to and the nearly identical performance and costumes of the dancers. In addition, the music played by the orchestra during that scene is the original 1933 score by Max Steiner.[37]
The 1933 film featured an extended spider pit sequence where several members of the party were devoured by massive spiders and insects after being shaken off a log into the ravine by Kong. This scene was pulled before release when Cooper decided it slowed the film down. Peter Jackson recreated the scene for the 2005 remake. He also paid homage to the spider pit sequence by recreating the scene using stop motion photography and included the scene as an extra for the deluxe DVD release of the original 1933 film.
The battle between Kong and the final V. rex is almost move-for-move like the last half of the fight between Kong and the T. rex in the original 1933 film, right down to Kong playing with the dinosaur's broken jaw and then standing, beating his chest and roaring victoriously.[37]
After the crew captures Kong on the beach, Denham speaks the line: '"The whole world will pay to see this! We're millionaires, boys! I'll share it with all of you. In a few months, his name will be up in lights on Broadway! KONG, THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD!"' The same line is in the original 'Kong.'[37]
In the finale atop the Empire State Building, Peter Jackson has a small role as one of the pilots who shoots down Kong. This is a reference to the original, in which Merian C. Cooper has a similar cameo as a pilot. Ernest B. Schoedsack also appeared with Cooper as his rear-gunner. In Jackson's film, Rick Baker, who played Kong (in a rubber suit) in the 1976 remake, is the pilot for Jackson's plane.[37]
The lines that Bruce Baxter and Ann speak while filming on the ship are from the original King Kong.
[edit] Soundtrack
See: King Kong (2005 soundtrack).
The musical score for King Kong was composed by James Newton Howard. Originally Howard Shore, who worked for Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings, was to compose the score for the film, and recorded several completed cues before he was removed from the project by Jackson. James Newton Howard joined the project with literally weeks to score and record more than Three hours of music. Shore still makes a cameo appearance as the ill-fated conductor in the theatre from which Kong escapes.
[edit] DVD release
King Kong was released on DVD on March 28, 2006 in the United States. The three versions that came out were single disc fullscreen, single disc widescreen and a 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition. The second disc of the Special Edition contains the remainder of almost all the KongisKing.net production diaries not contained on the Peter Jackson's Production Diaries DVD set. The only missing episode is "13 Weeks To Go" which contained footage of Howard Shore recording the original score. It is still available on the website.
On Tuesday, June 27, 2006, www.kongisking.net reported that Spanish DVD website Zonadvd officially confirmed the release date of an extended edition of King Kong on November 15, 2006. It was also said that three discs would be included in the set. Unseen features, including deleted scenes, commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and so on are sure to follow (these features were previously mentioned before).[38]
The 3 disc Deluxe Extended Edition was released on November 14th 2006 in the U.S.A.[39], and on November 1st in Australia[40]. Thirteen minutes were put back into the film, and a further 40 minutes presented alongside the rest of the special features. The extended edition also has over 230 new visual effects shots.[citation needed] The film was spread onto the first two discs with commentary by Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens, and some featurettes on Disc 2, whilst the main Special Features are on Disc 3. Another set was released, including a WETA figurine of a bullet-ridden Kong scaling the Empire State Building, roaring at the army with Ann in hand. The extended film amounts to 201 minutes in total.[41]
[edit] Extended Edition scenes
The extended edition not only has 13 minutes of added footage reincorporated into the film, 40 minutes of deleted scenes on the DVD, but also over 230 new visual effects shots. The first major addition comes after the rescue team enters the jungle, in which they startle a Ceratopsian dinosaur and it goes on the rampage. Hayes shoots it and the scene ends on a reference to the original film as Carl and Herb film its tail in death throes.
The second major addition is a scene in the swamp where the rescue team on two rafts are first surrounded by swarms of Scorpiopede creatures, before an attack from an enormous serpentine Piranhadon fish. Three men are killed and Jack almost drowns. Carl captures the last death on camera (to the disgust of Lumpy) which he takes great pains to retain in the chaos. After exiting the swamp, Lumpy shoots an approaching sound in the thick foliage. Jack believes he has shot Ann, which turns out to be a large bird similar to a giant Moa. The insect pit sequence is extended with footage of the characters climbing out of the pit, notably including a monologue from Carl about the point of death, Jimmy finding Hayes's body and taking his cap to remember him, and Bruce Baxter killing more insects. There is also more film of Kong rampaging the native village. Kong chasing Jack's cab is extended. During the army's attack on King Kong, he tramples a van containing a man who issues the fire command, and also knocks a van, with a commander insulting Kong, out of his away. The rest of the deleted scenes have unfinished effects, and are not incorporated into the film, but remain on the DVD set with individual introductions by Peter Jackson.
Gamera (ガメラ, Gamera?) is a giant, flying turtle-like creature from a popular series of daikaiju eiga monster movies produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the kaiju boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own right.
In the United States, Gamera attained prominence during the 1970s due to the burgeoning popularity of UHF television stations featuring Saturday afternoon matinee showcases like Creature Double Feature and later in the 1990s when several of his movies were featured on the cult television program Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Contents [hide]
1 Appearance
2 Origins
3 Capabilities
4 Film history
4.1 Shōwa era
4.2 Heisei era
4.3 Millennium era
4.4 Chronology
5 Future plans
6 Popular culture
7 References
8 External links
[edit] Appearance
Gamera's size rivals that of his famous daikaiju counterpart, Godzilla. Unlike any other species of turtles, Gamera has the habit of walking bipedally rather than on all fours, though he occasionally walks quadrupedally in his first three films. Gamera was capable of using his upper limbs in the same manner as Godzilla, as his forelegs had appendages much closer in construction to hands than feet, and was capable of grappling with opponents and manipulating objects. His mouth is filled with teeth, which no species of turtle has had since prehistoric times, with a pair of large tusks protruding upward from his lower jaw. Gamera is also usually seen with very large human-like eyes, adding intelligence to his overall appearance.
[edit] Origins
In the Shōwa era films, Gamera was a gigantic, prehistoric species of tortoise, reawakened by an accidental atomic blast in the Arctic during a dogfight between US and Russian fighters. The film mentioned that Gamera had appeared before, from pictographs depicting Gamera, and warning of his ability of flight. Gamera's origin was given that he was a leftover from eons in the past. Gamera was already capable of flight and breathed true flames, rather than radioactive energy when he was reawakened. And while it was known that he fed on flames (and even radioactive materials such as plutonium, much like his counterpart, Godzilla), the explanation for this power is that the age in which he lived lacked oxygen but was volcanically active thus causing Gamera to feed on fire. This caused a continuity error as it was stated that Gamera lacked lungs in the first film but in "Gamera vs. Jiger", Jiger's offspring was implanted in Gamera's lung by Jiger. It was left unexplained as to why he attacked most of humanity in general, yet spared the life of (and indeed actively saved) a young boy who became central to the original film's plot. This later led to him being referred to as the 'friend to all children in the world' in future films.
In the Heisei era films, however, the origin of Gamera was changed, giving him a much more directly heroic themed origin: A bio-engineered guardian of the Earth created by the lost city of Atlantis with the purpose of defeating Gyaos, another ancient creation capable of killing all human life. He draws his power from the Earth itself in the form of mana. The giant turtle is found floating adrift in the Pacific, encased in rock and mistaken for an atoll. Within the rock, investigators discover a large monolith explaining Gamera's purpose, as well as dozens of magatama, which allow a psychic link between Gamera and humans. In the third film of the Heisei era, an undersea graveyard is found with many other Gamera skeletons, suggesting Gamera was not the only member of his kind created by Atlantis. One character in the film, Kurata Shinji, refers to these skeletons as "beta versions" of Gamera which had not been powered by the spirit of the Earth. Another scene provides Gamera with a link to Asian folklore, with a character relating a story in which a giant tortoise is considered the Guardian of the North, with separate, rival creatures defending the East, West, and South.
Gamera's continuity was rebooted again in the first (and currently only) film of the Millennium era. Gamera - The Brave begins with the "original" Gamera (whether this is intended to be the Gamera from the earlier Shōwa era series is unknown and unlikely, as the film mixes elements from both continuities) sacrificing himself to destroy a flock of Gyaos birds sometime in the 1970s. Decades later, a young boy finds a strange, glowing red rock near his home, with a small egg lying on top of it. A fairly normal looking baby tortoise soon hatches from the egg, but begins to grow at an alarming rate. The turtle, now named "Toto" by his child owner, also quickly develops Gamera's classic abilities to breath fire and fly, and attempts to ward off another attacking monster but is too weak to succeed. Only after eating the glowing rock found with its egg does the new Gamera achieve its full power, defeating its enemy and flying off into the sky.
[edit] Capabilities
Gamera's shell is extremely resilient and strong. Missiles and other weaponry merely bounce off it, along with most of his opponents' attacks. There have been a few times where his shell has faltered, most notably when Guiron hammered at the same spot several times and began cutting through. Irys' tentacle lasers have also been able to penetrate Gamera's shell. though this only occurred once during an aerial dogfight between the monsters. Gyaos' sonic Beam, Zigra's Paralyzing Beam, and Barugon's rainbow ray cannot penetrate Gamera's shell, shown in the films when he withdraws into his shell to avoid the attacks. Gamera's stomach, however, is softer and not as resilient, and he has been cut and gouged in his stomach to the point of bleeding (his blood is green in all the films, though faded stateside prints of the Showa films often made it look as if he had blue blood).
In the Shōwa series, Gamera fed on fire and was attracted by other heat sources, such as power plants and Barugon's "rainbow" ray attack. He could breathe intensely hot streams of flames from his mouth when caught in a more serious situation. The Heisei version, on the other hand, could blast off mighty plasma fireballs from his mouth, usually very quickly, and with varying accuracy; they were highly explosive. At the end of G1 Gamera absorbs fire and fires a "super-powered" plasma fireball and in G2 he breathes in the oxygen produced by a Legion plant and fires an "Oxygen-Powered" plasma fireball. The Heisei version could also absorb a great deal of "mana", or the living essence and energy of life on Earth, and release an extremely powerful stream of pure plasma and fire from an opened, organic "cannon" in his chest. In the final film of the Heisei series, Gamera blasted his own arm off and absorbed plasma fireballs shot by Iris and used his stump arm to grow back his arm in a plasma form. Theoretically, he could do the same to other body parts as well.
Of course, Gamera also has the ability to fly. Generally Gamera will pull his arms, legs, head, and tail into his shell, fire flames out of his arm and leg cavities and spin around like a saucer. This mode of flight had an added advantage in the later films, where he would use the sharp edges of his shell to cut enemies while spinning, similar to a circular saw. He has a second way of flying, where he only pulls his legs and/or tail in, fires flames from the leg cavities, and flies like a jet. In the Heisei era films, Gamera's arms would extend and stretch out into wings similar to the flippers of a sea turtle while using this form of flight, giving him added aerodynamics and control.
The Heisei films gave Gamera one more additional weapon: a pair of sharp spikes protruding from his elbows. In his first Heisei era appearance, these spikes were hidden during the majority of the film, extending only when needed in battle. In later appearances they were permanently extended.
When seriously or gravely injured, Gamera can enter a coma-like state in order to heal. This often fools his opponents into thinking that he is dead. This ability has been used in almost every Gamera film.
Gamera's only major weakness is cold. The monster Barugon was able to achieve success against Gamera using his freezing spray, and scientists nearly defeated Gamera during his first appearance using special freezing bombs. This weakness was only shown in Gamera's earliest films, and has not been explored since.
[edit] Film history
[edit] Shōwa era
Gamera made his first appearance in 1965's Gamera, which was the only black-and-white. Subsequent films, usually directed by Noriaki Yuasa and written by Nisan Takahashi, quickly became a big hit with children, who loved watching Gamera fight monsters Barugon, Gyaos, Viras, Guiron, Jiger, and Zigra. A seventh sequel was slated for a 1972 release, tentatively titled Gamera vs. Garasharp. Gross mismanagement of Daiei, however, put the company into bankruptcy, and the Gamera films were forced to cease production.
After Daiei was purchased by Tokuma Shoten in 1974, the new management wanted to do a new Gamera film in 1980, so Gamera: Super Monster was produced. The majority of the film used stock footage (with limited new scenes of Gamera flying), and acted as a "recap" of Gamera's history. However, Yuasa and Takahashi felt that they had done all they could with the monster, so they respectfully killed off Gamera at the end of the film.
Through the years, on both sides of the Pacific, fans of Gamera or Godzilla have debated which monster is better. The latter would generally be considered the victor, in that Godzilla was considered to have "higher standards" than Gamera, who was just a monster for kids. The giant turtle thus often became the object of ridicule, especially on the American TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000, which lampoons B-movies and featured five of the original seven Gamera films during their third season. (It should be noted though that the series also featured and mocked two Godzilla films a year before.)
[edit] Heisei era
Following the second revival of the Godzilla series (1984–1995), Daiei Studios drew plans to resurrect its own star kaiju. In 1994 Daiei asked director Shusuke Kaneko, a lifelong kaiju fan, to direct a new Gamera movie. Although not a Gamera fan (Kaneko preferred Godzilla, and had asked Toho for the chance to direct a Godzilla film in 1992, though he would not have this opportunity until 2001), Kaneko tried to stay true to the spirit of the classic films while taking a fresh, edgy approach to appeal to a more contemporary audience. The result was Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995). While not the huge box-office success anticipated, the film was met with critical acclaim on both sides of the Pacific.
Kaneko directed two sequels, forming a "Gamera Trilogy", with each film more successful than the previous. The trilogy transformed Gamera from the "friend to all children" of the Shōwa films to an anti-hero.
Although the original Shōwa Gamera writer Nisan Takahashi felt the Heisei Gamera was too dark toned, the second series received critical acclaim, including praise from American movie critic Roger Ebert. Modern special effects were implemented increasingly throughout the progress of the trilogy and by the third film many shots of Gamera (most when he's flying) were computer generated. Gamera 3 still remains an effects gold standard for many fans of the genre.
There was also an unofficial fourth film made called "Gamera 4: The Truth". It was made by fans who disliked the ending to Kaneko's third film. Since it was an unofficial film, it has never been released outside of Japan.
[edit] Millennium era
"Toto" fighting Zedus in Gamera the Brave.Gamera the Brave returns Gamera to his Shōwa era roots, but with a modern twist. In the film, Gamera is first seen defending Japan back in the '70s from the Gyaos, but sacrifices himself to destroy them by self-destructing. In the modern day, the child of a man who witnessed that battle finds a turtle egg that hatchs into a baby Gamera that he names Toto. When a lizard-like monster named Zedus appears, Toto tries to fight the beast, but ends up being gravely wounded and taken by the military for study. He ends up escaping and growing to a larger size to try and fight Zedus again, this time succeeding against the monster.
The idea of multiple Gyaos battling Gamera in the 1970s is a possible means of attempting to tie together the reboot of Gamera back to his Shōwa Era roots with the concepts seen in the first of the Heisei films, though it is also possible that Gamera battling multiple Gyaos in this film may simply have been because Gyaos is the only monster that has appeared in every era in film.
[edit] Chronology
Daikaijû Gamera (1965)
"Giant Monster Gamera" (translation)
aka "Gamera"
aka "Gamera, the invincible"
Daikaijû kessen: Gamera tai Barugon (1966)
"The Great Monster Duel: Gamera vs. Barugon" (translation)
aka "Gamera vs. Barugon"
aka "War of the Monsters"
Daikaijû kuchu kessan: Gamera tai Gyaosu (1967)
"Giant Monster Mid-Air Battle: Gamera vs. Gaos" (translation)
aka "Gamera vs. Gyaos"
aka "Gamera vs. Gaos"
aka "Return of the Giant Monsters"
Gamera tai uchu kaijû Bairasu (1968)
"Gamera vs. Outer Space Monster Viras" (translation)
aka "Gamera vs. Viras"
aka "Destroy All Planets"
Gamera tai daiakuju Giron (1969)
"Gamera vs. Giant Evil Beast Giron" (translation)
aka "Gamera vs. Guiron"
aka "Attack of the Monsters"
aka "Gamera vs. Gullion"
Gamera tai Daimaju Jaiga (1970)
Gamera vs. Giant Demon Beast Jiger (translation)
aka "Gamera vs. Monster X"
aka "Gamera vs. Jiger"
Gamera tai Shinkai kaijû Jigura (1971)
"Gamera vs. Deep Sea Monster Zigra" (translation)
aka "Gamera vs. Zigra"
Uchu kaijû Gamera (1980)
aka "Space Monster Gamera" (translation)
aka "Gamera Super Monster"
aka "Super Monster"
Gamera daikaijû kuchu kessen (1995)
aka "Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe"
aka "Gamera: Giant Monster Midair Showdown"
Gamera 2: Region shurai (1996)
aka "Gamera vs. Legion"
aka "Gamera: Attack of Legion"
aka "Gamera 2: Advent of Legion"
aka "Gamera 2: Assault of the Legion"
Gamera 3: Iris kakusei (1999)
aka "Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris"
aka "Gamera 3: The Incomplete Struggle"
aka "Gamera 1999: The Absolute Guardian of the Universe"
aka "Gamera 3: The Awakening of Iris"
aka "Gamera: Revenge of Iris"
Gamera: Chiisaki yusha-tachi (2006)
aka "Gamera the Brave"
aka "Gamera: The Little Braves
[edit] Future plans
In late 2005, it was announced that Cartoon Network licensed the Gamera character for an animated series, though those plans were abandoned when Gamera the Brave bombed at the Japanese box office.[1]
Many fans have wondered if Gamera and Godzilla may appear in a film together (perhaps similar to King Kong vs. Godzilla), but Daiei Motion Picture Company and Toho Studios have no plans for a team-up due to the overwhelming populatity of both characters among their fans.
Mothra (モスラ, Mosura?) is a 1961 daikaiju eiga (giant-monster movie) from Toho Studios, directed by genre regular Ishirō Honda with special effects by legend Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the kaiju eiga debut of screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, whose fantastic yet intelligent approach to the genre grew to prominence during the 1960s. The film stars Frankie Sakai, a popular comedian in Japan at the time, and Hiroshi Koizumi, in the first of many academic roles he would adopt in tokusatsu. Jerry Ito (transliterated as "Jelly Ito" in the credits of the U.S. release) delivers a fiendish performance, his only contribution to Toho's kaiju eiga genre. Ito also appeared in 1958's Japanese/US co-production "The Manster" (a.k.a. "The Split"), and in Toho's 1961 end-of-the-world sci-fi feature "Sekai Daisensou" ("The Last War"). The score by Yuji Koseki includes probably the most enduring song in kaiju eiga, "Mosura No Uta" ("Mothra's Song"), performed by The Peanuts.
The film did well at the box office but was panned by U.S. critics upon its stateside release as a typical B-grade monster-on-the-loose flick. Its basic plot was recycled in King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1962 and 1964, both also written by Sekizawa), and the daikaiju Mothra would become one of Toho's most popular, appearing in seven more Godzilla films and her own trilogy in the 1990s.
Contents [hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Themes
3 Rolisica
4 U.S. release
5 Cast
6 Additional Credits
7 Trivia
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Synopsis
An expedition to an irradiated island brings civilization in contact with a primitive native culture. When one sensationalist entrepreneur tries to exploit the islanders, their ancient deity arises in retaliation.
In waters off Biru Island (referred to in subsequent films as Infant Island), a presumedly uninhabited site for Rolisican atomic tests, the Daini-Gen'you-Maru is caught and run aground in the turbulence of a typhoon. A rescue party following the storm finds four sailors alive and strangely unafflicted with radiation sickness, which they attribute to the juice provided them by island natives. The story is broken by tenacious reporter Zenichiro (also known as "Bulldog" or "Zen-chan") Fukuda (Sakai) and photographer Michi Hanamura (Kagawa), who infiltrate the hospital examining the survivors.
The Rolisican Embassy responds by co-sponsoring a joint Japanese–Rolisican scientific expediction to Infant Island, led by capitalist Clark Nelson (Ito). Also on the expedition are radiation specialist Dr. Harada (Ken Uehara), linguist/anthropologist Shin'ichi Chūjō (Koizumi), and stowaway reporter Fukuda. Chūjō has studied the cultures of islands in the area and ascertained that one of the key hieroglyphs in their written language, a radiant cross-shaped star, translates as Mothra. There the team discover a vast jungle of mutated flora, a fleeting native tribe, and two minuscule girls (the Peanuts). These "small beauties", as Fukuda calls them, wish their island to be spared further atomic testing. Acknowledging this message, the team returns and conceals these events from the public.
Nelson, however, returns to the island with a crew of henchmen and abducts the girls, gunning down several natives who try to save them. While Nelson profits off a "Secret Fairies Show" in Tokyo featuring the girls singing, both they and the island natives beseech their god Mothra, a giant egg, for help. Fukuda, Hanamura, and Chūjō communicate with the girls via telepathy; they express conviction that Mothra will come to their aid and warn that "good people are sure to be hurt". Meanwhile, Fukuda's newspaper has accused Nelson of holding the girls against their will; Nelson denies the charge and files a libel suit against the paper. Meanwhile, the island egg hatches to reveal a gigantic caterpillar, which begins swimming the Pacific Ocean toward Japan. The caterpillar destroys a cruise ship and survives a napalm attack on a beeline path for Tokyo. The Rolisican Embassy, however, defends Nelson's property rights over the girls, ignoring any connection to the monster.
Mothra finally arrives on the Japanese mainland, impervious to the barrage of weaponry directed at it, ultimately building a cocoon in the ruins of Tokyo Tower. Public feeling turns against Nelson, and he is ordered to release the girls. He flees incognito to Rolisica, where Mothra, newly hatched in an imago form, immediately resumes her search. Police scour New Kirk City for Nelson as Mothra lays waste to the metropolis. Ultimately Nelson is killed in a shootout with police, and the girls are assigned to Chūjō's care. Church bells begin to ring, and sunlight illuminates the cross atop the steeple with radiant beams, reminding Chūjō and Hanamura of Mothra's unique symbol and of the girls' voices. Chūjō hits upon a novel way to attract Mothra to an airport runway. The girls are returned amid salutations of "sayōnara", and Mothra flies back to Infant Island.
[edit] Themes
Mothra (larval form) climbs Tokyo Tower in a publicity still.Mothra was the first of the kaiju eiga to distance itself from the genre of horror. Unlike Godzilla (1954), Godzilla Raids Again (1955), and Rodan (1956), thematically and visually darker films full of allegory and scenes of death, Mothra is vibrant, colorful (like Mothra herself), and at times jovial. Even the scenes of destruction in Mothra are depicted with an air of fantasy: rather unlike actual automobiles, cars and trucks caught in Mothra's gusts are tossed and bounced about the cityscape of New Kirk like leaves in a dust devil.
As a daikaiju Mothra is assigned an unprecedented level of personality, imbued as the shobijin's guardian with loyalty and nobility. The film ends not with Mothra's death or incapacitation but with her success at retrieving the shobijin and returning—in peace and on good terms with Japan—to Infant Island. The true antagonist of the film is instead the greedy sensationalist Clark Nelson, whose role lends itself to broad interpretation. Fukuda describes him as an "art dealer", of the type who raid historic sites for riches. The film was conceived and released at the outset of the Japanese post-war economic miracle, amid the liberalization of business from government regulation; by placing an (occidental) capitalist in such a villainous role, the film propounds a strong critique of the western model of capitalism itself.
The ending of the film alludes heavily to Christianity: Mothra's symbol is revealed to bear a likeness to the Christian cross—though it more specifically resembles the Celtic cross—and its image, joined by the sound of ringing church bells, is used to summon Mothra and show her where to land. Remarkably, whereas the propagation of western capitalism is to blame for Mothra's destructive onslaught, it is western religion which appeases it.
[edit] Rolisica
The fictional nation in the movie is cleary a substitute for America. Rolisica is combination of both America and Russia (USSR at the time). The capital, New Kirk City, which Mothra attacks, shares a uncanny resemblance to that of New York City, specifically in its Manhattan-like skyline. The people of Rolisica are clearly coded as Americans; some were played by Turkish actors. The neighborhood where Nelson is killed seems to have an Eastern Orthodox ambience, similar to that of Russia; the Rolisican flag displays a large crescent moon and small star, reflecting the flag of the Islamic Republic as well as the sickle of the Soviet Union.
The matte scenes that show Rolisican civilians looking at Mothra in the sky were filmed in Los Angeles, California. Toho had done some filming there in early 1961 and the footage added into Mothra.
[edit] U.S. release
Lobby card to the 1962 US release of MothraMothra was released in the United States in May of 1962 on a double-bill with The Three Stooges in Orbit. New York Times film critic A.H. Weiler gave the film a generally positive review, singling out the color and special effects for praise. "There's that color, as pretty as can be, that now and then smites the eye with some genuinely artistic panoramas and décor designs."
Some plot points, also, were favorably mentioned: "Fantastic though the plot may be, there are some genuinely penetrating moments, such as the contrast of the approaching terror and those patient, silvery-voiced little 'dolls,' serenely awaiting rescue. Several of the special effects shots are brilliant, such as the sight of a giant cocoon nestling against a large city's power station tower."
[edit] Cast
Zen'ichirou 'Zen-Chan' Fukuda, Nittou Journalist - Frankie Sakai
Michi Hanamura, Nittou Photographer - Kyouko Kagawa
Dr. Shin'ichi Tyuujou - Hiroshi Koizumi
Dr. Harada - Ken Uehara
Clark Nelson - Jerry Itou
The Shoubijin - The Peanuts, Yumi Itou, Emi Itou
Sadakatsu Amano, Nittou Editor - Takashi Shimura
Shinji Tyuujou - Masamitsu Tayama
Nelson's Henchman - Tetsu Nakamura
Danny, Nelson's Henchman - Ousmane Yusef
Nelson's Henchman - Akira Wakamatsu
Nelson's Henchman - Hiroshi Takagi
Nelson's Henchman - Toshio Miura
Dr. Raaff, Captain of Infant Island investigating group- Audie Wyatt
Director General of National Nucleus Center - Akihiko Hirata
Commander of Defence Force A - Hisaya Itou
Commander of Defence Force B - Yoshihumi Tajima
Helicopter pilot A - Kenji Sahara
Helicopter pilot B - Kenzou Echigo
Secretary of Defense - Seizaburou Kawazu
Captain of Daini Genyo Maru - Yoshio Kosugi
Namiki, Shipmate - Ren Yamamoto
Murata, Sailor - Haruya Katou
Honma, Radio Communicator - Yutaka Nakamura
Quartermaster - Kouji Iwamoto
Member of task force - Hiroo Sakurai
Officer Maritime Safety Agency - Sachiyuki Uemura
Villager - Junnosuke Suda
Villager - Akira Kittyouji
Villager - Toshiko Nakano
Detective of Rolisica - Dan Yuma (Robert Dunham)
Ambassador Rolisica - Harold Conway
Father of New Kirk City - Henrico Rossie
Oldman of New Kirk City - E.P. Mcdermott
Captain of Hayakaze - Kou Misima
Medical officer - Tadashi Okabe
Geiger counter Crew - Kouhei Furukawa
Journalist A - Shinpei Mitsui
Journalist B - Masaaki Tachibana
Nittou Journalist - Toshio Miura
Owner of a rest house - Junpei Natsuki
Owner’s Wife - Teruko Mita
Dam watchman A - Syouichi Hirose
Dam watchman B - Shigeo Katou
Dam watchman C - Jun Kuroki
Nanny of the Tyuujous - Tsurue Ichimanji
Theater guide girl - Terumi Oka
Captain of deluxe liner Orion-Maru - Mitsuo Tsuda
Shipmate - Keisuke Matsuyama
Quartermaster - Yuu Sekita
Captain of big transport - Yutaka Oka
Aims person - Akira Yamada
Crew of Infant Island investigating group - Mitsuo Matsumoto
Crew of Infant Island investigating group - Yoshio Katsube
Crew of Infant Island investigating group - Hiroyuki Satake
Crew of Infant Island investigating group - Akira Hayami
Crew of Infant Island investigating group - Kazuo Imai
Policeman of tunnel A - Kouji Uno
Policeman of tunnel B - Yukihiko Gondou
Woodcutter - Yasuhisa Tsutsumi
Infant islander - Keiji Sakakida
Infant islander - Nichigeki dancing team
Mothra Larva (Head) - Haruo Nakajima
Mothra Larva (Body) - Katsumi Tezuka/Other
[edit] Additional Credits
Eiji Tsuburaya- Special Effects
Teruyoshi Nakano- Assistant Special effects director
Akira Watanabe- Special Effects Art Director
Yukio Manoda- Special Optical photography
Teisho Arikawa- Effects photography
Hiroshi Mukoyama- Matte shots
Samaji Nonagase- Chief Assistant Director
[edit] Trivia
Ogouchi Dam (Lake Oku-Tama) where Mothra appeared was completed four years of this movie ago. In addition, Tokyo Tower where Mothra formed a cocoon was completed three years ago.
With an original edition, a nickname of Fukuda which Frankie Sakai plays is “Suppon-no-Zentyan” （Zentyan of terrapin）.
In scene where Mothra appeared, there is a man who eats sausage only.
In the children's TV show, Kappa Mikey, there is an episode about a man who creates monsters for movie. Among them is Megamoth, an obvious spoof of Mothra.
The Giant Claw is a 1957 sci-fi film about a giant bird that terrorizes the world. Produced by Clover Productions under the working title 'Mark of the Claw' and released through Columbia Pictures, it starred Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday, and was directed by Fred F. Sears. The film has been a staple of the bootleg video market with only two official VHS releases (one in the USA through Goodtimes Home Video and the other through Screamtime in the United Kingdom) to date, Columbia Pictures has announced that the film will be made available on DVD in the fall of 2007 as part of a four film boxed set (as reported by Dvd Savant ).
[edit] Plot
Mitch MacAfee (Jeff Morrow), while engaged in a radar test flight, spots an unidentified flying object. Jets are scrambled to pursue and identify the object but one goes missing. Officials are initially angry at MacAfee but are forced to take his story seriously after several other planes disappear. It turns out that a gigantic bird - purported to come from an antimatter galaxy - is responsible for all the incidents. Mitch, along with his mathematician girlfriend Sally Caldwell (Mara Corday), Dr. Karol Noymann (Edgar Barrier), and generals Considine (Morris Ankrum) and Van Buskirk (Robert Shane), works feverishly to develop a way to defeat the seemingly invincible enemy. The climactic showdown takes place in New York City, with the bird attacking both the Empire State and United Nations buildings.
Rodan (ラドン, Radon?) is a fictional monster, introduced in Rodan, a 1956 release from Toho Studios, the company responsible for the Godzilla series. Like Godzilla and Anguirus, it is designed after a type of prehistoric reptile (The Japanese name "Radon" is a contraction of "pteranodon " and may also have been chosen to suggest radiation). Radon is usually referred to as Rodan in the United States, possibly to avoid confusion with the atomic element Radon; also, anytime his name is written in English in Japan, it is written as Rodan. He is occasionally portrayed as enemy of Godzilla but has allied himself with the King of Monsters on several instances against more dangerous threats.
Contents [hide]
1 Weapons and Abilities
2 Origin
2.1 Showa series
2.2 Heisei Series
2.3 Millennium series
2.4 Other appearances
3 External links
4 References
[edit] Weapons and Abilities
Rodan's primary weapons are his speed and agility; he can create hurricane-force winds in his wake by flying at supersonic speeds at low altitude. He also uses his beak and talons effectively in battle, the former being depicted as sharp enough to smash through rocks, and his wings, despite their delicate appearance, are quite durable. Rodan possesses great physical strength, able to lift and carry monsters heavier than himself, as seen in Invasion of Astro-Monster, when he was shown to lift Godzilla high into the air, and knock King Ghidorah to the ground in a mid-air collision. He also could emit a blast of wind from his mouth in the 1956 movie, but this concept was never used again. In Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Rodan develops the ability to emit a radioactive heat beam from his mouth, after exposure to Godzilla and a radioactive waste disposal site. In Godzilla: Final Wars, he can make very strong supersonic waves to make the air pressure cause buildings to explode and turn into flames.
[edit] Origin
[edit] Showa series
In Rodan, two Rodans were unearthed and awakened by mining operations in Kitamatsu along with a swarm of prehistoric insects called Meganulons. After devouring several people and reducing Sasebo to ruins, one Rodan is maimed in a bombardment of their nest in Mount Aso and falls, apparently fatally, into a volcanic eruption triggered by the attack. The other grief-stricken Rodan flies into the volcano to join the first.
Rodan briefly fights Godzilla in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.Rodan went on to crossover into the Godzilla series, though whether this Rodan is a new member of its species or one of the two from the original somehow still alive is never explained, appearing in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster in 1964 when he broke out of the volcano and helped Godzilla and Mothra defeat King Ghidorah. In this appearance and all subsequent appearances in the Showa series Rodan is as tall as Godzilla with a wingspan a little wider than he is tall. Rodan appeared with Godzilla again in Invasion of Astro-Monster, where both were mind-controlled by Xilians to destroy Earth's cities and later fought King Ghidorah again when the mind control was broken.
In Destroy All Monsters, Rodan was again used by aliens to wreak havoc on Earth, this time by the Kilaaks. Again the mind control was broken and the monsters fought King Ghidorah. Rodan would only appear again in the Shōwa series in stock footage used for Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and Terror of Mechagodzilla.
Rodan was one of the only monsters not affected by Godzilla's atomic ray. In Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster Godzilla uses his ray against Rodan several times but the pterosaur seemed unaffected by it at all, only shaking his head in an annoyed manner. Rodan also shrugged off King Ghidorah's gravity beams; in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and Invasion of Astro-Monster. He was struck several times on his wings but showed no pain or reaction.
[edit] Heisei Series
Rodan in the Heisei series appeared in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, where he sought to protect Baby Godzilla, whose egg was in the same nest as Rodan. Rodan played a vital role in the film's climax, sacrificing his own life to revive Godzilla by transferring his life-energy to him.
Heisei Rodan, while taller than the Showa version, is notably much smaller relative to the larger version of Godzilla, standing only about 2/3 as tall as the other monster and having a wingspan 1/2 Godzilla's height. The prominent rows of spines on his belly are replaced with overlapping ridges of bone, and he has three horns on his head instead of two (the outer two curve outwards and the center curves up), as well as a wider beak and more predatory face and is affected by Godzillas Atomic ray.
After being defeated and left for dead by Godzilla following a fight on the small island where his and Baby Godzilla's eggs are found, Rodan was revived by the psychic song of an ancient plant that had covered the eggs. Godzilla's radiation mutated Rodan into "Fire Rodan", changing his colors from brown and tan to brick red and light yellow/gold. Fire Rodan also gained a purple coloured uranium heat ray as a weapon.
[edit] Millennium series
In the 2004 film, Godzilla: Final Wars, Rodan is used as a weapon of destruction by the Xilians via mind control. He appeared alongside an all-star cast of classic monsters, as they wreaked havoc on the major cities of the world and were sent to fight Godzilla. Rodan attacked New York City, and later fought alongside King Caesar and Anguirus to fight Godzilla, when all three were defeated. In an homage to the Showa series, when all three monsters were his allies, Godzilla did not kill them because they were his friends, but left them on top of each other, helpless (as well, at the time Toho did not have the budget to destroy the suits).
G:FW Rodan combines elements of both the Showa and Heisei versions, such as the Showa's size compared to Godzilla, and the Heisei's coloration (red with some yellow on his stomach, etc.) and physical appearance (besides the head, which was far closer to how it was in the Showa era).
[edit] Other appearances
Rodan, appearing as Fire Rodan, is a playable character in the Godzilla: Battle Legends, Godzilla: Domination, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth video games. Rodan is a very fast character, often with good combo abilities and extended flight time (his energy bar does not begin to drop until several seconds have passed or until Rodan uses his heat ray, and even then it still drops much slower than King Ghidorah or Mecha-King Ghidorah's energy bars). His weapon rating is also good. On the negative side, Rodan's attacks are generally weak and his defense is low, meaning he is best playing a hit-and-run style of fight (or flight). Rodan, finally given his correct name Fire Rodan, is in Godzilla: Unleashed.
Rodan has appeared, either alone or alongside Godzilla, in the Animaniacs cartoon series, The Simpsons, and The Colbert Report.
The science fiction story Miniatures by Stephen Dedman is about a monster named Rodin which has Rodan's appearance, but which leaves behind works of statuary by Auguste Rodin at scenes of devastation.
In the cartoon series Rugrats, the monster ally of Reptar is a Rodan-looking monster called "Dactar."
In the premiere episode of the television show Pushing Daisies, the main character and his friend, as children, dress as Rodan and Godzilla respectively.
Well, that is a lot to digest but I guess with watching the crap of Cloverfield, these movies had a good concept before their time but one has to say Gamera kicks all of their butts....He has it all...Nuclear Blasts, Hard Shell, Fangs, and he is very athletic for a tortoise....So my pick is Gamera...