We’ve finally reached the MonsterVerse! After surviving in the wilds of Monster Island for two months, Dallas Mora from Geek Devotions joins Nathan to discuss the Eighth Wonder’s latest cinematic adventure, Kong: Skull Island. This pulpy adventure movie directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts took Kong in a whole new direction, dropping his lovesickness and making him a benevolent but savage protector. Nathan and Dallas dive headlong into the film’s rich backstory as explored in its comic book prequel, Skull Island: The Birth of Kong; discuss the colorful cast of characters played by a troupe of Marvel movie actors; and realize that Kong is the Batman of the MonsterVerse. The Toku Topic is the end of the Vietnam War, which leads to a poignant discussion that touches on pacifism, “just war” theory, and the treatment of war veterans (like the podcast’s intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA).
A quick note: Due to Godzilla vs. Kong’s release being delayed to November, we’ll be taking a detour from the “Kong Quest” (ba-dum-ching) until then by covering films featuring other “kaiju kings.” Listen to find out who’s first!
Kong: Skull Island Blu-ray Special Features: Director’s Commentary (Jordan Vogt-Roberts), “Creating a King: Realizing an Icon,” “Creating a King: Summoning a God,” “Monarch Files 2.0,” “Tom Hiddleston: The Intrepid Traveler,” “Through the Lens: Brie Larson’s Photography,” “On Location: Vietnam.”
Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay
The Vault is now under new management—Jimmy From NASA! Yes, after starting a betting pool during Nathan’s livestream of Override: Mech City BrawlFriday night and cleaning out the Monster Island Board of Directors, Jimmy became the new host of the podcast but kept Nathan on as his producer. Nathan is still a bit sore about that, as you’ll hear, but Jimmy is sure he’ll get over it.
For his first episode, Jimmy is discussing his favorite unmade Kong film: “Space Kong.” This was a wild idea that came about in the 1960s while Merian C. Cooper was corresponding with comic book publisher Western/Gold Key Comics to produce a comic adaptation of original film and a sequel. This would’ve featured the children of the original characters and Carl Denham still young from finding the Fountain of Youth. Cooper suggested setting it on another planet with “King Kong reincarnated.” While Jimmy first learned of this lost project through a book written by his (first) flame war nemesis, John LeMay, he showed up that know-it-all by buying Cooper’s long lost story treatment for this proposed film on eBay using his newfound wealth. Be the first to hear about it in today’s episode!
I thought the number 13 being unlucky was just a superstition.
Until now.
Much like Yamato Takeru from The Three Treasures, I’ve been beset by misfortune after posting episode 13 of the podcast. During my livestream of Override: Mech City Brawl, Jimmy From NASA started a betting pool with the Island’s Board of Directors, the science team, and pretty much everyone else who worked here. It was based on my performance in the game—and he bet against me. And I played the game on hard mode. Jimmy made out like a bandit. He even cleaned out the Board. So much so, he used that money to buy Metageckon (the mech I used in the game) on eBay. That’s not the unfortunate part. He used his newfound leverage with the Board to make himself the host of MIFV! Now I’m his producer. This means I have to do the follow-up blog to last week’s episode on The Three Treasures and every episode after this.Jimmy was kind enough to give me his notes from the episode, which wasn’t much, so this blog will be relatively short. That’s probably good since the blog on episode 12 was as long as Peter Jackson’s King Kong!
Here’s all that Jimmy had on the episode:
There is some debate over whether Toshiro Mifune was a Christian. This Wikipedia discussion board questions it because he has a traditional Buddhist gravestone. He was the son of Japanese Christian missionaries who worked in China, and he had a traditional Methodist wedding, though. This Reddit thread (so take it with a grain of salt) says there was a rumor that he was part of something called the “Ikeda cult,” but that just seems to be the cult trying to claim a celebrity as a member to find legitimacy. (The post references the potentially inaccurate Wikipedia article, mind you).
What? I was tired from working in my garage all day! Of course I’d fall asleep watching a three-hour movie! I’m a busy man.
Nathan mispronounced the name of the eight-headed dragoon. It’s “Yamata no Orochi” not “Yamato.” I don’t think the dragon is part of the royal family. (But I could be speaking in ignorance. Weirder things have happened. I should know. I lived them).
My Leftover Notes from Watching the Film:
Credits over an eclipsed sun? “Land of the rising sun”?
“In the beginning…” Opening narration sounds biblical and mythical. Old woman.
These village scenes are reminding me of The Ten Commandments with the enslaved Israelites.
“Old stories are full of beautiful life.” -Old woman storyteller
The set design is incredible. Very DeMille.
A lot of court drama and intrigue.
Are the prince and Otomachibana meant to parallel the god and goddess from the beginning?
Day for night scene at river!
Torii gate is entrance to temple grounds. Like Hebrew temple or tabernacle.
This is a response to another numbered religious epic: The Ten Commandments ~ The Three Treasures.
Is that Hirata? I almost don’t recognize him.
Those fire effects were a little awkward.
A woman be stoned for loving a man from a different clan. Very ancient.
These people look Mongolian?
Kumaso (Takashi Shimura) is undone by his lust. Even checked for a man before this.
Kumaso tells the prince to kill him. He hesitates, then takes the prince’s sword and slits his own throat. Seppouku?
There are flashbacks to the gods as told by an old woman storyteller. Oral tradition.
What do they mean by “nag”?
I thought the prince and the gods would interact.
Criterion should release this.
“Laugh festival”? “Festival of laughter”?
While this festival seems like revelry, it is meant to bring the sun goddess (and light) back to the world.
The rooster’s crow when light and the goddess return.
Is there an intermission? Was it removed?
Yes. These myths are meant to parallel the prince. Susan-o = the prince. Susan-o’s tears drained all the world’s water. The prince’s mother says he must not be like him.
The flashbacks/stories increase as the film progresses.
“Orochi” just gets translated as “dragon.”
Last daughter transformed by Susan-o into hair braid for safety.
Orochi’s approach blows out torch. Nice!
Proto-Ghidorah! The heads do kinda flop around. They just appear to be heads. No body. In water. The glowing eyes are cool. Looks better fighting Susan-o. Nevermind. It has a body. He must have a magic sword or its heart or brain in in its tail. He pulls a sword from the dragon, which is now used to defend Japan. The prince now has it.
Just as Susan-o became a hero, so does the prince.
Mt. Fuji is active in this. Village elder says it protects them. The prince says the smoke reminds him of the evil in men’s hearts.
The location scenes are gorgeous.
Spectacular fire scene where the prince uses the flint from the bag given him as a gift to change the wind.
The smoke from Mt. Fuji turns red. Passion? Rage?
Like Susan-o, the prince is unloved by his father.
Yamato is a region.
A storm happens when the prince decides to return as a plebian to marry Otomochibani against his father’s orders. Wrath of the gods? Otomochibani says it is her fault for breaking her vow and angering the sea god. She throws herself overboard to placate him. Reminds me of Jonah and the big fish. A green light appears in the sea after she jumps. Her kimono floats up. The storm clears. Taken by the gods? “The princess has become my sacrifice.” Most supernatural thing that’s happened in the “present.”
This ambush is the film’s big climax. It’s spectacular. Nobody makes movies like this anymore. It isn’t quite Ten Commandments huge, but it’s still great. Cuts between on location shooting and sets.
The prince is killed and his soul rises in the form of a white crane. Mt. Fuji erupts. Even in death he is victorious. His wrath is poured out on his enemies. Symbolizes Japan. This was foreshadowed earlier. The effects for this are great. The compositing and everything. This is also like The Ten Commandments when the unrighteous Israelites are swallowed by the earth. And now he uses water from a lake to cause a flood and drown other enemies.
Oh, man…death by lava. Horrible.
I’m pretty sure lava is more viscous than that, but we’ll go with it.
The crane flies toward a rainbow, symbolizing how the prince enters the realm of the gods. The people follow the bird.
Yamato Takeru
In the original legends, Otomachibana was his wife and not a fiancé, but she did sacrifice herself to placate the sea god. Her comb washed ashore seven days later, and her tomb was built around it. He did later marry Miyazu.
I didn’t take notes from all my sources, so I recommend referencing my bibliography for the episode if you want to learn more. (I’m gonna miss writing those).
Time to settle into my new job on Monster Island, I guess.
If you missed my stream from last night (or want to see it again), here’s the video. The microphone wasn’t the issue so much as the audio for the game, Override: Mech City Brawl, was a bit too high. Next time I’ll turn it down.
I was surprised that I was joined by my intrepid producer, Jimmy From NASA, in the live chat (as well as Golden Ticket Tourist Joe Metter). Jimmy started betting pools with Monster Island personel on my performance–and he constantly bet against me! He fleeced everyone because I foolishly decided to play the game on hard mode. ::sigh::
Join your favorite kaiju podcasts–including The Monster Island Film Vault–for Kaiju Quarantine, an epic watch party that will lift everyone’s spirits in these troubled times! They’ll provide informative and humorous commentary during this two-day movie marathon April 4-5. We’ll watch kaiju classics old and new, popular and obscure, good and…not-so-good. Join the Discord server while space is still available! Listen to hear more about the event.
(Click here to hear trailer #1 at the end of our latest episode).
Kaiju Quarantine: Come together right now…over kaiju!
The unintentional “epic films month” continues with 1959’s The Three Treasures (aka The Birth of Japan), but thankfully this episode doesn’t cross the “Kurosawa threshold.” This is a religious epic in the vein of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments except it’s about Shinto. It tells the tale of Prince Yamato Takeru (played by the always awesome Toshiro Mifune), the legendary 13th emperor of Japan (who’s being covered in our 13th episode…oh boy…). Interspersed throughout the film are vignettes depicting stories from Japanese mythology that parallel the prince’s life. Nathan zeroes in on several of the film’s story elements, including the Japanese creation myth, the Imperial Regalia of Japan, and Yamata no Orochi the eight-headed dragon. There’s so much that could be said about this film, Nathan may have to do a follow-up with Rev. Mifune (no relation to Toshiro Mifune) or the guys at The Kaiju Apostle.
Nathan then reads yet
more feedback clarifying the Batman Meets
Godzilla story treatment—or rather, the Twitter war that almost broke out
over it.
Speaking of which, Batman Meets Godzilla,
one of the craziest yet most intriguing lost projects made famous by John
LeMay’s book, The Big Book of Japanese
Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films (which now has a new “mutated”
edition), is being adapted into a fan-made comic book miniseries!
T-SHIRT GIVEAWAY:
Everyone who shares the Facebook and/or Twitter posts for this episode (or tags
the show when they share it themselves) will be entered for a drawing for a Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt. (One
entry per person per social media). Entries will be taken from March 25 to
March 31 at 11:59pm (EST). The winner must then send Nathan his/her shirt size,
shirt color, and mailing address to be forwarded to the team at Batman Meets Godzilla. Here’s a link to
the Tee Public site with this epic shirt.
All right, this blog, like last week’s episode on King Kong 2005, wants to be as long as that film. Thanks to contractual obligations, I have to include all of Marchand’s unused notes, which he split between his computer and a legal pad for whatever reason this time. I am suddenly more appreciative of the glorious invention that is copy and paste.
Let’s get this over with,
shall we?
My Notes:
Yes, I borrowed Dr. Aoki’s pteronadon bot without permission. I don’t think he’s missed it yet. So, unless he gets transfer to Monster Island, I don’t think it’ll be a problem. As for flying Danny here on it, well, I couldn’t resist taking it for a test flight. I now know how to improve on the thing’s admittedly goofy design.
I dare you to tell me you don’t like sand, DiManna!
I am fine with Daniel calling me “Jimbo”…for now. (Yes, I’m being flippant).
Nice job catching me before I corrected you, Marchand.
Actually, Danny, the dinosaur Kong fights in the original isn’t a Rex. It’s closer to an Allosaurus. It’s just called a “meat-eater” in the novelization.
Actually, Danny, I don’t think gorillas—even Kong—qualify as predators. At least in this film. Normal gorillas are vegetarians, but some do eat insects. Kong in this film was never seen eating meat. Therefore, he doesn’t qualify as a predator.
Jackson himself didn’t say he treated this like filming on Skull Island itself in the 1930s. That was a crewmember. Watch that $5 blu-ray again.
Mothra’s not a butterfly, Daniel! Her species is obvious! (Or was that a joke? I’ll forgive a joke. 😛 ).
I can neither confirm nor deny that I am the Jimmy in this film. And yes, like the Doctor, I will explain later. Maybe.
There were more than just the two crewmembers who survived in the 1933 King Kong, Daniel.
King Kong (1976) is two hours and 14 minutes long. Over one hour shorter.
“I had saw it on the big screen”? Verb tenses, Danny! I expect better from a writer. 😛
Here’s the Roger Ebert review Nathan brought up (and yes, you misremembered what he said). Here’s the video review.
They aren’t T-Rexes, Nathan. They’re V-Rexes. Both of you got it wrong!
“PJ’s version”? Danny is on initials terms with Peter Jackson? I doubt it. 😛
It wasn’t trailers but one of Peter Jackson’s video diaries on www.kongisking.net where he announced back-to-back sequels to the film. They were Son of Kong and King Kong: Into the Wolf’s Lair. And I agree: they would’ve been amazing! You can watch it here with a fan edit trailer. Sadly, it includes a stupid clip from the stupid Date Movie. Ugh!
You got your Bugs Bunny cartoons mixed up, Danny. The one you were thinking of was “What’s Up Doc?” not “Show Biz Bugs” (which you called “Show Biz Bunny”). The latter is about a jealous Daffy Duck trying to upstage Bugs on stage.
My whole backstory will be in my tell-all book, War in Space: The Jimmy From NASA Story. 😛
My international man of mystery Schick gets me more luck the ladies more than you have, Marchand! 😛
I’m happy to say, as promised in this episode, I am now one of Danny’s patrons on Patreon—and I used Nathan’s debit card to do it! 😛
The sexist essay Nathan was referring to (and forgot to include in the show notes) was “The Myth Goes Downward: The Infantilization, Electrification, Mechanization, and General Diminishment of King Kong” by Paul Di Filippo. It’s from the book Kong Unbound: The Cultural Impact, Pop Mythos, and Scientific Plausibility of a Cinematic Legend.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – Blu-Ray Special Features:
Jackson saw King Kong 1933 as a kid in 1970. It
inspired his love of science fiction and fantasy and his desire to be a
filmmaker. He made super 8 films and stop motion. There’s lots of SFX in his
films because he was a “frustrated special effects guy.” Solitary. (-Sounds like me, except I work on robots
and mecha. –Jimmy)
Universal
approached him in 1995 to remake either Kong
or The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The first script
was closer in tone to The Mummy (1999).
Work was done in
1996 by Weta using lots of practical effects.
Jackson and his
crew visited the Empire State Building, and he signed his name on the peak.
The film wasn’t
storyboarded. It was all pre-viz. No finished script at the time it started.
It had more
miniatures than The Lord of the Rings.
Started with T-Rex
fight like the original film as proof of concept.
Naomi Watts had to
learn how to dance. Jamie Bell (Jimmy) had danced since age 6. (So…I can neither confirm nor deny that I,
too, can dance. –Jimmy)
Jack Black tapped
into his inner-Denham by using an old camera to make short films. Boxer and
criminal.
First shot filmed
was when Ann arrives at dock.
The boat bought
for the production had fish in it that had to be shipped out.
Jackson got
seasick, so he shot on sets.
Jackson says the
natives aren’t based on a particular civilization but are an amalgam of several
from that time. They use their hair to make clothing. The actors came from
Polynesia, Cambodia, etc.
The dinosaurs
weren’t paleontologically accurate but stylized and more evolved. The V-Rexes
were a family (mother, father, juvenile). Some like the Wetasaur were made up.
They used a
massive computer system to from LOTR to make CGI extras. They don’t fight like
Orcs but walk like New Yorkers—any differences? jokes Jackson.
Weta wrote a new
program called Building Bot to create missing buildings in NYC cityscape.
The real Empire
State Building took 14 months to construct. The digital version took 18 months.
Irony. (Digital construction is harder
than real construction. I should know. I worked at NASA. –Jimmy)
Peter Jackson,
Rick Baker, Frank Darabont, and other famous people attached to Kong flew the
airplanes that attacked Kong as a nod to Schoedsack and Cooper doing that in
the 1933 original. Jackson even shaved his trademark beard! (I’m not even sure that was Jackson. Like
Jonathan Frakes as Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he looks like a completely different
person. Maybe he was dubbed over by the real Jackson? 😛 –Jimmy)
Kong is a misunderstood
monster. Weta watched Charles Laughton in The
Hunchback of Notre Dame for inspiration.
They made him a
punch-drunk boxer and mountain man. They used an albino gorilla at a zoo for
inspiration. (Can you say, “Kiko”? –Jimmy).
His broken jaw was modeled after an inbred pug named Monster. It was toned
down later (as you’ll notice in the first trailer). He was redesigned
after the first trailer.
The final
reference used for Kong was Umagami the ape from an IMAX film. The filmmakers
ultimately decided he should look like a real gorilla.
Gorillas beat
chests with open cupped hands while movie gorillas use fists. They compromised
by having hands between open and clenched.
Some mocap was dropped,
but Serkis was used as reference.
Jackson said this
was always the film he wanted to make.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – The Film:
The opening
credits are like original.
Opens with apes
and monkeys in zoo next to a Hooverville. Then we go to Vaudeville clips. Cuts
between that and images of Depression. Alcohol bottles smashed. Prohibition.
Naomi Watts’
costume looks just like Fay Wray’s.
I never knew there
were that many nicknames for breasts in the ‘30s.
“Universal is
desperate for stock footage!” (4th wall)
Maybe it’s the
writer in me, but I like that Jack Driscoll is a playwright in this. “If you
really loved it, you would’ve jumped” (Denham to Jack).
Jimmy?! Is that my
producer?! Stowed away. Found in hold 4 years ago. Arm broken in two places.
Wouldn’t say where he came from. He’s a prankster. Defaces Baxter’s posters.
Jimmy can dance!
Live animals in
cage sign on Jack’s cage. Symbolic?
Was it necessary
to have the typing of Skull Island be in slo-mo?
Ann and Jack’s
relationship gets more development in this than original. All the characters
get more development. Helps that it’s 3 hours long!
Sure, hold the
important map over the edge of the ship! Yep! There it goes!
Is it just me or
did the rock the Venture bumps into
at 51 minutes look like a huge face? One definitely does later.
Of course there
are skulls on Skull Island.
Jackson is a
little overly fond of scary slo-mo in this film.
Ann screams and
then Kong roars. Appropriate.
The wall and
natives definitely remind me of LOTR. There’s a chasm as well as a wall. That
helps explain how the creatures are kept out.
Triceratops’ twitching
tail homage to original?
I love that Lumpy
tries to kill a bug with a frying pan. Then he shoots them.
“There’s only one
creature capable of leaving a footprint that size…and that’s me!” (Lumpy)
“Nobody’s gonna
think these are fake”(4th wall).
These raptors are
crazy. Going after prey that huge?!
Wilhelm scream!
Preston looks like
he’s heard this speech many times.
“I’m just an actor
with a gun who’s lost his motivation” (4th wall).
We see Kong eating
plants like a real gorilla.
Kong blocks Ann’s
way like in ’76.
Running around
barefoot in a jungle must be tearing up her feet.
Water scorpions?
Man, everything on this island is crazy aggressive.
And Denham becomes
a snuff filmmaker.
Not all CGI. Some
practical creature effects.
Kong does pick up
a man: Hayes.
The iconic log
scene recreated. Tries to account for surviving fall by having it get caught on
vines.
It’s hard not to
invite Jurassic Park comparisons.
Quietest. V-Rex.
Ever!
I love that Kong
stands with one foot on V-Rex when he beats his chest.
The shot of Jack
and Ann running through the jungle looks just like ’33.
The Broadway sign
looks just like ’33.
“The Beast”: a
working title for ’33.
“Kong’s unfailing
ability to destroy the things he loves.”
Kong starts
grabbing every blonde he sees. From the real jungle to the urban/concrete
jungle.
The trolley attack
references the train attack in ’33.
The military
attacking Kong makes me think of a Japanese kaiju film.
Wow. The biplanes
deploy without anyone talking about it. Dang!
I wonder which cameos
were in the planes Kong destroyed?
Now the pilots see
Ann. They only almost killed her once.
The soldiers pose and
smile over Kong’s corpse. Sensationalize.
Nathan’s Unused Notes – King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon by Ray Morton:
Robert Zemeckis
would’ve been the executive on Jackson’s 1997 script for Kong if it was filmed.
The Frighteners
poor performance shook Universal’s confidence in Jackson.
Jack Driscoll was
modeled after Arthur Miller (All My Sons,
Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge).
Jackson sought to
combine elements of Cooper’s beastly Kong with de Laurentiis’s more romantic
Kong. Saw him as a battle-hardened silverback. He told the Los Angles times he
saw Kong as “a very old gorilla [that has] never felt a single bit of empathy
for another living creature during his long…brutal life.” Kong intended to kill
Ann, “and then he slowly moves away from that and it comes full circle.”
Nathan’s Unused Notes – “King Kong’s Melancholly” by
Cynthia Erb:
Jackson called Universal’s cancelation of his original Kong script “the blackest day in my entire career.”
Argues that Jackson’s Kong is melancholy and shifts the emphasis from horror to mood and tears because Watts’ Ann cries more than she screams.
Argues that the extended cut frames Kong as an invader and presents the U.S. as “a bullying global entity at a stage of late empire” a la Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
Says Jackson’s Kong reframes history through a modern lens (9/11 allegory).
Uses the “Depression” to set a mood of “depression.” Focused on objects, which leads to melancholy. Watts’ Ann is earthy, hungry.
This Ann is less afraid of predatory men than of being put into a “standardized role.” An indication of modernity. She gets up to leave when Denham wonders if she’d fit in a size four dress.
Says Black’s manic Denham makes him a character type called an intriguer or schemer, which also characterized Shakespeare’s Iago in Othello. This forms a “dyadic relationship” with the depressive Kong.
Argues that Jackson’s Kong is driven not by a sex drive but by a “death drive.” Jacqueline Rose: “The death drive is identified by Freud in the moment when the child seeks to master absence by staging the recall of the lost object, but finds it can only do so by first making the object disappear. This allows the child to achieve its aim only by repeating the very moment it is designed to avoid.” Compares Kong to Norman Bates in Psycho. Compulsive repetition.
The Manhattanites and Islanders are paralleled in that both are shown to survivors in a harsh environment.
Argues that the overzealous soldiers attacking Kong in Central Park, seeing him as an invader and New York as “sacred ground,” is an allegory for 9/11. Argues that this goes further with the skeletal Empire State Building in the morning, which parallels Art Spiegelman’s 9/11 memoir In the Shadow of No Towers. Kong seemingly mouthing “beautiful” on top of the structure recalls how American towers were seen as “utopian gestures…transcendental, sky-catching, awesome” (Mark Kingwell).
https://gfycat.com/flatwhichaustralianfurseal
Well, I’m glad that’s
done. If you read the whole thing, congrats!
Join us next week for a
(hopefully) much shorter episode on another epic: the 1959 Toho classic The Three Treasures, starring Toshiro
Mifune. Then the “Kong Quest” enters the MonsterVerse with Kong: Skull Island in April with Dallas Mora of Geek Devotions as the guest host.
Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy #JimmyFromNASALives #WeShallOvercome
It’s an epic episode for
an epic movie! No, not that stupid
parody film. Nathan is joined by Daniel DiManna, the creator and author of The Godzilla
Novelization Project, to discuss Peter Jackson HUGE 2005 remake of King Kong. (Although, Danny had to
survive a harrowing trip to Monster Island with the podcast’s intrepid
producer, Jimmy From NASA, and a
certain robot dinosaur to do so). Only Peter Jackson, who was fresh off of The Lord of the Rings, could’ve made a
three hour film about a giant monkey, er, ape. Nathan and Danny do a deep dive
into the film’s characters, themes, and story while struggling not to get Jack
Driscoll and Jack Black confused. They freely admit this is the one giant
monster movie that makes them cry. They also learn that the young man named
Jimmy in this film may or may not be the podcast’s producer. (Confused? Join
the club). The Toku Topic is vaudeville since Ann Darrow in this film is a
vaudeville performer before getting work on Carl Denham’s movie.
Nathan promises to not
make a habit of producing episodes that cross what Danny calls “the Kurosawa
threshold.” 😛
Timestamps: Intro: 0:00-6:08
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:08-15:29
Toku Talk: 15:29-1:55:52
Toku Topic: 1:55:52-2:29:43
Outro: 2:29:43-end
King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray
to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton
“King Kong’s
Melancholy: A Reading of Peter Jackson’s King
Kong” by Cynthia Erb (from Tracking
King Kong: A Hollywood Icon in World Culture, 2nd Edition)
Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John LeMay
A Night in Vaudeville (King Kong Blu-Ray)
Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of King Kong (King
Kong Blu-Ray)
Hello again! It is time
once again for another installment of “Jimmy riffs Nathan and publishes his
unused notes.” Better known as Jimmy’s Notes.
Last
week Nathan covered the nearly forgotten kaiju film Varan the Unbelievable.(He
also talked about it on Geek Devotions,
using it to discuss how faith and science are not incompatible, which I enjoyed
filming). I will just be sharing his unused notes from when he re-watched the
film as part of his grad school independent study on Ishiro Honda. He did
highlight portions of his sources for that paper, but since he included them in
the shownotes, I will not post them. (Besides, my previous Jimmy’s Notes blog was
huge, and I already know my next one
on Peter Jackson’s King Kong will be
as long as that film).
So, without further ado….
Nathan’s Notes on the Film:
One of the highlights of this lackluster film is [Akira] Ifukube’s score. It’s quite good and would be recycled later. Music after credits reminds me of destroying the controller in Destroy All Monster. (That control device is on display in a small museum here on the Island, by the way. –Jimmy)
Talks about spaceflight but says there are still mysteries on earth; “most mysterious story ever told.” Hyperbole. (I have been to Venus. The mysteries there are far more interesting—like how it is somehow still there despite, you know, exploding during the War in Space. –Jimmy)
Villagers think the outsiders are monsters. Ignore them.
“It’s too early for monsters.” Did you forget you’re in a Toho movie? (To paraphrase a once-popular meme about video games: “Kaiju are common and frequently fight in public.” –Jimmy)
Varan’s intro is actually pretty good. Jaws-like.
Yuriko is surprisingly calm considering her brother died. Bold girl reporter. Sekizawa trademark.
Bus driver says no one goes to the village. (Probably because Varan kills people over butterflies. You should see how he reacts to other kaiju pestering Mothra. It is not pretty, but the tourists get a kick out of the occasional fights. –Jimmy)
Similar to Ainu; Ifukube infuses Ainu music in this score.
Dog is named Chibee. Japanese word for small. (Except it is actually spelled “chibi” and is Japanese slang. –Jimmy)
These first three characters are entertaining and funny and actually have some vim. Then they disappear halfway in.
Varan appears 21 minutes in. (Nathan has clocked the monster’s first appearance in all of these movies since fans complained about Godzilla not showing up for 45 minutes in the 2014 film. He argues this was done in the Japanese films, he seems to be right. Wow. I said something nice. I am losing my touch. –Jimmy)
This film has lots of issues, but suit/creature design isn’t one of them. Varan is quite impressive. Too bad he never came back. (Except in Destroy All Monsters, or did you forget that? And he almost came back, along with Anguirus, in GMK. –Jimmy)
When they return to the village, the priest is waving branch and chanting by fence as if that will stop Varan. Varan kills him while he chants “Forgive them! Forgive them!”
Varan’s rampage through the village is a highlight. Great suit, great destruction. [Haruo] Nakajima being awesome.
Another all-knowing dinosaur scientist.
“It’s big. You better get yourself a wide-angle lens.” Sekizawa humor.
After the village destruction, it starts to feel more padded as it goes. It gets really bad after they leave the village. A little too much detail with military.
The gas bomb mortars going into the water do look good. Classic Tsuburaya effects.
34:00: “That’s a lot of fish.” (And all of our readers/listeners groan. –Jimmy)
The three best characters get steadily less screen time as film progresses.
Professor wastes no time saying to kill monster. The Anti-Yamane.
These soldiers have the aim of Stormtroopers. (The Messiah 13 Aliens were not much better from what my War in Space buddies tell me. –Jimmy)
Varan coming out of water at 35:00 or so looks quite good.
Wind accompanies Varan. Supernatural? Godzilla 2014 with tsunami?
The first half of this movie feels unique. Godzilla meets Half Human or Rodan. Second half is run-of-the-mill monster stuff.
Varan’s roar is just a remixed Godzilla roar.
“Varan is indestructible!” No, you just have bad aim!
I see where Son of Godzilla got it with Kumonga getting in cave. Effective scene.
Professor just knows that Varan will respond to light. It’s what animals do, apparently. (The scientists here on the Island use some weird stuff—like bird calls—to maneuver the monsters around. –Jimmy)
Varan can fly! Cut from US version. Well, he glides. How does he sound like a jet?
47 minutes in, and it gets a heck of a lot less interesting.
[Akihiko] Hirata is in this! Barely.
This professor just exists to spout exposition and say you can’t kill Varan.
51:00: Varan approaching fishermen is very Jaws-like. The music especially.
55:00: Why would you fly that low and that close?! (A common problem when fighting kaiju. It seems soldiers forget basic tactics when fighting monsters. My military buddies cannot figure it out, either. –Jimmy)
Second half is largely action. Feels like a completely different movie. The music is still good.
63:00: Are they playing a miniatures game with a Varan figure? (You would buy that game in heartbeat, Nathan. You already have a few stuffed in your closet. –Jimmy)
65:00: Expertly edited home movies.
Super-bomb is weird. How does it explode better inside something? Makes no sense. (I was on a ship that inexplicably had a planet-busting bomb on it. All that to say, I do not get it, either. –Jimmy)
Climax is at Haneda Airport. Sky background is lacking. Can see strings pulling tanks. Not meant to be scrutinized. (Or seen in high-def, as you mentioned. –Jimmy)
Interesting how soldiers chicken out saying it’s beyond the call of duty, so Kenji the reporter has to drive the bomb to Varan. Sekizawa commentary?
Wow, that wasn’t suspenseful. He jogs away unharmed. (This is more common than many people realize. –Jimmy)
Rare time Nakajima got hurt on set when bomb explodes under Varan. (#firecrotch –Jimmy)
Sometimes Varan stands and sometimes he’s on all fours. Poor editing.
Now the military has good aim. 😛 (Varan lost his plot-armor. That is more durable than adamantium! –Jimmy)
Varan: “Stop attacking me with stock footage!” (Stock footage is the worst. The Messiah 13 Aliens’ attack on New York looked like The Last War and…my…family…died…).
This movie has such truncated time. Bomb explodes in 30 minutes but 15 have already passed.
84:00: Varan becomes Godzilla for a second! (To quote MST3K, “Space is warped and time is bendable!” –Jimmy)
What a horrible way to die: exploded from the inside after swallowing bombs. Varan retreats to water. Ambiguous? (Well, he was brought to Monster Island in 1999, so he survived…somehow. I just work here, people! –Jimmy)
Announcer declares that mankind has won. (For now…. 😛 –Jimmy)
There you have it!
And now for the moment
you have all been waiting for! The winner of the Batman Meets Godzilla T-shirt is Celeste Mora!
Congratulations!
The “Kong Quest”
continues in the next episode when Nathan is joined by the creator/author of
The Godzilla Novelization Project, Daniel DiManna to discuss the epic 2005
remake of King Kong.
Our next mini-sode will
cover another epic: 1959’s The Three
Treasures.
