amusement parks Archives - The Monster Island Film Vault

Hello, Kaiju Lovers! In the longest MIFV episode ever (of all time), Nate is joined by Daniel DiManna of the Godzilla Novelization Project (no surprise why it’s long) to discuss the most underestimated of G-films: Godzilla vs. Gigan (aka Godzilla on Monster Island). They discuss every possible aspect of this film, from its under-funded production to its quirky yet iconic dub and everything in between—and we do mean everything. But the most surprising part of this epic episode is Nate and Danny’s discussion of the historical context in which it was made—a time of market penetration by foreign corporations and the explosion of the popularity of theme parks—the fascinating unmade drafts of its script written by both Shinichi Sekizawa and Takeshi Kimura, and the brilliant meta commentary it makes on Godzilla as a pop culture icon. “There’s something funny going on” in today’s episode of MIFV!

Here’s the Sekizawa and Kimura panel Danny and I hosted at G-Fest 2019: https://youtu.be/D3fROnC-Sso?si=SJjlQ5kie_XYuDRA.

Jimmy’s Notes on this episode COMING SOON!

Additional Music:

“Godzilla March – G. Vs. Gigan (PEACEFUL COVER)” by Alyssa Charpentier (https://youtu.be/AeQdHBUgQFs?si=zOhCOC5K-j4D6q1G)

Check out Nathan’s spinoff podcasts, The Henshin Men and The Power Trip, and Henshin Power V3!

We’d like to give a shout-out to our MIFV MAX patrons Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Damon Noyes, The Cel Cast, TofuFury, Eric Anderson of Nerd Chapel, Ted Williams, Wynja the Ninja, Christopher Riner, The Indiscrite One, Eli Harris, Jake Hambrick, Matt Walsh (but not that Matt Walsh), Jonathan Courtright, Leon Campbell, and Michael Watson! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can join MIFV MAX on Patreon to get this and other perks starting at only $3 a month! (https://www.patreon.com/monsterislandfilmvault)

Buy official MIFV merch on TeePublic! (https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-monster-island-gift-shop). NEW MERCH NOW AVAILABLE!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Timestamps:

Introduction: 0:00-19:15
Main Discussion – Production History and More: 19:15-1:48:27
Main Discussion – Film Analysis and Appreciation: 1:48:27-3:40:12
Outro (listener feedback and housekeeping): 3:40:12-4:02:41
Credits: 4:02:41-end

Podcast Social Media:

MIFV Linktree: https://linktr.ee/monsterislandfilmvault
Nate’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/nathan_marchand
MIFV is a member of PodNation (https://podnation.tv/)
MIFV is one of Feedspot’s top 10 tokusatsu podcasts! (https://blog.feedspot.com/tokusatsu_podcasts/)
MIFV is one of Feedspot’s top 20 monster podcasts! (https://podcasts.feedspot.com/monster_podcasts/)

www.MonsterIslandFilmVault.com

#JimmyFromNASALives #MonsterIslandFilmVault #GodzillaRedux #Godzilla #GodzillaVsGigan #kaiju

Bibliography/Further Reading:

Danny’s brain
Galbraith IV, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of 103 Features Released in the United States, 1950-1992. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 1994.
“Godzilla vs. Gigan.” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068371/.
“Godzilla vs. Gigan.” Toho Kingdom. https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/godzilla_vs_gigan.htm.
“Godzilla vs. Gigan.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_vs._Gigan.
“Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).” Wikizilla. https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_vs._Gigan.
Kaijuvision Radio, Episode 17: Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) (Globalization/Trade/Corporations, 1972 Winter Olympics) (https://youtu.be/fdq71P6g1ls?si=jlPN9GjthymbH5hD)
Kalat, David. A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series (2^nd edition). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 2017.
LeMay, John. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies, Volume 1: 1954-1982 (2nd edition).
LeMay, John with Ted Johnson. The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films – Mutated Edition.
LeMay, John. Writing Japanese Monsters.
Skipper, Graham. Godzilla: The Official Guide to the King of the Monsters. Welbeck Publishing Group. 2022.

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Hello, kaiju lovers!

The Beast! The Beast! THE BEAST! From 20,000 Fathoms!

Nathan is joined by his friend and regular Monster Island Tourist Nick Hayden for the first Ray Harryhausen film covered on MIFV: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. This 1953 classic—the Jaws of its time, as Nick says—is one of the seminal films in the kaiju genre. It was the first “atomic monster” movie. Without it, we may have not gotten Godzilla in 1954. It was “suggested by” a Ray Bradbury story, which delights Nathan and Nick as both writers and classic lit nerds. Also, if you’re looking for quirky band names, this is the episode for you! So, join them for the final full-length film discussion of the season—despite Jimmy From NASA’s claims of a special Godzilla vs. Kong premiere on the Island in a few weeks.

The Toku Topics are a brief history of nuclear tests and a brief history of amusement parks since both factor into this film.

We’d like to give a shout-out to our Patreon patrons Travis Alexander and Michael Hamilton (co-hosts of Kaiju Weekly); Danny DiManna (author/creator of the Godzilla Novelization Project); Eli Harris (elizilla13); Chris Cooke (host of One Cross Radio), and Bex from Redeemed Otaku! Thanks for your support!

You, too, can support us on Patreon and get perks like this starting at only $3 a month!

This episode is approved by the Monster Island Board of Directors.

Episode image created by Michael Hamilton.

Read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

Timestamps:
Intro: 0:00-6:22
Entertaining Info Dump: 6:22-13:14
Toku Talk: 13:14-1:02:58
Toku Topic: 1:02:58-1:44:08
Outro: 1:44:08-1:52:38
Epilogue: 1:52:38-end