Nate’s not the only one who’s way behind on his podcast duties. I have metric ton of notes from past episodes—or so it feels. But contractual obligations must be fulfilled! My New Year’s resolution is to get my blogs caught up. To save time, I’ll be sharing the notes I jotted down during the broadcast and including a PDF of Nate’s uncut notes. I won’t be editing out the portions he discussed on each episode; not until I get caught up.
But given that I was in jail for a while, I had nothing better to do than compile these.
So, bear with me, starting with episode 60 (THEM!), which featured by my former flame war nemesis, John LeMay:
Matango boosters are important, guys—unless you’re Dr. Dourif. That weirdo is an example of immersion therapy gone horribly wrong. I’m amazed he isn’t a supervillain yet.
It’s “Meganulon” or “Meganuron,” John. But I can understand. It’s the “L” vs. “R” pronunciation confusion with Japanese. But I still expected better from you!
I hate Matango brain fog! It’s the worst! Trust me, I know. I had to tend to those psychedelic mutants once on Halloween a few years ago. All I got out of it was a vision of Kumi Mizuno…at least, I thought it was her. Or was it a premonition of Kaguya?
Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Gorgo did, in fact, have the same director: Eugène Lourié.
I once had to battle a Kamacuras with an American flamethrower. That was mostly because the Russian flamethrower I was given first didn’t work. And because Monster Island zookeeper, Ricky, didn’t know what he was doing. Who hires these people? He’s gotten better, but I’d rather not wrangle monsters with dangerous equipment.
“Japanese” not “kaiju,” Nate. Professional radio host there.
Apparently, ants do go to war. They fight over territory and to defend their queen.
Nate is Russian spy confirmed. That accent is too good. Have some fun in the sun in a Siberian gulag! Got a Solzhenitsyn book you can read?
I did some digging, but I didn’t see anything about the ant puppets from THEM! still existing today. I could be wrong, though. We have the real things on the Island, but I’d rather deal with a prop. Speaking of which…
I killed a giant fire ant once. I don’t want to talk about it.
Michael does have an explosive temper. If you heard what I recorded of him off the air…more people than Kaiju Kim would cancel him!
I meant to fact check John’s Trinity nuclear test story involving his grandparents…but I forgot what I was fact-checking, and I don’t have time to re-listen to the episode. Here’s an article on the event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test).
Marchand deprived me of work looking up Beast of Yucca Flats! I don’t get paid enough for this!
Hindsight is 20/20, and it shows me this broadcast for Episode 59 was beyond weird and awkward. That’s what happens when your guest is a shapeshifting Bug Lady from a scary Rolisican Mothra cult. Not even my War in Space-attuned combat skills could handle her. That was the worst part. But I don’t want to talk about that. Instead, here are my notes on that episode.
I retract my compliment about her laying down the law, because, you know, thieving, murderous Bug Lady.
I should’ve known something was wrong when she talked about getting to the Island. This is why I really should just shuttle every guest here. But I can’t make them all do that, even when I offer a ride on my giant robots.
“Handsome Nelson.” Another warning sign I should’ve heeded. That guy was a crony capitalist creep!
“Lepidoptera.” Also a sign. No one outside of an entomologist would know that name.
The Peanuts’ given names were Hideyo and Tsukiko Ito.
Yes, I’m triggered by a planet that I fixed…in my totally not fictional memoir.
I know what was in the red drink…but I don’t want to talk about it.
Note to self: remind Bex to watch Ikiru.
(ball-busting riff CENSORED for Nate’s sake)
I was consulted on the blueprints for Tokyo Tower after the Gyaos attack in 1960. How do you think they learned to rebuild it faster? It’s not just Japanese ingenuity and efficiency.
“Diptera.” I should’ve known! Again, only entomologists!
If you saw those astronaut girls, Nate, you’d understand. Seriously, hubba-hubba!
Why didn’t I suspect something from the laughing?! “Altitude”?! BS! Such BS!
I’ll agree with “Not-Bex” on one thing: you’re “genki,” Nate. That should be your name now. 😛
Seriously…“Bex” knew way too much about insects—because Bug Lady! Of course she’d know a lot about her “family.”
Now, to save space on the MIFV website (no one has time to scroll anymore), I’m attaching a PDF of Nate’s leftover notes. Sadly, there are no riffs from me. I’m still trying to catch up on blogging. LINK:
As for upcoming episodes, Nate’s friend Nick Hayden is coming for Ameri-kaiju and Cloverfield. Then we have Luke and Jason Jaconetti joining us for Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster as part of “Godzilla Redux.”
Despite everything that has happened to all of us at MIFV, as I always say, “We shall overcome!”
Nate’s not the only one who needs catch up on his content. No MIFV episode is complete without the intrepid Jimmy’s trademark blogs. With Winter and Board keeping us busy, and my personal projects in my garage eating up my time (top secret hush-hush stuff, you understand), I haven’t been able to keep up. Now your wait is over! Let’s start dropping some fact (check) bombs on Nate and company, starting with episode 58 on Mighty Joe Young.
Me and Nick’s e-mails are top secret. Although, not as top secret as my garage projects.
I hate to tell you this, Joy, but…
Little did I know this episode would become Memento by working through the film backwards. Reminds me of the time I got caught in a time loop. That may or may not explain how I’ve aged gracefully. But let me tell you, I can only punch M11 so many times to restart and/or break the loop so many times before it gets older than some of the scientists around here.
This whole episode came off the rails—until the Toku Topic. Then it all came to a crashing halt because it was the most boring Toku Topic yet. I don’t know if it was Nate’s presentation, the topic of gorillas in captivity, or the exhaustion of the caffeine. All of the above, probably.
Ah, yes, Adam Smith. Author of The Wealth of Nations and philosopher who advocated for laissez-faire economics. It’s only the best bedtime reading for any kid.
I may have to talk with Mr. Gold about booking Mighty Joe and the Burning Orphans, especially after their album, “Rampage at the Nightclub.”
It wasn’t an interviewer but another special effects artist on the blu-ray commentary with Harryhausen and Moore: Ken Ralston.
Not the singing, Joy! See the above meme!
I could go for spaghetti and a western. Sounds like a great stay-at-home date night.
We’re getting canceled in Africa.
“Mighty Jimmy Young.” I like the sound of that.
Sacrificed orphans? That IS fake news! The textbook definition of slander! I could sue you for libel! (But I don’t want to talk about it).
Here are Nate’s leftover notes. (Am I still contractually obligated to share these? I better check the fine print).
This is what happens when the Three Stooges get drunk. (Was WHG3 one of them? -Jimmy)
He’s gonna realize he knows drunken monkey kung fu. Also, Mighty Joe can’t hold his liquor. Okay, there’s a line that they gave him more. (Actually, I think he does know drunken monkey kung-fu…mostly because he’s a drunken ape. -Jimmy)
I think he killed some lions. But not people.
“No animals were harmed in the making of this motion picture.” You sure?
From “pull” to “push.” You suck at pushing. Stick to pulling. (Words to live by. -Jimmy)
What in blazes started this fire?! (Haha, Marchand. -Jimmy)
Commentary by Terry Moore, Ray Harryhausen, and Ken Ralston
Terry Moore didn’t have any storyboards in her script and acted to lots of nothing alone on set not knowing what Mighty Joe looked like.
She got the role when she came to the lot and Schoedsack asked, “Can you run?” so she took off her high heels, ran, and came back. He said, “You run like a deer. You got the role!” (I think that’s what David Perin was told when he played me in my favorite movie. -Jimmy)
Everyone called Schoedsack, “Monty.”
Harryhausen grew up loving King Kong, so it was an honor to work with that team.
Cooper once complained that the $25/day extras weren’t good enough, so instead of replacing them, they paid them $250/day.
Moore said Cooper promised one of the Mighty Joe puppets to her when he died, but the maid stole it when he died. There’s another one in London at the Museum of Moving Images.
Armstrong modeled his character after Cooper like he did in Kong. Ruth Rose, the screenwriter and Cooper’s wife, put much of him into the character.
The flying tackle was cut out for a while for some reason.
Harryhausen “was” Mighty Joe. He would eat vegetables on breaks to get into character.
Marcel Delgado also built the armatures for this.
This was Ben Johnson’s first movie. He acted in many John Ford westerns.
They shot for 3 months.
O’Brien developed the scenes with sketches while Harryhausen did most of the animation.
Terry Moore could whistle “Beautiful Dreamer.” She was surprised it didn’t make a comeback.
Moore became friends with the wrestlers. The Italian wrestler would put his foot next to hers and say, “Teeny-weeny.” He didn’t speak much English. He’d carry her on his shoulders, and she would go to the wrestling matches.
For the piano scene, Moore was lifted up using what she described as a “huge carjack.”
The long shots of Mighty Joe in the wrestler scene was a smaller armature. 8 inches tall.
Each of the coins was hand-drawn in the coin throwing scene.
Harryhausen covered the puppet’s lips with clay so he could hold the bottle. The liquor was glycerin.
Moore spent a lot of time acting toward a back projection screen. White screen.
Cooper was known for throwing a hat on the ground and stomping it. (Sounds like a certain radio host I know… -Jimmy)
Moore says Howard Hughes saw her in Return of October and told his projectionist, “I’m gonna marry that girl! Find out what she’s done!” He said she’d just made a film for RKO that hadn’t been released. He said, “Buy RKO.”
“Mama Walton” makes a cameo during orphanage scene.
The orphanage miniature was 5-6 feet high.
Marcel Delgado animated the shot of Mighty Joe climbing the tree.
Harryhausen says the Jill doll used for the piano was remade into a caveman.
Moore’s mother makes a cameo saving the little girl.
Mighty Joe peels the banana at the end when he ate it whole before. He was “civilized.”
Special Features
He got no direction from Schoedsack. He only worked with O’Brien during the planning stage. The script only had broad strokes for Mighty Joe’s scenes. He used O’Brien’s continuity stages.
Harryahusen gets mail from people saying they prefer his old films because they have more soul.
One of the armatures was made by Henry Cunningham.
The 4 armatures cost $1,500-$2,000 each!
The fur on Mighty Joe moved less because it was substituted with rubber.
Mighty Joe was brown.
The debris was animated with wires.
LeMay – Kong Unmade 2nd Edition
“The genesis of the story was inspired by a true event, recorded in the book Toto and I: A Gorilla in the Family (1941). The book, by Augusta Maria Daurer Hoyt, told of the author rescuing an orphaned gorilla in 1931 Equatorial Africa and making it part of her family. That is where the similarities ended, though. Using that as a jumping-off point, the rest of the story was essentially a light, happier retelling of King Kong. (The script was even written by Ruth Rose again, who had done one of the Kong drafts.)”
“Though it shares no continuity ties with King Kong, the resultant Mighty Joe Young is what could be called a spiritual sequel to Kong. As previously established, it was made by the same overall team and has the same themes of beauty and the beast, the beast brought to civilization, etc. Even the same trio of main character archetypes reappear. You have the girl that controls the beast in the form of Jill, then her rough-and-tumble cowboy love interest, Gregg, and the showman, Max O’Hara, out to exploit them—the latter even played again by Robert Armstrong. One could even say Mighty Joe Young presented a ‘road not taken’ with King Kong. What if Ann had tamed Kong? What if Denham’s show had been a success rather than a tragic failure? In the years that followed the release and rereleases of King Kong, audiences had grown fonder and more sympathetic for Kong, so it was only natural Joe would be treated as nothing but sympathetic, and in the end, even heroic. The climax, where Joe is on the run from the authorities out to kill him, is quite the nail-biter due to the audience’s sympathy for Joe. But of course, we’re not here to discuss what the film is, but what it could have been.”
Morton – King Kong: The History of a Movie Icon, from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson
Other Kong alumni included Linwood Dunn, Ted Cheesman, and Walter Elliot.
He says it took six months to shoot. (No one can agree on a timeline, it seems. Because time travel is dangerous. -Jimmy)
A big torso only armature was made but never used.
The models were covered with the fur of unborn lambs and rubberized by taxidermist George Lofgren.
He says the animation took 14 months.
O’Brien was unable to use his miniature projection process due to time constraints, so the composite work was done with an optical printer.
The Ray Harryhausen Podcast, Episode 24: Mighty Joe Young, 70th Anniversary Special
Colorized test footage was made, but it’s been lost.
It’s popular with animators because of Harryhausen’s work, especially with how much is in it.
This was essentially the end of O’Brien’s career and big-budget special effects pictures.
Tarzan would’ve been played by Lex Barker, who’d just played the character.
Soundtrack has never been released because it was “married” into the mix. It was re-recorded later and released, with Harryhausen playing cymbals on “Beautiful Dreamer.”
Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life
Peterson’s trademark was broad humor, most of which was cut. Harryhausen didn’t like it. Example: Mighty Joe slapping his knee during the chase.
Harryhausen was 29 when he worked on this.
Harryhausen is most proud of the lion cage sequence.
I’m pretty sure Nate read most of his notes on that boring interesting Toku Topic, so I cut the rest.
As for upcoming episodes, this moth we have two regular episodes and two bonuses! These include a Damon Noyes double-header with The Giant Claw (yep, antimatter-powered alien Beaky Buzzard) and his Patreon-sponsored episode on Little Shop of Horrors (1986). Then Nate invites his “co-host in kamen” (ba-dum-tsh!) on so he can finally “see the goo” with a bonus episode on Beware! The Blob (aka Son of Blob). Then Nate and his friend Elijah Thomas have their first annual crossover on Ray Harryhausen since the two of them share a birthday with him. They’re being weird and going in reverse order of his filmography, starting with Clash of the Titans (1981).
Despite everything that has happened to all of us at MIFV, as I always say, “We shall overcome!”
There I was sitting in my producer booth like it was any other broadcast (Episode 57). Nate and Kaiju Kim were having a great conversation about Rodan (1956). The ratings for the listeners here on the Island were the highest I’ve seen since episode 37. I don’t know if that was because of Rodan or Kim. Then this crazy fangirl has the audacity to cancel me! Too bad for her I’ve survived worse—i.e. death in the War in Space. Now, in response, here are my notes on their broadcast:
Near as I can tell, Kim is right: there is no explanation for second Rodan in the dub.
After doing some digging, it looks like it wasn’t “Radon” but “Radion” soap in Britain—or rather, laundry powder. Apparently the brand died in 2000 and resurrected about a decade ago.
Rodan Puffs sound delicious.
Nate going into a research rabbit hole gives me some much-needed peace and quiet in my garage. That’s where I decompress.
We actually got a letter from Kyoei Toshi about the “mistranslations” of the names, so I’ll let that be shared on listener feedback.
“Bystanders,” Nate, not “bystandards.”
This was the best explanation for “creeping floor” that I could find.
That is really what Meganulon taste like, and it’s usually best with Frank’s Hot Sauce (but so is everything).
I don’t have a face for YouTube? You barely have a face for radio, Nate! Kim, you’re missing out!
Now as per contractual obligations, er, tradition, here are Nate’s leftover notes with my annotations:
THE FILM
There’s talk of global warming, and this is a 1956 film. This was a relatively new concept at the time, so it’s interesting to see it discussed by characters in a Japanese film. There’s even a denier in the film. (As someone who’s been to Venus, Earth isn’t nearly as warm as we think it is. –Jimmy)
Some won’t see this a “feminist” film. I wouldn’t call it misogynistic, either, though. The female characters are all homemakers who are constantly concerned about their boyfriends/husbands and often crying, both of which may be seen as weaknesses.
It almost seems like, at first, the major threat will be the Meganulon. Could they have carried the film on their own? Maybe, maybe not. (That movie would be over in five minutes if I was in it. –Jimmy)
There’s a lot going on in this film! Meganulon, Rodan, second Rodan, amnesia, the “murders,” an earthquake, etc.
Rodan is confused for a flying saucer and a foreign plane. The former is an interesting foreshadowing of the alien invasion Godzilla films to come, although Rodan most certainly isn’t a disc. Did they mean UFO? It was probably them using a then-common trope in science fiction films or a sign of the increasing interest in such things. The foreign plane is interesting. I wonder they meant Chinese or Russian or the like. The presence of a foreign plane—particularly from an unfriendly country—was and is a big concern. (The stories I could tell you about Chinese and Russian UFOs. The intrigue! The horror! … I don’t want to talk about it. –Jimmy)
Rodan can fly at the absurd speed of mach 1.5. Kaiju film fantasy (or pseudo-science). He sounds like a jet plane in flight.
Lucky for them, the partial photo of Rodan fits the children’s pteranodon picture perfectly. 😛 (The scientists have copies of all of those books in their lab here on the Island. –Jimmy)
The birds are bit symbolic of the couple: youthful and on the verge of procreating.
There are so many characters, it’s often difficult to keep track of everything. Shigeru and Kiyo, I assume, are intended to be the main characters because they get the most screen time, but that’s not by much. Even then, their scenes are sporadic enough that I couldn’t quite latch onto them (or anyone else, for that matter). UPDATE: This is an ensemble piece. Very Japanese that way.
The amnesia seems like a plot device. It kinda comes out of left field and only serves to the characters in the dark about Rodan. In other words, it didn’t feel quite natural, almost like it was an addition to the story. Given that this script had three screenwriters, I wouldn’t be surprised. (Nate tells me he’s softened on this idea since making these notes. –Jimmy)
Rodan is theorized to have a nuclear origin like Godzilla, although it’s simply a fact as opposed to being thematic and/or allegorical. This makes the film more western, in some ways.
Did the egg shell magically get bigger? (Happens all the time when I have breakfast. –Jimmy)
Rodan, being a flying monster, has a dogfight with the JASDF, naturally.
Those planes flew low enough to go under a bridge?! (A classic problem. The JASDF is working on changing their pilots’ anti-kaiju training. I even wrote them a new handbook on the subject. –Jimmy)
The destruction scenes in this film are far more about wind damage than fire, making it quite different from Gojira. It creates visuals that also demark from the other film. This was a smart move so as to avoid repeating what was done before. Plus, with Rodan being a flying monster, it presented a unique set of challenges for Tsuburaya to overcome. Rodan is a hurricane as opposed to a tsunami or a nuclear attack.
Interestingly, Hirata plays the Dr. Yamane-type scientist in this film. He isn’t as interesting a character here as either Serizawa or Yamane, though. He serves mostly to exposit about Rodan and has no character arc or dilemma. He’s much more like Dr. Elson in Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
The burning Yokohama harkens back to Godzilla (1954).
Some really nice location filmmaking.
OTHER SOURCES
Honda Biography
Partially filmed in Shikamachi, a mining town.
Honda: “My intention was to give [Rodan] a sense of authenticity and credibility, and not to make it a mere fairy tale…I wanted to create something that has ample scientific factual background and support, something that is not false.”
The sounds effects saved the ending.
Honda: “I think it was Rodan that put me on my path.”
LeMay – Big Book Vol. 1
Supposedly inspired by a dream had by Tanaka.
Some elements from the infamous unmade film The Bride of Godzilla?
Tsuburaya won a Japanese Film Technique Award for this.
It made $500,000 alone in New York, and some publications claimed it was the highest-grossing sci-fi film up to that point.
Two dubs have called Rodan by his Japanese name: Monster Zero (but only by Nick Adams) and vs. Mechagodzilla II. (You forgot to mention that first one, Nate.HOW DARE YOU FORGET MY MAN, NICK ADAMS! –Jimmy)
Tourism to Mt. Aso increased after this.
Galbraith – Japanese Horror…
He says Kimura wrote some of the best and worst kaiju/toku films for Toho. Called him “more consistent and ambitious” than Sekizawa.
Kalat
The dubbed version was produced by Frank and Maurice King, who would later make Gorgo.
Brothers
The Rodan suit weighed 100 pounds. He studied the movements of birds for this.
People seem to either love or hate this film.
Well, that was surprisingly short. Then again, Nate recycled most of these notes from his “previous podcast life.” He didn’t add much, and he burned through most of what he had. Nice work!
Next week you’ll hear the chaotic but hilarious broadcast on Mighty Joe Young (1949) that featured the original Tourists, Nick Hayden, Joe Metter, and Joy Metter. I’ve rarely laughed as hard as I did during that broadcast. Then in the next “Godzilla Redux,” Becky “Bex” Smith of Redeemed Otaku returns to discuss Mothra (1961). To say Jessica is ecstatic would be an understatement.
Did I ever tell you about the time I visited the fabled dinosaur plateau Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about in his novel The Lost World? And how there was a “hot girl” involved? No? Good, because I’m saving that for my autobiography. Regardless, despite some sidekick shenanigans from that wannabe Muppet, Snazzy Chapeau, when Omni Viewer visited for MIFV’s season three premiere (episode 56), I managed to take a few good notes for my first Jimmy’s Notes blog of 2022. I may not be contractually obligated to do follow-ups for Nate, but someone has to fact-check this goofball. So, here you go:
William Rutherford wasn’t the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes; only Prof. Challenger. According to Wikipedia,
Conan Doyle repeatedly said that Holmes was inspired by the real-life figure of Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, whom Conan Doyle met in 1877 and had worked for as a clerk. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing broad conclusions from minute observations. However, he later wrote to Conan Doyle: “You are yourself Sherlock Holmes and well you know it”.[14] Sir Henry Littlejohn, Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, is also cited as an inspiration for Holmes. Littlejohn, who was also Police Surgeon and Medical Officer of Health in Edinburgh, provided Conan Doyle with a link between medical investigation and the detection of crime.
The Lost City of Z was a 2009 nonfiction book by David Gran. It was made into a movie starring Charlie Hunnam in 2016. As for whether it was found or not, Wikipedia says,
Researchers believe that Fawcett may have been influenced in his thinking by information obtained from indigenous people about the archaeological site of Kuhikugu, near the headwaters of the Xingu River. After Fawcett’s presumed death in the jungle, Kuhikugu was discovered by Westerners in 1925. The site contains the ruins of an estimated twenty towns and villages in which as many as 50,000 people might once have lived. The discovery of other large geometrical earthworks in interfluvial settings of southern Amazonia has since been recognised as supporting Fawcett’s theory.
I’m not sure this was the only time Willis O’Brien used a football bladder to simulate breathing in his creatures. Wikipedia claims this was also done in King Kong (1933), but a citation is needed.
I found the opening theme of the Lost World TV series mentioned by Omni, and Nate said he remembered seeing a bit of it when I show it to him.
All this prequel talk…I’m having flashbacks to sand…I can’t go to the beach now…and I live on an Island!
Mammoths and mastodons are, in fact, not the same. Similar, but not the same. Read more here.
I checked the film during the city rampage, and there wasn’t a full-sized head. However, there were some excellent close-ups of the stopmotion puppet.
I always do internet searches with safe mode turned off. It’s more…exciting that way.
“Jimmygon” has a nice ring to it. I’ll get the Island’s geneticists on that right now!
Actually, there are studies that show people with bigger brains are smarter. No wonder Nate is a genius: he has a big head. 😛
I am 110% behind a boxing Cope and Marsh skeletons sculpture. I’ll petition Winter and the Board immediately!
Now for the ever-important—and increasingly large—leftover notes from Nate’s research with my riffs commentary.
THE FILM
“Jocko” played by himself.
The plot moves briskly compared to novel. Characters introduced very quickly. Skips to lecture to introduce Challenger.
Gotta love the “overacting” and funny jump cuts mid-scene. (Reminds me of the show’s host. 😛 –Jimmy)
“Cock-and-bull story.” Ha! (Is this the “rule 34” version? –Jimmy)
In the Amazon. Just South America in novel?
Dead for 10 million years. More than that!
There wasn’t a Miss White in the novel, either. Not gonna lie: she’s pretty. Maple White’s daughter. Of course she’s the beautiful assistant. (No complaining here. –Jimmy)
Wait…is that Sherlock!? Or someone cosplaying him? (The first in-film Easter egg? –Jimmy)
Jocko the monkey wasn’t in the novel, either. Added for comic relief. (At least he isn’t a Gungan. –Jimmy)
I think Malone’s letters are text from the novel.
They’re introducing the ape-men already?! Proto-Chewbacca. (Does he rip arms out of socket? –Jimmy)
Pterodactyl was first in novel.
Okay, don’t tell us that Malone saved the bug.
The tree bridge. Another forerunner to Kong.
Really? Stop to catch the insect in middle of bridge? (I did that once…but I don’t want to talk about it. –Jimmy)
Brontosaurus takes out bridge—and squishes some spiders. (Ah. A spider pit joke. Hilarious. –Jimmy)
PSYCHO MONKEY?! WTF?!
The allosaurus vs. other dino fight is impressive if inferior to Kong. He picks his teeth? Arms too long.
Yes, he wiped out the last of a wood-tick species.
The trees have eyes.
Is that a torch or a giant cigarette? And it’s in color?! (That’s what wiped out the dinosaurs: smoking. –Jimmy)
The allosaurus vs. triceratops fight is one of the more famous scenes—and it’s gory! Trike wins. But then another allosaurus gets revenge for its mate. (“Dino Vengeance” is a B-movie waiting to happen. –Jimmy)
No one is paying attention to the dinosaur fights! The proto-kaiju fights!
The ape-man is very drooly.
Challenger is taking up pole dancing, and he sucks at it. 😛 (This is the “rule 34” version. –Jimmy)
They never call this place “Maple White Land.”
They play drums when he shoots the gun. Clever. “Mickey Mouse-ing.”
“Dam liar”? A liar about dams?
The colors fit the moods of the scenes very well. Red for eruption.
Does the allosaurus want to eat the bronto or hitch a ride during the eruption?!(“Rule 34” version…again? –Jimmy)
“Rock climbing monkey, Joel.” You just better hope he doesn’t fill and hang himself.
Jocko carried a rope ladder?!
I was waiting for the ape-man with the Joker smile to kidnap Paula. Because Kong.
Oh my gosh! Paula looks like Ann Darrow at the end! It’s very Kong.
Ten feet long? That’s WAY bigger!
Other Sources
Byrd (in LeMay)
As a teenage drifter, O’Brien was a guide for a fossil excavation for the University of Southern California.
The origins of the film are a complex feud between O’Brien and a fellow animator named Herbert Dawley. They were constantly fighting over the credit to O’Brien’s work in short films, particularly The Ghost of Slumber Mountain, and the legal shenanigans led to O’Brien working with producer Watterson Rothacker on this film. Dawley sued O’Brien over the animation process, citing patent violation, but this was settled out of court. There’s still debate over how much of Slumber Mountain was animated by either of them.
Over 50 dinosaurs were made for the film, and they included bladders to simulate breathing, saliva made with shellac and rubber cement, chocolate syrup to simulate blood.
Commentary by Nicolas Ciccone
The credits in this restoration was made for it.
There’s a missing scene that explains why the paper sends Malone to cover the story despite his clumsiness: basically, to get lawsuit money.
Wallace Beery (who played Challenger) was just like his character.
Many scholars theorize that Malone’s coming-of-age story arc was inspired by Doyle himself.
Bessie Love, who plays Paula, hated all the close-ups of her. (I didn’t. –Jimmy)
The attack by the cannibals explains why Zambo’s arm is broken later. Only stills remain of these scenes.
A 15-foot pterodactyl fossil was found in Brazil in the 1990s and named after Doyle.
Gomez, a “half-breed” character cut from the film, caused the tree bridge disaster. He’s a traitor.
The film doesn’t say how Maple White died, but the script has Roxton find a rifle bent in half. The implication was it was the ape-man.
The plateau is a bit too easy to find in the film.
The cast didn’t like working with Jocko. He bit and peed on everyone.
The romance is trite, but it could serve as a metaphor for the plateau: it’s a place of adventure and wonder we all wish we could visit.
A scene unfilmed from the script has Challenger and company on a ship with a caged bronto.
The end of the drunk’s scene, while not in the script, was described in a review as returning with a bottle of milk for a cat that grew huge.
Missed opportunity: Make Paula more adventurous.
“The Lost World: Secrets of the Restoration” by Serge Bromberg (and other essays in the booklet)
Many film historians link the decision to destroy prints of this film with the production of King Kong a few months later.
The first restoration by George Eastman House, used surviving 35mm Kodak nitrate negatives and a 35mm print found in the National Film Archive of the Czech Republic in 1992. It was an export copy that didn’t use the best angles (it was filmed with a second camera). The restoration was made for $80,000 given by the National Endowment for the Arts—and classic film buff Hugh Heffner(!).
The animated map sequence was in the trailer, and no one knows if it was a concept for the film or only the trailer.
It’s 76 minutes long and was published as an unlisted bonus feature on the DVD of the 1960 version.
David Shepherd Restoration (2000)
This used the same materials plus a few more. This big difference was the use of digital technology to upgrade the picture quality to standard-definition TV.
The promotional footage found by Doyle was found at this time in the Robert Youngson collection.
The original footage of Doyle at his writing table was lost but was replaced with footage of him sitting on a bench addressing the audience from a 1927 Movietone film.
This was edited at the Lobster Films studio in Paris.
Two scores were commissioned for the film, including one by Robert Israel that harkened back to ‘20s-era films. The other was more modern.
93 minutes long.
2016 Restoration
Several months after the release of the previous restoration, David Adamitis contacted Lobster Films and gave them several cans of film, including some A negatives for The Lost World. These included color tints and missing scenes.
This was put together frame-by-frame by a three-man team over the course of six months using 2k technology and several other newly-discovered elements. Robert Israel composed another score for this one.
The music Israel composed included a Brazilian lullaby about a bogeyman called “Tutu Maramba,” which is sung by mothers to children to ward off evil so they may sleep. He adapted it to strings for the native girl playing guitar.
Season three of my always-essential blogs is off to a great start. This is going to be fun.
Next time YouTuber and up-and-coming filmmaker Kaiju Kim returns to continue the “Godzilla Redux” subseries by discussing Rodan (1956), which was the only non-Godzilla kaiju she watched a lot as a child. Then we get back to “Ameri-kaiju” with (hopefully) the original Tourist crew (Nick Hayden, Timothy Deal, Joe and Joy Metter) for King Kong (1933)’s spiritual sequel, Mighty Joe Young (1949). Exciting times for patriotic Kaiju Lovers ahead!
So, you might be wondering what I was doing after that Scottish scallywag George Three tased me during Episode 55 (Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century). It’s actually quite simple, you see. I was conscious the entire time, of course, just biding my time. I would’ve probably “Kirk chopped” him sooner, but I got a little distracted playing Candy Crush on my phone. Then my battery died, and I thought, “Well, I should probably kill this bastard.” So, there I was, sitting in the room, fearing for my life. And then I rose up behind him, you see. It’s a good thing I’m a Star Trek fan or else I wouldn’t have thought of this, but I snuck up behind him and raised my arm to exact right degree (I spent a lot of time staring at William Shatner—I realize that might’ve sounded strange), and brought it right down in the perfect spot on his trapezius muscle to temporarily stop the blood flow to his booze-addled brain and knock him out. (If you, too, would like to learn to fight like Captain James T. Kirk and yours truly, check out the Kirk Fu Manual. I got it for Nate as a Christmas gift, and he’s working toward his blackbelt).
But I was still doing my due diligence as MIFV’s intrepid producer. I took some notes right under WHG3’s drunk nose. So, without further ado, here’s my final Jimmy’s Notes of season two.
For the record, gentlemen, this…movie was 118 minutes long when released in Italy, 105 minutes when released in the U.S., and is 101 minutes on blu-ray (and, I assume, on streaming). Not sure why.
The Night of the Lepus episode, Travis. That was the Kaiju Weekly episode you were thinking of when discussing how you don’t like intentionally bad movies.
I’m not 100% sure what “moose kaiju” movie that drunk was talking about, but I think it might be Moose: The Movie.
Here’s a gif of “disco yeti.” Read more about him here.
Travis was kind enough to provide me with the “Georgia Bigfoot” story he brought up.
If you think WHG3’s drunk profanities are bad, you should hear me after I pound down a few bottles of Jack Daniels. I make sailors blush.
Now, for the last time in season two, Nate’s leftover notes. (Actually, they’re the notes provided by that Scottish booze hound, but who’s keeping track?)
Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century Notes
THE MOVIE
Opening shot: the polar icecaps are melting. What does this have to do with anything? (Answer: everything. Don’t you pay attention to Greta Thunberg? –Jimmy)
Title’s in two completely different fonts. (So? –Jimmy)
Is the opening music a classic opera theme we hear in everything?
Why are they thawing this thing in the wild? (Best not to ask this movie questions. It might strangle you with its toes. –Jimmy)
The crowd can be seen through some objects in the effects.
I’M AN ELEPHANT! And King Kong! That roar gets reused.
Watch it! He’s got a tree! (He stole that move from Kong –Jimmy)
They’re not in a well, Lassie!
What do you know about cannibals?! (That they are what they eat. 😛 –Jimmy)
Did he catch a mama fish with a baby fish?!
Freaking yeti is horny after sleeping for a million years.
Those little tufts of “fur” reminded the yeti of his mate and family?
How? Just…how could he mistake the tiny humans for his “family”? At least with Kong the implication is he’s lonely.
Did this thing inspire the Yeti brand tumblers? (No. –Jimmy)
“Slavery”? That’s for people! Not yetis! (You species-ist bastard! 😛 –Jimmy)
Niagara Falls, you say? I’ve been there. Insert stock footage?
Remind me what those shady dealings have to do with anything?
Good grief, this wants SO MUCH to be King Kong. (We all have dreams –Jimmy)
The windows are TV screens! (Sounds like my apartment. –Jimmy)
Oh yeah, he’s totally hiding. In plain daylight when he’s 50-feet tall!
Oh yeah, a lamb who smashes builds, rips up elevators like weeds, and nearly kills a 100 people! (A sheep kaiju? –Jimmy)
Hulk van to the rescue?
How’d they get a breathing apparatus that big? (Again, don’t ask questions. It’s dangerous. –Jimmy)
How did Yeti know which one didn’t have Herbie?
The matte lines are very prominent at points on Yeti.
Why are you rolling and not running? (The questions! –Jimmy)
It’s a yeti miracle, I guess.
Other Sources
LeMay – Kong Unmade (1st and 2nd editions)
Yeti takes a paternal interest in Jane’s brother. He’s angered by flashbulbs (very Kong-esque).
A healthy number of extras in some scenes.
Says it’d make for a great double feature with The Mighty Peking Man.
Research on Yeti Cryptid
Radford:
“In March 1986, Anthony Wooldridge, a hiker in the Himalayas, saw what he thought was a Yeti standing in the snow near a ridge about 500 feet (152 meters) away. It didn’t move or make noise, but Wooldridge saw odd tracks in the snow that seemed to lead toward the figure. He took two photographs of the creature, which were later analyzed and proven genuine.”
“Many in the Bigfoot community seized upon the photos as clear evidence of a Yeti, including John Napier, an anatomist and anthropologist who had served as the Smithsonian Institution’s director of primate biology. Many considered it unlikely Wooldridge could have made a mistake because of his extensive hiking experience in the region. The following year, researchers returned to where Wooldridge had taken the photos and discovered that he had simply seen a dark rock outcropping that looked vertical from his position. It was all a mistake — much to the embarrassment of some Yeti believers.”
Cryptid Wiki
“The Yeti was even mentioned in pre-Buddhist cultures, such as the Lecha people, who worshiped a “Glacier Giant.” Tibetan and Nepalese monasteries have collected several skulls and bones of the yetis, some which preside in the Smithsonian Museum today. Although one of their specimens was proven to be a human bone, others contained the museum are still in question.”
“In 1832, James Prinsep’s Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal published an account by B.H. Hodgson, a trekker in Northern Nepal, in which he describes spotting a large bipedal creature covered in long dark hair. Hodgson believed it was an orangutan.”
Wikipedia
Reports of footprints started in 1899.
The famous Eric Shipton footprint photos of 1950 and the 1972 Cronin-McNeely footprint photo were deemed to be bear tracks by Daniel C. Taylor in 2017.
With this, my long-overdue final Jimmy’s Notes for season two of the show is complete. It’s just as surreal for me to write that as it is for Nate to say it on the air. 2021 was a crazy year, and while I’m not completely sold on the new boss, it can only go up from here. Right?
Did I ever tell you about the one time I infiltrated Solstice Technologies HQ with Monique Dupre? No, because that story is reserved for my autobiography.
On to season three! We launch “Ameri-kaiju” with what’s sure to be a deep literary discussion between Nate and YouTube personality Ryan “The Omni Viewer” Collins and his sidekick, Snazzy, on The Lost World (1925). That…whatever-he-is keeps trying to compete with me for best sidekick. He doesn’t know who he’s dealing with, obviously. Then “Godzilla Redux” continues with a small diversion: Rodan (1956). We’ll be joined by another YouTuber and returning guest: Kaiju Kim.
“The Year of Gamera” is officially over. As a Gamera kid—a “Kenny,” if you will—I’m going to miss it. Mostly because I was entertained by Nate’s cringing as he watched those movies. Well, until he got to the good ones, anyway. He may rant about the Heisei Trilogy and The Brave, but nothing compares to the dramatization of me and Masao helping Gamera save the world from that dastardly bastard Viras. Regardless, here are my notes from episode 54 on Gamera the Brave.
You’d be surprised who I know, Nate. The organizers for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade are just a few. I’ve lived a storied life and met many storied people. I have quite the network.
I’m clueless on Pokémon gens. Mostly because I was way too old to get into it. (I know, I know—“Okay, boomer,” right?)
I started a tradition. Hot damn! I’m still going to insist that Nate reading my Entertaining Info Dumps be kept in his contract. Speaking of which, both his and mine are coming up for renewal soon.
The Leotard Ladies are playing the Denham Theater on Monster Island next spring. 😛
You kept mixing up Toru and Toto, Nate. It’s easy to confuse them, I know, but still, one is a kid and one is a cutesy turtle.
Here’s that “proof of concept” Gamera film Nate mentioned:
I’ll see what I can do about instant-instant ramen. That will probably require consultation with physicists, engineers, and cooks. But we would give humanity one of its greatest gifts.
Bangiku (Late Chrysanthemums) was directed by Mikio Naruse and released in the U.K. with two more of his films. Criterion doesn’t have it.
It turns out there are two versions of Oodles the ramen cup Funko Pop: regular and “spicy.”
I tried to build a lead zeppelin once. Jimmy Page saw it and started a band based on it.
Now, to fulfill my contractual obligations (or keep with MIFV tradition?), here are Nate’s leftover notes with my riff-tastic annotations.
It says Kadokawa and not Daei.
SFX director: Isao Kaneko. Any relation? (Given that no relation was mentioned in the film’s commentary, I’m guessing, no. –Jimmy)
Talk of the Monster Council is similar to the Heisei Trilogy. Pays lip service to government response but is focused on Toru. (They’re still around and quite busy. But this is Japan, after all. –Jimmy)
I thought Toto would bite Toru’s finger to wake him up. (I pet-sitted a lizard one time that did that. I dumped that girl the next day. –Jimmy)
I love how little Toto likes to sit on Toru’s head. “Kawaii!” (Nate…you sure you didn’t turn into a certain magical girl? –Jimmy)
The scene with the sailor getting pulled under and killed—with the sea turning red with blood—is effectively eerie, especially since it has no dialogue or music. Let that be a lesson to horror filmmakers.
I wonder if the disbanding of the Monster Council was a bit of a commentary on the kaiju genre/fandom?
There’s also a weird Ultra Q episode about a boy and a flying turtle.
This works very well as a self-contained story.
The animatronics for “adult” Toto are quite good. The CGI for little Toto is good, too.
The red stone reminds me of the opal egg from Gamera vs. Barugon.
The kids wear lots of English-language shirts.
I love the shot of Toto poking his head out of his shell while in a house. Lots of detail.
Toru connects with Toto, but it’s earned and makes sense. (And my connection to Gamera wasn’t?! –Jimmy)
Poor Toto gets stabbed in the hand like any good Gamera.
The glow of the stone was added in post.
The kids stand against the adults to protect Toto. Again, it feels earned. The innocence and faith of children.
COMMENTARY BY KEITH AIKEN AND BOB JOHNSON
A novelization called Friends: Gamera the Brave was released as a tie-in. Gyaos blew off Gamera’s jaw. Other Showa Gamera kaiju were present in it but didn’t make it due to budget constraints.
The executive producer wanted to make an original monster for kids, but the studio insisted on a Gamera film.
The actor playing Toru’s father was also in Masked Rider: The First and Shin Godzilla.
The actress playing Toru’s mother (Megumi Kobayashi) was Moll in Rebirth of Mothra.
Kadokawa did try to make a Godzilla vs. Gamera film before this.
They had 13 different turtles on this, including a real turtle: an African spur tortoise. They also used a vinyl turtle for the stunt scenes. When he gets big, Toto is based on a loggerhead turtle, which is native to Japan and the only turtles that have teeth. The real turtle didn’t listen to direction.
This film had a tie-in with the Ministry of the Environment, who told people not to abandon their pets. They used Toto as an example. (But what if your pet is a kaiju? –Jimmy)
“Why did the turtle cross the road?”
The special effects director—Kaneko—was a former animator and assistant director.
They were wrong about Spock’s blood color. They said it was blue, but it was green! (Nice call there, Nate! You get 50 nerd points. –Jimmy)
Kadokawa wanted to make another Daimajin movie, but they scrapped it and made a TV show instead after this movie flopped.
The commentarors played the old Showa music during the relay, and it ruined it! (Agreed—except, you know, my life story. –Jimmy)
ARROW VIDEO SPECIAL FEATURES
Director Tasaki has a lecture as a special feature where he explains the filmmaking process by comparing it to cooking and restaurants. This also has interviews with the unsung heroes from departments like lighting, cinematography, and the physical effects. I recommend watching it.
They interviewed the kid actors, and the boy was surprisingly thoughtful. Kaho even said it was different because she doesn’t have a kid brother.
The full-size Toto puppet was operated by a technician with a hand up its rear, it looks.
The director says they portray Toto’s feelings toward Toru ambiguously, but he does say Toru is special to him. (Duh? I’m a bit confused by this. Does he care or not? –Jimmy)
It was unusual to film a kaiju movie mostly in the day.
Some audiences thought the film was “too cute.” This was compared to kids being too scared of the Heisei films.
They at first couldn’t get cooperation from the JSDF, so they had to put limitations on them to avoid discrepancies.
ARROW BOOKLET
MACIAS
Daiei changed ownership again in 2002 when Kadokawa bought them. The trilogy’s creative team had moved on to other projects, so they brought in a new one to do what hadn’t been done since 1980: a Gamera film for children.
Magical realism of the trilogy with kids’ POV of Showa series.
FLOWERS
The first editions of the Media Blasters dub had an error that misaligned the music and sound effects. That was corrected by Arrow.
OTHER SOURCES
LEMAY – Big Book Vol. 2
The concept of a child raising Gamera may have come from a 1993 Ito script that had a group of children do it.
Toku Topic: Japanese Ramen Culture
“Although ramen is now an iconic Japanese dish, it’s actually an immigrant, and the names originally used for it made that perfectly clear. Chūka soba and Shina soba both basically mean “Chinese noodles” but have very different connotations. Chūka soba became the most-used term after World War II and is having something of a revival. It replaced shina soba as the political connotations of “shina” became controversial, since it was the word used for China when Japan was an imperialist power in Asia. But there’s no dish in China that closely resembles today’s Japanese ramen, so the story is much more complicated than a simple borrowing.” (Fransisco)
“Ramen soup began gaining its huge popularity in the 1920s and the 1930s due to the great demand for food that is both hearty and quickly cooked. The industrialization encouraged thousands of Japanese people to work in the cities and have no time for preparing food. Eating outside became more common, and nutritious food was needed to give enough strength to the workers. Ramen soup became a successful solution as it was widely served all over the country and had more calories than traditional Japanese meals did. Therefore, ramen became an essential part of urban culture.” (IvyPanda)
Jordan: “Nearby in Yokohama is the Cupnoodles Museum. This location is similar, but focuses on Nissin Foods and their inventions of Instant Ramen and Cup Ramen. Here, you also have the opportunity to try ramen from around Japan, as well as customize your own Cup Noodles (both the exterior cup and the flavors of the ramen inside)! Lastly, if you’re lucky enough to be in Tokyo around late October through early November, you’re in time for one of my favorite food festivals, the Tokyo Ramen Show! In 2020, the event will host 18 ramen vendors for the first 6 days, and a completely different set of 18 ramen vendors for the last 5 days! That’s 36 different ramen shops to try! Entry into the park’s grounds is free, and a ticket for a delicious bowl of ramen is only ¥800!”
There you go. More information about than you ever wanted to know about the food we all ate in college because we couldn’t afford anything else. Do you feel enlightened or entertained?
The next episode is the season two finale—and I don’t know what it is. All I know is it’s courtesy of Michael Hamilton on MIFV MAX (Patreon). That should theoretically make it more exciting—assuming I let Michael come here. Then again, he’s one of the many guests attending Nate’s Board-funded Kaiju Podcasters Banquet, so I guess I can’t stop that. Oh well. Michael just needs to stay out of my garage. Then in January, we begin season three—Ameri-kaiju!
I’ll be damned. Michael Hamilton and I managed to get through an entire episode without threatening each other or stealing each other’s stuff. In fact, I think he spent more time ragging on Nate in Episode 53 on Godzilla Raids Again than he did me. Nate took it in stride, though. I’ve trained him well. Ha! Anyway, I took fair amount of notes that riff the both of them. Let’s dive in.
I was busy when Michael e-mailed me. You wouldn’t believe how much the Board has flooded my inbox. Michael’s message got buried. And let me tell you, Viras’s e-mails are the worst. They’re almost indecipherable because his tentacles are basically fat fingers on a keyboard. His chances of accidentally writing Shakespeare are only marginally better than a drunk monkey’s.
That hazmat suit was for my passenger’s protection because I radiate awesomeness. Or it was a stupid Board mandate. Take your pick.
I look good in yellow. I look good in anything. Even my birthday suit. (Yeah, I said it!)
It’s “TCM,” Michael, not “TMC.” Nate made that mistake once, too.
I’m calling (giant monster) BS on Michael’s claim that this film was on MonsterVision in 1994. I found a video compilation of all the ads, and there’s no Godzilla (or Gigantis) to be found.
I might’ve left you with Kong, Michael, but I didn’t need you to get outsmarted by an ape with a bigger brain.
You were trying to remember Bob Johnson, Nate.
“Militarism” isn’t the right word, Michael. Look it up.
I couldn’t find the title of the educational film the “documentary on unintelligent design” was from, but the dinosaur footage was from Unknown Island, a 1948 adventure film that had an invalid copyright filed, putting it in public domain upon release.
Godzilla did have wings once…in a fan comic…that got canceled….
It was Hidemi, Nate.
I never drink and fly, Michael. I learned that the hard way on one unfortunate training mission at NASA. Glen and I partied a little too much the night before and flew P-1 into orbit while hungover. Okay…we may have snuck onboard while drunk….
As per my…supposedly still active contract (did Raymund figure that out yet?), here are Nate’s leftover notes.
A shorter film (78 minutes) compared to Gojira, probably because it was rushed out.
Excellent black and white photography.
It does feel padded at points, especially at the beginning. There are long sequences with no dialogue or music and not much happens. This could be another symptom of it being rushed.
Godzilla (and Anguirus) appear 9 minutes in.
Dinosaur encyclopedia like in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.
Continuity: Dr. Yamane returns in a cameo; the only time a character returns in a subsequent film in the Showa era.
The score at points seems to emulate Ifukube and at times seems to want to be more western. I felt like I was watching an American sci-fi film from that era at points. In fact, it feels more like an American film in general. The tone is lighter, the heroes are young, the romance is more blatant, and the pacing is faster.
The SFX aren’t as polished this time. That’s to be expected since the film was made and released in six months. The Godzilla suit fits Nakajima better and is less bulky for the physically demanding fight scenes. The kaiju battles themselves don’t seem to have been slowed down compared to the other kaiju scenes in this and the previous film. In order to create the illusion of bulk and size, Tsuburaya had the kaiju actors move fast and then slowed the footage down. There are points Godzilla and Anguirus move way too fast. Regardless, the miniatures are solid and the battles are brutal. Tsuburaya makes the fights seem like wrestling, which in some ways harkens back to Son of Kong with Kiko’s fights. There’s use of puppets for distance shots of the monsters battling. (Godzilla’s ray seems ineffectual at points. Why?)
The aftermath of the monsters’ attack does show some Gojira-esque devastation. The emphasis is more on the destruction than it is on death, though. Whereas Gojira showed the suffering of the people as well as property damage, this film shows far fewer people dying and few, if any, suffering wounded. Some might see this as the franchise first step toward “sanitized violence.” (Barr) A major difference is that the characters joke with each other in the aftermath to provide levity for the audience and, I suspect, for themselves. Regardless, despite Osaka’s destruction, they simply go on with life and continue their pre-wedding celebrations, which Godzilla delays. There’s a statement that the flames that scared off Godzilla attracted Anguirus, showing how solving one problem leads to another.
It’s interesting to note that with Japanese young people practicing dating more than arranged marriage at this time, was the engagement party a continuation of a Japanese tradition, or something new? It’s much like the western practice of the bachelor/bachelorette party. Kobayashi later asks the girl the age-old question, “What do girls want?” She lists superficial things like handbags. This is yet another indication of the cultural change taking place in Japan. Courtship practices were becoming more westernized.
Subplot with prisoner escape. Only one cop in back of truck, which seems dumb. While at first it seems like padding, it does contribute somewhat to the plot. I believe Kalat talked about this, saying that it was evidence of how Godzilla brought the worst out in people. They do get their comeuppance in a subway flood, so they don’t escape Godzilla’s wrath.
I do like the different ways the action is filmed.
There’s an emphasis on fishing in this film, which isn’t surprising considering it’s a major industry in Japan and fish is a large part of their diet.
The opening theme of the film is reused a lot over the course of this film. Yet another indication of its rushed production, most likely.
The climax, interestingly, reminds me somewhat of the beginning of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, which also took place in the arctic.
Other Sources
Galbraith
Most of Sato’s score was replaced by stock music from Kronos and The Deerslayer.
LeMay – Big Book 1
This film had the first tie-in merch for the franchise: A gun and target game for kids.
Classic Media commentary
That as real ice at the end. You can even see frost on the neck of the suit where Nakajima could see out.
Related Topic: The JSDF
In 2015, the Diet enacted legislation that would allow for the SDF to be deployed overseas to defend ally nations in case war is declared on them. They believed that not doing so would endanger Japan. (Japan enacts major changes to its self-defense laws September 18, 2015)
The JSDF can’t act according to international law due to Article 9. (Wikipedia)
Including active members and reservists, Japan has approximately 300,000 military personnel, which is the lowest ratio in terms of population of any member of NATO. (Wikipedia)
Women were originally recruited only for the nursing services, but as time has gone on, more opportunities were opened to them. By 1991, over 6,000 women are in the JSDF in 80% of service areas, except those involving direct combat. (Wikipedia) This is reflected in the Heisei and Millennial Godzilla films as more women are seen in military roles, albeit often in combat situations.
The JSDF has continued to garner favor with the Japanese people since the 1980s. A survey in 1988 showed that 76% of those surveyed were favorably impressed. 77% of respondents cited disaster relief as the most useful function of the JSDF (more so than national security at 63%), and so the JSDF has been increasing its disaster relief operations since. (Wikipedia)
I’d normally sneak in some snarky commentary, but this blog has been delayed long enough.
Next week you’ll hear the finale of “The Year of Gamera” when Bex from Redeemed Otaku returns—along with Nate’s “sister,” Jessica—to discuss Gamera the Brave, a film that if you hate, you’re dead inside. (Yeah, I said it). Speaking of finales, after that it’s the secret season finale thanks to my (former) nemesis and MIFV MAX member, Michael Hamilton. It’s like Mystery Date, except its kaiju/toku media. (That didn’t show my age at all).
Finally…Jimmy has caught up…with his blogs! And it only took two weeks…I think. I would’ve posted this sooner, but I kept getting harassed by Dr. Dourif on Twitter. (The weirdo can’t even spell his name right). Anyway, here are my notes from Kaiju Kim’s visit in episode 52 (Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris).
This movie is old enough to drink in the U.S. Fun fact: the drinking age in Japan is 20.
“Stumped.” (insert It meme “haha!”)
Torii gates were discussed in Episode 24.
Link to Gamera 4 clips.
I’m not so sure I like Amazon using my drones. Mostly because disgruntled customers have shot them.
Given what I know is coming up for the show, Nate, saying, “No,” to Clifford would be questionable. But I don’t want to talk about it.
Now for the ridiculous pile of notes Marchand didn’t get to. Good grief, how many research rabbit holes did he fall into? Alice in Wonderland is looking at him and thinking, knock it off! Anyway, prepare over for a data overload! (You’ve been warned!)
The award-winning Nagamine is back!
Gyaos comes back, and it’s dead. Sets the tone and shows a greater threat is upon us.
The subtitles say, “Dead Gameras.” I liked the English line (dub?) that said, “Gamera graveyard.” It deepens the mythology and builds on the hubris theme from Guardian. These are dead saviors.
The credits roll over black-and-white stock footage from Guardian. Stylistic. Moody. Then we get a flashback.
Chinese divided the cosmos into 28 houses. 7 in each quadrant.
We get a proper Gyaos about 22 minutes in. Gamera in 24.
Hirasaka named the creature Iris after her cat. It’s endearing and ironic given how dangerous the monster is.
Man on street says US can’t fight Gamera for them. Japan should fight its own battles.
In a way, this is not unlike the atomic bomb. He causes damage but ends up saving the world in the end. Is it worth it? Tough question.
Asagi’s last name is significant. Kusanagi was the name of a sword used to slay Orochi in mythology (see episode 13 of MIFV on The Three Treasures).
This baby Iris puppet is incredibly expressive and lifelike.
The news reports tell us that the Gyaos are a worldwide problem. It also seems like kaiju are bit more of a normal thing. (Aren’t they usually? –Jimmy)
“Beer hasn’t tasted this good in a long time” –Osako. A nice callback to the past films (especially Gamera 2).
There’s some horror elements in this, but when the dead body drops from the ceiling. (Better than G84).
Interestingly, Nagamine, the woman of science, prays for the corpse.
Asagi looks quite grown up in this.
The shot of Iris rising above the clouds with the moon in the background does look cool despite the CGI.
Unlike Gamera’s previous opponents, Iris’s lasers can cut through Gamera’s shell.
The shot of the fire transition from Gamera to Iris to Ayana is brilliant.
The integration of the tokusatsu effects and the live action…it’s so good! There are movies with 10, 20, 30 times the budget that don’t look this good!
At this point in the film, Ayana only says Iris’s name.
Ayana wakes up in the rain. Water = life. Also, Gamera roars.
Ayana in the end whispers Gamera’s name like she did Iris’s.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Commentary by Ryfle and Godzizsewski
They started with the idea of making a trilogy.
It had a long production schedule. Kaneko said in an interview that while money is s blessing, having more time produces better films. This had a budget of $8.5 million.
They argue that Kaneko’s approach to filming is straightforward, but he does sometimes have some visual flare.
Kaneko said that using fantasy elements helps explain plot devices that would normally be difficult to explain absurd concepts.
Shibuya is one of the busiest places in Tokyo.
The news reports feature real journalists, a tradition going back to old Toho.
Kaneko’s wife makes a cameo during the “man-on-the street” interviews.
In Guardian, they felt like Godzilla was their competition. In Gamera 2, they felt Guardian was their competition. In this, they felt it was Ultraman Gaia because they had lots of composite photography.
Gamera saves Ayana when she cries out. She’s a damaged child.
Ayana could be seen as symbolic of children orphaned by wars and natural disasters.
Ryfle wonders if this film was inspired by Frankenstein Conquers the World and War of the Gargantuas.
The ending is ambiguous because people weren’t sure if the world would end at the time.
Otani said that writing the music for the ending was so stressful, it gave him stomach problems.
It grossed $15 million at the box office and was screened at the Toronto Film Festival.
ARROW BOOKLET
Macias
Kaneko: “In the past, Gamera was always the children’s hero, and the president (of the studio) always wanted to keep it that way, but I was kind of sick of that.”
Ito went on to work on the .hack series.
England
Claims the budget was 15 billion yen ($11 million), but producer Miyuki Nanri says it would cost $50 million to make in the U.S. He went on to say it has no ego-stroking or frivolity like a Hollywood film. The budget is the budget, so they can’t play games.
One of these days I should find out which of my blogs is the longest thanks to Marchand.
Anyway, next week you’ll hear Nate’s broadcast with my former nemesis, Michael Hamilton, from Kaiju Weekly. They discuss Godzilla Raids Again, which was Michael’s first Godzilla film. What a bunch of banana oil! Then the “Year of Gamera” concludes with guest Bex from Redeemed Otaku and Gamera the Brave. If you don’t like that film, you’re dead inside. Trust me.
See you next week! I have to tune up my mechs in my garage.
