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Nathan’s Notes on ‘Episode 13: The Three Treasures (Mini-Analysis)’

Published April 1, 2020

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.

Follow me on Twitter: @NathanMarchand7

My author website: www.NathanJSMarchand.com.

#MonsterIslandFilmVault

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Monster Island Gaming | Override: Mech City Brawl (Stream)

Published March 28, 2020

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::

Anyway, here’s the video:

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KAIJU QUARANTINE | Trailer #2

Published March 27, 2020

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!

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Episode 13: ‘The Three Treasures’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published March 25, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

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.

Here’s the KVR episode: Episode 41: The Three Treasures a.k.a. Nippon tanjo (The Birth of Japan) (1959) (Shinto)

This episode featured the songs “‘BATMAN’ [OG Theme Song Remix!]” by Remix Maniacs & “ULTRAMAN” by Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi.

Join the Kaiju Quarantine Discord server!

Here are Jimmy’s, er, Nathan’s Notes on this episode.

© 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 12: Daniel DiManna vs. King Kong (2005)’

Published March 18, 2020

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

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Episode 12: Daniel DiManna vs. ‘King Kong’ (2005)

Published March 11, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

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

© 2020 Moonlighting Ninjas Media

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 11: Varan the Unbelievable’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published March 4, 2020

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.

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives
#WeShallOvercome

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Episode 11: ‘Varan the Unbelievable’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published February 26, 2020

Hello, kaiju lovers!

In Nathan’s continuing series of mini-sodes on films covered by Bran Scherschel on Kaijuvision Radio after Nathan left the show, he examines Ishiro Honda’s overlooked 1958 kaiju film Varan the Unbelievable (or Daikaiju Baran). While Honda didn’t think much of it (especially after its tumultuous production when the American TV network co-producing it pulled out), it was the first kaiju film written for Toho by the fabled Shinichi Sekizawa. The second half is a by-the-numbers monster movie, but the first half is intriguing because it touches on then contemporary issues with the burakumin, a discriminated social class in Japan. Their name means “village people” (no, not the disco band!), and they were essentially the “untouchables” of Japanese culture for centuries. When seen through that lens, this film offers more than a cool kaiju.

After that, Nathan reads some listener feedback, including a letter from someone who offers some clarification on the (in)famous Batman Meets Godzilla script.

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 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 February 26 to March 4 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.

Here’s the KVR episode: Episode 40: Varan (1958) (Hisabetsu-Buraku) (Discriminated Communities)

This episode featured the song “‘BATMAN’ [OG Theme Song Remix!]” by Remix Maniacs.

Be sure to read Jimmy’s Notes on this episode.

(c) 2020 Nathan Marchand & Moonlighting Ninjas Media

Bibliography/Further Reading:

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Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 10: John LeMay vs. King Kong Lives’

Published February 19, 2020

Last week’s episode on King Kong Lives was certainly an interesting one. It was both informative and entertaining. Nathan “survived” in true Mystery Science Theatre 3000 fashion while John LeMay made a valiant defense of the movie. I did not pipe in as much because, as listeners will remember, John and I had a spat when I refused to show him my garage. I did not get a chance to explain it was because I needed to make sure it was clean and safe for visitors. That was all.

Anyway, here are my notes on the episode:

  • I did not want to disappoint you on the air, John, but I am actually a natural brunette. I dye my hair red. In other words, I still have a soul. Or did I lose it when I dyed my hair?
  • Here’s the Siskel and Ebert review of King Kong Lives.
  • About those so-called “magic artificial hearts”: The Island’s Board of Directors acquired Dr. Amy Franklin’s design and attempted to improve upon it. I can neither confirm nor deny that experiments may have been conducted on kaiju that aren’t as big a draw for Tourists….
  • Here are two articles with great info on artificial hearts: “7 Things You Should Know about Artificial Hearts” and the Wikipedia entry on them.
  • Baby Kong was played by seven-year-old Benjamin Kechley. And yes, I think he should have bragging rights for life.
  • Surprisingly, Nathan was wrong about the Superman film John was talking about. (He is as obsessed with superheroes as he is kaiju. God help me when he takes a deep dive into Ultraman…). It was Superman II from 1980 that had the Eiffel Tower scene, which did involve terrorists with hostages and a bomb. You can watch it here and here.
  • I have a plenty of material to do a War in Space panel at G-Fest, John. I mean, I lived it. And miraculously survived it. But like Nathan said, someone has to take care of the studio while he is gone, and we are more or less a two-man operation. Maybe I will get some time off when the film’s 45th anniversary rolls around….
  • Here’s a link to the Godziban playlist on the official Toho Godzilla YouTube channel. It is the show Nathan and John mention briefly where Godzilla Junior and Minya get along. I cannot vouch for its accuracy.
  • John is both right and wrong about the dinosaur fights in the Lovelace novelization. Kong does fight a triceratops—several, in fact—but he later he also fights a “meat-eater” dinosaur, which may or may not have been a T-Rex. There is some debate over it.
  • It’s “Monsterverse” not “Godzilla universe,” John. 😛
  • Here’s the Subway commercial that was mentioned by John.
  • The confusing things about Kong: King of Skull Island is there appears to be two of them. Maybe? Here is this on Amazon (and Wikizilla), but there’s also a Kickstarter for an illustrated version in 2018. I am guessing the latter is what sparked the lawsuit they mention.
  • The person John could not remember who pitched Skull Island: Blood of the Kong with Neil Marshall was Simon Uttley.
  • The Kong Netflix series is Kong: King of the Apes. It is a children’s series and currently has two seasons. Here is a link to its official page.

Here are the many notes Nathan did not get to during the episode. Admittedly, some of them are riffs that require context not given in the note. Basically, watch the film chronologically (if you dare!) and you may be able to find what he is talking about. So, buckle up because there is a lot.

  • They edited in different roars for the flashback. Not as good.
  • I wonder how much Bridges and Lange were paid for that stock footage?
  • Music courtesy of John Williams’ leftovers.
  • How is Kong not a furry mound of jelly?
  • Admittedly, this continuous opening shot for the credits isn’t bad.
  • We see Lady Kong in less than 8 minutes. (Kong meets a female of his species and suddenly forgets about blondes?) (Mrs. Kong theory from episode 4).
  • “Can you hear me now?” Verizon, anyone?
  • “I’m in love with a gorilla!”
  • Disneyland? Why not Universal Studios?
  • “The only living ape.” Because all the normal-sized ones have died out in ten years?
  • “I left a trail of bananas.” Don’t make fun of yourself, movie. That’s my job!
  • As usual, Kong breaks his chains of captivity.
  • Did those apes just have a love at first sight moment?
  • Yeah, the dozers will stop him.
  • “They’ll need a doctor after they get a whiff of this gas.” I never should’ve eaten that breakfast burrito!
  • The action hero trope: the big bad male hero can take a beating and not flinch, but he winces when a woman tends his wounds. Nice job, Kong.
  • Are those natives on Kong’s Island burnt out drunks like Jack said? Would they let outsiders build a reserve then?
  • Welcome to Movie Land, where people fall in love and make out at the drop of a hat. Justification: This is what primates do.
  • Oh no! The flamethrowers return! How is Kong not PTSD-ing right now?
  • There’s a torrential downpour, but the sun is out.
  • There are a lot of pop culture references in this. Indiana Jones. Deliverance. Juicy Fruit.
  • You’re telling me none of the doctors the military brought in figured out Lady Kong was pregnant?
  • There are points this feels more like a post-1976 King Kong knockoff than an actual Kong film.
  • Don’t you guys know that Kong hates flashbulbs?
  • “Well, Kong, you’ve killed now. Nothing will stop them from killing you now.” Did you miss the first movie?
  • Kong is a tactician. He throws pocket sand at the military before attacking. 😛 (“Pocket sand!” -Dale from King of the Hill).

These are Nathan’s leftover notes from King Kong: History of a Movie Icon from Fay Wray to Peter Jackson by Ray Morton:

  • De Laurentiis wanted to do a sequel from get-go. At one point even discussed a Frankenstein-like idea with Semple.
  • Sequel never manifested because De Laurentiis was either disappointed it didn’t out-gross Jaws or because he didn’t want to have to deal with Universal.
  • In the ensuing years, he bought Embassy Pictures and made it into his own studio, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG).
  • John Guillermin returned as director. Both he and De Laurentiis had lost sons in the intervening years, so their relationship had mellowed.
  • Carlo Rambaldi was brought back on for the special effects. He’d won several Oscars for his work since 1976.
  • Despite not liking the script, Brian Kerwin took the role because he was offered lots and money and he was the lead. He said later that monkey was the lead and he was set dressing. He also wanted to be picked up by Kong.
  • New suit actors were brought in, both male. Kong’s hair was Icelandic yak fur.
  • They tried to make Kong ’86 look like Kong ’76, but it didn’t quite work. The former is brown and the latter black. Face was different with more expressive mask.
  • Kong’s biological heart is a replica of a real gorilla heart. The artificial heart is a fantasy creation. Kerwin considered making it into a coffee table.
  • Ran into budget problems because DEG was hit hard by new tax laws. Some sequences were trimmed or eliminated. It wasn’t filmed in Brazil and Jamaica and instead was filmed in Tennessee and Wilmington.
  • All the fake blood in the Kong transplant scene made an extra pass out.
  • Kerwin read all 22 Travis McGee novels in his downtime. One actor directed community theatre!
  • Kerwin said de Laurentiis was “braggadocious and stingy.”
  • Guillermin was mellower but often still intense.
  • Hamilton was in a bad mood all the time according to Kerwin.
  • Baker refused to come back due to unreasonable conditions and the Oscars dustup, so it went to Peter Elliott, an acrobat and veteran costume performer. He did ape choreography in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan. His friend George Yiasomi played Lady Kong, but a “Greek guy” was brought in to do the close-ups of her eyes.
  • The actors played the apes like animals around each other and more human-like around humans. Elliot based his performance on James Dean! (Indiana connection!)
  • The courtship scene was over-the-top but Elliott based their actions on real apes but performed it in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
  • No Oscars noms, but Rambaldi was nominated for a Razzie for worst visual effects.
  • De Laurentiis thought the film was a mistake.

Here are the livetweets from Nathan’s author Twitter that he did not mention:

  • “You’ve got Indiana Jones.” Now there’s a crossover I’d love to see! Now there is a crossover I’d watch in a heartbeat! Pun intended. #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • “Lady Kong”? Is it because “Queen Kong” was taken in a slightly better movie?
  • These doctors are performing surgery with giant egg beaters? #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • Let’s spend millions of dollars to resurrect the rampaging monster who killed dozens of people and cost millions and property damage. This can only ending [in] good. #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • That’s not an artificial hard—it’s a submarine! Makes me wish this was a crossover between #KingKong and Fantastic Voyage. #KingKongLives
  • “#KingKong, you just came back from the dead! What are you going to do next?“ “Get laid.” That must’ve been one heck of a wet dream he was having for 10 years.
  • You know your sequel is in trouble when the flashback to the mediocre remake has the best special-effects.#KingKong #KingKongLives
  • “The other monkeys going ape $&@#!” [L]eave the bad puns to me, movie.#KingKong #KingKongLives
  • #KingKong and Lady Kong: Still a better love story than #Twilight. #KingKongLives
  • Lady Kong is scared of (normal-sized) snakes. Of course. #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • If all it took to get a girlfriend was dying and being resurrected, I have tried it a long time ago. #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • “Bring in the Big Bird!” Hey, it’s not yellow and teaching me to count! #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • It was a lack of protein killed the beast. And no wonder: he keeps eating rubber gators.
  • When you howl at the moon, sometimes the moon howls back.#KingKong #KingKongLives
  • Please, sir, I want some more stomach blows. #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • #KingKong almost became a slasher movie villain by killing some horny teenagers. All he was missing was a knife and a huge hockey mask. Yet another amusing crossover: King Kong and Friday the 13th. #KingKongLives
  • #KingKong: Defeated by rednecks. I was an icon once. #KingKongLives
  • “My dad’s gonna kill me! We didn’t switch to Geico and add giant monkey insurance!“ #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • Lt. Cola? Is that soda for soldiers? I guess if #Godzilla endorses Dr. Pepper, Kong should get something. #KingKong #KingKongLives (Lt. Col. A. Nevitt). Haha!
  • Kong: I ate red(neck) meat! I’m not afraid to eat white (guy) meat! #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • #KingKong just crashed a hoedown. Now I’ve seen everything. #KingKongLives
  • Is this general play[ed] by our young Don Frye? Is he Captain Gordon’s grandpa? #KingKong #KingKongLives
  • So what if #KingKong is dead. Just cure him with another artificial heart. #KingKongLives
  • From the World Trade Center to a barn in redneck country. Talk about coming down in life. #KingKong #KingKongLives

Finally, here are some unused notes about the convoluted King Kong copyright:

  • Supposedly Eisner also discussed the idea with Sidney Sheinberg, chief operating officer of MCA (Universal), which was hot off the positive early reviews for Jaws and wanted another marauding animal film. Negotiations started around the same time as De Laurentis. Agreed to pay same amount up front but balked at sharing the gross. Lots of studio politics involved. Word has it that the Universal offer was preferred. Attorney Arnold Shane thought Universal won the rights, and Stromberg hired Oscar-winning screenwriter Bo Goldman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Melviun and Howard) to write a script. Meanwhile, De Laurentis’ offer was accepted. Universal protested saying that despite not signing a written contract, they took Daniel O’Shea’s supposed comment as a binding verbal agreement. Universal sued for $25 million in damages in June 1975 accusing RKO-General of “breach of contract” and “fraud” and De Laurentis of international interference with advantageous business relations” and “unfair competition.” De Laurentis was surprised by Universal’s claim but thought it was invalid because he had a signed contract, so he pressed on confidently.
  • Sept. 1975: Superior Court of LA dismissed Universal’s claim, saying the verbal agreement was “tissue-paper thin.” Universal then filed a second claim having learned the novelization of Kong, which had some different material, had fallen into the public domain in 1960 thanks to the Copyright Law of 1909 that set the copyright to 28 years. The studio claimed they weren’t infringing on RKO’s films—the “new” material—while the “old material” was in public domain. They announced their new film would be based on the novel, and told Bo Goldman to revise his script to conform to the novel. Joseph Sargent (Colossus: The Forbin Project, The Taking Pelham 123) was hired to direct. De Laurentis said he would start casting in December for his film. Unsure if the name King Kong was owned by RKO, they changed their film’s title to The Legend of King Kong to be safe.  De Laurentis responded by changing his to King Kong: The Legend Reborn.
  • RKO filed a countersuit November 20 against Universal in Federal District Court for $5 million for copyright infringement and asked for an injunction for the studio to stop promoting the film. De Laurentis filed his own suit December 4 for $90 million in damages caused by “copyright infringement and unfair competition.” He also filed an injunction against Universal. Universal forced the issue by saying they’d start filming Jan. 5, which was a bluff.  The market would only support one remake, and whoever started shooting first would likely win. De Laurentis moved production up, hastily starting Jan. 15 and having the crew work 16-hour days. This required money he didn’t have, but he was determined.
  • Universal allegedly approached De Laurentis about settling after he announced when they’d begin filming. They discussed a joint production, but De Laurentis didn’t like Universal’s demands. They wanted their script to be used and merchandising and sequel rights.   Barry Diller and Paramount threatened to pull out if he didn’t settle, so he started talking with Universal.
  • De Laurentis and Ubniversial announced Jan. 28, 1976, that they’d reached agreement. Universal got 8% or 11% percent of De Laurentis’ profits, certain merchandising rights and profits, and veto power on sequels by agreeing to cancel their film.  They could also start their own film so long as it was 18 months after the release of De Laurentis’ film. If it was hit, there would be no need, and if it was a flop, there would no interest in one. Silly move. Universal didn’t get to make their own until 2005 with Peter Jackson. The lawsuit was settled in September.

Oh man. This might be my longest Jimmy’s Notes yet. This is what happens when you are a producer on a podcast with a host who over-prepares. My contractual obligation to post all of these in my blog does not help. You win that front, Marchand!

Anyway, join us next week when Daniel DiManna of the Godzilla Novelization Project joins us to discuss Peter Jackson’s epic 2005 remake of King Kong.

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

#JimmyFromNASALives
#WeShallOvercome

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