They SUCK! They're HORRIBLE! I realize that these movies were made for a different culture and at a different time. Yes, I realize that these movies grew out of Japan's trauma of having the shit kicked out of them in WWII and specifically, having two atomic bombs dropped on cities. As a matter of fact, if you look at the original Godzilla, the monster kinda looks mushroom-cloudy. Yes, I understand that these movies had limited budgets and were never envisioned as cinematic masterpieces. I get it.

But, damn! They're really, really, really bad. Seeing these films back to back has really brought this to light. You could take the individual scenes from all of these movies, shuffle them like a deck of cards, then edit each of these movies with the shuffled scenes- this scene from one film, the next scene from some other film, the next scene after from a third film, and so forth, and IT WOULDN'T MATTER. The films would be no worse and make no less sense than they do now. Hell, they might even be improved.

Let me be clear- I've seen many of these films in my life, most of them a long time ago. Mothra was a particular campy favorite of my dad. So, it's not as if I've never seen these things. Viewing these things in a concentration is what prompted my post. Why don't I change the channel? I do, but reflexively, I flip back to TCM without thinking about it, and there's the Goddamn little girls and here come the freaking F86s and there's the artillery firing at Mega-Gordillio and Mechdonton or whatever the fuck and the guys in the rubber monster suits are falling off cliffs into the ocean or blowing up or running into powerlines.

They were much better when I was 8.

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
They were much better when I was 8.

+1.

I remember watching Godzilla v Megalon, thinking it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. Now, I only like the MST3K takes on them. Most of the early Godzilla movies are unwatchable for me, now (although I still love the original).

I did enjoy the original. But the others? Pass.

Being nine years old or in an altered state of consciousness helps. Actively commenting on the poor acting and the awful special effects is helpful as well. That is all my buddy did when he came back from Vietnam. Watch Godzilla movies over and over.

Even worse is when they are dubbed in English, so the actors' mouths don't move in sync with the dialog. TCM at least shows them in the original language with subtitles.

quote:

Yes, I realize that these movies grew out of Japan's trauma of having the shit kicked out of them in WWII and specifically, having two atomic bombs dropped on cities.

I don't have a firm grasp on why they would seemingly want to relive the trauma and destruction. The only thing I can think of is that in the movies the Japanese prevailed in the end.

It always cracked me up that Japanese 4-legged creatures walk on their knees.

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
They were much better when I was 8.

I never liked them. Cheesy movies of the 1950s and 1960s were better than this pile of offal.

I loved these movies as a kid. Occasionally now I see them on TV and I can’t help but watch. But I was a little bit shocked when first watching one is an adult and was able to see the strings controlling King Ghidorah’s wings and heads.

At least MST3K made them bearable. "Gamera is fun to eat, he is made of tasty meat!"

H&K-Guy

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:
I never liked them. Cheesy movies of the 1950s and 1960s were better than this pile of offal.

That might be debatable.

I'll admit, I haven't watched a Japanese monster movie in decades, but I do remember them, Godzilla, Mothra, etc. Yeah, they were pretty awful. But Americans can make equally horrible films as well.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw81urzR_9Q

IMO, the Hong Kong kung fu movies of the 70s were the worst, horrifically bad, and yet funny in a campy sort of way


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pFjpfmeOtg

Certainly, there are worse movies, but these Japanese mega-monster films constitute a genre, and as genres go, these films are near the bottom of the heap. There are good sci-fi films and good kung fu films, but there seem to be no good Japanese mega-monster films.

The damn things are insanely tedious.

I'm guessing that these things are playing non-stop in the waiting room in Hell. You get off the elevator, feel the heat, smell the sulfur, and there's Mega-Gordillio on the tube.

Loved these movies when I was a kid.

I came across this site which has some photos from behind the scenes during the making of Godzilla.


More at the link.
https://www.vintag.es/2012/07/...-godzilla-movie.html

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
They were much better when I was 8.

Yes, but even then you knew they weren't good.

The problem was that over time, they deviated from the original premise. The first movie (and I recommend the original Gojira over the Raymond Burr inserted Godzilla) was a straight up serious monster movie. Over time, Godzilla became a “good guy” instead of a destroyer, and the movies were made for kids. The last of the original Toho movies were wretched watching for adults.

They're still better than some of the recent Godzilla remakes.

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He pulls the spitting high-tension wires down

Helpless people on subway trains
Scream, bug-eyed, as he looks in on them

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by BB61:
They were much better when I was 8.

Yes, but even then you knew they weren't good.

True. But I had fun watching them especially if I was home sick from school - much better than some Elvis flick on the Big Money movie show.

Some of my best memories are of going to the Saturday Matinee to watch the Godzilla movies. My Dad would drop all 6 of us off while he worked a couple of doors down.

I remember stomping the floor so hard (the entire theater would do it) that the lights would flicker.

Great memories of crappy films that we LOVED to go see.

As a kid, there was nothing better than looking through the TV Guide and finding a movie listed with "Japanese cast".