1godzillafan's Toku Corner (Ultra Q)

Godzilla:  Tokyo S.O.S. is the English title and the International title.  The original Japanese title is Godzilla X Mothra X Mechagodzilla:  Tokyo S.O.S.

Premise:  In the months after Godzilla and Kiryu fought each other to a stalemate, Mothra's twin fairy Shobijin surface again for the first time since 1961 (only Mothra's first film in in canon to this film) and insist that using the bones of the original Godzilla from 1954 that were used to create the "Mechagodzilla" Kiryu is disrupting the spirits of the dead, and they demand the bones be returned to their grave.  The Japanese government ponders the request, but Godzilla surfaces again.  To prevent the launch of Kiryu, the Shobijin call Mothra to Japan's aid.  However, Mothra is near the end of her life cycle, soon to spawn a new larva, and she proves too weak to tackle the kaiju.  The government has no choice but to dispatch Kiryu to help Mothra, which begins a kaiju war in the heart of Tokyo that lasts throughout the night.

I feel the Millennium series of Godzilla films gets a lot of undeserved flack.  Most of them are fun, wildly entertaining films with a lot of energy.  But I guess Godzilla was in the middle of a fatigue cycle at the time, and the 1998 Hollywood film just kind of sucked the air out of the room.

The Millennium film I like the least is actually one that seems to be more highly regarded, which is Tokyo S.O.S.  This one just seems a bit slower than the others, and it doesn't really have much of a story.  What story it has is set up in a half hour, which is a lead-up to a kaiju battle that lasts almost an hour of a ninety minute movie.  It's probably the most action heavy Godzilla movie ever made.  Seems like a dream come true?  Well, be careful what you wish for.

I might have been more responsive to it if it tried for less nostalgia jabs.  A lot of the Mothra plot points echo the film Godzilla vs. Mothra, and Tokyo S.O.S. is almost an unofficial remake for the most part.  You just have to replace the giant egg from the 1964 film with Mechagodzilla.  The film echos that movie so much that I find myself a little bored by it, because there are no surprises.  The only variable here that affects any interest in anything is Kiryu, who has some fun brawling moments, but is a bit pussied up compared to him unleashed in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.

And that's also something about the movie that doesn't sit well with me.  Spoiler alert for the upper section of this list, but I love Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (I also love Godzilla vs. Mothra).  I gave it's open ending a pass because I knew this film was on the horizon, but I find myself not enthused about Tokyo S.O.S. as a sequel to that film.  Most of the cast of characters is dropped, including Miho Yoshioka's main character from that film, who is reduced to a "passing of the torch" cameo.  Considering the climax of the previous film featured her respecting that there was a living spirit inside of Kiryu and the two found a way to work together, the fact that the movie abandons furthering that storyline here (which it definitely could have with this story) in favor of new characters that don't have the connection with Kiryu she had grinds my gears.

Plus there is no Absolute Zero cannon.  Fuck that noise.

I like little things about this movie more than the whole.  I think it's a very handsome looking movie, and I think the special effects are top notch, and it was probably second to none at that point in the series (Shin Godzilla probably blew it out of the water, though).  The idea of a mostly uninterrupted royal rumble that lasts the majority of the movie is enticing too.  This is also the last Godzilla movie that was scored by Michiru Oshima, who is one of my favorite Godzilla composers, second to Akira Ifukube, if we're being honest.  I just love her themes so fucking much.



But for the most part when this movie ends, I always have that gutpunch of a "meh" feeling inside of me.  I wish I liked it more, but it doesn't really inspire a lot in me.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah is the Japanese and International title to this film.  In the original English version it was titled Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster.

Premise:  Earth's pollution has gotten out of hand, and result a new creature has mutated that feeds on it.  This creature, dubbed Hedorah, is constantly mutating into various forms, eventually evolving from a sea creature to walking on land and flying in the air.  Leaving acidic sludge and toxic gas in its wake wherever it goes, if Hedorah isn't stopped he could wipe out all of mankind.  While mankind tries to deduce a weakness to the creature, Godzilla continually challenges Hedorah, but can Godzilla beat a creature that is toxic to not only all humans, but the King of the Monsters as well?

Uh oh!  It's getting groovy in here!



It's those wacky 70's Godzilla flicks making a comeback on the list, of which aren't all bad.  Mostly they're just dumb, but at their best moments they're dumb fun.  Godzilla vs. Hedorah is one that I like in spite of its worst tendencies of being preachy without actually having a story.  To be honest though, those worst tendencies kind of make me enjoy this flick more, because it's not just preachy, it's kind of incompetently preachy.  Amusingly so.

The story of why this is such an environmentalist movie is pretty well known in Godzilla circles.  Most Godzilla flicks up until this point were directed by either Ishiro Honda or Jun Fukuda (the sole exception being the one and done Motoyoshi Oda of Godzilla Raids Again), but the reins of the franchise were put in the hands in relative newcomer Yoshimitsu Banno for this eleventh entry in the franchise, who puts a very pro-environment angle to most of his work.  Godzilla's main producer, Tomoyuki Tanaka, was hospitalized throughout the production and unable to supervise the film, which gave Banno mostly free reign on it.  When Tanaka saw the finished film, he hated it, and banned Banno from ever directing another Godzilla movie.  In fact, Banno never directed another movie after this.

I don't want to say Tanaka overreacted, because even when you consider the previous Godzilla film to be released was Godzilla's Revenge, this film is pretty weird.  But still, Tanaka decided to "fix" the franchise by releasing films like Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon, so I don't really think he has much right to criticize this movie for "ruining Godzilla."

If I were to give Banno credit for one thing, it's that he makes a decent use of scare tactics for his "pollution is bad" message.  The imagery in this movie, while trippy, is horrifying.  We see people's skin dissolve, become horribly scared for life, choke on toxic fumes, and doused in sludge.  And if that isn't enough to convince you the environment is important, Banno throws in a kitten who's been nearly polluted to death.  Some of this stuff is pretty fucked up, and it's the most graphic the Godzilla series has been since the original film.

And yet, the tone can get wonky, which I think is partially the music's fault because it's stuck in that awkward period where the 60's is trying to turn in the 70's and it's trying to be hip.  The movie's music in general is not very good, as Riichiro's Manabe's Godzilla themes are probably the worst of the entire series.  Godzilla's main theme makes it sound like he's downed twenty beers and can't stand up.  The one highlight of the music is the "upfront about our theme" title song, Save the Earth, which is one of the few songs in a Godzilla movie that was actually translated to English for a dub (which is only available in the original Smog Monster dub of the film).

The movie also goes into some strange corners to find its own "artistic merit."  Every once in a while the movie stops in its tracks to show a quirky cartoon to help the audience understand what they're trying to say Hedorah is doing, though this is really just talking down to anybody who's been following the plot.  Even not taking these little animations into account, there is something strangely abstract about this movie.  It is at times feels a surreal fever dream, or a trip from some really bad weed.  Probably the case in point for that last thing is the moment at the end where Godzilla goes full Gamera, as he curls up into a fetal position, fires his atomic breath, and lifts off to fly after Hedorah.  This is probably the biggest WTF moment in the history of Godzilla movies, and it is glorious.  If I were a more serious Godzilla fan (and I don't know why I would be, I mean...c'mon) this moment might bug me, but instead it's the icing on the cake.

As an interesting aside to this movie, despite being banned from ever making another Godzilla movie, Banno had always wanted to make another one.  Originally he wanted to do a direct sequel to this film, but was fired before he could begin production.  Years after Tanaka had died and during the period where Toho had put Godzilla on hiatus post-2004, Banno requested the rights to the character to create a 40 minute IMAX film titled Godzilla 3D to the MAX, which would also be a pro-environment themed Godzilla movie using the tried and true rubber suit style.  Banno's hunt for American producers led him to Legendary Pictures' Thomas Tull, who became so interested in producing a Godzilla movie, that he renegotiated the deal with Toho to do a brand new American franchise that led to the development of 2014 film, which also got Toho interested in revitalizing the character with Shin Godzilla and future projects.  So in reality, we have both Banno and Godzilla vs. Hedorah to thank for the latest Godzilla resurgence.

Thank you, Banno.  That fucking anime trilogy was all your fault.

Premise:  A pharmaceutical company sponsors an exposition to Faro Island to find a natural narcotic berry and to investigate the possible existence of an island god named "Kong."  Begrudgingly allowed to stay by the natives, the expedition finds that Kong is actually a massive ape that feeds on the berries.  After being put to sleep by the berries, the group capture Kong and attempt to bring him back to the mainland, only to have Kong escape.  Meanwhile, Godzilla frees himself from the iceberg he had been imprisoned in and beelines straight to Japan.  This puts the two monsters on a collision course that could leave Japan in rubble.

It's probably about time we got to another Ishiro Honda film on this list, as the man directed eight films in the franchise, which is a sizable chunk (Jun Fukuda made five, Takao Okawara made four).  But the problem is that most of his films were the most entertaining Godzilla films in the legacy, so it was probably always going to take a while to get to these.  Except Godzilla's Revenge.  Just no, to that movie.

Of the rest of Honda's filmography, I'm going to say King Kong vs. Godzilla is my least favorite of the Father of Godzilla's tenure.  The movie is a bit of a cartoon in it's execution, with a very exaggerated style and hammy performances by certain characters.  A lot of it is associated with King Kong's storyline, with some very silly stabs at humor, and a goofy parody of an entrepreneur character in Mr. Tako.  And then there is the whole way they get Kong off the island, where they put the monkey to sleep, build a giant raft out of wood, tie him up, and just drag him back through the ocean.  I'm starting to think some of this is a little silly.

Godzilla's half is more of an angry beast taking a stroll, who is very irritable toward everyone in his way.  It's pretty straightforward, but the movie doesn't really go out of its way to try and get him from point A to point B, because G is just wandering around, basically.  But this is a very early depiction of Godzilla, who isn't a heroic character in the slightest.  He doesn't like people, people don't like him.  It's a fairly pure 'Zilla depiction at its heart.

The movie's cartoonish nature also becomes a strength too, because it's so tongue-in-cheek absurd that it transcends being silly into a sort of kitsch experience that works if you roll with it (though, one can say this about most Godzilla movies, especially the last two I listed).  If you stay in step with it, it becomes easier to forgive some of its weaker aspects, such as the costumes of the monsters themselves.  Kong's costume looks like it was left underneath a refrigerator for about a year.  Godzilla seems to be an attempt to make the creature look closer to a crocodile than he previously did, but while certain angles look good, head-on he looks very dumpy.  But they style of the film has a hyperreality to it and because of that I can accept how fake it looks.  I can even accept the race-bending skintone bodypaint most of the natives wear...



This is probably technically blackface, but I don't care because boobies and hula.

This is also the first Godzilla film in color, which was a long time coming because Toho toku films have been using color since Rodan in 1956.  It's also the first Godzilla film in widescreen, which Toho toku films had been using since The Mysterians in 1957.  This is also a pair of firsts for King Kong, but Kong hadn't been in a film since 1933, so he was due for an update.  But you can say the same for Godzilla too, who had a franchise that had been in hibernation since 1955.  Kong had a enduring legacy, while Godzilla had a popular film though it didn't yet develop the clout that Kong had built up.  In many ways, King Kong vs. Godzilla helped make both franchises explode and woke both franchises from hibernation.  It probably can be argued that the popularity of King Kong vs. Godzilla helped turn Godzilla into the franchise it would become, as it kickstarted even more sequels featuring the big guy.  So I suppose it could be argued it's one of the most important Godzilla movies ever made.

Edit:  I'm adding in some neglected notes about the American edit, which runs shorter but has added scenes featuring an American newscaster named Eric Carter (inspiration for Eric Cartman?) commentating on world events, pretty much explaining the plot to us in case we were too lazy to watch the damn movie.  The majority of Akira Ifukube's wonderful score has been removed, with the exception of the native chants.  Instead Universal International replaced the music with stuff from their own stock library to make it sound less "Asian."  The most notable soundtrack featured is that of Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Contrary to popular belief, the ending to the American version is not different than the one in Japan.  Both films end with the titans falling into the ocean and Kong surfacing to swim away, while Godzilla's fate is unknown.  The only difference between the two is that the Japanese version ends with audio roars from both monsters, while the American edit removes Godzilla's and ends with only Kong's.