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fourorfivemovements · 6 months

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Films Watched in 2024: 25. ゴジラ・ミニラ・ガバラオール怪獣大進撃/Gojira Minira Gabara Ōru Kaijū Dai-shingeki/All Monsters Attack/Godzilla's Revenge (1969) - Dir. Ishirō Honda

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twilightronin · 7 years

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Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster 1966

#Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster #Jun Fukuda #Haruo Nakajima #Yû Sekita

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justfilms · 8 years

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Destroy All Monsters - Ishirō Honda 1968

#Destroy All Monsters #Ishirō Honda #Yû Sekita #Teruo Nigaki #Haruo Nakajima

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wittypenguin · 5 years

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“Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki” (1969) or All Monsters Attack

Literal title: “Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters Attack,” but it was also called “Great Charge of All Monsters” which sounds simultaneously clunky and more ominous, but the US release tops that for ‘fear-factor’ by titling it “Godzilla's Revenge” which does not reflect the film in the slightest.

The chief problem with this is that the title almost sounds like the previous film’s. This is not at all helpful, as this is an entirely different story. It’s even a different story format: there’s a young person (≅8 years of age) who is battling his own monsters in the form of a school bully and some robbers, then there’s a fantasy thread where he observes all the good parts of Godzilla v Ebirah along-side Minzilla/Minira. This duality makes the allegorical nature of the story less than subtle, but it’s not aimed at the audience member with a vast experience of cinematic conventions; it’s for kids.

New cover illustration by Jorge Coelho — — — —

The opening song is like a cross between Neal Hefty and The Doors, with maybe a little “Secret Agent Man” or “The Saint” thrown into the arrangement. It even has lyrics which are subtitled!

We then cut to shots of industrial works and everyday life in late-’60s Japan. That peek into the mundanity of Japanese culture is, to me, the most fascinating part of it, recalling my own world of the time, and being able to find differences and similarities with this one is rewarding.

Gabara (Yû Sekita) is Bad News in Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaijû daishingeki (1969) — — — —

Godzilla is seen battling both Ebirâ and THAT SPIDER THING I DO NOT REMEMBER THE NAME OF; as well as the bullying Gabara, thus providing our tiny hero with an object lesson in How To Deal With Bad People. We see this put into practice with both the robbers (and potentially creating the genesis of Home Alone) as well as dealing with the bigger, more aggressive student in his school. The notion of ‘might makes right,’ or even ‘fighting back is the solution,’ doesn’t strike me as the most effective way forward — for one thing it merely perpetuates the violence and negative behaviour we’re supposed to be ending — but looking at it from 2019 may not be the most charitable or even practical in this case.

The camera and artistic style is very much influenced by the French New Wave style of cinema verité: the lighting is seemingly only that which already exists, all sets are ‘real places,’ and the performances seem very much naturalistic. In many ways, the ‘reality’ story line could even qualify for ‘Dogma’ film-making! I could be entirely off here, however, and it’s actually like this for purely budgetary reasons. It is what it is, really, and the ‘fantasy’ sequences visually look considerably different as a result.

We see a repeat of the scene where Godzilla teaches his son how to blast atomic breath, with the scene having been re-shot, albeit nearly identically to the one a few films previously; this time using a new set. It works again, but it’s with the son being mildly harmed to trigger the desired result, thereby reinforcing the ‘anger is an energy’ positive message. PIL’s great rebellious song aside, this doesn’t really sit comfortably anymore.

It’s… okay… but I’m not going to revisit this one anytime soon either.

★★☆☆☆

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fourorfivemovements · 4 years

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