tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post5302872284891508212..comments2024-02-08T18:06:45.861-08:00Comments on The Good, the Bad, and Godzilla 続・夕陽の呉爾羅: 「三大怪獣・地球最大の決戦」GHIDRAH: THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER (1964)August Ragonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11708963205755568342noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-56956937120932145832008-12-30T14:32:00.000-08:002008-12-30T14:32:00.000-08:00great blog! did you happen to find your interview ...great blog! did you happen to find your interview with Eiji Tsuburaya? I've been looking everywhere for how Ghidorah's roar was made!alkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01287078334306379049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-83776017918797592952008-08-29T10:32:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:32:00.000-07:00Bunche,Thanks for posting! I guess that you experi...Bunche,<BR/>Thanks for posting! I guess that you experienced GHIDRAH in "Matango-Vision"! What would Ishiro Honda say?<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>AugustAugust Ragonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708963205755568342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-71668767049344763122008-08-29T10:08:00.000-07:002008-08-29T10:08:00.000-07:00Chris-I am in no way on the Ragone payroll and I d...Chris-<BR/><BR/>I am in no way on the Ragone payroll and I do not know the guy personally, but speaking as a lifelong lover of Japanese giant monster movies I have to steer you, a newcomer, to his book. Those of us who practically have religion over this stuff are a notoriously tough audience to please, and August's book on Tsuburaya could only be improved by having the power to raise the FX master from the grave, fully restored and once again helming spectacular visions of titanic beasts kicking mankind's ass. Trust me, it's worth every cent.<BR/><BR/>As for GHIDRAH, I do enjoy it, but I prefer MONSTER ZERO (there's just something to be said for Nick Adams and those Devo-looking aliens). The question over the anthropomorphizing of the monsters always seemed kind of moot to me since it was clear that at least some of the monsters could be communicated with; the most obvious example of this is Mothra and its relationship with the Twin Faeries, so if that could work it wasn't much of stretch for me to accept the creatures acting ways that we could recognize and understand. Plus it was fun for me as a child to be able to get what was going through the heads of the big critters.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and I have a great story about seeing GHIDRAH on the big screen: back in 1985 my college's film series ran a number of Toho monster epics, and on the night I went to see GHIDRAH my friend Nina and I scored some righteous mushrooms and dosed up just before going to the movie. As the two of us sat there in the dark auditorium we both began to have doubts about whether or not we'd been burned in our mushroom purchase since they were having no effect whatsoever. It turned out we had nothing to worry about; just before the mountain climbers check out the crashed meteor, the film's colors suddenly became a tad more vibrant and a little distorted, and Nina looked at me to ask if I was feeling anything, to which I replied, "Oh, yeeeaaaah...." The fungus then kicked in in earnest, and I got to witness the birth of Ghidrah on the big screen and appreciatively looped on quality hallucinogens. Quite a step up from being eight-years-old and seeing it on THE 4:30 MOVIE, let me tell you!Bunche (pop culture ronin)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11831085937894725459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-77168015242131451722008-08-29T01:35:00.000-07:002008-08-29T01:35:00.000-07:00Tim,Thanks for the kind comments about the blog an...Tim,<BR/>Thanks for the kind comments about the blog and the book, it's really appreciated! <BR/><BR/>As for Honda's comments... While he stated his reluctance, he also agreed that if Godzilla was the same from film to film, the series would have gotten boring pretty quickly and never lasted as long. So, he agreed that Godzilla had to change to keep audiences coming back.<BR/><BR/>Remember, Toho didn't consider bringing Godzilla back after GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955), and produced a whole slew of different monster and science fiction pictures, until John Beck brought them the project which became KING KONG VS. GODZILLA (1962).<BR/><BR/>Thanks for posting! "Godzilla and Jet Jaguar, will punch, punch, punch!"<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>AugustAugust Ragonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708963205755568342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-35653616298894638492008-08-28T18:21:00.000-07:002008-08-28T18:21:00.000-07:00August,I have always been a bit fascinated about t...August,<BR/><BR/>I have always been a bit fascinated about the whole topic of anthropomorphic nature of the monsters. The quote you cite from Honda clearly shows his hesitence, yet it continued to increase in occurences. To be honest, I really don't mind it at all. I think it is one of the reasons why I find the whole Showa series to be superior to the recent ones. It really does give the G-Films of that period it's charm. I mean come on, how cool is it when Godzilla shakes Jet Jaguar's hand. I dig it everytime I see it. <BR/><BR/>Keep up the great work! Still lovin' the book!Timothyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12530713931306188305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-13399540000835762142008-08-27T17:13:00.000-07:002008-08-27T17:13:00.000-07:00Chris, It's awesome that you are discovering these...Chris, <BR/>It's awesome that you are discovering these films for the first time, <B>and</B> digging them! Hope you're enjoying them, and perhaps, if you'd like to know more about the visual effects director, who might want to purchase a *ahem *<I>certain book</I> currently on the market...<BR/><BR/>Lee,<BR/>Actually, Godzilla's roar was created by rubbing a resin-coated glove down the length of a contrabass string — which was conceived by composer Akira Ifukube. As for King Ghidorah, I have to dig out an interview I have with Toho's Sound Effects Designer from the 1980s... the memories are kind of cloudy on that one.<BR/><BR/>But, here's a bit of trivia, a modified version of King Ghidorah's roar was used as the telephone ring of the Science Patrol in ULTRAMAN!<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>AugustAugust Ragonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708963205755568342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-6309994297817055062008-08-27T14:17:00.000-07:002008-08-27T14:17:00.000-07:00Great review August! I know a resin bag was used t...Great review August! I know a resin bag was used to make Godzilla's roar. How was Ghidrah's roar created?Lee Merritthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14015885097106983451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-26656732665404701172008-08-27T12:38:00.000-07:002008-08-27T12:38:00.000-07:00It's funny -- just a couple weeks ago I got this e...It's funny -- just a couple weeks ago I got this exact DVD on a lark; I was so blown away that I immediately got the entire boxed set. As a kid, I never really saw any of the Godzilla movies, so this is a journey of discovery for me.Sign outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211238307894390176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-48072261992011892712008-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:002008-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:00David,Thanks, it's one of my favorites as well. I ...David,<BR/>Thanks, it's one of my favorites as well. I also had a bunch of Super 8mm films from Ken Films — including both 200' reels for GHIDRAH. I used to take footage from some of them and make little clip compilations, inspired by the opening montage for our local <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MrQYSNYLVc" REL="nofollow">"Creature Features"</A> program.<BR/><BR/>Kids today just have no idea...<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>AugustAugust Ragonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708963205755568342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3252368450821139612.post-36568290383417512682008-08-27T10:39:00.000-07:002008-08-27T10:39:00.000-07:00great review for a great movie. it was the first ...great review for a great movie. it was the first Godzilla film i owned- the 8mm comp of "Battle of the Monsters" where the four legged Ghidrah is prominent on the cover, but nowhere in the comp! one of my faves.<BR/><BR/>DavidX7https://www.blogger.com/profile/16050119714244967980noreply@blogger.com