Kaiju and general GIANT MONSTER mania

[megladon8]

So there's a very old "Rate/Rank Godzilla Movies" thread on MatchCut, but I think it's about time we have a thread devoted to giant monster films of all kinds.

"Kaiju" is one of the official-unofficial words used to describe this genre. Since the genre is mostly known for the Godzilla, Gamera and other Toho monster films of Japan, this Japanese word - roughly translated to mean "monster" or "beast", with the extension "daikaiju" meaning "giant monster" - has become synonymous with guys in rubber suits beating the crap out of each other in the middle of model cities.

And while most probably know the genre for the '60s and '70s Godzilla efforts which were camp-tastic flicks with throwaway plots and characters, there are some real gems to be found throughout the years and literally thousands of entries in this genre of filmmaking.

A rundown of some of kaiju cinema's most popular characters:

GODZILLA



First Sighting : 1954

Disregarding the American abomination starring Matthew Broderick, Godzilla is one of the most popular entities ever to grace the silver screen. Even people who have never seen a Godzilla film in their lives know what Godzilla is, and most even know the basic back story - that he was created as a metaphor for the massive destruction of Hiroshima by the atomic bomb.

His actual size has been far from consistent over the years. Some say 50 meters, some say as high as 100 meters. In any case, he's big - big enough to topple buildings with his footsteps or a single sweep of his enormous tail. Godzilla is also capable of breathing fire (or in some films, nuclear energy, which he builds up by sucking on nuclear reactors - see Godzilla 1985).

His allegiances have also been inconsistent at best. The original 1954 incarnation of Big G was an evil one, as he tore through Tokyo without hesitation. Just a few series entries later, however, Godzilla became Earth's saviour as he battled Ghidorah in Ghidorah: The Three-Headed Monster.

While his filmography has some moments that are certainly less than stellar, Godzilla remains one of, if not THE undisputed king of giant monster cinema

[megladon8]

MOTHRA



First Sighting: 1961

Though the creature Mothra appeared in book form prior to the silver screen, her breakout film role was in Mothra in 1961, followed by Mothra vs. Godzilla in 1964. Though she has certainly wrought havoc all over Japan, she has more-or-less been a "good" character throughout the years.

In the original film, Mothra, she is defending the innocence of Infant Island - a land of primitive people which is found by explorers who then attempt to exploit the land and its people.

The character of Mothra can be seen in many different "life stages" throughout the various films she has appeared in. Sometimes she is just a larva, able to spray strands of silk to trap her attackers. But her most common form is, of course, the full-fledged moth, whose enormous wing-span can blow cars off of streets, and whose psychic abilities give her an edge over many other kaiju who rely on sheer braun.


(KING) GHIDORAH

First Sighting: 1964



The three-headed gold dragon from space, King Ghidorah has only ever played one role in the kaiju genre - the bad guy. However, King Ghidorah is almost always found to be controlled by one alien race or another, using his incredible powers for their own twisted plans of universal domination.

Ghidorah first came about in 1964 with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, a film where Mothra attempts to bring Godzilla and Rodan together with her to defeat the evil golden dragon and save the Earth. So began a long string of Godzilla-the-good-guy movies, considered by some the be the absolute worst Godzilla has to offer, and by others to be the best.


MECHAGODZILLA



First Sighting: 1974

Arguably one of Godzilla's most popular opponents, Mechagodzilla is a manufacutred villain created by an alien race called the Simians. In his first appearance in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, he appears to be Godzilla himself - flesh, blood, bones. Even Godzilla himself is confused when he finds himself fighting his twin!

But when the flesh-suit is torn off it reveals a mechanical titan of terror underneath - Mechagodzilla!

Mechagodzilla has gone through many incarnations, just like the original giant lizard of Toho lore. More than once, he has even been man-made and piloted by Japanese fighter pilots in an attempt to fight Godzilla!

Armed with jetpacks, rockets in his shoulders and hands, and energy blasts from his mouth, Mechagodzilla is a formidable foe for Godzilla.

[megladon8]

KING KONG



First Sighting: 1933

Flying back over to North America for a minute, King Kong sits right next to Godzilla in terms of wide recognition. Since his first (and, in my opinion, best) appearance in 1933 in the classic action/adventure film King Kong, he has appeared in several different films and TV shows.

King Kong has without a doubt the most personality of any of the kaiju listed here. While his tirade in New York City does cause a lot of destruction, he is hardly to blame, and if anything he is seen as the sympathetic hero of the film. Whether you see him as a misunderstood beast, an ancient deity who could not live among modern society, or just a monkey with a severe case of gigantism, looking into his puppy-dog eyes and seeing the star-struck adoration he feels for Ann Darrow is perhaps one of the purest looks at "love" we have yet to see in the movies.


GAMERA



First Sighting: 1965

Lets shoot back over to Japan for one of my personal favorites: Gamera. In essence a giant turtle with a jetpack, Gamera is one of Earth's greatest heros, defending us against beasts as strange as Guillon (a monster with a sword for a head) and as unrelenting as the Gyaos (a race of giant bird-like creatures whose only purpose is destruction).

I must stress that the trilogy of Gamera films from the 1990s are absolute REQUIRED VIEWING. These form a trifecta of the very best that the genre has to offer - incredible action sequences, genuinely interesting plot and funny characters, and just a great movie-watching experience. They begin with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, where Gamera must defend the Earth against hordes of the aforementioned Gyaos. In the second installment, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, he must do battle with Legion, a hive-mind race of beings who use infect planets with giant flower pods which launch their seeds into space to invade other planets.

In the last installment, Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris, a young girl awakens an ancient monster to do battle with Gamera, and avenge her parents who were killed by Gamera while he was fighting the Gyaos. This is perhaps the only giant monster films I've seen which addresses the issue of the collateral damage caused by these huge monster fights which always seem to happen in populated areas. In a very cool flashback scene, we see Gamera through the girl's eyes - no longer a hero, but a demonic looking villain whose wrecklessness leads to the deaths of thousands.

[megladon8]

DAIMAJIN



First Sighting: 1966

First appearing in his own film trilogy in 1966 (Daimajin, Return of Daimajin and Wrath of Daimajin), this is one of the lesser-known kaiju, but also one of the best. Daimajin is similar to what we westerners know as a "golem" - an animated statue or sculpture. The Daimajin is a giant samurai warrior statue possessed by an ancient spirit.

The Daimajin films do something that very, very few kaiju films have done before or since - it's actually quite frightening. Not in an "I'm so scared I can't even sleep" kind of way, but they're eerie, unnerving and have an incredibly dense atmosphere. The beautiful photography gives the monster himself a startling presence.

These are kaiju films for people who think the cheesiness of the Godzilla or Gamera films won't suit them.


ULTRAMAN



First Sighting: 1966

Ultraman isn't actually a giant monster, but he is giant, and he defends the Earth from monsters, so I figure he qualifies. Plus, he's frickin' awesome.

Ultraman first began as a TV series in 1966 in Japan (which was dubbed for American audiences) and has had countless incarnations since then - TV series', movies, comics, books, video games. I don't think there's any story-telling medium Ultraman hasn't invaded.

To make matters even more complicated, every new appearance tends to be a whole new Ultraman. There are so many different Ultramen, I don't think I can even count them. Just some of them are:

Ultraman Gaia
Ultraman Max
Ultraman Mebius
Ultraman Tiga
Ultraman Dyna

There are at least a dozen more, each of them with a different variation on the red-and-silver costume, and with a different human host.

The way Ultraman works is similar to the American comic cook character Captain Marvel/Shazam. A human makes a bond with an Ultraman (one of a race of intergalactic protectors) and are given the power to transform into Ultraman whenever they need to save the world.

The series' are known for their outlandish monster designs and Ultraman's ever-growing list of powers. He seems to be able to do pretty much anything. If a monster's only weakness is having chocolate chip cookies full of laser beams injected into his scalp, you can guarantee that Ultraman is just a few hand gestures away from pulling a syringe fullof laser-chip cookies out of his ass.

While they're pretty much kids' shows, the Ultraman shows are just great fun for the goofy kaiju lover. I strongly recommend the 2005 series "Ultraman Max".

[bac0n]

Anybody looking for me can find me in this thread.

Interesting note on King Ghidorah - although he has been Godzilla's principle adversary in every film in which he has made an appearance, he has not always played the role of villain. In 2002's Godzilla Mothra King Guidorah: Giant Monster All-Out Attack, he plays the part of an ancient Japanese water god who is resurrected to battle Godzilla, a demonic surrogate for vengeful dead spirits.

The movie basically turns around the whole Godzilla-as-goodguy convention on its head - and it works surprisingly well. A must-see for fans of the genre.

[megladon8]

Anybody looking for me can find me in this thread.

Interesting note on King Ghidorah - although he has been Godzilla's principle adversary in every film in which he has made an appearance, he has not always played the role of villain. In 2002's Godzilla Mothra King Guidorah: Giant Monster All-Out Attack, he plays the part of an ancient Japanese water god who is resurrected to battle Godzilla, a demonic surrogate for vengeful dead spirits.

The movie basically turns around the whole Godzilla-as-goodguy convention on its head - and it works surprisingly well. A must-see for fans of the genre.

Yeah, this is probably my favorite Godzilla film of all

I completely forgot that he wasn't an all-out bad guy in this one, though.

I still like to think he would've done a little more city-trashing than needed in this movie - just to keep is bad-guy spirit up to snuff.

[bac0n]

Yeah, this is probably my favorite Godzilla film of all

Yeah, you and me both. Further, this is the only Godzilla film that, like Gamera: Revenge of Iris, explores to a certain degree the human cost of all the monster destruction. It really works to cement Godzilla in the film as one evil motherfucker.

[balmakboor]

I'll be following this one closely. I've been grazing in the genre for about a year now and my favorites have so far been the first of the recent trilogy of Gamera movies, Rodan, and War of the Gargantuas.

A few comments:

I get a ridiculous thrill out of how epically fake the battles are. I love how the cities and cars look like models and the monsters like men in rubber suits. Polished special effects are overrated.

I also enjoy how the monsters can be difficult to pin down. What they represent can fluctuate almost scene by scene and so can their physical size. I've especially noticed this frequent changing of size in Godzilla and King Kong movies.

It made me realize that E.T. and the It's Alive movies owe a lot to these Kaiju movies. E.T. represents different things to each character. The It's Alive monsters evolve considerably throughout the trilogy.

Is it just me or do the early Ishiro Honda films like Gojira and Rodan look like Ozu films with monsters?

[megladon8]

I'll be following this one closely. I've been grazing in the genre for about a year now and my favorites have so far been the first of the recent trilogy of Gamera movies, Rodan, and War of the Gargantuas.

Glad you're enjoying what giant monster flicks have to offer!

I will be doing another "profile" of Rodan in the next day or so.

A few comments:

I get a ridiculous thrill out of how epically fake the battles are. I love how the cities and cars look like models and the monsters like men in rubber suits. Polished special effects are overrated.

I do, too, and I think it's a case of "you love it, or you don't".

You should check out "Ultraman Max". Some AWESOMELY bad model work there :lol:

I also enjoy how the monsters can be difficult to pin down. What they represent can fluctuate almost scene by scene and so can their physical size. I've especially noticed this frequent changing of size in Godzilla and King Kong movies.

One of my favorite "hard to pin down exactly what the hell he is" monsters is King Caesar...



50% lion
50% lizard
50% bunny rabbit

150% awesome

[D_Davis]

Although not strictly a kaiju film, I cannot recommend the Shaw Brothers film Super Inframan enough.




It's a border-kaiju!

[bac0n]

Super Inframan is great fun. It has all the trappings of classic daikaiju monsters, except, well, the giant part.

[MadMan]

Honestly I need to watch more monster movies.

[megladon8]

RODAN



First Sighting: 1956

Though actually called Radon, this monster became known as Rodan in the USA and the name stuck! How's that for interesting?

Rodan is a giant flying lizard-bird monster. He first appeared in his own film - Rodan - in 1956, one of several filmes released by Toho after the success of Gojira, in hopes that they could find a new hit monster. Though nothing ever struck gold the same way that the '54 classic did, Rodan nevertheless became an incredibly popular monster in the Toho kaiju universe.

Similar to many kaiju, Rodan began life as a villain, devouring the citizens of Japan every chance he got. And while hoaky in execution, the original Rodan film features an ending that's kind of sad/bittersweet.

Rodan has fought both with and against Godzilla on many occasions, though his disappearance from newer films in the franchise is a bit puzzling.


BARAGON



First Sighting: 1965

Baragon is kind of like the little bitch of the Toho universe. He is always having his ass handed to him, and I don't know that I've ever seen a movie where he actually did any good. In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla beats him so hard that I can't help but actually feel a bit sorry for him...he's totally useless in a fight.

Baragon first appeared in Toho's 1965 camp classic Frankenstein Conquers the World, where "a Frankenstein" created by the Japanese military must do battle with Baragon, a giant monster attacking Japan.

This four-legged wonder called Baragon also has the distinction of being one of the few monsters that got goofier looking over time. In the beginning he actually looked somewhat menacing - the spikes on his back, the horn in the middle of his face. He looked like he could at least do some damage. Over time, however, they've increased the size of his ears, given him puppy-dog eyes, and have made him work strictly on all-fours.

Seeing Godzilla lay waste to him in GMK is like watching someone kick a puppy.

[megladon8]

SUBJECT DESIGNATE: CLOVERFIELD



First Sighting: 2008

The monster from Cloverfield - though it doesn't really have a name, and "Cloverfield" is just a government-given codename - is one of the strangest giant monsters I've seen. Its strangely jointed arms and legs, enormous tadpole-like tail and bulbous glands on its head (which I assume it uses to breathe) make it an odd sight to behold. Even after seeing the film from start to finish, it's hard to make out exactly how this monster is put together from head to toe.

The film itself is - to me - something that will be remembered in 15 or 20 years. The first of its kind, instead of having a convoluted plot akin to many kaiju films, this one opts to show the "ground level" story of an attack by a giant monster. Once the attack begins, it's relentlessly paced, and - dare I say - actually quite frightening. When I saw the film with a friend opening day, he even dared to say it was "the most frightening movie he'd ever seen theatrically". Perhaps that's a bit much, but it goes to show that giant monsters aren't always silly movies to watch on a "guys night" with lots of beer.

Aside from a BIG problem I have with an ending scene...

[

Show Spoiler

...sorry, no explanation of "they were disoriented" is going to convince me that they wouldn't have noticed the monster RIGHT THERE when they got out of the helicopter crash...

]
...I would say this was one of 2008's most pleasant surprises. Skillfully shot, solidly acted, great effects work, and surprisingly intelligent...Cloverfield is a great movie, and a memorable monster to say the least.

It's still alive.

[lovejuice]

ok....when are we going to see Violante....you know, that giant mutated rose with fangs? that movie is my absolute favorite in the big G saga.

[megladon8]

ok....when are we going to see Violante....you know, that giant mutated rose with fangs? that movie is my absolute favorite in the big G saga.

Hmm...I honestly don't know that one.

Sure you have the spelling right? I can't find anything about it at all.

[lovejuice]

Hmm...I honestly don't know that one.

Sure you have the spelling right? I can't find anything about it at all.

hmmm...curious. it's actually 'b' not 'v'. perhaps it's north american phonetic thing. :P





awww...aren't she adorable?

[megladon8]

I have never seen that one, and I must now.

Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

*rep*

[bac0n]

Biollante is one of the coolest of all of Godzilla's adversaries - certainly the most unique of them. And now I have a jones to watch it. And I have a bottle of beer in the fridge at home. Hrm.... a plan for the evening is coming together...

[lovejuice]

I have never seen that one, and I must now.

Thank you for bringing it to my attention!

*rep*

in fact i haven't watched it for like....a decade and a half, so i don't know if it's any good. i vaguely remember bitching score and supposedly moving story.

[megladon8]

Biollante is one of the coolest of all of Godzilla's adversaries - certainly the most unique of them. And now I have a jones to watch it. And I have a bottle of beer in the fridge at home. Hrm.... a plan for the evening is coming together...

Do you have it on DVD???

*plans to either ask for a burn/copy...or plan a full-scale raid on bac0n's house*

[lovejuice]

Biollante is one of the coolest of all of Godzilla's adversaries - certainly the most unique of them.

unless i'm mistaken, it's the only "she." correct?

[megladon8]

unless i'm mistaken, it's the only "she." correct?

Nope, Mothra's a girl!

[lovejuice]

Nope, Mothra's a girl!

aahhh. yes. also i have this vague feeling that king ghidorah might be a she. is that possible?

[D_Davis]

Biollante - Isn't this the film in which that psychic chick with the HUGE freaking ears first appears?

This film injected new life into the G-franchise, that's for sure.