No news, just a really cool pick of the making of the Godzilla Tower from "Godzilla vs. Gigan" (1972). 
Showing posts with label Godzilla vs. Gigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Godzilla vs. Gigan. Show all posts
2.18.2010
9.24.2009
Interview with “Monster Attack Team‘s” Edward Holland and Michael Keller
Along with the promotion of the resurrection of legendary fanzine "Monster Attack Team", I have had the special honor to interview the editors-in-chief of the magazine, Edward L. Holland (also known as Edojira) and Michael Keller. I hope this interview is thorough, if not informative on the resurrection. Do take note that Bolgger seems to have an officinal problem when it comes to clumping large amounts of text together which are supposed to be spaced apart, so if you develop disdain, feel free to go ahead and leave your e-mail via comment and I am sure to give it to you. Enjoy!
1. When and under what circumstances did the revival of "Monster Attack Team" come under?
Ed: MAT was revived with the hard work and reinvestment by original contributor and associate editor Mike Keller.
Mike: It was my idea. Basically, it came out of the fact that I've been employed as a graphic designer for a little while now. I use all this software at work and at home. I have all these resources and equipment, plus I'm a hell of a lot better at this stuff now than I was back when we were doing MAT. It occurred to me that we could have really used all of this when MAT was active, it also occurred to me that there were things I'd still like to write about, or see written about. I contacted Ed and told him that I wanted to do another issue, and he agreed that it was a good idea.
2. When establishing "MAT", what goals did you guys set?
Mike: I'll let Ed answer this, as he is one of the founders
Ed: When MAT was established there were no definite guidelines or by-laws, but I had a clear idea of what I wanted to present and in what fashion. I wanted to bring fans together via television and print media and branch out a bit. I wanted it to be a fan club and fanzine like none other. We never took it too serious and wanted to bring things to our network of friends not seen elsewhere. I believe we continue to do so today.
3. What impact did other fanzines like "Japanese Fantasy Film Journal" and "Markalite" have on "MAT"?
Ed: JFFJ and Markalite had an effect, particularly Markalite. I bought every issue of Markalite when they came out and I believe I wrote to their offices as they were preparing issue 4, which unfortunately never came out. I have stayed in contact with August Ragone and Bob Johnson since those days. Back when Ultraman Powered was being shot in Burbank, CA Markalite, Oriental Cinema, and MAT were invited on the set. It was quite an honor and Markalite and MAT were fortunate to be there. At the same time, MAT was invited on the set of Power Rangers while the first season was being filmed.
Mike: They set the standard. Personally, I don't think JFFJ has ever been topped, though Markalite did come close.
4. How many contributors are returning and how many are new?
Ed: Mike knows more about the lineup, but many have returned and there are many new contributions too. I have not brought as many things to this issue as I would like to due to job and family commitments, but I am very thankful that our original crew is basically all back together. I always thought of our contributors as a team and felt that Monster Attack Team really fit our method of promoting the genre and Japan.
Mike: About half and half. I'm really proud of the contributors we have in this issue. We have multiple published authors in our ranks, and everything they've given us is of the highest quality. We also got some people who were pretty involved in the fandom in the 1990s to come out of 'retirement' for MAT 8, so to speak.
5. How did the advent of a TV series come into play?
Mike: That's Ed's department...
Ed: The cable access TV series actually started first. I was approached by Larry King, not the Larry King of CNN fame, but a real fan in his own right that approached me at Larry Lankford's Dallas Fantasy Fair convention and asked if I would like to have a show on Dallas cable. Both Joe Riley (Church of the Sub-Genius, Jimmy Neutron, Blade: Trinity, Mighty Joe Young, makeup/latex mask master) and I said sure. We had worked on a Fred Williams movie and an MTV commercial and we thought it would be fun. The fan club/fanzine sprang from that.
6. Did any competition come up between "MAT" and other fan organizations/fanzines?
Mike: No. We came out of that whole '90s milieu pretty unscathed. We never bought into any of the con/fan wars. We never turned anyone away and everyone was welcome. We were friends with people who hated each other!
Ed: There has never been a spirit of competition between MAT and any other Japanese tokusatsu group that I know of. In fact, some of the groups we featured articles, etc. from were at odds with each other during the original publications. I hope those waters have subsided now. We did not care if people were at odds with each other. If you are still doing something to promote these great shows you have stood the test of time and we applaud such efforts
7. With the TV show, you showed a lot of copyrighted clips. How was it working with Toho, Toei, and Tsuburaya?
Mike: We probably shouldn't address this, but I'll let Ed answer if he wants to.
Ed: Well we did not really work with the studios to show those clips but the studios including Toho knew about us and NEVER once complained. However, during the Alien Death Squad cable program days, a show started by David May, kind an offshoot of MAT, we actually got some Tsuburaya clips officially which were going to be used on a PBS special that we were interviewed for but I never saw the finished product. I don't think I even have those clips of Ultraman 80 which I received in the mail from Ultracom, Tsuburaya's American division years ago. Great show by the way!
8. Other than fanzine articles, what other contributions have you done for the fandom?
Ed: I have been heavily stating the artistic and surreal value of Japanese film and television shows to anyone who will listen since I was 6 years old. I have done this on shore, at sea in foreign countries, at bars, schools and particularly with my old film school colleagues. If an ear is bent I will fill it up with my admiration for my childhood and young adult heroes. I guess I have never grown up, the whole Island of the Lost Boys syndrome so to speak.
Mike: Fan articles and art are all I've done for fandom. I've had things published in G-Fan, Kaiju Review and Oriental Cinema.
9. When writing an article, what mindset do you put yourself?
Mike: I think I write articles a lot differently now than I used to. I certainly hope that I've gotten better! I do a lot of revising and re-writing. It's important to me to have all my ducks in a row. I won't identify something as a fact unless I can corroborate it with another source or witness it myself. Ideally, I would like to do as much original research as possible for a piece - though sometimes that just isn't possible
Ed: I usually work on a deadline and cram as much in as I can possibly and add a fan edge to it as well. First and foremost I am not an authority. I feel there are no authorities except for the creators of these great productions. Those that feel they know everything can never walk in the shoes of those that live it and breathe it for a living.
10. Do you practice a particular "style" of writing?
Ed: I do not practice writing. I write these day in a military manner and maybe I should adopt that style for the pages of MAT. I don't prefer too much authority in pieces that I enjoy on the genre, yet on the other hand I don't like too much subjective writing as well. I was trained to pass college level grammar, but I am a big abuser of comma splices.
Mike: I would like to think that I have finally arrived at my own style. I used to try to imitate the styles of others, but that doesn't get anybody anywhere. I try to steer away from goofiness - but can't help cracking the occasional joke or delving into sarcasm when the situation presents such an easy target. I do not write 'kaiju fan-wank' anymore (what if Godzilla ate a lobster and took a crap on a dead sea-slug and lightning hit it, blah blah blah...). I'm very embarrassed by some of the things I've written in the past. This issue will not contain anything of a fan-ish nature, or any fiction.
11. Do you think "MAT" has aged well in terms of for example, some issues becoming sought after collector’s pieces due to information kept in them, ect.?
Mike: Content wise, we had some pretty good stuff - good enough that's its been reprinted elsewhere. We were the first ones to write about tokusatsu in popular music, for example. Also things like Ed Godziszewski's Daimajin piece were really popular. I think that visually, our last couple of issues were pretty amateurish - that's something that will be rectified in #8.
Ed: I think MAT has aged as well as possible. We are not a fine Merlot by any means, but the members have been around the block seen things, some of them have released books, worked on dvds, played stages, authored articles for other fanzines and beyond. I think people have kept the old issues as a reference of the shows and time gone by. We are not at that level in fandom or professionally anymore. Most of us have larger responsibilities. The fan boys grew up but we never left our roots behind.
12. Where do you project "MAT" is going to go into the future?
Ed: I hope that MAT will be remembered for what it was, is and continues to be: a group of friends writing, discussing, showing what great events are happening on the other side of the pond. Doing this prior to the internet explosion was a labor of love. Our original members who have their membership packets are holding onto something that has never been done, or will be done again. Our original members received a newsletter, personally numbered fan club card, and the biggest prize a mockup of a SD hero or monster as a pin selected by me and hand painted by Joe Riley. To me this was as good as a fan club has ever come to honoring the masters. "Ultra" Joe Riley relaxes in the monster graveyard in the sky with many other legends now and I know he is looking down from more comfortable digs thinking about what we started. Issue 8 is dedicated to you brother!
Mike: No immediate plans. The magazine will not be coming back regularly. We are all too busy and have original creative endeavors and careers to focus on. Plus, printing costs a good chunk of change!
13. What new ground do you think could be broken in terms of kaiju journalism as of now?
Mike: There are always new things to discover. We have information in Issue 8 on some pretty obscure films - stuff that I'd never heard of before. I won't reveal any more until the issue has gone to press. We haven't mentioned everything we've got on the website. I'd like to see people continue to turn over rocks and dig up some new info. The Teito Monogatari series really needs a good English language retrospective, and somebody should try writing about the Watari films.
Ed: New ground? Hmm... maybe a platform for writers to actually write for screenplays and treatments for episodic television and animation. Everyone loves monsters in some form or fashion. As kids, we would pretend like we were on Monster Island and we would even get the girls to join in on the fun. As adults we saw Gamera and Godzilla in American theatres. How about more fan generated treatments with heavy weight stars and special effects done the western way with Japanese budgets and production efficiency?
14. As a fan, I got to ask: on the upcoming article on Kinji Fukasaku, how much information on the film "Satomi-Hakken-Den" will be included?
Ed: Please direct this question to Mike Keller. I don't know how much of that film content will be addressed in the piece.
Mike: Equal time will be devoted to all nine of Fukasaku's films that involve SF or fantasy - The Black Lizard, The Green Slime, Message From Space, Virus, Samurai Reincarnation, Legend of Eight Samurai (Satomi Hakken-Den), Crest of Betrayal, Battle Royale and Battle Royale II.
15. Any last words you would like to share with the fandom?
Mike: It would please me to think that issue 8 of Monster Attack Team will someday be looked at with the same reverence as those old issues of JFFJ. I also hope this serves as a shot in the arm to the fandom, and more people step up to the plate and try to out-do what we've done. I would love to know that we have inspired people to come up with great things, and I hope someone picks up the ball and runs with it.
Ed: Last words: Make it fun, entertaining, informative, a bit light-hearted and approachable for all and someone to read or watch. Even people at first who hated our cable access show continued to watch because they had not seen anything like that before in such a format. If it is not fun or entertaining for you then it will not be so for anyone else. Do your best and if you fall down trying to make a difference or promote your cause, at least you tried and can be proud of your efforts. Thanks for interviewing us and I hope that our readers old and new will enjoy the ride. Tanoshimasho!
1. When and under what circumstances did the revival of "Monster Attack Team" come under?
Ed: MAT was revived with the hard work and reinvestment by original contributor and associate editor Mike Keller.
Mike: It was my idea. Basically, it came out of the fact that I've been employed as a graphic designer for a little while now. I use all this software at work and at home. I have all these resources and equipment, plus I'm a hell of a lot better at this stuff now than I was back when we were doing MAT. It occurred to me that we could have really used all of this when MAT was active, it also occurred to me that there were things I'd still like to write about, or see written about. I contacted Ed and told him that I wanted to do another issue, and he agreed that it was a good idea.
2. When establishing "MAT", what goals did you guys set?
Mike: I'll let Ed answer this, as he is one of the founders
Ed: When MAT was established there were no definite guidelines or by-laws, but I had a clear idea of what I wanted to present and in what fashion. I wanted to bring fans together via television and print media and branch out a bit. I wanted it to be a fan club and fanzine like none other. We never took it too serious and wanted to bring things to our network of friends not seen elsewhere. I believe we continue to do so today.
3. What impact did other fanzines like "Japanese Fantasy Film Journal" and "Markalite" have on "MAT"?
Ed: JFFJ and Markalite had an effect, particularly Markalite. I bought every issue of Markalite when they came out and I believe I wrote to their offices as they were preparing issue 4, which unfortunately never came out. I have stayed in contact with August Ragone and Bob Johnson since those days. Back when Ultraman Powered was being shot in Burbank, CA Markalite, Oriental Cinema, and MAT were invited on the set. It was quite an honor and Markalite and MAT were fortunate to be there. At the same time, MAT was invited on the set of Power Rangers while the first season was being filmed.
Mike: They set the standard. Personally, I don't think JFFJ has ever been topped, though Markalite did come close.
4. How many contributors are returning and how many are new?
Ed: Mike knows more about the lineup, but many have returned and there are many new contributions too. I have not brought as many things to this issue as I would like to due to job and family commitments, but I am very thankful that our original crew is basically all back together. I always thought of our contributors as a team and felt that Monster Attack Team really fit our method of promoting the genre and Japan.
Mike: About half and half. I'm really proud of the contributors we have in this issue. We have multiple published authors in our ranks, and everything they've given us is of the highest quality. We also got some people who were pretty involved in the fandom in the 1990s to come out of 'retirement' for MAT 8, so to speak.
5. How did the advent of a TV series come into play?
Mike: That's Ed's department...
Ed: The cable access TV series actually started first. I was approached by Larry King, not the Larry King of CNN fame, but a real fan in his own right that approached me at Larry Lankford's Dallas Fantasy Fair convention and asked if I would like to have a show on Dallas cable. Both Joe Riley (Church of the Sub-Genius, Jimmy Neutron, Blade: Trinity, Mighty Joe Young, makeup/latex mask master) and I said sure. We had worked on a Fred Williams movie and an MTV commercial and we thought it would be fun. The fan club/fanzine sprang from that.
6. Did any competition come up between "MAT" and other fan organizations/fanzines?
Mike: No. We came out of that whole '90s milieu pretty unscathed. We never bought into any of the con/fan wars. We never turned anyone away and everyone was welcome. We were friends with people who hated each other!
Ed: There has never been a spirit of competition between MAT and any other Japanese tokusatsu group that I know of. In fact, some of the groups we featured articles, etc. from were at odds with each other during the original publications. I hope those waters have subsided now. We did not care if people were at odds with each other. If you are still doing something to promote these great shows you have stood the test of time and we applaud such efforts
7. With the TV show, you showed a lot of copyrighted clips. How was it working with Toho, Toei, and Tsuburaya?
Mike: We probably shouldn't address this, but I'll let Ed answer if he wants to.
Ed: Well we did not really work with the studios to show those clips but the studios including Toho knew about us and NEVER once complained. However, during the Alien Death Squad cable program days, a show started by David May, kind an offshoot of MAT, we actually got some Tsuburaya clips officially which were going to be used on a PBS special that we were interviewed for but I never saw the finished product. I don't think I even have those clips of Ultraman 80 which I received in the mail from Ultracom, Tsuburaya's American division years ago. Great show by the way!
8. Other than fanzine articles, what other contributions have you done for the fandom?
Ed: I have been heavily stating the artistic and surreal value of Japanese film and television shows to anyone who will listen since I was 6 years old. I have done this on shore, at sea in foreign countries, at bars, schools and particularly with my old film school colleagues. If an ear is bent I will fill it up with my admiration for my childhood and young adult heroes. I guess I have never grown up, the whole Island of the Lost Boys syndrome so to speak.
Mike: Fan articles and art are all I've done for fandom. I've had things published in G-Fan, Kaiju Review and Oriental Cinema.
9. When writing an article, what mindset do you put yourself?
Mike: I think I write articles a lot differently now than I used to. I certainly hope that I've gotten better! I do a lot of revising and re-writing. It's important to me to have all my ducks in a row. I won't identify something as a fact unless I can corroborate it with another source or witness it myself. Ideally, I would like to do as much original research as possible for a piece - though sometimes that just isn't possible
Ed: I usually work on a deadline and cram as much in as I can possibly and add a fan edge to it as well. First and foremost I am not an authority. I feel there are no authorities except for the creators of these great productions. Those that feel they know everything can never walk in the shoes of those that live it and breathe it for a living.
10. Do you practice a particular "style" of writing?
Ed: I do not practice writing. I write these day in a military manner and maybe I should adopt that style for the pages of MAT. I don't prefer too much authority in pieces that I enjoy on the genre, yet on the other hand I don't like too much subjective writing as well. I was trained to pass college level grammar, but I am a big abuser of comma splices.
Mike: I would like to think that I have finally arrived at my own style. I used to try to imitate the styles of others, but that doesn't get anybody anywhere. I try to steer away from goofiness - but can't help cracking the occasional joke or delving into sarcasm when the situation presents such an easy target. I do not write 'kaiju fan-wank' anymore (what if Godzilla ate a lobster and took a crap on a dead sea-slug and lightning hit it, blah blah blah...). I'm very embarrassed by some of the things I've written in the past. This issue will not contain anything of a fan-ish nature, or any fiction.
11. Do you think "MAT" has aged well in terms of for example, some issues becoming sought after collector’s pieces due to information kept in them, ect.?
Mike: Content wise, we had some pretty good stuff - good enough that's its been reprinted elsewhere. We were the first ones to write about tokusatsu in popular music, for example. Also things like Ed Godziszewski's Daimajin piece were really popular. I think that visually, our last couple of issues were pretty amateurish - that's something that will be rectified in #8.
Ed: I think MAT has aged as well as possible. We are not a fine Merlot by any means, but the members have been around the block seen things, some of them have released books, worked on dvds, played stages, authored articles for other fanzines and beyond. I think people have kept the old issues as a reference of the shows and time gone by. We are not at that level in fandom or professionally anymore. Most of us have larger responsibilities. The fan boys grew up but we never left our roots behind.
12. Where do you project "MAT" is going to go into the future?
Ed: I hope that MAT will be remembered for what it was, is and continues to be: a group of friends writing, discussing, showing what great events are happening on the other side of the pond. Doing this prior to the internet explosion was a labor of love. Our original members who have their membership packets are holding onto something that has never been done, or will be done again. Our original members received a newsletter, personally numbered fan club card, and the biggest prize a mockup of a SD hero or monster as a pin selected by me and hand painted by Joe Riley. To me this was as good as a fan club has ever come to honoring the masters. "Ultra" Joe Riley relaxes in the monster graveyard in the sky with many other legends now and I know he is looking down from more comfortable digs thinking about what we started. Issue 8 is dedicated to you brother!
Mike: No immediate plans. The magazine will not be coming back regularly. We are all too busy and have original creative endeavors and careers to focus on. Plus, printing costs a good chunk of change!
13. What new ground do you think could be broken in terms of kaiju journalism as of now?
Mike: There are always new things to discover. We have information in Issue 8 on some pretty obscure films - stuff that I'd never heard of before. I won't reveal any more until the issue has gone to press. We haven't mentioned everything we've got on the website. I'd like to see people continue to turn over rocks and dig up some new info. The Teito Monogatari series really needs a good English language retrospective, and somebody should try writing about the Watari films.
Ed: New ground? Hmm... maybe a platform for writers to actually write for screenplays and treatments for episodic television and animation. Everyone loves monsters in some form or fashion. As kids, we would pretend like we were on Monster Island and we would even get the girls to join in on the fun. As adults we saw Gamera and Godzilla in American theatres. How about more fan generated treatments with heavy weight stars and special effects done the western way with Japanese budgets and production efficiency?
14. As a fan, I got to ask: on the upcoming article on Kinji Fukasaku, how much information on the film "Satomi-Hakken-Den" will be included?
Ed: Please direct this question to Mike Keller. I don't know how much of that film content will be addressed in the piece.
Mike: Equal time will be devoted to all nine of Fukasaku's films that involve SF or fantasy - The Black Lizard, The Green Slime, Message From Space, Virus, Samurai Reincarnation, Legend of Eight Samurai (Satomi Hakken-Den), Crest of Betrayal, Battle Royale and Battle Royale II.
15. Any last words you would like to share with the fandom?
Mike: It would please me to think that issue 8 of Monster Attack Team will someday be looked at with the same reverence as those old issues of JFFJ. I also hope this serves as a shot in the arm to the fandom, and more people step up to the plate and try to out-do what we've done. I would love to know that we have inspired people to come up with great things, and I hope someone picks up the ball and runs with it.
Ed: Last words: Make it fun, entertaining, informative, a bit light-hearted and approachable for all and someone to read or watch. Even people at first who hated our cable access show continued to watch because they had not seen anything like that before in such a format. If it is not fun or entertaining for you then it will not be so for anyone else. Do your best and if you fall down trying to make a difference or promote your cause, at least you tried and can be proud of your efforts. Thanks for interviewing us and I hope that our readers old and new will enjoy the ride. Tanoshimasho!
You can visit the new site for the ressurected fan site here: http://www.kellerwerks.com/MAT.html
We at JournalismG2KM would like to thank "Edojira" and Mike for taking time out of their schedules to take the time to talk to us. Arigatou!
9.03.2009
Kaiju Movie Review No. 4
To start off the month of September, we got another one of Kuroneko-Sama’s Kaiju Reference listings!
Reference(s) No. 4:
TV Reference(s):Godzilla vs. Gigan – Nebula Space Hunter M Aliens
Gamera vs. Guiron – Alien women
Show: Red Dwarf
Season: VI
Episode No.: 1
Episode: Psirens
Plot Summary: After being awoken from a 200-year period in stasis, Lister, Rimmer, the Cat, and Kryten are faced with the seemingly impossible task of relocating Red Dwarf and Holly. Flying in Star Bug, Kryten announced that they have located the Dwarf’s vapor trail. Their pursuit, however, takes them into an asteroid belt in which they discover reside cockroach-like extraterrestrials that want to eat their brains!
Reference(s): I have found several references within this episode. Whether they were in their on purpose or merely coincidental, I cannot say. However, owing to the fact that Red Dwarf continuously riffs a vast majority of science fiction icons, such as Star Trek, it is likely that the following were inspired in some way by daikaiju eiga:The first reference that can be found is the nature of the extraterrestrials – called Psirens – in the fact that they are, put simply, overgrown cockroaches. This models the Nebula Space Hunter M aliens in the respect that they, too, are overgrown cockroaches.I call this episode a reference to the Gamera vs. Guiron female aliens in respect to the method in which the Psirens utilize to lure their victims. Such as the Sirens of mythology, Psirens lure their victims by way of hypnotic attraction and making their victims believe they are facing either an awesome object of love and affection or, in the case with Lister at one point, a friend or companion that can be trusted. The female aliens of the Guiron film use this similar method by making the boys believe that they are merely beautiful, benevolent women from another planet. As with the Psirens, their true intentions are sinister and, to say the least, rather distasteful, as in both incidents, these extraterrestrials seek to consume the brains of their victims, though their rationalizations to this practice may differ.
Credit for Reference(s): Kuroneko-sama
Film Reference(s):Godzilla
Film: Toy Story 2
Year: 1999
Plot synopsis: While rescuing a toy from Mom’s garage sale, Woody is stolen by the man in the chicken suit from Al’s Toy Barn! Buzz and the gang set off to rescue the cowboy, but not just from the Chicken Man, but also from another toy!
Reference(s): As with the first Toy Story film, Hamm pokes at Rex with Godzilla references several times, even calling Rex Godzilla on one occasion in the film.Credit for Reference(s): Kuroneko-sama
Other reference(s):Rodan
Media type: novel
Title: It
Author: Stephen King
Plot Synopsis: An evil exists in the town of Derry – several years ago, a group of kids thought that they had rid themselves of it. Now, as adults, they must fight it again.
Reference(s): There is a point in the novel in which one of the boys in the main cast is watching the film Rodan with his father.Credit for Reference(s): Kuroneko-sama
7.23.2009
Making of Gojira Tai Gigan
In light of the Plaza Atlanta’s showing of this film, I have decided to go ahead and edit this making of "Godzilla vs. Gigan". This was the most profitable films of the 70’s decade of Godzilla film and is one of the better attempts. The production notes go as fallowed…
Production on this film started before "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" was even released into theaters (technically by a couple of days). The origins of the story did not come from Shinichi Sekizawa but another writer by the name of Kaoru Mibuchi who wrote just one draft of a story called, "Godzilla vs. The Space Monsters: Global Security Order" or better known by it's short title, "Godzilla vs. The Space Monsters". The plot of the draft was as fallows:
"A plane going to Hadena Airport gets stuck into a mysterious storm which they see for a second the kaiju Gigan. One Gigan disappears, the storm stops and everyone in the plane is in shock. Later that night, the planes pilot (Okamoto) goes to a Science Center on top of a Godzilla Tower to find answers about the strange creature he saw. Telling no one, he enters the building at 1 AM and even though he told no one he was coming, a phone in the room rings saying, "I know you are there... I can answer all of your questions." Okamoto asks who is speaking with the voice confirming that his name is the Alien Miko and that he controls the skies over Japan from now on.
Days later, the JSDF encounters a UFO, none other than Gigan. But in an aerial chase, they also encounter the daikaiju Megalon. The fighter pilots left standing land their planes on a near by island. Megalon fallows the pilots to the island, till Anguirus comes and starts a rumble. Winning the fight, Anguirus seems to have the upper hand till Gigan comes. But after a while, Godzilla appears and Gigan and Megalon take off. But then the lead squadron pilot gets a message from the Alien Miko and says that King Ghidorah, who is flying overhead of the island, is his chariot and he controls the Japanese skies.
Once airline travel stops on an international level, all satellites in space are destroyed. Miko finally says that either let him have Earth, or water, gas, and electricity shall be shut off in Tokyo just as a first step. If an answer is not given soon, the kaiju will attack Tokyo. The Godzilla Tower in science land keeps tabs on the kaiju, till they find out that the kaiju are making a bee line to the Tokyo Tower, The kaiju mistaken the tower as the real Godzilla, only behind the kaiju is the real Godzilla and the main battle commences. But Gigan leaves with the other kaiju.
The Alien Miko announces that the first cities to be destroyed will be Tokyo, Moscow, and New York. A combined effort of Anguirus and the Military does not stop Gigan, and the other two kaiju are just attacked with planes and military - nothing making progress. Megalon and Ghidorah come to Gigan's aid and help kill Anguirus. But Godzilla shows up and the three space kaiju go without putting up a fight. Meanwhile, the Alien Miko makes himself seen and it turns out he is a gigantic brain (Note to reader: this reminds me of the character Carl-Brain from Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Aqua Teen Hunger Force). He blames Godzilla and the Japanese military for the damage done and basically said obey or die.
Wanting a less gruesome appearance, Miko wants to merge with the statue idol Majin-Tulo, an ancient Andes Mountain idol statue kept near the Godzilla Tower found in the Palace of the Gods. Legend has it that one the Palace is disturbed and the mountain destroyed, his eyes shall glow read and throw it's sword into the air, with the sword killing the evil beings and going back into his hand. Stupidly, Miko commands Gigan to cut the statue in half to insert himself into the statue. But Godzilla and Anguirus are there, ready to take on Gigan and the other two space monsters. But Gigan escapes to complete his mission, but the statue starts bleeding. Majin-Tulo finally comes alive and mortal wounds Gigan with his giant katana while throwing it through King Ghidorah. The three monsters leave, with Megalon getting beaten up by Godzilla and Anguirus before he gets to go away. Miko is cornered by the three good kaiju as Godzilla delivers the final blow onto Miko."
An interesting point is that in the artwork by Hurricane Ryu for this version of the story, Gigan's right claw was a spiked wrecking ball and not a regular claw. Some speculate that his right claw could change into a wrecking ball, but there is no true evidence that this art is accurate to the original script since Ryu came around long after the Showa series ended.
Later on, Shinichi Sekizawa got onto the story and wrote three drafts, the second draft turned in August 1971 and the third draft turned in on October 6, 1971. The many differences between Sekizawa's and Mibuchi's versions of the screenplay was that Angurirus and Majin-Tulo was replaced by Varan and Rodan and instead of Megalon, a monster named Mogul was to appear. But in the end, it would be with Angurius coming back, Rodan appearing only in stock footage, and Mogul not being used. All three drafts of the screenplay are remakes of Mibuchi's but still keep close to what would become the final product.
Shinchi Sekizawa's final script is actually one which many may like in that it deals with two subtexts: the economics of kaiju and why certain kaiju are still popular. Kaiju can be categorized into two sections: legendary icons and marketing tools - both stating kaiju's role in society. Godzilla is both - a marketing tool since people can’t stop buying merchandise and a legendary icon for being a versatile character able to fit into many sub-context over time, not just nuclear war. This becomes a major ideal in the beginning of the story when Gengo presents his characters Shukra and Momagon to an editor in chief of a local manga company. The main problem with these two characters is that they cannot be interpreted differently by different people for different reasons. Godzilla could be an anti-nuclear war symbol for humanitarian causes or a symbol of Japan against another country for political purposes. Shukra is only a monster against homework and all Momagon represents is a monster made of the hate of too strict mothers. Both symbols are negative and can easily be seen as only one thing: by what their creators meant them to be. Homework, in this century, is being added more and more to pupil's agendas and advertised as "fun" and strict mothers is something rare enough that one strict mother mention is worth of news time. Both are not versatile and unless they develop a cult will not be profitable. That is why Godzilla is popular and still making cash. Like Dr. William Tsutsui said, "...he is simply too big of a property."
Like all other scripts written in the 70's, the big problem with them is lack of originality in the scripts - mainly in the variety of scenarios. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" copies the "Invasion of Astro Monster" script in many ways. Aliens want to colonize Earth since their planet is uninhabitable, and use space monsters - usually one of them being Ghidorah - to try to defeat Godzilla. The screenplay also did what author David Kalat calls, "raids the history of Godzilla for it's presentation". The film's budget saving trademark was the extensive use of stock materials. The decision for stock music was Tomoyuki Tanaka's and for the stock footage, it was on Teruyoshi Nakano. The stock footage collection in this film came from the films "Rodan", "The Last War", "Atragon", "Mothra vs. Godzilla", "Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster", "Invasion of Astro Monster", "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster", "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira", "Destroy all Monsters", "All Monsters Attack", and "Godzilla vs. Hedorah". Music wise, cues from all of these films (all Akira Ifukube’s) including the famed "The Birth of the Japanese Islands" are present in their original edits, but is a thrill ride for die hard fans who can pick stuff out and think, "Wow, it is like the ultimate combination of all of these elements for this time period!"
Durring this time period, Toho actually started laying off some of their actors (most from the "Toho Actors Club") and other crew members, totaling 350. All of the acting in the film is enough to get you through. We get 2-D characterization - only details which are professional, nothing intimate or layered. Though this would be the last time that we see strong, human, female characters for the rest of the Showa series. The main one, Tomoko, is a ferocious, karate-skilled, smart woman who gets physical and is even called a "bitch" in the dub. If that isn't a strong female character for this kind of film in it's time, I do not what is.
Special effects, for another time, are taken over by Teruyoshi Nakano. But Nakano does nothing remarkable - it is all on Gigan. Originally designed by Noboyusi Yasumaru, the concept art depicted Gigan with a bigger head, shorter and skinnier tail, a larger, single horn on top of his head, larger mandibles, and his hand claws being skinnier and more curved in. The drawing was very bizarre compared to the final product. The suit's large redesigned claws and feet, however, proved to be a problem for the suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma. Satsuma, making his second appearance in kaiju eiga, decided to come back regardless of the horrible Hedorah experience because he became friends with Nakano and gained a certain respect for the art of siutmation from Haruo Nakajima. In the acclaimed book "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla", "That is Yasumaru for you. His priority is design, not the operation of the suit or the actor. The claws and feet were a solid piece of resin... incredibly heavy and almost impossible to move. Finally, Mr. Nakano agreed to intercede and he got Yasumaru to reluctantly hollow out the claws. Gigan had arms and legs specifically, and was easier to move in. You can do moves like brandishing the huge claws. You can think of how to play in a suit like that. But the feet were so big that they easily caught on other objects or on my opponent, and I tripped a lot." Gigan, though, was not complete. Wanting to sell monsters who were less threatening since they were more popular, Gigan's trademark beam would not be actually seen on film. The concept of it came from Teruyoshi Nakano. In an interview, Nakano said, "I very much was interested in the sixth sense of human beings at the time. I knew that many statues of Buddha had auras around their heads, and I had read an article about strange rays coming out of the foreheads of human beings. So, I originally intended to have a ray come out of Gigan's forehead. However, I changed my mind because the ability didn't seem to fit the cyborg. It fit only human beings. That's why I didn't use it. Gigan had a very strong and angular form. It was enough to express the great power of the monster. So, the laser beam wasn't needed." Gigan would become one of Toho's most popular monsters. A different suit would eventually be used for the next film and the TV series after that, with Satsuma only playing the kaiju again in the 1973 film.
Sadly though, this was the last time that Haruo Nakajima could play Godzilla. Along with being one of the 350 kicked out of the Toho Actors Club, his displeasure of working without Tsuburaya would have him to do his final role, which is not a disappointing one. He wipes his lip, beats his chest, talks to other kaiju, and even gets to be the first person to act inside the suit while Godzilla bleeds. He even smacks his head. The performance gives us a rather animated portrayal of Godzilla. Angurius makes one of his last appearances, before having a cameo in the 1973 film and "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla." This would be the last time the Soshingeki Goji suit would be used, in which was in dire need of repair and is to this day the second most used Godzilla suit ever, spanning five years of usage. Plus, it would be one of the final times that an actual suit would be use for promotional events. In some water scenes, the Musuko-Goji suit was used. Angurius is being played by Yukietsu Ina. Mr. Ina does a fairly energetic and eager version of the kaiju which Mr. Sekida did in "Destroy All Monsters" and "Godzilla Raids Again", along with being the first of many free lance actors who would do it just for the money for the rest of the Showa series. The Angurirus suit, sadly was also in need of repair, and even suffered discoloration when used in the water for the Sanami Bay sequence. King Ghidorah, also played by a freelance actor Kanta Ina, is not really active in the fighting - with only Tsuburaya-era Ghidorah from stock footage doing much fighting. The props at the beginning scene which are usually known for their stiffness, were never used again except for in Zone Fighter and Megalon, otherwise they were hung up in a back shed along with a Megalon prop and a Mechagodzilla prop.
"Godzilla vs. Gigan" was released during the period of time referred to as the Godzilla Champion Festival, in which all Godzilla films from 1969 to 1973 were accompanied by a re-edited version of a 60's kaiju film with the editing done by a not-so content Ishiro Honda, along with animated shorts like a Toho produced Pinocchio cartoon and an edited version of Disney's "Peter Pan". The film would be a double kill for Toho. The film brought in 40,000 - more people than the previous film "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" and with the budget being smaller than Hedorah, it was a double success. The film would be accompanied at the festival by a Pinocchio animated feature, another animated feature with the main character being an orphaned bumble bee, and something with some class: an episode of THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN (and this is especially interesting as the character of Tomoko Tomoe was played by Yuriko Hishima, who played Ultra Garrison character Anne Yuri in Ultra Seven). An interesting thing to note about this theatrical release is that this may have been the time in which the first theater exclusive toy was released. A set of bouncy balls were released. 5 balls, with a picture of Gigan, King Ghidorah, Godzilla, Angurirus, and Mothra Larva in each ball. They came in a bag.
America's release of the film was rather different. Cinema Shares, a rather small company, did a poor job with publicity for the film. It is understandable though, since this film - released in 1977 in America - was released five months after the almost legally troubling US release of "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla". Sadly, no material from the release really survives this day except for in some long time and rich fan's collections. Though author Steve Ryfle did offer a quote from the film's TV Spot in his book "Japan's Biggest Mon-Star". The quote goes something like this:, "From beyond the stars came the most fearsome monsters in the galaxy! Only Godzilla stands in their way in GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND! Is even Godzilla strong enough to defeat the invaders? Matching unbelievable strength! Exchanging incredible detonating rays! Don't miss GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND!". The film would go on to be shown in grindhouse cinemas and drive in circuits. Cuts made to the film include the cutting out of the word "bitch", so as to leave the viewer with an awkward line, "You are a hard". Also cut is the part where Gigan cuts Angruius's snout. While the American print with the "On Monster Island" was released on a Canadian bootleg VHS release, Sci-Fi Channel did show this print of the film till 2002 when Sony/Tristar bought the rights to the film, where a clean, widescreen print would be shown. Though it should be noted that some times, the print of the film shown, is a dubbed version of the Japan version of the film. The difference between the International and Japanese versions of the film other than the credits and end card is that in the Japanese version, there are bubbles in Japanese which indirectly act as subtitles for what the monsters are saying. The international print of the film does not have this. The film would from 2002-2005 would be paired up with Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla for yearly marathons usually on Labor Day or Memorial Day Marathons in the morning hours.
What is really mixed up is the film's releases in Europe. The Polish theatrical poster shows the Gyankushu-Goji suit on it along with a giant cockroach along with it. In Brittan, the film got a fourth title card. The film was retitled, "War of the Monsters". Though confusing informed fans as to if there was a relation to this film and the Showa Gamera film of the same name, the print did not confuse fans like the American credits which said the film was directed by "Jan" Fukuda. But the most bizarre part of the film's European release was Germany's dubbing, which has become notorious for completely mixing up the plot worse than an American dub made by Toho in Hong Kong or by the American distribution company itself. Apparently, the German dub says that Gigan was made by Dr. Frankenstein who for the Aliens before he died. Ghidorah though was said to be a pet/slave to the aliens. Other than that, the German dub keeps everything true to the original, including the monster's talking scenes.
Godzilla vs. Gigan is one of the smartest business-geared productions but yet one of the most unoriginal 70's era Godzilla films. To me, it is one of three Godzilla films which define the 70's Godzilla experience. If it was up to me, other than Mothra vs. Godzilla and Gojira, it is the best Showa Godzilla film. Nothing more can be said on the film, except I salute it for it's acomplishments and love the underlying theme of how to market kaiju.
Production on this film started before "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" was even released into theaters (technically by a couple of days). The origins of the story did not come from Shinichi Sekizawa but another writer by the name of Kaoru Mibuchi who wrote just one draft of a story called, "Godzilla vs. The Space Monsters: Global Security Order" or better known by it's short title, "Godzilla vs. The Space Monsters". The plot of the draft was as fallows:
"A plane going to Hadena Airport gets stuck into a mysterious storm which they see for a second the kaiju Gigan. One Gigan disappears, the storm stops and everyone in the plane is in shock. Later that night, the planes pilot (Okamoto) goes to a Science Center on top of a Godzilla Tower to find answers about the strange creature he saw. Telling no one, he enters the building at 1 AM and even though he told no one he was coming, a phone in the room rings saying, "I know you are there... I can answer all of your questions." Okamoto asks who is speaking with the voice confirming that his name is the Alien Miko and that he controls the skies over Japan from now on.
Days later, the JSDF encounters a UFO, none other than Gigan. But in an aerial chase, they also encounter the daikaiju Megalon. The fighter pilots left standing land their planes on a near by island. Megalon fallows the pilots to the island, till Anguirus comes and starts a rumble. Winning the fight, Anguirus seems to have the upper hand till Gigan comes. But after a while, Godzilla appears and Gigan and Megalon take off. But then the lead squadron pilot gets a message from the Alien Miko and says that King Ghidorah, who is flying overhead of the island, is his chariot and he controls the Japanese skies.
Once airline travel stops on an international level, all satellites in space are destroyed. Miko finally says that either let him have Earth, or water, gas, and electricity shall be shut off in Tokyo just as a first step. If an answer is not given soon, the kaiju will attack Tokyo. The Godzilla Tower in science land keeps tabs on the kaiju, till they find out that the kaiju are making a bee line to the Tokyo Tower, The kaiju mistaken the tower as the real Godzilla, only behind the kaiju is the real Godzilla and the main battle commences. But Gigan leaves with the other kaiju.
The Alien Miko announces that the first cities to be destroyed will be Tokyo, Moscow, and New York. A combined effort of Anguirus and the Military does not stop Gigan, and the other two kaiju are just attacked with planes and military - nothing making progress. Megalon and Ghidorah come to Gigan's aid and help kill Anguirus. But Godzilla shows up and the three space kaiju go without putting up a fight. Meanwhile, the Alien Miko makes himself seen and it turns out he is a gigantic brain (Note to reader: this reminds me of the character Carl-Brain from Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Aqua Teen Hunger Force). He blames Godzilla and the Japanese military for the damage done and basically said obey or die.
Wanting a less gruesome appearance, Miko wants to merge with the statue idol Majin-Tulo, an ancient Andes Mountain idol statue kept near the Godzilla Tower found in the Palace of the Gods. Legend has it that one the Palace is disturbed and the mountain destroyed, his eyes shall glow read and throw it's sword into the air, with the sword killing the evil beings and going back into his hand. Stupidly, Miko commands Gigan to cut the statue in half to insert himself into the statue. But Godzilla and Anguirus are there, ready to take on Gigan and the other two space monsters. But Gigan escapes to complete his mission, but the statue starts bleeding. Majin-Tulo finally comes alive and mortal wounds Gigan with his giant katana while throwing it through King Ghidorah. The three monsters leave, with Megalon getting beaten up by Godzilla and Anguirus before he gets to go away. Miko is cornered by the three good kaiju as Godzilla delivers the final blow onto Miko."
An interesting point is that in the artwork by Hurricane Ryu for this version of the story, Gigan's right claw was a spiked wrecking ball and not a regular claw. Some speculate that his right claw could change into a wrecking ball, but there is no true evidence that this art is accurate to the original script since Ryu came around long after the Showa series ended.
Later on, Shinichi Sekizawa got onto the story and wrote three drafts, the second draft turned in August 1971 and the third draft turned in on October 6, 1971. The many differences between Sekizawa's and Mibuchi's versions of the screenplay was that Angurirus and Majin-Tulo was replaced by Varan and Rodan and instead of Megalon, a monster named Mogul was to appear. But in the end, it would be with Angurius coming back, Rodan appearing only in stock footage, and Mogul not being used. All three drafts of the screenplay are remakes of Mibuchi's but still keep close to what would become the final product.
Shinchi Sekizawa's final script is actually one which many may like in that it deals with two subtexts: the economics of kaiju and why certain kaiju are still popular. Kaiju can be categorized into two sections: legendary icons and marketing tools - both stating kaiju's role in society. Godzilla is both - a marketing tool since people can’t stop buying merchandise and a legendary icon for being a versatile character able to fit into many sub-context over time, not just nuclear war. This becomes a major ideal in the beginning of the story when Gengo presents his characters Shukra and Momagon to an editor in chief of a local manga company. The main problem with these two characters is that they cannot be interpreted differently by different people for different reasons. Godzilla could be an anti-nuclear war symbol for humanitarian causes or a symbol of Japan against another country for political purposes. Shukra is only a monster against homework and all Momagon represents is a monster made of the hate of too strict mothers. Both symbols are negative and can easily be seen as only one thing: by what their creators meant them to be. Homework, in this century, is being added more and more to pupil's agendas and advertised as "fun" and strict mothers is something rare enough that one strict mother mention is worth of news time. Both are not versatile and unless they develop a cult will not be profitable. That is why Godzilla is popular and still making cash. Like Dr. William Tsutsui said, "...he is simply too big of a property."
Like all other scripts written in the 70's, the big problem with them is lack of originality in the scripts - mainly in the variety of scenarios. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" copies the "Invasion of Astro Monster" script in many ways. Aliens want to colonize Earth since their planet is uninhabitable, and use space monsters - usually one of them being Ghidorah - to try to defeat Godzilla. The screenplay also did what author David Kalat calls, "raids the history of Godzilla for it's presentation". The film's budget saving trademark was the extensive use of stock materials. The decision for stock music was Tomoyuki Tanaka's and for the stock footage, it was on Teruyoshi Nakano. The stock footage collection in this film came from the films "Rodan", "The Last War", "Atragon", "Mothra vs. Godzilla", "Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster", "Invasion of Astro Monster", "Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster", "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira", "Destroy all Monsters", "All Monsters Attack", and "Godzilla vs. Hedorah". Music wise, cues from all of these films (all Akira Ifukube’s) including the famed "The Birth of the Japanese Islands" are present in their original edits, but is a thrill ride for die hard fans who can pick stuff out and think, "Wow, it is like the ultimate combination of all of these elements for this time period!"
Durring this time period, Toho actually started laying off some of their actors (most from the "Toho Actors Club") and other crew members, totaling 350. All of the acting in the film is enough to get you through. We get 2-D characterization - only details which are professional, nothing intimate or layered. Though this would be the last time that we see strong, human, female characters for the rest of the Showa series. The main one, Tomoko, is a ferocious, karate-skilled, smart woman who gets physical and is even called a "bitch" in the dub. If that isn't a strong female character for this kind of film in it's time, I do not what is.
Special effects, for another time, are taken over by Teruyoshi Nakano. But Nakano does nothing remarkable - it is all on Gigan. Originally designed by Noboyusi Yasumaru, the concept art depicted Gigan with a bigger head, shorter and skinnier tail, a larger, single horn on top of his head, larger mandibles, and his hand claws being skinnier and more curved in. The drawing was very bizarre compared to the final product. The suit's large redesigned claws and feet, however, proved to be a problem for the suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma. Satsuma, making his second appearance in kaiju eiga, decided to come back regardless of the horrible Hedorah experience because he became friends with Nakano and gained a certain respect for the art of siutmation from Haruo Nakajima. In the acclaimed book "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla", "That is Yasumaru for you. His priority is design, not the operation of the suit or the actor. The claws and feet were a solid piece of resin... incredibly heavy and almost impossible to move. Finally, Mr. Nakano agreed to intercede and he got Yasumaru to reluctantly hollow out the claws. Gigan had arms and legs specifically, and was easier to move in. You can do moves like brandishing the huge claws. You can think of how to play in a suit like that. But the feet were so big that they easily caught on other objects or on my opponent, and I tripped a lot." Gigan, though, was not complete. Wanting to sell monsters who were less threatening since they were more popular, Gigan's trademark beam would not be actually seen on film. The concept of it came from Teruyoshi Nakano. In an interview, Nakano said, "I very much was interested in the sixth sense of human beings at the time. I knew that many statues of Buddha had auras around their heads, and I had read an article about strange rays coming out of the foreheads of human beings. So, I originally intended to have a ray come out of Gigan's forehead. However, I changed my mind because the ability didn't seem to fit the cyborg. It fit only human beings. That's why I didn't use it. Gigan had a very strong and angular form. It was enough to express the great power of the monster. So, the laser beam wasn't needed." Gigan would become one of Toho's most popular monsters. A different suit would eventually be used for the next film and the TV series after that, with Satsuma only playing the kaiju again in the 1973 film.
Sadly though, this was the last time that Haruo Nakajima could play Godzilla. Along with being one of the 350 kicked out of the Toho Actors Club, his displeasure of working without Tsuburaya would have him to do his final role, which is not a disappointing one. He wipes his lip, beats his chest, talks to other kaiju, and even gets to be the first person to act inside the suit while Godzilla bleeds. He even smacks his head. The performance gives us a rather animated portrayal of Godzilla. Angurius makes one of his last appearances, before having a cameo in the 1973 film and "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla." This would be the last time the Soshingeki Goji suit would be used, in which was in dire need of repair and is to this day the second most used Godzilla suit ever, spanning five years of usage. Plus, it would be one of the final times that an actual suit would be use for promotional events. In some water scenes, the Musuko-Goji suit was used. Angurius is being played by Yukietsu Ina. Mr. Ina does a fairly energetic and eager version of the kaiju which Mr. Sekida did in "Destroy All Monsters" and "Godzilla Raids Again", along with being the first of many free lance actors who would do it just for the money for the rest of the Showa series. The Angurirus suit, sadly was also in need of repair, and even suffered discoloration when used in the water for the Sanami Bay sequence. King Ghidorah, also played by a freelance actor Kanta Ina, is not really active in the fighting - with only Tsuburaya-era Ghidorah from stock footage doing much fighting. The props at the beginning scene which are usually known for their stiffness, were never used again except for in Zone Fighter and Megalon, otherwise they were hung up in a back shed along with a Megalon prop and a Mechagodzilla prop.
"Godzilla vs. Gigan" was released during the period of time referred to as the Godzilla Champion Festival, in which all Godzilla films from 1969 to 1973 were accompanied by a re-edited version of a 60's kaiju film with the editing done by a not-so content Ishiro Honda, along with animated shorts like a Toho produced Pinocchio cartoon and an edited version of Disney's "Peter Pan". The film would be a double kill for Toho. The film brought in 40,000 - more people than the previous film "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" and with the budget being smaller than Hedorah, it was a double success. The film would be accompanied at the festival by a Pinocchio animated feature, another animated feature with the main character being an orphaned bumble bee, and something with some class: an episode of THE RETURN OF ULTRAMAN (and this is especially interesting as the character of Tomoko Tomoe was played by Yuriko Hishima, who played Ultra Garrison character Anne Yuri in Ultra Seven). An interesting thing to note about this theatrical release is that this may have been the time in which the first theater exclusive toy was released. A set of bouncy balls were released. 5 balls, with a picture of Gigan, King Ghidorah, Godzilla, Angurirus, and Mothra Larva in each ball. They came in a bag.
America's release of the film was rather different. Cinema Shares, a rather small company, did a poor job with publicity for the film. It is understandable though, since this film - released in 1977 in America - was released five months after the almost legally troubling US release of "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla". Sadly, no material from the release really survives this day except for in some long time and rich fan's collections. Though author Steve Ryfle did offer a quote from the film's TV Spot in his book "Japan's Biggest Mon-Star". The quote goes something like this:, "From beyond the stars came the most fearsome monsters in the galaxy! Only Godzilla stands in their way in GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND! Is even Godzilla strong enough to defeat the invaders? Matching unbelievable strength! Exchanging incredible detonating rays! Don't miss GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND!". The film would go on to be shown in grindhouse cinemas and drive in circuits. Cuts made to the film include the cutting out of the word "bitch", so as to leave the viewer with an awkward line, "You are a hard". Also cut is the part where Gigan cuts Angruius's snout. While the American print with the "On Monster Island" was released on a Canadian bootleg VHS release, Sci-Fi Channel did show this print of the film till 2002 when Sony/Tristar bought the rights to the film, where a clean, widescreen print would be shown. Though it should be noted that some times, the print of the film shown, is a dubbed version of the Japan version of the film. The difference between the International and Japanese versions of the film other than the credits and end card is that in the Japanese version, there are bubbles in Japanese which indirectly act as subtitles for what the monsters are saying. The international print of the film does not have this. The film would from 2002-2005 would be paired up with Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla for yearly marathons usually on Labor Day or Memorial Day Marathons in the morning hours.
What is really mixed up is the film's releases in Europe. The Polish theatrical poster shows the Gyankushu-Goji suit on it along with a giant cockroach along with it. In Brittan, the film got a fourth title card. The film was retitled, "War of the Monsters". Though confusing informed fans as to if there was a relation to this film and the Showa Gamera film of the same name, the print did not confuse fans like the American credits which said the film was directed by "Jan" Fukuda. But the most bizarre part of the film's European release was Germany's dubbing, which has become notorious for completely mixing up the plot worse than an American dub made by Toho in Hong Kong or by the American distribution company itself. Apparently, the German dub says that Gigan was made by Dr. Frankenstein who for the Aliens before he died. Ghidorah though was said to be a pet/slave to the aliens. Other than that, the German dub keeps everything true to the original, including the monster's talking scenes.
Godzilla vs. Gigan is one of the smartest business-geared productions but yet one of the most unoriginal 70's era Godzilla films. To me, it is one of three Godzilla films which define the 70's Godzilla experience. If it was up to me, other than Mothra vs. Godzilla and Gojira, it is the best Showa Godzilla film. Nothing more can be said on the film, except I salute it for it's acomplishments and love the underlying theme of how to market kaiju.
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