New Photos of Kadokawa's Blu-Ray Set for the Gamera Trilogy

Yep, it has happened. The Gamera trilogy blu-ray set is out. It is out in three different variations. First, we got a cover with Gamera showing off his blown off stub of a right arm. Then there is a purple colored still of Gamera after he has landed in Kyoto for the final battle with Iris. Then we got one which showings a still of Gamera and Iris battling. Well, the good part about this is that we can now show the back of the blu-ray box and all three variations of the Blu-Ray box. Here are the stats. And don’t forget: IT IS IN STORES NOW! BUY THEM NOW!

Statistics (all prices switched to US currency)

Price (Box): $90-$120 price range

Price (Individual): $51.70

Street Date: 8-28-2009

Subtitles: Japanese

First Press: 3D Lenticular Cover

Packing: Black Armary for Blu-Ray

Sounds: PCM 5.1 Surround

Label: Jesnet1050p HD

And do not forget that this set has a new 3-part documentry on the making of the Gamera trilogy, including interviews with SHUSUKE KANEKO and Tomoo Hariguchi.

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

Legendary Pictures Godzilla... by Who?

Something which has apparently set the world on fire for kaiju fans was the news of Legendary Pictures going into negotiations with Toho for the rights of a Godzilla film. But what is fact and what is not? This is what I am going to write about. Well, that and a look at possibly directors.


Legendary Pictures is in negotiations with Toho. True. Toho said "no comment", though how they said it proved that they are doing something which is top secret. True. Did Legendary Pictures ask Toho or was it the other way around? It was Legendary Pictures which approached Toho (this is based on the wording of a certain Twitch article). Legendary Pictures would like to make for the film an updated version of the Shodai-Goji suit? I do not know. This is where stuff starts to get tricky. That, and accouple of more rumors (that Legendary Pictures will have Weta do the CGI and that they want a Toho villain to oppose the King of the Monsters) came from an ananymous. When I asked about his source for validity, he said that his source was someone high in the industry. So make of it as you will. Is what Avery Guerra keeping secret the same facts? I do not know and event though I am a friend I do not know either nor do I have the audacity to do so.


But who will be the director? Many famous directors love Godzilla. John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, Escape From New York) has been in two different documentaries on the Big "G". But due to his age and his current projects, I doubt it. Tim Burton (Batman, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) has given Godzilla a cameo in his film "Pee Wee’s Big Adventure" and even mentions him, "Destroy All Monsters", and had a picture of the Big G in his autobiography, "Burton on Burton". Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Apocalypse Now) did what August Ragone said: "In 1956, Scorsese ended up seeing GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS several times as a young teenager. Decades later, when he worked on Akira Kurosawa's DREAMS (in which he played Vincent van Gogh), Scorsese was elated to discover that Honda was working on the film and asked to have a sit down with him. He told Honda about how much he loved GODZILLA and how he used to do chores so he could see the movie as many times as he could when it first came to NYC. Scorsese also, according to an interview with Honda, talked to Toho and managed to get several of Honda's films into the New York Museum of Modern Art's film library." But there is another guy who I want the most to do this project. And I got two words for you: QUENTIN TARANTINO.


Tarantino is already known to be a Godzilla fan. For "Kill Bill Vol. 1", he used one of the Yokohama sets from "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack". For the epic fight between Beatrix Kiddo and Elle Driver in "Kill Bill Vol. 2", he made both Daryl Hannah and Uma Thurman watch his print of "War of the Gargantuas" before filming the scene - which also copies some publicity stills from "War of the Gargantuas". Some even say that Quentin owns a print of "Destroy All Monsters". Well, some news has surfaced that has seemingly not hit most kaiju forums.


Originally around the time "Death Proof" was released, Tarantino mentioned something about wanting to make a Godzilla film but claimed that he was not at liberty to say anything about it. Very recently, Tarantino was interviewed and said this: "I have an idea for a Godzilla movie that I've always wanted to do. The whole idea of Godzilla's role in Tokyo, where he's always battling these other monsters, saving humanity time and again- wouldn't Godzilla become God? It would be called "Living Under the Rule of Godzilla". This is what society is like when a big fucking green lizard rules your world."


Some unique narrative, eh? Godzilla as a religious symbol is an interesting concept. This is something which effects the original, "Gojira" in which somewhat getting influenced from the original "King Kong", Godzilla is a God to the natives of Odo Island. 30 years later, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka would call Godzilla, "…a nightmare created out of the darkness of the human soul. He is the sacred beast of the apocalypse." Then in 2001, Godzilla became the embodiment of the dead souls of the Pacific Conflict theatre of the Second World War which were angry for the Japanese to try to forget about the war. However, "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" also proves that Japanese mythology is in the GMK universe real, with the description of King Ghidorah’s mature form being eight headed - a call to Yamato No Orochi. Then there is the fact that the international name for Godzilla has the word "God" in it. Tarantino’s take on the religious angle to Godzilla himself sound different from what I have listed above and seems to be a breath of fresh air not smelled since Kaneko’s "GMK".



Overall, Tarantino has revealed something which he has kept secret for two years. We do not know when Legendary Pictures started negotiating for the rights to "Godzilla", with some people (including Chris55) saying that at least it has been going on for the past 2 months, so is it possible at Tarantino may be the new director since right after the revealing of the negotiations he can how talk about his Godzilla concept? Time will tell. I can say one thing, though it may be off topic: Michael Schlesinger is no longer available for interviews for publishing on the internet. Please comment on what you think Tarantino’s Godzilla may be like with this new information and how Legendary Pictures may use this if the negotiations lead to a green lighting which would lead to the hiring of Tarantino in a rare project which does not include the Weinstein Company.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IN NO WAY SAYS THAT TARANTINO IS THE DIRECTOR FOR A FILM THAT IS ONLY IN NEGOTIATIONS. THIS IS JUST TO GET OUT SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE LEGENDARY PICTURES GODZILLA AND SOME INFORMATION QUENTIN TARANTINO LET OUT IN AN INTERVIEW ABOUT NINE DAYS AGO. TARANTINO IS OF RIGHT NOW NOT THE DIRECTOR OF THE LEGENDARY PICTURES GODZILLA.

Interview with Keith of "S.V."

Keith runs a site which shall go unnamed, but what he does is basicaly preserve lots of material which is most probrably destroyed by now. For those of you who know who I am talking about, here is my interview with this, one of the more outstanding of fans...

1. How long have you been a Godzilla Fan?

Since I first saw a Godzilla movie in 1977. I was ten at the time.

2. Can you remember your first experience with kaiju, specifically Japanese kaiju?

Well I was born in Germany and we lived in a small farm town. Very few people had cards and there was no theatre in town (or next few over). Only the bigger cities had theatres at the time. So everything I knew came from TV (I think there was maybe two channels) and one would show the Universal horror movies from time to time. The closest to kaiju I got was seeing the "Creature From The Black Lagoon". When we moved to the states I finally was able tog et to a theatre and saw the first "King Kong" remake. I know the movie gets panned now but at the time it was fantastic to me. Shortly after a while looking in the newspaper movie ads I was a strange sight: two monsters fighting each other atop the World Trade Center! This of course was Godzilla vs. Megalon (yes I had the comic and yes like many others I basically destroyed it). When I saw it I can remember thinking how off it was that there was a lot of Japanese people in it and what were they all doing in New York? Of course I finally figured out when the credits rolled that the two monsters were actually not going to right on the WTC, talk about a disappointment! So Kong remained my favorite until I saw "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla", which in the paper was advertised as "Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster"! Man I was confused; I thought they were different movies! To me there was just no way not to be a Godzilla fan after seeing Mechagodzilla, he was just too cool.

3. From what we have conversed of, you have an interesting collection. Could you describe it a little to our readers?

I like to collect the diorama sets. I have the complete Yuji Sakai diorama series now that thankfully (hint-hint) was able to point out to me the last one I needed - the "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" one from the first series. Other than that I have the complete Bandai Polystone diorama set some other various dioramas and lots of books from Japan. My favorite would be the Sakai Concept Works "Ka-Ma-E" Meltdown Godzilla because it was so difficult to obtain. Oh and of course lots of DVDs and VHS tapes.

4. You make products for fans in the DVD format. While some material is from the R2 DVDs, how did you get the more rare material like the TV spots for, "Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monsters" or the double feature trailer for "War of the Gargantuas/Monster Zero"?

All of my rare stuff comes from people I have traded with in the early days of the internet and fanzines. Lots of good traders out there!

5. Thanks to you, the aforementioned rare materials (which may not even exist anymore as original material like film) will be preserved. Would you say that you may have made kaiju history?

Not even close - I will leave that to actual people who help clear up discrepancies and myths in the fandom. People like August Ragone, Keith Aiken, and James Ballard (I am sure there are others out there too) who participate in the forums and provide the blogs (and even write books for us!) they are the fountains of information that make kaiju history. Even you with this site and Dan of the Kaiju Movie Review do way more for the fans than I go. I just get happy when I hear from someone that they saw a movie as a kid, they could not find it anywhere and can’t wait to share watching it with their kids, that’s simply what I want to provide.

6. Personally made products play a big role in the kaiju fandom’s history in the 90’s. Did you play a part of this? Did you buy any fan made products and could you please tell of the quality?

I started making some of my own stuff available around 1999. I got started because I felt I could do a better job than some of the stuff that was out there - I thought a lot of fans were getting ripped off by some of the things I had gotten that were supposed to be "top quality". Of course this did not apply to all sellers there was really good stuff out there too.

7. How is business right now?

Just fine, how I like it: not too busy. This is only a side thing for me and I mostly like doing it as a hobby and keeping it in that perspective. I try to keep a fair price for the fan and give them as good quality as I possibly can.

8. What equipment do you use to make the discs?

Some hardware and software from Canopus (now Grass Valley), software from Adobe - these things I use to edit and create my project. I use only Verbatim discs and they are printed using a "modified to print" Canon printer.

9. Anything else could you add for our readers?

Just to thank everyone who has purchased from me and hopefully they are pleases with what they got. And many thanks to all the great people I have talked to and met through Godzilla.

Kaiju Memoir: Silver Scream Spook Show Presents... GMK

This is an edited version of the report.

Coppola, Kurosawa, Scorsese - these are all names that are recognized by people who take pride into wanting only the best out of the best films to watch. Another name comes to mind which should be on the list: Kaneko. Shusuke Kaneko is a great director, from making great drama films like Cross Fire (Pyrokenesis) and the Death Note duology to creating films which challenge what were the greatest giant monster films of all "Gamera 3: Incomplete Struggle". Another is "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monster All Out Attack". GMK, while not as good as G3 (which is good only because of the film's evolution coming from G1 and G2) is considerably better than G1 and G2 and arguably better than the original "Gojira". Back on January 31, the Plaza Theatre of Atlanta, Georgia, which used to be a grindhouse/porn theatre, showed GMK. In this report, we will look into the history of Godzilla in this theatre and what happened at the premiere and if anything else would happen.

First we have to talk about the history of this film. This film has been the most shown Godzilla film ever (in American art houses and cult film theatres). The film has been shown at least eleven times at an estimated six different art film houses and other specialty theatres. And now it’s showing here. According to two articles on Henshin!Online, the way theatres get prints of these types of films is by contacting Sony Pictures Repertory, and with paying $150 and 33% of the box office income, you can show the film that you want (in this case, GMK). At the current time, you have a choice to rent a dubbed version and a subtitled version. It was not always liked that. A subtitled version was made available only a little bit before September 14th, 2004 (and the first article explaining this film was written a year and accouple of days before). The print which was shown was the dubbed version.

So it turns out that this is not the first time a kaiju film has been shown in Atlanta, let alone the legendary Plaza Theatre. Previously, the theatre has shown the films Mothra (February 24th 2007) and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (March 29th 2008). As they say, third times the charm, and their third kaiju film was GMK. Two weeks before the premiere, I estimated that only a little more than $35 will be made at the box office. At the end of the 10:00 pm showing, the box office draw became a total of $2,800 (that is both showings together). Attendance to the 1:00pm showing was around 150 and the attendance for the adults-only 10:00pm showing was 250.
INTERVIEW WITH SHANE MORTON (runner of the Silver Scream Spook Show and affiliate of the Plaza Theatre)

Here now is an interview with Professor Mort, the guy in charge of the Plaza Theatre:
1. How well known is the Plaza Theatre and it's main attraction: The Spook Show?

The Plaza is Atlanta's greatest movie theatre as well as Atlanta's oldest continually operating movie theatre which opened in 1939. The Spook Show is Atlanta's greatest theatre going experience! You will see a line around the building twice a day on the last Saturday of every month!

2. What is the theatre regarding to giant monster films (kaiju films) and what Godzilla films have been shown there?

We were the first theatre in North America to show the newly restored Mothra print. We've shown Godzilla vs. The Sea monster, Infra-Man, and the greatest giant monster movie of all time, 1933's King Kong!

3. Sources say that the theatre has shown two kaiju films: Mothra (1961) and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (Godzilla, Mothra, Ebirah: Big Duel in the South Sea). Can you recall how successful this screening was. If not, the Mothra screening?

The Mothra screening was a huge deal and extremely successful. In my opinion, it was the most beautiful and colorful print of a film I have ever watched! All of the Kaiju films are well attended and even none of the children seem to care about the subtitles... Hey , were purists!

4. For monster films shown with the "Spook Show", there is a poster made (like the one seen in this link: http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/01/04/giant-asian-monsters-on-the-big-screen-in-january/). Who makes these posters and is there any other information I can get on them?

Kevin Rej is our amazing poster designer and artist. He is a long time Atlanta resident and designs ad campaigns and logos for national companies but still loves drawing Monsters for us! check him out here - http://www.raisestudio.com/

5. What film requests do you get, if you can say some monster-movie oriented?
Everyone has a favorite Monster / Scifi / Horror film and we get requests for all of them. Believe me if it exists on 35mm film and is a classic, you will get a chance to see it at the Silver Scream Spook Show. (or if it is R rated, at Splatter Cinema which The Plaza hosts the second Tuesday of every month.) I have personally fulfilled many of my cinematic viewing dreams at the Plaza Theatre.

6. What monsters films are being planned to be shown in the future?

We have a line on King Kong Vs. Godzilla and many of the newer Godzilla films, but we prefer to show the older ones. GMK is an exception to our rule. Coming up in March we have the 7th Voyage of Sinbad, May we have Creature From the Black Lagoon in 3D, plus more classic Bela Lugosi, Ray Harryhausen, and Vincent Price in the works.

7. What monster films have you seen and liked (if you can, list Japanese Kaiju films)?

Kaiju films, All of them! I am a huge fan and have actually partied with Haruo Nakajima and Kenpachiro Satsuma! (Do not get in a drinking contest with Nakajima, trust me!) I also love any old monster movies. It's too long of a list to put down but I do have an intense and all encompassing love of classic Horror / Monster / Sci-Fi movies!

8. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Attack; Mothra; and Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster are all owned by Sony. Do you have any affiliation with Sony and how do you go by getting a print of the films (please be specific with this)?

We have no official affiliation with Sony. The Plaza Theatre has relationships with most if not all the film studios in order to run their films. Getting the films to show is just part of the day to day operations of running a movie theatre. The theatre requests films to the studios, they see if they have 35mm prints, what kind of shape they are in and if they are available. Sony seems to be the only studio that has 35mm prints of Godzilla films that are made available to theaters.

9. What is your goal when releasing a movie like this (e.g.: box office sales and attendance)?

We want to fill the theater of course, but we also want to turn people onto stuff that they are unaware of. Especially in the case of GMK, we are going to blow people’s minds with this movie - and the show! We have never worked so hard on props, magic tricks, etc, as we are on this show. It's going to be stupendous!

10. Anything to say to the people reading this interview?

Yes! Thank you for the support! The Silver Scream Spook Show is a dream come true for all involved and it makes us very happy every time we hear the laughter and the screams of an appreciative audience! Come see the Spook Show, you won't believe your eyes! We'll scare the Yell out of you!

I would like to re-mention from the article that King Kong vs. Godzilla, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and some Harryhausen films are going to be shown, including Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D and some classic Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price.

Something about the Plaza Theatre is that it is one of the ultimate fan hot spots in America. As Shane Morton said, if you got a request, he will try to fill it. And also since it is an old theatre, people want to keep it fun. But what do the people think? Here is an interview with Avery Guerra, who is actually a friend of mine. Here is the interview that gives everything from a fan's point of view. I did this interview in way that not everyone has been to this theatre which is located in the south.

AVERY GUERRA INTERVIEW
Q. State your name and history as a kaiju fan concerning writing papers, being staff of official sites like SciFiJapan, MonsterZero, and Henshin!Online, ect.

A. Hi my name is Avery Battles but I'm more commonly known online as Avery Guerra. From as far back as I can remember I have been a fan of daikaiju [giant monster] films. [I should note on your interview questions that I've never worked for any of those sites before. I regularly work for the ones that I mentioned and I am pretty good friends with Kieth Akin of 'Sci-Fi Japan' and stay in regular contact with him. ] You know I was in your shoes just a few years back. I never thought that I would be where I'm at now and with all the connections I've made. I wouldn't ever claim to be anyone special or better than anyone else as I'm just a Regular Joe, but apparently I've got quite a talent at finding news on giant monster [kaiju] films and making the right friends, as I've been told regularly. I think that had a big hand in landing me the jobs as I've become basically a 'news hound' for several sites including; Kenneth Hulsey's 'Robo Japan/Monster Island News' and famous Australian author and film critic Robert Hood's 'UnDead BackBrain' among many others including several mainstream horror movie news sites that I regularly help out. I'm actually not much of an author and only write the articles on occasion. Although I'm told my writing skills are not too bad. Usually, I'm just the one going out there and finding the news and taking it to the right people. I don't receive any pay for what I do, it's more of just a hobby, but I enjoy it immensely. I do however make a lot of connections with movie directors, special effects artists, actors, etc. that will surely benefit me a lot in the future.

Q. How many times have you gone to the Plaza Theatre and what films do you usually see there?

A. I have only been to the Plaza Theater a handful of times to catch some of the Silver Scream Spook Show's monthly screenings of classic horror/sci-fi films. I have been lucky enough to catch 'King Kong [1933], 'The Creature From The Black Lagoon [in 3-D], 'Mothra' [the original Japanese language print] and a few others.

Q. Are you associated with the staff of the Plaza Theatre?

A. I'm actually not in any way associated with the staff at the theater nor with the staff of any of the special events that it hosts such as; 'Silver Scream Spook Show', 'Splatter Cinema' or 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'. I have been in contact with the host [Professor Morte] of the 'Spook Show' via e-mail through their 'MySpace' page. A very pleasant experience. They are a very professional and friendly crew and put on a fantastic show that's not to be missed.

Q. You mentioned to me before that you recommended a lot of films. Was GMK one of these films and what other kaiju related films did you recommend?

A. I have recommended many films to them for consideration for future shows and "Godzilla: GMK" was actually second on my list of films I most wanted to see as a part of their show. Among the countless others I suggested such recent releases as; "Godzilla: Final Wars" and "Gamera; The Brave", as well as classics such as "Reptilicus", "The Giant Claw", "Gammera; The Invincible", "The X-From Outer Space", "Majin; Monster Of Terror", "Gorgo", "Mighty Peking Man", "Pulgasari" and many others.

Q. How have your experiences at this theatre been to you and have effected you?

A. Each of the shows that I had the pleasure of catching at this theater were exactly that; a pleasure. The staff of the cinema and crew members of the special events were all very professional and courteous and you can easily tell that they have a love for what they're doing. That really helps makes it all a much more enjoyable experience and one that I would highly recommend to others.

Like what Morte said, if you got a request, he will try to fulfill it. May a Gamera film or a Guilala film be not too far off in the horizon?

THE PREMIRE

First, as a Georgian and a South Easterner in general, not a lot of Kaiju related event happen here, excluding Florida. But the one place that we Southerners can always rely on is the Plaza Theatre to show films as a good alternative to other events. Here is how everything went:
I left two hours early. I live in Warner Robins so it is not that long to Atlanta. We got there 45 minutes early, and thank god we did. I was the first to get out of the car (I am only 15, so my mom drove me and my brother to the event) and I got my camera and started snapping photos till I was met my a short woman who was a radio talk show host who was doubling for security. Next, after covering the front of the theatre, I decided to ask a teen aged woman, an employee, if the posters could be bought once the show was over. I was answered with a , "no". I tried getting in, but there was another no. Of course anyone who knows me knows that no one is going to get in my way of kaiju stuff. And then the true magic took it's toll on me.

I had never been to a G-FEST or any type of kaiju-related event. So when I went to the theater and saw GMK and Kill Bill posters and a dealer's table and another table full of free promotional items and a table of display only items (unless you are a member of the Silver Scream Spook Show fan club). In case you were wondering, the items on that table were a bunch of issues of G-FAN, a bunch of Japanese VHS tapes (some from Video Daikaiju), and last but not least a slew of Dark Horse Godzilla comic books.

The dealer's table was actually a guy selling his copies, which he had a lot of copies and stuff. All 6 inch figures were $15, Bandai Creation figures were $5, Bandai Creation 12" figures were $20, and all exclusives were $30. So here is what I got:

-Bandai AFFE Exclusive crystal Gamera 1999 $30

-Bandai Theater Exclusive Gamera 1999 $30

-Bandai History of Godzilla set (from 1999/2000) $20

-Bandai Godzilla vs. Destroyer Diorama $10-Bandai Iris 6" $15

-Bandai Toho Kaiju 6" King Ghidorah $15

-Bandai Godzilla Island 6" Mecha King Ghidorah $15

-Bandai Toho Kaiju 6" Spacegodzilla $15

-Bandai Theater Exclusive 6" Mire-Goji $15

-Bandai Theater Exclusive 6" Gira-Goji $15

-Bandai Toho Kaiju 6" Burning Godzilla $15

Me, the dealer, and a friend of the dealer then chatted. It was nice that I got to chat with other Godzilla fans. We covered topics like our Clubtokyo memberships, Gamera 3 or Gojira, and other Godzilla collectibles. Then some eyes widened when people found out that I got such rarities like the Bandai Large Scale 1991 Godzilla or the Chogokin Kiryu 2002. Then we talked about the CM discs. Total nerd fun. Sadly, the dealer, who I forgot to get his name, had to leave half way through the film to go on a trip to Florida.

After that, I just started taking more and more photos. The theatre, I found out, is like the Godzilla capitol of the South East: the theatre itself keeps Godzilla toys at it's box office stand (a bottle cap with a HG figure of 1974 Mechagodzilla and a Bandai SD Gira-Goji in the corner of a window. The stand, which held the G-Fans and the R2 VHS tapes and the Dark Horse comics, is a monthly thing filled with Goji merchandise; but on occasion other merchandise to other cult films, depends on what they are showing).

Around 45 minutes after I came to the theatre, that is when the crowds came. This is a major learning point for me, a Godzilla fan who is also studying the fandom. G-Fest is the Mecca for American/Canadian fans and those who go are well educated G-FANS who know a lot about Godzilla and other kaiju related facts. This premier was not. So there were more casual fans than die-hards like me. First, the crowd was mostly adult - no doubt either nostalgic people or people wanting to look at a movie that they thought would have a snowball's chance in hell of being shown (a Goji film so to speak). There was no one in my age group there. But there were kids. It was mostly boys, but there was one little Mothra fan who bought a VHS of Rebirth of Mothra (1996). But the main thing was that most people in attendance were casual fans. Some boy's father thought that the film they were showing was Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964), which I overheard this comment and politely corrected him. Another said that the film was made in the Heisei series, but I corrected that also. As I said, casual fans. The kids were cool though, two younger fans were holding their Imperial Godzillas (did not know there were even collectors in Georgia) and a HG Heisei 1995 Gamera. But I do not blame them, I made my mother hold my Bandai 8" GMK Ghidorah, my brother hold a w/ tag Bandai 8" GMK Baragon and I held my Bandai 8" GMK Goji figure (all figures I bought were but into a box which went into the back of my mom's SUV). Then came the time to enter the theatre, with by the doors two big home-made Godzilla banners. Then the magic happened:

The Silver Scream Spook Show is something which lots of people come to on a regular basis in Atlanta, that I can assure after overhearing the multitude of comments. Audience participation is a given. The Spook Show cast tries to do a 30 minute show based on the movie. First, we had the character Retch give out treats to all the kids who had birthdays, which ranged from the aforementioned HG Gamera and Godzilla shirts to official Silver Screen Spook Show merchandise (stickers and trading cards). Then the show started. First, a semi-burlesque Japanese school girl was dancing around a teacher. Then they went off and Professor Morte (played by Shane Morton) and his henchmen Retch finds an Xilian that tells a prophecy of monsters coming on the 31 of January to do battle in and around the Plaza Theatre. The crew go and give the sea monster (with music from Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water, and the sea monster is not Ebirah) and a giant big foot (they used Toho Kong roars) sleeping pills in which if taken on an empty stomach, makes the monsters enraged. So they have to get Mothra by making her come out of her cocoon to the Shobijin's song with burlesque dancing. Mothra wakes up and is to fetch Godzilla to do battle with big foot and the Sea Monster. Mothra fights Big Foot and Godzilla fights the Sea Monster. After wards the movie began.

Audience reaction to my second favorite Godzilla film was nice. Nothing Rocky Horror like, but it was fun. There was clapping for the Toho logo, the main credits, Godzilla's appearance, Ghidorah's coming to the final battle, Ghidorah getting his wings, and last but not least the end of the film. But there is always expected to be laughter. But sometimes laughter can be a sign of a difference between two different societies. First, I do not understand the laughter at the quote, "It is a bit far fetched" when a guy suggests they name the monsters. Second, the dubbing is ok, I do not see anything wrong with it. Not to forget the laughter when Yuri Tachibana said, "They're dead. The men in the helicopter. They're dead." There was laughter accompanied with a random "You think so?" Honestly, we Americans are so bad at mental stuff. We Americans are always going fast. We text fast, we multi task fast, we like stuff fast. So we think fast and do not ponder/meditate on subjects. This is a bad thing. For instead on thinking, "Why did Yuri Tachibana say that?" and coming to the common conclusion that she is trying to recon with the incredible events which she is witnessing. But we Americans, unless used to the Godzilla films and are a little intelligent, take it that: "She said that? Yo duh their dead! Why say something as obvious as that?" Either A.)This film is comedic and I am an idiot not to realize that, B.)I take these films too seriously, or C.)America needs to wake up. I am glad though that the American people liked the film and that the film's reputation has grown as a good film that even made American critics like it.

On a side note, I bet that the woman who greeted me is a critic who is hopefully going to or already has reviewed the film positively on local Atlanta, Georgia radio. Another thing I wish is that Roger Ebert would be here. While he did not like Gojira much, he did like Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995) and therefore hope to get a review of the film from him. When the film was over, my family went and got a photo with Proff. Morte (and I thanked him for the interview) then got a photo with the Godzilla suit (the Godzilla suit was not the GMK suit, it was very well made home made suit with the head looking like the 12" Banpresto figure's head). Everyone seemed to be pumped and I could not go to sleep for another 16 hours after that, since it was my first Godzilla theatrical experience.

In conclusion, it was a well worth event. Sure, I was the only forumer to go but it was a cool experience which a lot of people wished could have been here. And I wished that Packmule and Avery Guerra could have been there. And if you are reading this, you should have been there. It was like a mini G-Fest like none other.

Silver Screen Spook Show presents... RODAN

The Silver Screen Spook Show has shown many classic films - sci-fi, horror, and grindhouse genres. They have shown MOTHRA, GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER, and GMK (which I went to). Now they are going to show RODAN in September! All in the Souther East needs to come to this showing of a classic Showa film where THE MASTERS and the fathers of Kaiju eiga show off on their first colored kaiju piece of art!

http://plazaatlanta.com/COMING_SOON.html

Hope to see you there!

Youtube/Fan Fiction Update

While a lot of things seems to be going on film-wise with the announcement of Legendary Picture’s negotiation for the rights to make an American Godzilla film and Comcast is being sued for using Godzilla in one of their commercials, the fandom seems to be having some news going on. But what? First, another video for Donny Winter’s highly anticipated new fan fiction, "Mothra and Godzilla: Future Destiny" is now out on youtube. It is a really emotional video. Remember to click the "HD" button.



Next is something which really evolves the youtube side of the fandom. The youtube fandom’s most talented members are getting together under one banner as "TokusatsuReviewV3". News, Coverage of fan events, toy reviews, and news reports are all present. Right now the members of the channel is Deadzilla, EatIt41, NickJownz, and Ultraman Cronos. Below are the three videos done for the channel. The first one is by EatIt41, the second is UltramanCronos, and the third by Deadzilla.

Cultural References in "Gojira" (1954)

Cultural References in the film Gojira
By Kuroneko-sama

There is no limit to the wonders of diversity. Each culture is different, possessing individual beliefs and practices, each one more intriguing than the next. Nevertheless, many cultural beliefs and practices are virtually similar, such as the various beliefs on the creation of the earth.

Centuries ago, and perhaps even in today’s modern world, polytheism and heavy religious beliefs were central figures in everyday life. Certain rituals were performed in order to placate the various deities of ancient religions, and many basic practices were performed based upon the precepts and guidelines of a civilization’s religious tendencies.

There are also cultural similarities regarding the subject of "courting". Many include the practice of marriage, marital arrangements, et cetera. Courting behavior is also dictated by society, as well as religious influence.

In the film Gojira, there are at least two interesting cultural references that shapes the tale of the lifestyle of 1954 Japan. One is in regards to ancient mythology and religious belief, and the other refers to the practice of arranged marriage. Keeping in mind that while these practices no longer ordinarily occur, they are no less important to the culture of a country than they were so many years ago.

Mythology, Legends, and Folklore
In the original 1954 film, Gojira, mythology is one of the first examples of Japanese culture that we come across, as we are introduced the terrible incidents of death and destruction at sea, and the idea that Odo Island’s deity, Gojira, is to blame for the tragedy. According to one old man, Odo Island would send young women out on rafts once a year in order to placate the terrible god, so that fishing would be good and Gojira would not seek to destroy the island and its inhabitants. During the initial course of events at Odo Island, a ritualistic ceremony of dance is performed, what is described in the 1956 American cut of the original film, entitled Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, as the remains of a ritual that was "all but forgotten".

The tale of Odo Island’s wrathful god is by no means uncommon. Such a sub-plot was utilized in the 1933 film King Kong. Many tales of ancient cultures are littered with instances of gods and deities imposing some form of authority over small villages and even large cities. There is the Aztec legend of the Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent god of great power and importance to which the Aztecs would offer animal sacrifices, as it was said the Quetzalcoatl opposed human sacrifices, which was highly common in Aztec culture. There are also tales of European dragons laying waste to different villages, and pillaging the lands, eating livestock and occasionally humans. Tales of dragons in Japan are just as commonplace, although in Asian culture dragons are seen as more benevolent beings, save for those such as Mizuchi, a water dragon known for its malevolent tendencies and for it desire for human sacrifices to be made to it. The most famous Japanese deity tale, perhaps, is that of Yamata no Orochi and Susanoo.

The tale of Gojira also shows similarities to a perhaps little-known tale of folklore, which takes place around 1320 AD:

Hojo Takatoki, the last shikken (regent) of the Kamakura Shogunate, banishes a samurai by the name of Oribe Shima. Shima had insulted or displeased Hojo Takatoki in some manner, and was banished to a prison on the Oki Islands. Oribe Shima had a daughter named Tokoyo, who was noted for her strong character and love of her father. Overcome by grief, she sold everything in her possession in order to search for her father so that she would be reunited with him. Towards the end of her long and difficult journey at the Oki Islands, she comes across a grim priest and a fearful young woman of perhaps fifteen years of age, both dressed in white. Tokoyo stops the priest from pushing the girl off a cliff, and he explains to her that each year a girl of fifteen years or younger must be sacrificed in order placate the deity that held dominance over the islands. Seeing the grief in the priest’s eyes and the angst in the girl’s, Tokoyo asks that she don the white attire of the sacrificially intended, as she felt she had no reason to live without her father. It is agreed, and Tokoyo, who is noted for being an excellent swimmer, dives from the cliff, a sharp knife clenched in her teeth. Whilst down below, she finds a wood carving of the Emperor, and intends to bring it up to the surface, initially believing that the wood carving was the so-called deity. Her supposition is shattered, however, with the arrival with what many have speculated to be a water dragon. She slays the beast, and brings the wood carving to the surface. She is then treated as a hero, and there is a great celebration. With the death of the Oki Island deity, the Emperor finds himself released from a terrible illness, which had been inflicted upon him by the water beast. Upon the discovery of this, the Emperor orders the release of Oribe Shima, and the samurai and his daughter are happily reunited. There is also a hint that the city of Edo (ancient Tokyo) was later re-named in honor of Tokoyo, whose bravery had caused her name to be "known worldwide".

Culture
A little subject matter is occasionally argued upon, but is never truly delved on, is the subject of the "love triangle" in the film Gojira. By today’s standards, it would appear that there are virtually no romantic angles in the film at all. At least one person I have noted has stated that he/she would not have known there was a love triangle at all, had it not been blatantly stated. Keeping in mind the romantic standards of modern society, there is a legitimate reason as to why there is a debate at all.

Japan has always been a country that has kept its traditional values. While today Japan is a very modern society, and, sadly, many of those values have begun to fade, in the 1950s they were still very highly honored. One could compare the relationship between Emiko Yamane and Hideto Ogata as a sort of "courting romance". What we perceive as romance today (i.e. – kissing publicly, et cetera) would have been seen as lewd and, frankly, inappropriate behavior. There were (and still are) subtle indications that a couple is in love. The most common, perhaps, is simply holding hands. With Ogata and Emiko, it is Ogata’s constant attempts at doing little things for Emiko, such as holding her umbrella for her, et cetera. In addition, their behavior suggests only slightly the air of romance. While it is undetected by the modern youth of today, those who look closely and those who perhaps even grown up in strict societies will notice the slight hints of romance.

The type of romance conveyed in Gojira appears very odd to those of today’s society. Many perhaps do not grasp the concept of arranged marriages, which have all but faded away. Arranged marriage is another romantic element of Gojira that has a tendency to confuse modern society, as it is no longer a common practice. For those unfamiliar with arranged marriages, it is the practice of the parents of a young girl meeting with the parent of a young boy, and having it arranged so that the children would one day marry. It was a very common practice at one point, and it was ordinarily between families that had very close relations. With Dr. Serizawa, it was perhaps that he had been great friends with Daisuke Serizawa’s father, as Emiko and he had been betrothed since they were children.

If the concept of arranged marriages sounds startling, imagine what it must have been like to have to have been chaperoned! It was once a highly common practice that a girl and a young man could never be alone together. The girl was always to be in the company of her chaperone, and there were never any exceptions.

-----------------------------------
Thanks!
*~Kuroneko-sama~*

2nd Line of Toho Blu-Rays!

Visit Links for Pictures!
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/godzilla1984.html
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/vskingghidorah.html
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/daikaizyuu.html
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/rengoukantai.html
http://www.toho-a-park.com/tokusatsu-bd/japan.html

New Line Up:
Godzilla 1984
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
GMK
Japan Sinks (1973 version)
and more!

FULL LIST OF SPECIAL FEATURES (Roughly Translated)

GMK
(1) notice Theater (HD quality)
(2) dispatch (HD Quality Blow-Up)
(3) TV Spot (SD quality)
(4) project the GMK Godzilla fought day and Shusuke Kaneko (SD quality)
(5) Mount the new assistant director Akira Hide Tiharu Murakami ODIO・EKOMENTARI Shusuke Kaneko

Godzilla 1984
(1) notice Theater (HD quality)
(2) dispatch (HD Quality Blow-Up)
(3) "Godzilla 1983" (HD-quality blow-up)
(4) Making of Godzilla 1984 (SD quality)
(5) Audio Commetnary

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
(1) notice Theater (HD quality)
(2) dispatch (HD Quality Blow-Up)
(3) Location Guide Godzilla series (tentatively titled HD quality) (NEW!!!!!)
(4) public dispatch (SD quality) (5) after dispatch dated (SD quality)
(6) Cut and unused special effects (SD quality)
(7) The special effects seen in the multi-angle scenes (SD quality)
(8) Audio Commentary with Shogo Tomiyama and Director Kazuki Omori

Sinking of Japan
(1) notice Theater (HD Quality Blow-Up)
(2) dispatch (HD Quality Blow-Up)
(3) Special Interview: Sakyo Komatsu Takeuti Hitoshi × (SD quality)
(4) Director Kei Nakano Akira Hashimoto Yukiharu specialty Sakyo Komatsu Audio Commentary

Tales From Toho's Back Editing Room: FINAL CUT

Back when the original blog was hacked, I did not have intentions of bringing this feature back. But it turns out that while submitting material to Tohokingdom, Anthony did not take all of it thus I felt that I might as well resurrect this feature with the rejected material. So here are pictures of the cut scenes with what would have been their descriptions. Enjoy!

Just a deleted scene from King Kong vs. Godzilla. No description here :P...

The most famous of the deleted scenes from the 1964 film, the original version of the scene ended with an accident. Evidently the building was too strong or Nakajima did not strike in the right place and the castle did not crumble the way it was supposed to. Though when the suit hit up against the castle, the resin piece that the skin of the top lip was broken. Tsuburaya actually kept this for couple of scenes before it was repaired. Nakajima did try to save the scene though, looking at the camera trying to maker Godzilla seem frustrated. While some of the original shot was kept, the scene had to be redone at great expense.

This shows something more intricate when it came to Tsuburaya's SFX, the animation. The then magnificent 1200 Optical Printer was in no doubt the machine which made this beautiful scene. The only real difference between what is in the final film and this, which is basically an unfinished version. The scene is not as light as the final version and lacks the beginning explosions. But with this the scene is actually more detailed, seeing the flames on Ghidorah's body and a couple of orbs that seem to be in the middle of the fire before we finally see the Ghidorah suit 100% exposed. It was cut because the scene would have been more excited, which once some things were added, it was.

Like some scenes, they are taken out for no apparent reason. This is one of them. Or at least this version. It is a beautiful shot, mixing dust effects with houses that are blown away which would have been a big plus on Tsuburaya's already impressive body of work. The only real reason why the scene would be cut out is how Rodan looked when they showed his wings moving. Other than that, nothing.

The scene is rather well know scene. But the problem with it is the overuse of the 1/3 Godzilla foot model. While a couple of clips of the foot made it to the final cut, most of them were thankfully cut - including some which showed the inside of the foot prop! About five shots were cut with a side view of the bottom half of the suit stomping through some models. Another imperfection is that some of the buildings were a little too sturdy and through that showed their hollowness.

The main difference with this shot from the finished film was that we see the train go across the bridge before Rodan wrecks it, giving the audience a "whew" moment, adding some suspense to the film. Though it would have been a cool scene, it would have been detrimental to the pacing of the film. Still a nice shot though.

Just an extended version of Godzilla's landing, with some footage being of Rodan's POV while flying.