Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

[JAGzilla]

yes that is it! i do not know the exact tittles of the ones i ve seen but ive seen the one where he dies by burning i even just got a monster arts of him! ive also seen godzilla vs gigan megalon smog monster spacegodzilla son of godzilla revenge mechagodzilla with rodan all the ones where he fights mothra including the one with the evil black moth! i also have the one where hes evil with white eyes but i really did not like that one or that godzilla he was too mean and scary

So you've seen quite a few, then. Out of curiosity, what do you think of the movies like Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla or Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (that's the one where Godzilla melts), where Godzilla does fight off the evil monster, but also attacks cities and generally isn't friendly to humans?

[Spuro]

yes that is it! i do not know the exact tittles of the ones i ve seen but ive seen the one where he dies by burning i even just got a monster arts of him! ive also seen godzilla vs gigan megalon smog monster spacegodzilla son of godzilla revenge mechagodzilla with rodan all the ones where he fights mothra including the one with the evil black moth! i also have the one where hes evil with white eyes but i really did not like that one or that godzilla he was too mean and scary

So you've seen quite a few, then. Out of curiosity, what do you think of the movies like Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla or Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (that's the one where Godzilla melts), where Godzilla does fight off the evil monster, but also attacks cities and generally isn't friendly to humans?

You're responding to a banned troll, Jag.

Go check the "What Made You Laugh" thread for more info on that subject.

[JAGzilla]

Ah. It's always troubling, finding out that one has been successfully trolled. My trust has been violated.

Nah, I was pretty unsure about this guy, anyway. MM overdid it a little.

[edgaguirus]

Back on topic, I've always wondered why Gaira came so far inland. Besides the obvious plot device explaination, he might have been seeking more food. But Gaira seemed to be doing fine foodwise going along the coast.

[The One and Only]

Back on topic, I've always wondered why Gaira came so far inland. Besides the obvious plot device explaination, he might have been seeking more food. But Gaira seemed to be doing fine foodwise going along the coast.

Thinking about your question, I'd have to guess Gaira might've been drawn to Sanda due to the circumstances of his creation from regenerating from a piece of Sanda. Much like twins have reportedly share some kind of extrasensory bond. Or like Godzilla was drawn to Biollante due to the fact the hybrid, plant, Godzilla kaiju was grown from Godzilla's very cells. Two parts of a whole essentially.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

SpaceHunterM just uploaded the reference version for The Words Get Stuck In My Throat and it's actually good!

[LegendZilla]

Ever since I saw the original Japanese version of this film I can't help but always think about a very peculiar creative decision on Ifukube's part as composer of this film. Why use Sanda's theme virtually every time the Gargantuas fight on screen? It gives off a very dramatic and melancholic vibe unfitting for a kaiju battle IMO. That is, unless he was trying to empathize on the tragedy of the two creatures' brotherly enmity. I really hate to admit it, but it has really harmed my enjoyment of the film for over a decade now.

I also find it utterly bogus that when Classic Media first licensed the film, they did not bother to remaster the film themselves, but rather resort to ripping the Japanese Laserdisc of which the quality does not hold up in the least. That raises another question, was the film originally filmed with a dark filter?

[eabaker]

Why use Sanda's theme virtually every time the Gargantuas fight on screen? It gives off a very dramatic and melancholic vibe unfitting for a kaiju battle IMO. That is, unless he was trying to empathize on the tragedy of the two creatures' brotherly enmity.

I think it's safe to assume that's exactly what he was going for.

On the whole, I've never really liked this movie very much - certainly I feel that FCtW has both a better structure and much more engaging characters - but the one aspect of WotG that does resonate with me is the way it plays up the tragedy that these two brothers must fight, and particularly Sanda's sadness.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

SpaceHunterM just uploaded the reference version for The Words Get Stuck In My Throat and it's actually good!
[youtube]

Pretty much the only downside to the whole film was the crappy version of that song.

[GojiDog]

One thing I always loved about this movie was the suit acting.

The Gargantuas always feel alive and you get a sense of what they are thinking and how they will act just by how they move and react. Without dialogue, they are the two most fully realized and believable characters in the film (which isn't saying much when you look at the lead, Russ Tamblyn).

[edgaguirus]

Especially Sanda. His gentle but strong nature and reluctance to fight Gaira are very clear. It helps that the suits aren't like the dinosaurs and creatures like Godzilla and Anguirus, but are very human in structure.

[KillCrites]

So, I went into this for the first time fully expecting it to be another Terror of Mechagodzilla situation where everyone hypes it up and then when I sat down to watch it I found it underwhelming but I feel War of the Gargantuas fully deserves all the praise it gets. My only real problem with it is the main white guy's performance is really flat, I was watching the Japanese version where his voice is dubbed over in Japanese and I can still that he just doesn't give a fuck at all which kinda sucks but doesn't hurt the film much for me.

[Terasawa]

Fun fact: there are only like two or three lines of Russ Tamblyn's on-set dialogue that exist to the public. They're in the Japanese trailer. And he sounds incredibly bored. He's dubbed by different actors in the Japanese and export versions (and ironically the English speaking performer sounds just about as bored as Tamblyn looks on film). Russ had the chance to fix the problem when he looped his dialogue for the U.S. release but he's just as bad there. Reportedly he didn't have his original dialogue at the looping sessions so he was forced to come up with close approximations. Maybe that had something to do with it, but I think he just didn't care: by his admission he took the role to see Japan.

And to be fair to Russ, he has spoken about how poor his performance is in recent decades. I don't think he ever saw the completed film until a film festival for Godzilla's 50th in San Francisco, where he was a guest of honor. As I recall he said after the screening that he enjoyed the movie but thought his performance was embarrassing. And let's face it, it is. He makes Rhodes Reason's performance in King Kong Escapes look good.

That raises another question, was the film originally filmed with a dark filter?

No, the LD transfer used by Classic Media is just that bad. The transfer of the US version on the same disc is probably pretty close to how the film should look. Toho's HD transfer on the Japanese Blu-Ray and now being used by Janus Films has more muted colors than the aforementioned transfer of the US version but no scene is as dark as any on the LD transfer.

[GojiDog]

For as bad as Tamblyn's performance is in this and for as bad as the musical number is (Yeesh!), can we talk about how good the suit acting is in this?

Seriously, the personalities of the Gargantuas totally shine through and the suit actors deserve a lot of credit for conveying the right personalities and emotions for each character. That scene where Sanda realizes Gairah eats humans and instantly turns on his brother is fantastic, and you know exactly what each creature is thinking and feeling without any dialogue.

We as fans are also used to the Toho monsters being these invincible gods, especially in the Godzilla series. Here though, I really like the monsters sell their injuries from one scene to the next. After hurting his leg, Sanda walks with a limp. Little touches like that were nice to see and really add to the monster action.

I also get a little miffed when I see this because Toho definitely struggled to bring King Kong to the screen well. The Kong suits in Vs. Godzilla and Escapes are terrible, but then I see the Gargantuas and I'm like "They look great and they are humanoid ape beasts too...why couldn't they get Kong right?" lol.

[Terasawa]

I also get a little miffed when I see this because Toho definitely struggled to bring King Kong to the screen well. The Kong suits in Vs. Godzilla and Escapes are terrible, but then I see the Gargantuas and I'm like "They look great and they are humanoid ape beasts too...why couldn't they get Kong right?" lol.

I wonder if that’s because Tsuburaya really tried to force the gorilla characteristics with Kong: extended arms, shortened legs (by making the body considerably bigger than a person’s), and a sort of hunch back posture. The Gargantuas are really much more proportionate to humans so they don’t suffer from the same odd dimensions that the Kong suits had. That still wouldn’t explain the horrible face modeling for both Kongs.

[Godzillian]

I also get a little miffed when I see this because Toho definitely struggled to bring King Kong to the screen well. The Kong suits in Vs. Godzilla and Escapes are terrible, but then I see the Gargantuas and I'm like "They look great and they are humanoid ape beasts too...why couldn't they get Kong right?" lol.

I wonder if that’s because Tsuburaya really tried to force the gorilla characteristics with Kong: extended arms, shortened legs (by making the body considerably bigger than a person’s), and a sort of hunch back posture. The Gargantuas are really much more proportionate to humans so they don’t suffer from the same odd dimensions that the Kong suits had. That still wouldn’t explain the horrible face modeling for both Kongs.

Fun fact! Originally Tsuburaya wanted to make Gaira more similar the Gillman than a bigfoot like ape, eventually, they decided to make Gaira more ape like to keep him similar to Sanda.

[Gerdzerl]

Honestly, I like that the Toho Kongs don't look much like gorillas. They're more of their own thing, like a giant orangutan/sasquatch, if you will.

[UltramanGoji]

Toho’s Kong IIRC was also meant to look more doofy to appeal to children more.

[Maritonic]

Toho’s Kong IIRC was also meant to look more doofy to appeal to children more.

I always thought it was to mock the USA? (I remember reading this somewhere when I was younger.)

[Grievous]

So about a year ago I showed this film to a couple of friends of mine on a movie night...
and they loved it.

I think this film is a great "gateway" in the kaiju genre & I watch it at least once every
12 months myself.

I don't think I'm the only fan out there who would love to see a remake/reboot/sequel
or just anything with Gaira & Sanda again.

I think this film is also why I like Attack on Titan so much...especially the Titan Shifter
fights.