Talkback Thread #7: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)

[szmigiel]

I am not saying the fights are bad, just Ebirah was never a big threat to Godzilla. Godzilla just got done with two movie where he faced a three headed space dragon with the power to destroy worlds. Now he is a facing a giant crustacean that can destroy passing boats. If it was Kong in the role it would have been a bit more dramatic.

[Legion1979]

^This all doesn't make sense. Two years earlier, Godzilla was defeated by two caterpillars, while King Ghidorah was far too much for him to handle alone. He never would have defeated him without help from Rodan and Mothra. So I don't see Ebirah as such a weak opponent like others do.

[szmigiel]

^This all doesn't make sense. Two years earlier, Godzilla was defeated by two caterpillars, while King Ghidorah was far too much for him to handle alone. He never would have defeated him without help from Rodan and Mothra. So I don't see Ebirah as such a weak opponent like others do.

But those two caterpillars had daikaiju webbing, possibly the most powerful of all daikaiju attacks.

[edgaguirus]

And Ebirah isn't weak. Ebirah only has claws to attack with, but Ebirah uses them well, bashing Godzilla and grabbing him by the neck. The onyl thing Ebirah didn't do is stab Godzilla with the slender claw. The problem is that Ebirah, unlike Kong, had no other way to attack. Godzilla has the option of physical and range combat.

[JAGzilla]

Just got done watching this for the first time in about ten years. This was only my second viewing of the movie, and my first time seeing it in Japanese. Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It was fast-paced, energetic, and fun the whole way through, with nothing to really hold it down at all. The characters were a little mixed; most didn't do a lot to stand out, but they served their purposes, and Takarada's thief guy made up for any weakness of the others. They carried the movie just fine, when the monsters weren't around. The Red Bamboo terrorists made for decent villains. I'm a little torn on the lack of motivation and explanation; on the one hand, I wish we knew more about them, but on the other hand, there wasn't any need for the heroes to know any more about them. They're bad guys kidnapping islanders and building illegal nukes, and that's all they needed to be to serve their purpose. And short of a monologue or the heroes overhearing a weirdly specific conversation about evil plans, I guess there wasn't any realistic way for the heroes to learn anything about said plans. So what the movie did works. I wouldn't mind seeing a more fleshed-out and updated Red Bamboo in a future movie, though.

As for said monsters, yeah, the movie was pretty clearly written for Kong. I don't see that as a flaw, though; in most of the movies, Godzilla tends to spend his time rampaging around with some sort of purpose. He'll be focused on going after the other monster(s), deliberately slaughtering humans, looking for something, and so on. But this is one of the few cases in which we see him acting more 'casually', doing Kong-like things such as taking naps, or staring at hot islander chicks because why not. I'll admit that scene was weird, but not in a problematic way. Anyway, it was a nice change of pace, seeing what he does when he has nothing better to do. It was also interesting to see him, also because he was supposed to be Kong, making more use of rocks as tools and weapons. I particularly liked seeing him bash Ebirah over the head with a rock, and when he used one to break through the electric fence. Suit-wise, I like the Daisensogoji suit, but the face really did look awful during the attack on the Red Bamboo base. Again, not a problem, but something worth pointing out.

Ebirah himself was more interesting and memorable than I'd expected, too. The scenes in which he attacks boats during storms were cool standouts for the series, and he showed a fair amount of personality and resourcefulness in the battles with Godzilla, too. Throwing water in Godzilla's face was kind of pathetic, but I guess you use what weapons you have. The sneak attacks worked well, though.

Mothra did a fair amount in her short time on screen, too. Seeing her rescue the humans with the net was somewhat cool, and I think this was the only case so far of an adult Mothra taking on Godzilla alone and beating him, even if all she did was knock him down for a few seconds. Also, it was nice to see the adult prop used one last time.

And then there was The Giant Condor. There's not a lot to say about him, I guess. He... seemed very dedicated to what he was doing? I mean, he didn't actually accomplish anything, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Also, he's one of the things that shows that this was supposed to be a Kong movie. Random giant animals come out of nowhere to attack Kong or the human characters all the time in Kong movies, and it's just taken for granted. TGC is only such a strange, standout thing because things like him don't otherwise come along often in Godzilla movies.

The music was also noteworthy. Very '60s. It fit the movie well, and I liked it.

[szmigiel]

I have always liked that the Red Bamboo leaders had no clue that all their troubles were caused by three shipwrecked survivors and one escaped native of infant island. Sure they sent troops to track them down, but they didn't know it was them that awoke Godzilla, or it was one of them that came up with the plan to switch the Ebirah repellent.

[Stevo_1985]

I mistakingly bought this dvd. Thinking it was the titra dub, but it was actually the international version. Eee gahd. I cannot sit through it. Im so used to the titra version. This sounds horrible.

[edgaguirus]

The resourcefulness of the good guys helps the film. These are no scientist or military people, but it shows the everyday man is just as capable and cunning. Another thing is the way they make use of the robber. Criminals are normally villians in these films, but the robber becomes an effective leader here. Plus, his skills and instinct prove useful to them.

[Legion1979]

I mistakingly bought this dvd. Thinking it was the titra dub, but it was actually the international version. Eee gahd. I cannot sit through it. Im so used to the titra version. This sounds horrible.

So switch over to the Japanese audio. You DO have that option.

[eabaker]

I mistakingly bought this dvd. Thinking it was the titra dub, but it was actually the international version. Eee gahd. I cannot sit through it. Im so used to the titra version. This sounds horrible.

So switch over to the Japanese audio. You DO have that option.

I've actually never watched the international dubs of Sea Monster or Son of Godzilla, despite having owned them for years them.

[Stevo_1985]

I could. But I want the titra dub version. That was the only version tnt would play on their monster vision mash. So it has a special place in my heart.

[Kaijugriffey]

In case nobody has figured it out yet. The original "Yellow Fluid" that the slaves are producing is Garlic Butter. The replacement fluid that they swap it out with would pretty much have to be urine.

It's these little details that keep the movies watchable through repeated viewings.

[Giga Kaiju]

Woof. Now that's something you don't see everyday. That'd explains seeing of the yellow stuff in the movie...

[edgaguirus]

I suddenly feel hungry for lobster.

Anyway, the return of the Red Bamboo to film would be fitting. Perhaps with some connection to Iran, or revealing a world wide network. They have so much potential.

[Giga Kaiju]

Aside from the kaiju themselves, a human villain that is part of an organization akin to the Red Bamboo would be very cool to see in another Godzilla movie.

[Kaijugriffey]

This is one that snuck up on me as an adult. I always kind of hated it as a kid. Didn't like Ebirah. Didn't like a lot of the "stupid stuff". Etc. so I had ignored it for years. Then I finally rewatched it, damn it was kind of surprisingly fun. I mean I still hate Ebirah and find it to be one of the weaker Kaiju movie offerings overall. But overall it has a strange charm.

[mschenk]

Well I finally broke down and bought this on dvd for $5. It was one of only six Godzilla movies I don't own. I liked it as a kid, but haven't seen it since. It's got such bad reviews on youtube that I skipped buying it with the others, but this thread has persuaded me to at least give it a shot. It should be arriving in the mail tomorrow.

[Legion1979]

You shouldn't be listening to what people say on YouTube anyway.

[Kaltes-Herzeleid]

It's not the worst of the series...though it does have it's share of "what the fuck!?" moments. Mostly because it was supposed to be a King Kong movie at first, and at times that really shows.

[tymon]

These complaints about the "WTF this was supposed to be Kong" moments are pretty damn superficial. Besides some parts of this thread (mainly when the adults are conversing) does anyone ever talk about the characters (which are stronger than most in the series), story, or direction of this film? How about the acting, the editing or the excellent score? Do most Godzilla fans even notice these things...? "The Godzilla suit was water-damaged and he looked at a girl for a moment, what a terrible movie!".

Don't get me wrong, the film has its problems (especially the last third or so which turns out to be a waste of a great build-up), but why this movie gets a worse rep than far worse 70's, 90's or 00's entries mystifies me.