Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

I mean this is the film that pretty much established and defined Godzilla's penchant for absorbing radiation. This is the first time its ever really brought up.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by edgaguirus »

The cold war had the world thinking about the fear of nuclear war, so Godzilla using radiation as food could have been a product of that.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

I watched this again not long ago. Fantastic film. Could have been better, yeah, but still fantastic.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by gfan84 »

I have a friend who is moving and he would like to hear fans opinion on actress yasuko sawaguchi who is my favorite godzilla actress and he would like to hear opinion read by me before he goes away. What he means by opinions on her is not such much as her characters, but he means towards her looks as he thinks she is really cute. Does anybody else in the fandom thinks she is?

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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gfan84 wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:22 pm I have a friend who is moving and he would like to hear fans opinion on actress yasuko sawaguchi who is my favorite godzilla actress and he would like to hear opinion read by me before he goes away. What he means by opinions on her is not such much as her characters, but he means towards her looks as he thinks she is really cute. Does anybody else in the fandom thinks she is?
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It's one thing to think an actress is cute, but this is just... weird.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

gfan84 wrote: Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:22 pm I have a friend who is moving and he would like to hear fans opinion on actress yasuko sawaguchi who is my favorite godzilla actress and he would like to hear opinion read by me before he goes away. What he means by opinions on her is not such much as her characters, but he means towards her looks as he thinks she is really cute. Does anybody else in the fandom thinks she is?
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by gfan84 »

Sorry if I weirded everybody out. It’s just I would like to see more discussion about her in the Godzilla community. She’s really cute.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

gfan84 wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 3:06 am Sorry if I weirded everybody out. It’s just I would like to see more discussion about her in the Godzilla community. She’s really cute.
Not that weird. Just be careful with how you type things. You could’ve just said,”Hey, what’s this actress up to?/what happened to her? I thought she was cute!” It was the run on sentences and unneeded info that was strange.

In regards to your question, it seems like she appears in a few more Godzilla films, like Godzilla vs Biollante and then some other Toho productions. She still works on off as an actress and has a film coming out this year:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuko_Sawaguchi
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by gfan84 »

Well thank you. LSD jellyfish what do you think of her looks? Enjoy the future.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Terasawa »

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into this thread.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by edgaguirus »

You never know what will happen on the web.

To answer the question, she is cute.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by LegendZilla »

This film has the opposite affect on me that Shin Godzilla has. Whereas I dislike said film more with the passage of time, the more I appreciate this one. It brought Godzilla into the modern era and returned him back to his roots after a long hiatus. It was also produced with a higher budget than any Godzilla film before it, allowing SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano to work at his A-game. I also feel that this film did a fine job at incorporating the then-current political climate into the film's storyline. In my opinion, it did a better job at handling how Godzilla attacking Japan affects the country's local politics than Shin did as well.

And now I shall bring up the film’s score. As a Godzilla fan, I can’t help but yearn for maestro Akira Ifukube when he is absent (even long after he departed from this world). However, I do acknowledge the effort Reijiro Koruku put into his own music for this entry. This film’s soundtrack is truly solid in its own right and It's a shame that Koroku never had a bigger career.

On a side note, I must acknowledge this movie's faults. Some of the biggest criticisms are that from some angles and/or shots, Godzilla looks derpy and muppet-like. Another issue that I can see bothering people is that there's no real explanation as to how Godzilla came back (it doesn't bother me as much as it may some of you). I also have heard complaints over the whole sub-plot regarding Godzilla's homing instinct he shares with birds. One thing that truly bothers me about the film (at least in the original Japanese version) is the inclusion of that song in the end credits.

Anyways, those are my two-cents at critiquing the film for a relatively-small post as this (at least compared to a full-on review). Do you think I did a good job? If not, tell me what you think I missed out on.
Last edited by LegendZilla on Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:40 am, edited 8 times in total.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by LockBite »

They say a movie is only as good as the last time you watched it. I watched this last night, and was sadly underwhelmed. The stuff with the Soviets and Americans went on a little too long, and I didn’t buy that these messengers would be so impolite to the Prime Minister while asking for permission to nuke Tokyo. It would’ve been a lot more believable and unsettling if they were smiling and cracking ice breakers in an attempt to butter him up.

There were a few too many “how convenient” moments as well. The reporter is always in the right place to see the important action. The Russian nuke trigger ship just happens to be docked in the one harbor that Godzilla springs from. The government happens to have masers and a flying battleship on standby. There are other examples that aren’t coming to me right now, and I know that because this issue kept tickling my brain as I watched the film.

Godzilla himself makes a strong impression in the harbor, but once he ambles into Tokyo, he doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. I dunno, we can steer him around with seagull noises, and he’s only using his breath when he gets attacked. It seems like if we can divert him somewhere else and feed him some uranium now and then, we wouldn’t even have to worry about him. Or hell, maybe next time when you’ve got him knocked out, instead of floating there for half an hour, shoot more cadmium in him and put him down for good. It’s a far cry from the more destructive and aggressive portrayals we see in other films where he’s not the hero.

Some of the special effects are rough, too. The people in the train cars, the trio waving out the building window, that flat-soled giant foot. I’m pretty forgiving of that kind of thing in non-Hollywood features, but in the context of Toho having hyped this up and shipped this to mainstream distributors at the time, I gotta say it was distracting.

Overall, I really hate to say it, but this is a pretty dull and boring G film.

Highlights:
- Godzilla’s reveal
- The reactor scene
- The Prime Minister getting trembly and misty-eyed when he recounts how he explained to the Russians and Americans why he won’t let them nuke Tokyo.
- The red sky
- Godzilla knocking over the building and smashing the Super-X, killing everyone inside. It’s such a brutal moment, a spectacle of human insufficiency and (brief) hopelessness. This is the Godzilla I wanted to see for the whole movie.
- The characters watching quietly and with mixed emotions as Godzilla is consumed by the volcano.

I really want to hunt down Godzilla 1985 now and see if editing for time and Raymond Burr help this film.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Shoopwoop17 »

Just watched this movie last night for the second time, subbed rather than dubbed because I imagine that was part of why I disliked the film so much originally. Well, I still didn't love it, but I enjoyed it more. That said, there is just some significant tonal inconsistency going on, in my opinion.
The shot of the guy on fire when Goji nukes the bay, for instance. That shot is almost comedic, but it is followed by the brutal (and incredible) shot of Godzilla standing in front of the charred remains of the military force. I loved seeing the aftermath, but seeing that first shot...I dunno, it took me out of it.
Same with when Godzilla picks up the train and the guy in the hat (the focus of the shot) is smiling at him. That one was also just strange.
Last big thing is the thief, who was much better in the sub than the dub. The dub had me questioning why he died so dramatically from nothing, the sub made it feel more like Godzilla's roar was hurting his head (and he maybe just fainted). Still not sure of what happened there, but it was better.
I also felt that a lot of the action was not punchy enough, it felt very quiet. The masers (?) definitely could have done with some explosions on Godzilla when they hit. I did love all the nuclear drama, and some of the shots of Godzilla were just incredible. Plus the depiction of Godzilla as more of an animal was very effective to me. My art student best friend absolutely loved it, and for that I am glad. Maybe as time goes on I'll appreciate the film even more.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by eabaker »

Huh, I've always loved how quiet the movie is, even in its more action-y sequences. It really enhances the mood for me.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Zasraniec »

RoG was a great start to a disappointing series. The human drama is actually convincing and reflects the times of the Cold War beautifully. The US and Soviet Union of course happily volunteer to nuke Godzilla and even ironically agree with each other on the subject while Japan not as eager for obvious reasons. It's not their country so what do they care? Speaking of the nuclear themes that is one of the strongest points in the film. Just when it looks like Godzilla has been defeated a nuclear weapon revives Godzilla which of course spells out the danger of nuclear weapons. Btw that red sky effect from the detonation is awesome! Super X is also a fantastic addition to Godzilla lore as well as seeing red masers. Godzilla is very mean sounding and menacing in appearance. Some scenes just stick in your head like Godzilla with the train and roar triumphantly over the destroyed Super X. In short, one of the more haunting and darker Godzilla movies but also one of the more enjoyable as well.

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by Joseph Goodman »




The infamous Dr. Pepper ad, in HD!

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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

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Joseph Goodman wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 6:44 am

The infamous Dr. Pepper ad, in HD!
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by edgaguirus »

Imagine a helicopter luring Godzilla to the volcano with a giant can of Dr. Pepper.
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Re: Talkback Thread #16: The Return of Godzilla

Post by H-Man »

Following the passing of Koichi Sugiyama, I was wondering: what have Reijiro Kokoru's most notable works outside of The Return of Godzilla been?

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