Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Terasawa »

I thought this was interesting: originally, Junior was supposed to die fighting Destoroyah, before Godzilla arrives in Tokyo. Instead, Okawara and Kawakita changed it so that Junior wins that round and has a reunion with Godzilla at Haneda Airport. Doing so sabotaged the film's final act.
The main theme is to show the generational change (or succession) from one generation to the next, both kaiju and human: from Godzilla to Junior, from Serizawa to Ijuin, from Emiko to Yukari and Kenkichi, and from Miki to Meru. If the succession is achieved on the human side, then the kaiju side will be successful as well.

... Originally, Miki was supposed to leave Junior in a lurch in order to take measures against Godzilla, a compact scene which allowed for audience contemplation.

... The original script conveys a more profound story, namely of the "mother" who sends "her child" to his death in the belief that "personal affection must be sacrificed on the altar of justice." In other words, Miki's tears were the ones of a "mother who killed her own child" (when she led Junior to battle Destroyah as bait for Godzilla) and this was the climax of the original script. The completed movie is completely different. Junior survives and furthermore, rejoins Godzilla. Such composition renders Miki's "infanticide" meaningless. Rather Godzilla, Junior's father will incur blame for [allowing the] kidnapping [of] his own child!

... It's clear that the original screenplay intended the battle between Godzilla and Destroyah to follow the murder of the "child" by its "mother" in the cause of justice... The unneccessary (sic) scene at Haneda airport ruins everything. What's worse, it transfers the climax to this scene and, due to the change, the human drama loses impact too. The whole story becomes dull. It should have depicted the many generational changes at the same time. Each would have gradually aimed in the same direction with Miki's tragedy ahead.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Everyone talks about the Gojira dub but I feel the Japanese subs to GvD are vastly superior to the dub.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by SoggyNoodles2016 »

Terasawa wrote: Sun Nov 01, 2020 9:46 am I thought this was interesting: originally, Junior was supposed to die fighting Destoroyah, before Godzilla arrives in Tokyo. Instead, Okawara and Kawakita changed it so that Junior wins that round and has a reunion with Godzilla at Haneda Airport. Doing so sabotaged the film's final act.
The main theme is to show the generational change (or succession) from one generation to the next, both kaiju and human: from Godzilla to Junior, from Serizawa to Ijuin, from Emiko to Yukari and Kenkichi, and from Miki to Meru. If the succession is achieved on the human side, then the kaiju side will be successful as well.

... Originally, Miki was supposed to leave Junior in a lurch in order to take measures against Godzilla, a compact scene which allowed for audience contemplation.

... The original script conveys a more profound story, namely of the "mother" who sends "her child" to his death in the belief that "personal affection must be sacrificed on the altar of justice." In other words, Miki's tears were the ones of a "mother who killed her own child" (when she led Junior to battle Destroyah as bait for Godzilla) and this was the climax of the original script. The completed movie is completely different. Junior survives and furthermore, rejoins Godzilla. Such composition renders Miki's "infanticide" meaningless. Rather Godzilla, Junior's father will incur blame for [allowing the] kidnapping [of] his own child!

... It's clear that the original screenplay intended the battle between Godzilla and Destroyah to follow the murder of the "child" by its "mother" in the cause of justice... The unneccessary (sic) scene at Haneda airport ruins everything. What's worse, it transfers the climax to this scene and, due to the change, the human drama loses impact too. The whole story becomes dull. It should have depicted the many generational changes at the same time. Each would have gradually aimed in the same direction with Miki's tragedy ahead.
You can read the whole thing here.
Oh, don't worry, Kazuhiko, the film had dull impactless drama long before that.

For real, that's a good find, Terasawa. I think the climax is the real big problem of the film. I have problems with the way the rest of the film flows but the climax is so jumbled and boring it loses a lot of impact. The emotional core of Godzilla avenging Junior is the only thing that works, and again, the fact he only dies in the second half is the real kicker.

Wondering if this also killed the much better "Chest Beam" ending.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Kaltes-Herzeleid »

Destroyah killing Junior would have certainly added to his menace. Honestly in retrospect having him lose to Junior really doesn't do him any favors, dramatically. Evolving to an even more powerful form to kill the kaiju equivalent of teenager barely out of childhood doesn't make Destroyah look like a threat.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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I suppose it was to show that Godzilla Jr. Was no longer the cute, chibi version of Godzilla it was. It had become more like dad, and thus set up the scene where Jr. rises fully grown.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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It makes sense why briefly a large issue about using Junior as bait was brought up by Miki.

Edit, I realized how butchered my comment was. I realized, there's a moment where using Junior as bait, to lure Destoroyah to Godzilla is brought up. Miki rebels, and briefly argues, but seems to ultimately be okay with it. Knowing what Terasawa posted, it makes sense that it was meant to be a jumping off point for that plot thread. It also makes sense why they show and detail Junior as changing, and being more violent with him eating the whales. Not only would it have raised the stakes if Destoroyah kills junior early on, but also allowed for the climax to be focused on defeating Godzilla, with Destoroyah being a clear liberalization of the oxygen destroyer (using something powerful and uncontrollable to kill Godzilla) and have the original climax where Godzilla and Destoroyah die together.

While it's easy to prefer a "what-if" scenario, I have to ask if it really fixes everything. Sure symbolically yes, but I like a lot of things we got instead. I like the scene with Godzilla and junior, even if brief.
Last edited by LSD Jellyfish on Mon Dec 21, 2020 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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For those of you who are detractors of this film, I ask you this : Would you be opposed to the idea of Destoroyah returning in a future film and done justice with modern special effects technology?

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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LegendZilla wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:15 am Would you be opposed to the idea of Destoroyah returning in a future film and done justice with modern special effects technology?
I would love to see this happen. Same goes for Battra and Spacegodzilla. All three were cool concepts that suffered from lackluster execution/films, and I've been saying for years that they need to be brought back and given a second chance.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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JAGzilla wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:30 am
LegendZilla wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:15 am Would you be opposed to the idea of Destoroyah returning in a future film and done justice with modern special effects technology?
I would love to see this happen. Same goes for Battra and Spacegodzilla. All three were cool concepts that suffered from lackluster execution/films, and I've been saying for years that they need to be brought back and given a second chance.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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JAGzilla wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:30 am
LegendZilla wrote: Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:15 am Would you be opposed to the idea of Destoroyah returning in a future film and done justice with modern special effects technology?
I would love to see this happen. Same goes for Battra and Spacegodzilla. All three were cool concepts that suffered from lackluster execution/films, and I've been saying for years that they need to be brought back and given a second chance.
IDW and Battra with his little evil twins was always a fun and cool concept, especially in rulers of earth. if battra ever makes a comeback, I hope those twins are introduced as well, athough I think it'd be real easy to skreonk it up
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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GodzillavsRayquaza wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 6:06 pm And Godzilla’s death is one of my favorite scenes in a kaiju movie. Everything about it is wonderful and comes together perfectly.

Is this a perfect movie that’s up there with the best of the best? No, of course not. It has glaring flaws holding it back. But, I still love this movie.
I can agree with this, I was surprised how entertaining it was last time I revisited it. There's a palpable feeling of sadness and finality to it all. Definitely one of the stronger Heisei entries.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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Godzilla's death is one of the most powerful moments in the series. It melts your heart- and no; That was not meant to be a pun.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by LegendZilla »

Anyone else care to discuss the way Destoroyah looks on the poster art? I think he looks even more badass and threatening than he did in the actual movie!

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If Toho were to actually bring back the character one day, THIS needs to be used as a template for how to do Dessy justice.

*Edit* Damn! Why will the only image format that these forums accept be PNG? To see the images themselves, open them up in a new tab. Or if you just want to see them instantly, here's the link : http://www.kaijukits.com/library/dynami ... troyah.htm
Last edited by LegendZilla on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by Voyager »

I like the way Dessy looks already, tbh. Big and fat.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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I wouldn't mind a more crustacean based Destroyah, but they should keep the basic head design and have it be taller than Godzilla.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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LegendZilla wrote: Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:00 pm Anyone else care to discuss the way Destoroyah looks on the poster art? I think he looks even more badass and threatening than he did in the actual movie!
-snip-

If Toho were to actually bring back the character one day, THIS needs to be used as a template for how to do Dessy justice.

*Edit* Damn! Why will the only image format that these forums accept be PNG? To see the images themselves, open them up in a new tab. Or if you just want to see them instantly, here's the link : http://www.kaijukits.com/library/dynami ... troyah.htm
It looks like a transitory form between the Aggregate and the Final form.

While it's certainly more unique than the humanoid version, it looks like Godzilla would just need to give it a swift kick for it to be killed. The final form, while humanoid, looks really intimidating in all regards.
Last edited by LSD Jellyfish on Sun Aug 15, 2021 10:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by LegendZilla »

LSD Jellyfish wrote: Sun Aug 15, 2021 10:27 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:00 pm Anyone else care to discuss the way Destoroyah looks on the poster art? I think he looks even more badass and threatening than he did in the actual movie!
-snip-

If Toho were to actually bring back the character one day, THIS needs to be used as a template for how to do Dessy justice.

*Edit* Damn! Why will the only image format that these forums accept be PNG? To see the images themselves, open them up in a new tab. Or if you just want to see them instantly, here's the link : http://www.kaijukits.com/library/dynami ... troyah.htm
It looks like a transitory form between the Aggregate and the Final form.

While it's certainly more unique than the humanoid version, it looks like Godzilla would just need to give it a swift kick for it to be killed. The final form, while humanoid, looks really intimidating in all regards.
A bipedal stance or quadrupedal stance shouldn't have to make a difference in terms of deadliness. If you ask me, that poster-art Dessy looks ready to lunge at anything that moves.

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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by ShinGojira14 »

LegendZilla wrote: Mon Aug 16, 2021 1:42 am
LSD Jellyfish wrote: Sun Aug 15, 2021 10:27 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:00 pm Anyone else care to discuss the way Destoroyah looks on the poster art? I think he looks even more badass and threatening than he did in the actual movie!
-snip-

If Toho were to actually bring back the character one day, THIS needs to be used as a template for how to do Dessy justice.

*Edit* Damn! Why will the only image format that these forums accept be PNG? To see the images themselves, open them up in a new tab. Or if you just want to see them instantly, here's the link : http://www.kaijukits.com/library/dynami ... troyah.htm
It looks like a transitory form between the Aggregate and the Final form.

While it's certainly more unique than the humanoid version, it looks like Godzilla would just need to give it a swift kick for it to be killed. The final form, while humanoid, looks really intimidating in all regards.
A bipedal stance or quadrupedal stance shouldn't have to make a difference in terms of deadliness. If you ask me, that poster-art Dessy looks ready to lunge at anything that moves.
His body just seems really frail and his wings nearly nonexistent by comparison of the final beast we got in the film itself. Poster-Destoroyah looks like he would be killed by one solid blow from Godzilla, and the movie would be over right then and there.
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Post by MechaGoji Bro7503 »

Doesn't matter what Destoroyah looked like, the JSDF was gonna kill him :lol: :P
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Re: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

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And the SX3.
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