Mothra (1961)
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Mahara Mothra does refer to Mothra as a guardian angel, and she's the only Toho kaiju with a strong connection to humanity. However, she is very protective of her priestess.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Props to both Frankie Sakai and Jerry Ito. Sakai as Fukuda is shown a bit of a comic relief, at least it was toned back to not being annoying or cringe. Manage to be very likable that he is willing to help the Shobijin over getting a big story for his newspaper. Jerry Ito as Clark Nelson, proves to be, in my opinion, the best human Toho villain/asshole. No remorse, greedy, willing to endanger the lives of not only in the populace of Japan but also his own home country of Rolisica.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Fantastic film and monster. Easily up there with GMK, GFW (yes, i unironically love it), Shin Gojira, and the Heisei Gamera trilogy for me. Really hoping Mothra can get another solo outing, whether it be the Monsterverse or a TOHO film soon!
Last edited by Jermobooka on Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Just got done watching my Mill Creek Blu-ray; this was about the third time I've seen Mothra, last viewing was on TCM in 2013. Excellent movie, easily one of the genre's best. Assorted thoughts:
- The effects, camera work, and cinematography were top-tier. Mothra's rampage through Tokyo was among the best destruction/military assault sequences out there, with a lot of great shots throughout. I particularly liked the low-to-the-ground shots where you could just make out Mothra's head above the rooftops, or just see the smoke and fire in her wake, and the overhead shots while the jets were strafing were also cool. Her destruction of Tokyo Tower might be my favorite... well, 'destruction of Tokyo Tower' scene. The attack on New Kirk City felt a bit bland and repetitive by comparison, though the novelty of the anti-aircraft guns firing up at her (why weren't those used on other flying monsters?) saved the sequence.
- The only weakness of the action was the lack of an Ifukube score. Yuji Koseki did well enough, but there just wasn't quite enough musical oomph to really drive it all home. Even some Godzilla rampages that are comparatively weak visually are salvaged just because Ifukube is thundering in the background. The Shobijin songs, however, totally make up for any musical shortcomings elsewhere. Having them communicate with Mothra through song like that was a stroke of genius, and just makes the whole movie, and Mothra in general.
- It's a shame Frankie Sakai didn't appear in more kaiju/tokusatsu films. He really did a good job, made for a very charismatic, likeable, memorable lead. Nelson filled the role as the slimy, greed-driven businessman villain, though for my money Kumayama and Torahata did it better in Mothra vs. Godzilla.
- Simple as they were, I liked the Atomic Heat Cannons a lot. The little bit of buildup to them, the drama of the countdown and the observers wearing protective glasses and all, was all that was needed to make them feel special, even if ultimately they didn't matter. I wish KOTM '19 would've at least put this much effort into its Oxygen Destroyer. That would've made a lot of difference.
- The effects, camera work, and cinematography were top-tier. Mothra's rampage through Tokyo was among the best destruction/military assault sequences out there, with a lot of great shots throughout. I particularly liked the low-to-the-ground shots where you could just make out Mothra's head above the rooftops, or just see the smoke and fire in her wake, and the overhead shots while the jets were strafing were also cool. Her destruction of Tokyo Tower might be my favorite... well, 'destruction of Tokyo Tower' scene. The attack on New Kirk City felt a bit bland and repetitive by comparison, though the novelty of the anti-aircraft guns firing up at her (why weren't those used on other flying monsters?) saved the sequence.
- The only weakness of the action was the lack of an Ifukube score. Yuji Koseki did well enough, but there just wasn't quite enough musical oomph to really drive it all home. Even some Godzilla rampages that are comparatively weak visually are salvaged just because Ifukube is thundering in the background. The Shobijin songs, however, totally make up for any musical shortcomings elsewhere. Having them communicate with Mothra through song like that was a stroke of genius, and just makes the whole movie, and Mothra in general.
- It's a shame Frankie Sakai didn't appear in more kaiju/tokusatsu films. He really did a good job, made for a very charismatic, likeable, memorable lead. Nelson filled the role as the slimy, greed-driven businessman villain, though for my money Kumayama and Torahata did it better in Mothra vs. Godzilla.
- Simple as they were, I liked the Atomic Heat Cannons a lot. The little bit of buildup to them, the drama of the countdown and the observers wearing protective glasses and all, was all that was needed to make them feel special, even if ultimately they didn't matter. I wish KOTM '19 would've at least put this much effort into its Oxygen Destroyer. That would've made a lot of difference.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Anybody here own the steelbook for Mothra 61?
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Yes, what about it?
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Excellent movie. Top tier in all categories, probably the best non-Godzilla Toho movie, and it’s better than the vast majority of Godzilla movies as well.
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ShinGojira14 wrote: Neither. Hideki Anno wins because he writes a hilarious comedic satire movie where Shin and Legendary have to team up to destroy a grotesque crap-monster created by the constant toxic bickering of Shin fans and Legendary fans.
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote: Yup, my dad works at Legendary, the Nebulans are gonna be in the next movie and they're gonna get beat because Madison throws coffee in the leaders face.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
GodzillavsRayquaza wrote: ↑Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:27 pm Excellent movie. Top tier in all categories, probably the best non-Godzilla Toho movie, and it’s better than the vast majority of Godzilla movies as well.
As far as I'm concerned, only the original Godzilla tops it. My old criticism is the presence of blackface/brownface used to portray the Infant Islanders... but I also have to remember that this is 1960's Japan we're talking about. It's more than a product of its time; it's a product of the country it was produced in.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
I do! A very nice release, I'm glad I picked it up.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
People like to compare Gappa: The Triphibian Monster to Gorgo and understandably so, yet so far, I have yet to come across another person who has cited similarities between Gorgo and this film. Both movies were released in the same year for crying out loud!
Last edited by LegendZilla on Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Yeah I dunno about that. Toho also produced and distributed films by Kurosawa, Ozu, Naruse, Kobayashi and Mizoguchi...
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:Misato stans just built different.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Possibly because Mothra and Gorgo owe nearly all of their similarities to King Kong.LegendZilla wrote: ↑Fri Jun 25, 2021 11:47 pmI have yet to come across another person who has cited similarities between Gorgo and this film.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
It could be a minor nitpick over who is being rescued by the monster, but the two movies do make a good side by side comparison. It might even be considered that monsters on the rescue could be thought of as an unique sub genre of the monster genre.
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.
The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
I kept wrestling with whether or not I was going to bring this up.Rando Yaguchi wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 11:27 amYeah I dunno about that. Toho also produced and distributed films by Kurosawa, Ozu, Naruse, Kobayashi and Mizoguchi...
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
I think when most people say Toho films they simply mean their sci-fi/fantasy output, but there's a lot of other great stuff!eabaker wrote: ↑Mon Jun 28, 2021 8:52 amI kept wrestling with whether or not I was going to bring this up.Rando Yaguchi wrote: ↑Sat Jun 26, 2021 11:27 amYeah I dunno about that. Toho also produced and distributed films by Kurosawa, Ozu, Naruse, Kobayashi and Mizoguchi...
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote:Misato stans just built different.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
That's what most people have seen. They turned on a tv, or went to a video store, and saw Godzilla vs The Sea Monster or The Mysterians. Movies like 7 Samurai aren't usually shown, except on channels like TCM.
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.
The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
I think it was pretty obvious based on the context of that post that they were talking about Toho's kaiju and sci-fi output...
eabaker wrote: You can't parse duende.
Breakdown wrote: HP Lovecraft's cat should be the ultimate villain of the MonsterVerse.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
Yes I specifically meant the kaiju/sci-fi stuff, because I don’t have every single movie Toho has ever produced committed to memory. I like the ones with the monsters and/or aliens, das it, yes I’m a film pleb.
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ShinGojira14 wrote: Neither. Hideki Anno wins because he writes a hilarious comedic satire movie where Shin and Legendary have to team up to destroy a grotesque crap-monster created by the constant toxic bickering of Shin fans and Legendary fans.
SoggyNoodles2016 wrote: Yup, my dad works at Legendary, the Nebulans are gonna be in the next movie and they're gonna get beat because Madison throws coffee in the leaders face.
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Re: Mothra (1961)
I think you guys are taking this a bit too seriously...
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.