Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Mr_Goji_and_Watch »

I just wanna say real quick that the airport sequence is wonderful in how it plays out, and as someone mentioned earlier in the thread, the cutting between the dramatic and effects footage is perfect. It's a short scene but Honda builds some nice tension throughout. And of course Tsuburaya and his team deserve credit for the miniatures and lighting. It all matches really well.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

I'm strongly considering paying for the Starz subscription on Amazon Prime just to have access to this flick with a better presentation than the Classic Media disc. Is the new Janus version worth it? And are the subs any different?
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Anguirus »

Well, I have watched half the movie with my Dad so far. And, not really enjoying the film. Although there are a few good/chilling scenes, such as the Grangantua eating the lady, or running, or under the water. Should I watch the second half tomorrow? Perhaps I am just tired now.

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

Anguirus wrote:Well, I have watched half the movie with my Dad so far. And, not really enjoying the film. Although there are a few good/chilling scenes, such as the Grangantua eating the lady, or running, or under the water. Should I watch the second half tomorrow? Perhaps I am just tired now.
The first half is mostly build up with Gaira. The second half, once Sanda is introduced, is where things get very hectic as the titular "War" happens.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Voyager »

I like Gaira at the airport.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by edgaguirus »

But it took him forever to get through security.

Gaira's intro is his best scene for me. When he saves the ship, it looks like he could be saving them. When the octopus is gone, his real motive is revealed as he attacks the ship and relentlessly pursues the men. It shows how evil the green gargantua is.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by gottatalktothefake »

Gaira getting absolutely rekt by the masters was pretty entertaining
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by edgaguirus »

One of the few moments when the military is actually able to handle a kaiju.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by CrimsonBloodX »

When I first saw this movie, I didn't like it. I thought it was slow, boring, didn't have exciting monster action and I found the characters too uninteresting. However, I was a child at the time and when I saw it against some years later, I ended up liking. But I prefer Frankenstein vs Baragon.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Voyager »

Gaira getting owned by the military was a good scene too.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by GodzillavsRayquaza »

My feelings on this movie are real mixed. On one hand, everything with the Garganutas is awesome, especially Gaira battling the military in the forest and the final battle between the brothers. They feel like actual characters…

And are so much better than the actual human cast. The male lead has all the charm and charisma of a wet sponge, god damn I couldn’t stand him.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Major sssspielberg! »

GodzillavsRayquaza wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:46 pm My feelings on this movie are real mixed. On one hand, everything with the Garganutas is awesome, especially Gaira battling the military in the forest and the final battle between the brothers. They feel like actual characters…

And are so much better than the actual human cast. The male lead has all the charm and charisma of a wet sponge, god damn I couldn’t stand him.
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When I was watching Twin Peaks, I was shocked at how good Russ Tamblyn was. Only other things I've seen him in are Gargantuas and West Side Story (which wasn't my cup of tea at age 8 so I can't really judge.) I know Honda had a hard time working with him, according to Godziszewski's biography Tamblyn was an asshole who loathed being there and poo-pooed the movie every chance he could get on set.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Dinoskell »

A lot of people in reviews talk about Gaira being treacherous and unreasonable in the final battle, but I don't think its ever implied the Gargantuas have language?

Gonna quote myself from comments on another website.
[Gaira] really comes off as feeling betrayed by Sanda and not understanding why Sanda attacked him after seeing the clothes of the hikers he ate.

The film talks about Gaira growing up alone in the cold depths of the ocean surrounded by predators.
All Gaira knows is the first living thing that wasn’t food or foe, who saved his life and nursed him back to health, suddenly viciously hurt him.

When Sanda tries to get Gaira to “repent his evil ways” and hug him, Gaira thinks Sanda may hurt him again and makes notable threat displays. He's scared.

I think IDW Godzilla comics did a good move then interpreting the film when they made Gaira the “poorly socialized twin” rather than the “evil twin”

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by edgaguirus »

Well said about Gaira. Sanda had the luxury of growing up with humans who took care of him before he went off into the mountains. Gaira is more like an animal that's learned to survive by anyway he can. Those are two very different mindsets.
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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by daveblackeye15 »

Yeah I can't see Gaira as being evil. Dangerous? Yes. But not evil. I re-watched it yesterday. I feel like this movie has a bit of padding, like the military setting up goes on a bit too long like it is padding. I like that we see a lot of set-up for this operation that really nearly did kill Gaira but I'm like 'oookay we get it.'

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Mac Daddy MM »

My absolute favorite non-Godzilla Toho kaiju movie.


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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by LegendZilla »

I hope that one day this film gets a proper HD restoration for a release on western home media. The Classic Media DVD was ripped from a Japanese Laserdisc release with abysmal quality.

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Legion1979 »

I have a pretty good feeling that if and when this movie hits home media again (though I'm not optimistic) whoever releases it (I'm assuming Criterion) will use the version streaming on HBO Max now - Toho's HD print with the export dub attached to it. I guarantee that, legally, the US version is long gone.

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

Post by Cyberdra_1 »

Legion1979 wrote: Sun Sep 04, 2022 7:17 pm I have a pretty good feeling that if and when this movie hits home media again (though I'm not optimistic) whoever releases it (I'm assuming Criterion) will use the version streaming on HBO Max now - Toho's HD print with the export dub attached to it. I guarantee that, legally, the US version is long gone.
Personally I think that export dub is atrocious. Maybe it's because I grew up with it on VHS but I prefer the UPA dub. Even the stock music used isn't bad, though Ifukube's Maser Cannon March is sorely missed.

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Re: Talkback: The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

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Cyberdra_1 wrote: Sun Sep 11, 2022 5:10 pm
Legion1979 wrote: Sun Sep 04, 2022 7:17 pm I have a pretty good feeling that if and when this movie hits home media again (though I'm not optimistic) whoever releases it (I'm assuming Criterion) will use the version streaming on HBO Max now - Toho's HD print with the export dub attached to it. I guarantee that, legally, the US version is long gone.
Personally I think that export dub is atrocious. Maybe it's because I grew up with it on VHS but I prefer the UPA dub. Even the stock music used isn't bad, though Ifukube's Maser Cannon March is sorely missed.
Yeah, no, that export dub is absolutely atrocious.
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