Thursday, May 5, 2016

THE SAGA OF THE KING OF THE MONSTERS ~ PART 10: GODZILLA'S REVENGE (1969)


Directed by the original Godzilla director himself, Ishiro Honda gave us many of the best Godzilla films in the entire series. He also gave us GODZILLA'S REVENGE a.k.a ALL MONSTERS ATTACK, a film some fans might consider the worst. But is this accusation justified? I will openly admit that this is probably my least favorite Godzilla film of the Showa Era. But is this film an actual bad movie?

Not at all. This is a different Godzilla film, different in how it approaches the kaiju, different in its focal characters, and different in the narrative its trying to tell. Godzilla's Revenge isn't a monster movie at all and maybe shouldn't be looked at as a Godzilla film. This film's point of view is from the outside looking in. It's a commentary on Japanese society and the changing family dynamics during Japan's Industrial Revolution. It's also a look at where in reality Godzilla and other kaiju actually exist, in our imaginations.


PLOT

Ichiro is a young boy living in the city. His parents work long hours to provide for their family leaving Ichiro to pass much of his time alone. Ichiro loves kaiju, especially Minya, the son of Godzilla. At school Ichiro has been picked on by a bully named Gabara. While taking a nap Ichiro dreams of Monster Island, Minya, and all the other monsters seeking advice on how to deal with bullies. When Ichiro is kidnapped by two bank robbers he calls upon the lessons he learned to escape.
THE GOOD

Greatest Hits. This film always felt like a who's who in the land of kaiju. If you are a child just getting into the Godzilla franchise then this is an informative and fun movie. The main character Ichiro goes down the list showing us a host of different kaiju, telling us their names, and showing us a little bit of them in action. Then we get to see Godzilla throw down with a couple of kaiju too. It's a fun little montage of kaiju action even though it is nearly all stock footage from previous films.

Gabara. Despite being composed of almost nothing but stock footage, the Monster Island sections do give us a new monster: Gabara. Gabara is the kaiju-personification of Ichiro's real life bully of the same name. The kaiju Gabara seems to only exist in the mind of Ichiro although the monster does make appearances in the television series Go! Godman and Go! Greenman (whether these shows and the Godzilla universe exist together is up for speculation). Gabara is a mean-spirited bully of a kaiju whom we all love to see get beat down by Godzilla. He has a interesting mythological Japanese design which is unique to most of the kaiju in Toho's stable.


THE BAD

The Scale. Going from the biggest Godzilla film ever (Destroy All Monsters) on the grandest of scales to something small and intimate as Godzilla's Revenge is a jarring change of pace. Until this movie the level of scale and conflict within every Godzilla film had been epic. The fate of humanity anywhere from a handful to millions of people, the civilizations we've built, and even on occasion the fate of the world all hanging in the balance: these are the stakes in most Godzilla films and the drama. Here the drama is scaled back to an intimate level dealing with a little boy trying to escape from kidnappers and learning how to deal with bullies. There is room within such a narrative for great drama but this is a children's film and treats the subject matter as such.

My Imaginary friends. Is Godzilla actually in this film? From an actor standpoint yes. The man himself, Haruo Nakajima, is present in the Godzilla suit in all new footage for the film, albeit fleeting new footage. But when looking at the film from a story perspective no kaiju is actually in the film, present only in Ichiro's imagination. The film is ambiguous as to whether kaiju actually exist at all in the world of the narrative or if they're only in Ichiro's mind. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as this could be viewed as film on the outside looking in. In reality kaiju only exist in our imaginations and on screen. The way Ichiro fantasizes about giant monsters being real is something all kaiju fans can relate to as I'm sure we've all thought about it at one time or another.

THE VERDICT

Rampant and unabashed employment of stock footage and a massive tonal shift in scale ultimately make this film a difficult endeavor for viewers. Other than the battle with Gabara I personally find this film my least favorite of the Godzilla series. This Godzilla film takes on many of the aspects typically found in the rival Gamera series, and not the good aspects. In a way this film seems like a response to Noriaki Yuasa's films demonstrating Toho's superiority over Daiei. In doing so this film is more appreciated by children as opposed to the adult kaiju fan. Seeing a new Toho kaiju, that of Gabara, is the highlight of the film.

This isn't a bad movie but the film contains the most stock footage ever used in a Godzilla film to this point in the series rendering it a sub par entry.

Overall Ranking: 4 out of 10
Category: Adolescence
**SPECIAL NOTE**

David Kalat's book A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series has a very good analysis of the social commentary within Godzilla's Revenge. The book itself is a wonderful and insightful look at the entire Godzilla series. I couldn't stop reading it!



Missed a chapter in the saga? Get caught up as we continue the countdown to number one!


Part 11: Godzilla Vs The Smog Monster (1971)
Part 12: Godzilla Vs Gigan (1972)
Part 13: Godzilla Vs Megalon (1973)
Part 14: Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
Part 15: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)    
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