Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster? in Japanese Giants Forum

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Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster?

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DerGolem		#81	[-]
Sep 21 09 12:05 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Kaijubait wrote: Nakano and Satsuma have both stated in interviews that these were Hedorah's power source, from inside its eyes. It's called 'Hedrium' in the dubbed version. I'm going a little bit on memory there, but it's definitely connected to the eyes. Well that makes sense as that movies has a serious fixation on damage to people (and monster's) eyes. I think almost every character get some kind of eye injury inflicted upon them at some point.
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Uchujin65		#82	[-]
Sep 21 09 12:23 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love Godzilla vs. Hedorah in a very personal way. My favorite 70s entry bar none. It's hardly a cohesive work, but that's almost part of the charm. It's a brilliantly bipolar work that feels like a Gamera movie one minute then throws up imagery with all the inviting charm of holocaust footage the next. It's a colorfully berserk psychedelic "head film", an avant garde film like Funeral Parade of Roses in the mere guise of a monster epic. Is this so bad? Banno definitely felt strongly for his material and even if it's not genre masterpiece he at least gave us a Godzilla film that tried something new and was made with a very creative mentality, Gigan and Megalon were totally formulaic cookie-cutter works that recycled as many cliches and plot elements from previous films as they did footage. I love the Weekly World News article. It probably really happened for once. The AIP version of Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster is the same film more or less. All it's missing runtime-wise is the Toho logo and the image montage at the end with the woodblock print and the implication that Hedorah may return. It's a fine dub. As Ian said earlier on in this thread, Prophecies of Nostradamus is a recommended second stop for Hedorah-lovers. Several of the same elements, but darker. You can see Banno's hand on that film as strongly as that of Toshio Masuda, it's actual director. Here!
Kaijubait		#83	[-]
Sep 21 09 8:41 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Edkkakumon wrote: I think I heard official Toho statments identifying those objects as eggs. The director said they were. I haven't heard that before. I've attended panel discussions with both the man who played Hedorah and the fiilm's special effects director, and they stated otherwise.
Dubious Comforts		#84	[-]
Sep 21 09 9:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	DerGolem wrote: Well that makes sense as that movies has a serious fixation on damage to people (and monster's) eyes. I think almost every character get some kind of eye injury inflicted upon them at some point. That's correct. Dr. Yano. Miki's boyfriend, Godzilla, Hedorah -- all are on the receiving end of serious eye trauma. It's a running theme throughout the film, just as Night of the Living Dead has a running theme on hands to propel its story. Guy Tucker spoke about this years ago, before I'd heard anyone else discuss Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster in any serious manner. He also had an amazing viewpoint about this film: the events take place in a dream, which is Ken's way of dealing with his father's death. (A similar device is used in Phantasm.) It certainly explains young Ken's importance throughout the film; his father treats him as a near equal instead of as a child and it's ultimately Ken that figures out how to defeat Hedorah in order to assist his hero, Godzilla. Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster also doesn't set out to vilify hippies. The villain is clearly the product of rampant, irresponsible industrialism, which coincides with most any counterculture viewpoint. The film simply presents different social groups to demonstrate that nobody has the answer as long as they're unable to work together--hence all the voices speaking over each other on the television screens. No Godzilla film paints a more bleaker image of societal decay than vs. the Smog Monster, although the prior film, Godzilla's Revenge would be a close second. Teruyoshi Nakano told me that he added the scenes of Godzilla flying when he realized they had gone too far with the violence and death. He believed that Mr. Tsuburaya would have been disappointed because he had always intended these films for children. Last Edited By: Dubious Comforts Sep 21 09 9:55 AM. Edited 1 times.
Amentep		#85	[-]
Sep 21 09 9:53 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was always under the impression when I last saw the International version (been far to long since I saw vs The Smog Monster to remember what impression I had there) they were what was from the meteors from space that was causing Hedorah to form/reform
The Giant Pacific Octopus		#86	[-]
Sep 21 09 12:38 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dr Acula wrote: But I thought his eyes were red, otherwise eyes would make sense. When a Hedorah dies its eyes turn white. Next time you watch the film, take a look at the small dead Hedorah tadpole that the fisherman gives Dr.Yanno at the beginning of the film. Its eyeballs are pure white.
The Giant Pacific Octopus		#87	[-]
Sep 21 09 12:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Edkkakumon wrote: I think I heard official Toho statments identifying those objects as eggs. Since Dr.Yanno said that Hedorah cannot reproduce in the film, it would squash the whole eggs theory.
Hachigatsu		#88	[-]
Sep 21 09 2:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You should have said that it "cracked the egg theory." While two members of the production say that they are different things, they cannot be the eyes; because Heodrah's eyes are red and the orbs Godzilla pulls out of its carcass are white. What are they? They are the Hedorium organs -- the source of Hedorah's power. August Ragone Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS Blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA
Dr Acula		#89	[-]
Sep 21 09 5:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Marshall Crist wrote: 4) Huh? From IMDB trivia: When Godzilla chases down Hedorah near the end of the film, the director originally shot two different scenes. One had Godzilla chasing Hedorah on foot, the other had Godzilla flying after him. The flying scene was the one used in the final cut of the film, because the director thought a comical scene was needed to lighten up an otherwise dark film.
joker5339		#90	[-]
Sep 21 09 6:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hachigatsu wrote: You should have said that it "cracked the egg theory." While two members of the production say that they are different things, they cannot be the eyes; because Heodrah's eyes are red and the orbs Godzilla pulls out of its carcass are white. What are they? They are the Hedorium organs -- the source of Hedorah's power. I always thought that this was one of the most inovative moments in a Godzilla film. unfortunatly you have to sit through alot of strange kid stuff before the payoff.
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DerGolem		#91	[-]
Sep 21 09 7:50 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Dr Acula wrote: Marshall Crist wrote: 4) Huh? From IMDB trivia: When Godzilla chases down Hedorah near the end of the film, the director originally shot two different scenes. One had Godzilla chasing Hedorah on foot, the other had Godzilla flying after him. The flying scene was the one used in the final cut of the film, because the director thought a comical scene was needed to lighten up an otherwise dark film. That reminds me of an interview with Banno that I read on Sci-Fi Japan where he defended the flying scene by saying that it was the only way for Godzilla to catch up with Hedorah's flying form because he couldn't walk fast enough. It sounds like this IMDB trivia may have been based off that statement even though it says something very different.
Hachigatsu		#92	[-]
Sep 21 09 8:02 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In the Summer of 1990, during an interview session at Toho Studios, Banno told myself and Guy Tucker -- in English -- that the flying scene was to symbolize the urgency to stop pollution by extraordinary effort. He then said, in retrospect, that it was a ham-fisted visual metaphor. This is straight out of the directors' own mouth, paraphrased, and not through mangled translations and misquotes. I have the interview captured on VHS (that same day we interviewed Koichi Kawakita and Kenji Sahara, who were all in the Visual Effects's office -- Tsuburaya's old staff room -- together at the same time). August Ragone Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS Blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA
Brett		#93	[-]
Sep 21 09 8:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That reminds me of an interview with Banno that I read on Sci-Fi Japan where he defended the flying scene by saying that it was the only way for Godzilla to catch up with Hedorah's flying form because he couldn't walk fast enough. For what it's worth, Mr. Banno said the same thing at G-FEST in reply to Damon Foster's question about the flying scene.
Hachigatsu		#94	[-]
Sep 21 09 8:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That's proof positive. Thanks, Brett! He also said (and I'm sure he did at G-Fest), was that producer Tomoyuki Tanaka was in the hospital when they made that decision and went ahead with the shooting, and upon seeing said scene after being released, Tanaka claimed, "You've ruined the image of Godzilla!" Banno never directed another film. August Ragone Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS Blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA
Brett		#95	[-]
Sep 21 09 9:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	He also said (and I'm sure he did at G-Fest), was that producer Tomoyuki Tanaka was in the hospital when they made that decision and went ahead with the shooting, and upon seeing said scene after being released, Tanaka claimed, "You've ruined the image of Godzilla!" Banno never directed another film. I'm glad you mentioned that, since I was thinking about including this "interesting tidbit," to quote Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion. Actually, Mr. Banno said that Tanaka's reaction was more along the lines of, "Well, I guess there's no way we can change that," i.e., he was more disappointed than angry. After all, according to Mr. Banno, Tanaka asked him to work on Catastrophe 1999, so Tanaka wasn't angry with him.
Hachigatsu		#96	[-]
Sep 21 09 10:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, that's not how he related the story to us in 1990. Maybe he got soft about Tanaka, who passed away in 1998? In any case, in 1971, Banno was being promoted to a director. He was supposed to direct the next film, which became GIGAN... He didn't direct it, nor any film after that. That says a lot. Banno was then in the literary department for a while, and then went on to the documentary division, where he remained for a number of years. In 2005, he put together all of the special features for one of THE PLANET OF THE APES Japanese DVD boxsets. August Ragone Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS Blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA Last Edited By: Hachigatsu Sep 21 09 11:10 PM. Edited 1 times.
Brett		#97	[-]
Sep 21 09 11:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Maybe he got soft about Tanaka, who passed away in 1998? It's possible, though I believe Jorg Buttgereit interviewed Mr. Banno circa 2002, and according to the transcript, told the same story about Tanaka's being furious at the flying scene. I'm not sure what accounts for the difference. My guess (and it's just that) is that he wanted to clarify that Tanaka wasn't furious with him personally over the changes. Hm. Maybe I should ask Mr. Banno himself to clarify!
Hachigatsu		#98	[-]
Sep 21 09 11:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, that's the thing that happens over time, Brett... people change their stories. Believe it... or not! I already got the story straight from Banno, himself. Now, I never said that Tanaka was "furious," just that Tanaka told Banno, "You've ruined Godzilla." While one of these stories could be apocryphal, let's deal with the facts. Fact #1: Banno was being primed as a Director. Fact #2: Banno was slated to write/direct another film. Fact #3: This didn't happen and the job went to Jun Fukuda. Fact #4: Banno never directed another film. The preponderance of the facts points to Banno being demoted for the decisions he made while Tanaka was in the hospital. You can ask Banno, but it seems that he has changed his story several times, so how can we define the truth? August Ragone Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS Blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA Last Edited By: Hachigatsu Sep 21 09 11:56 PM. Edited 1 times.
Brett		#99	[-]
Sep 21 09 11:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Well, that's the thing that happens over time, Brett... people change their stories. Believe it... or not! Very true. I just sent an e-mail to Mr. Banno, asking for clairification. If I receive a reply, I'll post about it here.
Hachigatsu		#100	[-]
Sep 22 09 12:03 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Brett wrote: Well, that's the thing that happens over time, Brett... people change their stories. Believe it... or not! Very true. I just sent an e-mail to Mr. Banno, asking for clairification. If I receive a reply, I'll post about it here. Keep us posted! August Ragone Author EIJI TSUBURAYA: MASTER OF MONSTERS Blog THE GOOD, THE BAD AND GODZILLA Last Edited By: Hachigatsu Sep 22 09 5:25 AM. Edited 2 times.
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Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster?