GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955) in Japanese Giants Forum

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GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)

Author	Comment
Joe Karlosi	GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	Lead	[-]
Feb 11 05 8:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm now going through the Godzilla films in chronological order. I've seen all of them already except for the last three newest ones. Anyway, what do you people think of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN? I've just never been able to enjoy it and I think it's an unworthy followup to the original GOJIRA. Kinda dull with too much time devoted to the non-interesting human characters. The fight with Anguilus is okay...
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Bill Cooke	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN	#1	[-]
Feb 11 05 11:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think it is unjustly maligned. The film has a serious, somber tone that is similar to the original film, and there are some moments that I find poetically beautiful: the first sign of Godzilla's dorsal plates appearing over a rocky ridge; the eerie calm as Godzilla stands poised in the harbor, the city's lights all doused in an effort to disuade him; a silent, long-distance view of the city burning, seen from the heroine's hotel room window; the pilot's courageous self-sacrifice that leads to the burying of Godzilla beneath an avalanche of ice cubes. These observations come from the original Japanese version. My only complaint is the undercranked footage of the monsters fighting, which I understand was a mistake that Tsuburaya decided to live with.
JohnRozum	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN	#2	[-]
Feb 12 05 2:04 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I agree with Bill on this one. It does successfully mirror the tone of the first one, especially with showing the consequences of the giant monster rampages on the people who live in the affected areas, something that would soon vanish from the movies until GODZILLA, MOTHRA, KING GHIDORAH. For a movie that was cranked out to cash in on the success of the original, I felt it did really well. I don't think that it's one of the best in the series though.
Denham	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#3	[-]
Feb 12 05 2:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This I've known as Gigantis. I have always liked the aerial shots of Godzilla from above, struggling in the ice. Current Godzilla history has it that this is the Godzilla that survives in all the sequels. CD
Joe Karlosi	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#4	[-]
Feb 12 05 7:06 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	For what it's worth, the version I saw WAS the original Japanese version with subtitles.
borisandbelarule	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#5	[-]
Feb 12 05 2:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's funny. I can specifically remember oh, about 15 years ago or so when I first taped this one trying to watch it and needing a few sitdowns to finally complete it. I also remember being unsatisfied with the the way plot developed. But when I watched it this past December I got through it in one sitting and really liked it. I even liked the subplot with the dopey lovestruck pilot who finally finds his courage and crashes on Godzilla's (I mean, Gigantis') parade. I'm up to the 11th in the series and in the middle of the "good" Godzilla phase. I can't help but wonder why they decided to make the big guy such a cartoonish, save the day, superhero? Have you ever read anything regarding this?
Bill Warren	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#6	[-]
Feb 12 05 2:31 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've never been able to track down a tape/DVD of the Japanese version. The American version has particularly lousy dubbing--not technically, but in word choice. When Our Hero is praised for something by Our Heroine, he responds, "Aw, banana oil."
JohnRozum	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#7	[-]
Feb 12 05 3:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bill, I'm pretty sure he says "Aw, Banana oil," in the Japanese version as well--at least in the subtitles. I don't speak Japanese, so I can't verify if that's a literal translation or not. Do bananas have "oil?" Maybe it's a Japanese phrase meaning "nonsense." As for why Godzilla became a good guy. Blame it on the kiddie audiences that these movies were increasingly aimed at as they went along. A lot of that was influenced by the popularity of Gamera among young theater goers.
Bill Cooke	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#8	[-]
Feb 12 05 4:29 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Here's a link to the Japanese version. It does not offer English subtitles. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN
JimPV	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#9	[-]
Feb 12 05 6:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* ...I'm pretty sure he says "Aw, Banana oil" in the Japanese version as well... I'm sure this is American slang, and old slang at that (I've never heard this expression - have any of you?). It would probably mean about as much to the Japanese as it does to a modern viewer. There's a rumor that Classic Media has the rights to Godzilla Raids Again (I hate the "Gigantis" title) here in the states and that it 'll be released later this year. Nothing definite, though. And though the Toho disc doesn't have English subtitles, it does have several still gallerys with thousands of stills (yes, thousands). Whether only from GRA or other Toho flicks as well, I do not know. "If I had a hidden microphone inside of my heart, I would turn the power on..."
Joe Karlosi	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#10	[-]
Feb 12 05 7:42 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I never thought I'd say this, but these days I'm glad they made Godzilla a hero. I mean, really - it got kind of tiring after awhile and I think the potential was much more limited when he was always a bad monster stomping Tokyo. Look at how monotonous so many of the newer Godzilla films seem.
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Ted Newsom	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#11	[-]
Apr 9 05 2:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Agree with Joe again. Very few places to go with a "character" whose motivation is to crush and stomp Tokyo (cf., Hol'wd Blvd.) What they hell could you do with him?
Bill Warren	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#12	[-]
Apr 9 05 12:40 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* What they hell could you do with him? I think that long-rumored Toho production of DEATH OF A SALESMAN with an all-kaiju cast had a lot of promise.
luluthebeast	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#13	[-]
Apr 9 05 10:35 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have the Japanese laserdisc and it's a great print, but no subtitles. It would be nice if they put out a subbed dvd!
Doctor 1313	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#14	[-]
Apr 12 05 8:11 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* What they hell could you do with him? I always wanted to see a variation of the storyline in the old Marvel Godzilla comic where scientists shrink Godzilla down to six inches tall. Only in my version, some bratty kid named Ken with an obsessive love of urban legends flushes the King of the Monsters down the toilet. The big G must fight rats, stray cats and maybe even an albino alligator as the shrinking begins to wear off, and the authorities have to find the growing kaiju king before he bursts up full-sized underneath the city. DOCTOR 13
JimPV	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#15	[-]
Apr 14 05 6:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I have the Japanese laserdisc and it's a great print, but no subtitles. It would be nice if they put out a subbed dvd! I've heard that Classic Media has acquired the rights to Raids Again (along with Ghidrah: the Three Headed Monster) and will be releasing it sometime. Certainly not confirmed, but that's what I've heard. "If I had a hidden microphone inside of my heart, I would turn the power on..."
Ted Newsom	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS BANANA OIL AGAIN	#16	[-]
Apr 16 05 3:52 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My dad used to use this phrase all the time when I was a kid (late 50s- early 60s), and that probably means he picked it up when he was a kid (30s-40s.) So I always thought it was pretty common. (Note to Bill W: I grew up in Portland, and heard it there. You weren't that far away down the coast. If you listened, you would've heard it, too...)
Count Gamula	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#17	[-]
Apr 25 05 10:12 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I recently got a copy of this. It was fun to see it again, but I was surprised at one thing. Not only was the action during the battle of the monsters not slowed down (the usual trick to make the creatures look more like giants), but it was actually sped up at times making it look more comical. *Count Gamula*
DonM435	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN (1955)	#18	[-]
Apr 25 05 8:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Bill, I'm pretty sure he says "Aw, Banana oil," in the Japanese version as well--at least in the subtitles. I don't speak Japanese, so I can't verify if that's a literal translation or not. Do bananas have "oil?" Maybe it's a Japanese phrase meaning "nonsense." Despite its name, "banana oil" is a coal tar derivative. How about that? It has fossil origins.
Bill Warren	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS BANANA OIL AGAIN	#19	[-]
Apr 26 05 2:53 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* So I always thought it was pretty common. "Aw, banana oil" may have been common at one time, Ted, or in your house, but it was certainly not in common use in my neck of the woods in the 1950s, unless someone was deliberately trying to sound dated--kind of like saying "23 skidoo." In any event, it sure the heck has no place in a Godzilla movie. I doubt very much that the phrase was used in Japan; I think the subtitle writer was merely following the lead of the dubbed version. I consider it unlikely to the point of impossibility for the same phrase to have been used on both sides of the Pacific under the same circumstances--only in English here, Japanese there. It's extraordinarily dated. Yes, at least some of the fight footage was speeded up--shot undercranked. This seems to have been Honda's own error.
Doc Martin4	Re: GODZILLA RAIDS BANANA OIL AGAIN	#20	[-]
Apr 26 05 2:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've looked around at various slang/language web sites. Apparently, "banana oil" was a fairly common expression in the 1920s (like "23-skidoo"!). Pouring banana oil in a girl's ear was kind of like "whispering sweet nothings..." It became synonymous with "nonsense." Martin Arlt............................... "I'm a scientist; I don't believe in anything."
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