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Godzilla vs. Beast from 20K Fathoms (1 Viewer)

Johnny Angell

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First of all take everything I write with a heavy dose of IMHO. I have never liked the original Godzilla and the multitude of sequels. When I have watched them, I feel like I'm slumming and looking for a laugh and the filmmaker's expense. I have just watch my criterion of the original Godzilla. This is probably the first time I've seen the original and I still don't get the appeal. I find it to be a lesser film when compared to The Beast in just about every way. Acting, directing, special effects. The Beast is a much more convincing creature than the man in a rubber lizard suit. G is not convincing at all. The miniatures in G are obviously just that. The acting is hammy and the romantic duo couldn't melt an ice cube with a hot plate. The story just seems to jerk along. OK, now I understand the theme of nuclear warfare has a special meaning to the Japanese as the only nation ever to be attacked with a nuclear weapon. I get it that the movie rings that bell, but it was an easy bell to ring. I wonder if there would have been so many sequels if not for the special meaning to the Japanese? What would have happened if Beast from 20K had been set in Japan? Would it have been their Godzilla, it think it would. I release a lot of this is personal taste, but hard as I try, I can't find much to recommend about G. Except the the cover. It has got to be one of the best covers on any of my blu-rays. What am I missing?
 

Richard--W

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Johnny Angell said:
... What am I missing?
Destroy All Monsters (1968). The best monster movie ever made by the Japanese. In color and widescreen. Buy It Now: http://www.amazon.com/Destroy-All-Monsters-Blu-ray-Various/dp/B005G7WGFO/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1329648260&sr=1-2
 

RickER

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I dabble in Godzilla. I also cannot disagree with ANYTHING the OP said. Having said that, i also really liked Destroy All Monsters. Astro Monster Zero is pretty good too. I have seen most of the Godzilla films made before the 70s. Almost all are hard for me to watch. But i always wonder if that is because the US versions are watered down in every way! They are edited, and dubbed really badly! Gamera is great on MST3K. But other than that, i cannot get into flying turtles, either. I have only seen 2 or 3 of the "newer" 90s Godzilla movies. Didnt like them. The Beast From 20,000 Fantoms is a great movie! Let me confess, that the American Godzilla remake works best if you think of it as a REMAKE of The Beast! I like that movie, but not because it is a Godzilla film. And last, i wish i loved the Criterion Godzilla cover. I HATE Digibooks!
 

Joseph Bolus

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It's no secret that the original Godzilla movie was an attempt to make a "Japanese-themed" "Beast". It's too bad that they never considered doing Harryhausen-style stop motion effects to bring their monster to life. From the beginning all Toho wanted to do was miniatures with a combination of puppets and "man-in-rubber-suit" effects. The only time Toho even briefly considered stop-action was for "Godzilla vs King Kong". I think we got about 15 seconds total of stop-action effects in that movie. Having said that, I do have some cheesy fun with "Destroy all Monsters" -- but none of the original Godzilla movies approach "Beast" for overall quality.
 

Johnny Angell

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RickER said:
But i always wonder if that is because the US versions are watered down in every way! They are edited, and dubbed really badly!...The Beast From 20,000 Fantoms is a great movie! Let me confess, that the American Godzilla remake works best if you think of it as a REMAKE of The Beast! I like that movie, but not because it is a Godzilla film.
I was almost expecting some sort or epiphany moment when I watched the Criterion Godzilla. Finally, I thought, I'll understand what all the fuss is about. Boy was I disappointed. It had not occurred to me, but yes, the American Godzilla does seem more like a Beast movie than a G movie.
Joseph Bolus said:
It's no secret that the original Godzilla movie was an attempt to make a "Japanese-themed" "Beast". It's too bad that they never considered doing Harryhausen-style stop motion effects to bring their monster to life. From the beginning all Toho wanted to do was miniatures with a combination of puppets and "man-in-rubber-suit" effects...but none of the original Godzilla movies approach "Beast" for overall quality.
Till this thread, the remake of Beast idea had not occurred to me. I've never read anywhere before that G was a remake of it. I had expected to get comments pointing out all the plusses of the the G movies, but instead have found I'm not alone. I have to confess that I liked the American G remake except for a couple of the casting choices. The female lead, IMHO, is just terrible.
 

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