FROM THE ORIGINAL CINEMASTERS ARCHIVE
I think I downloaded the wrong Godzilla
I don't think I can fully follow the standard approach to this process with a movie like this. Classic Godzilla movies like this are far from even where more benign horror flicks intended for family consumption like Hocus Pocus or Halloweentown typically reside. But that plucky kaiju has been terrorizing the world for decades and he's garnered enough of a persistent reputation to find himself permanently in the horror category. Admittedly, I think it is a bit of a misnomer of sorts. I know horror is a fairly malleable category in many ways. But I think even if it's a low level of horror, like the movies I've mentioned, there's still supposed to be an element of fright mixed in there somewhere. I think the only thing that seemed scary was how many OSHA violations were more than likely taking place. But that was 1969 man. Just a good time to be alive.
If there's one thing I love about a classic Godzilla flick, it's the suit. There's something perpetual about that big rubber lizard suit that feels right. It's iconic in it's own right and it's stood the test of time which is pretty impressive. This movie has so many extra doses of that phenomenon because it's chock full of other monsters. They all look different measures of silly. But the practicality of how they are assembled, especially when you take off the 2026 glasses and appreciate what filmmaking was like back in the late 60's in Japan. Even from the onset of the film, it opens with what are clearly miniatures. But despite it being something that should otherwise make you laugh at it's nonsensical nature, it's like Godzilla gives it a pass. Everything is notoriously obvious in how it's crafted. There's no blurring of reality here. Nobody thinks the landscape is real or little cars are anything less than models. The skyscrapers are clearly six feet tall and all they got good at was hiding the wires that made things fly. But the entire aesthetic is almost it's own separate entity and somehow it's more endearing that way. So that lumbering two legged dragon monster tearing up cities wins over all of our hearts once more.
One thing to remember is that the movie isn't simply about Godzilla, though. It's not even about the full cast of ginormous creatures. It's the other end of the casting that deserves a measure of recognition. There's an entire Asian cast of folks that are creating the dramatic nature of the narrative unfolding. The iconic dubbing was also the way to go. It wasn't as off kilter with this version as it was back in the days of VHS. There's clearly been an effort to clean up the gap between the mouth movement and the audio track of dialogue. But the fact that it doesn't match up perfectly still makes it a certain kind of enjoyable. Particularly because there's at least one American who is speaking English but it's still clearly not lined up and that made me chuckle. I have to say though, that this is just one of the cogs that makes the whole machine work together. The culmination of all those moving parts makes these movies just endearing enough to be enjoyable.
At the heart of it, while I enjoy these movies for what they are, they aren't good 50+ years later. They hold a certain amount of value and that is undeniable. They aren't completely void of any merit. But you have to completely overlook the ridiculousness of the entire production to really find something tangible to hold onto. The fun is in the silliness of it. And it's different than MST3K kind of silly. You could still easily use that metric to add another layer of enjoyable to these movies. But on their own, they're still fun without outright making fun of the entire production value. It's kind of low hanging fruit like that. To be honest, I don't know how seriously they were taking the production of these movies at the time. Maybe it was intended to be a serious movie. Maybe it was always tongue in cheek cinema. Regardless, the overall rating is a D+. I can't fail the movie because it's Godzilla. I enjoyed this one. You could reasonably interchange any of the movies and I'd have enough energy for it. Maybe even a second one. But I couldn't watch a marathon. I couldn't do 31 days of Godzilla. There's just not enough there for me personally. I enjoyed it. But it is as far as I can ride this train. I'm not going to fail it. And it's not just a D. There's gotta be a plus on it. But if I place it any higher than that, I'm just being disrespectful to the other movies that earned a spot in the C range or higher. So it is what it is.
Movies like this are fun little breaks for me. I could do 31 days of straight scary movies. It can be a bit of a slog sometimes. There are elements that become kind of taxing. I think that's why I use movies like this and documentaries and even some of the horror comedies to break up some of the monotony of scary movies night after night. There's plenty of room within the genre to find plenty of movies to stay entertained. I just look at these as palate cleansers that are just a refreshing little break. So thank you, Godzilla. Thank you for providing a brief respite in a sea of seemingly endless horror. That rounds out day 17. We'll have to see what shapes up tomorrow for the next film in our October procession. Until them, I'll catch you on the flip side.
If there's one thing I've learned from Christian Bale that Godzilla actors would have probably appreciated tremendously, it's a single word. Zippers.