TxMike
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Note de TxMike
The Japanese "Godzilla" (Gojira) in 1954 was ground-breaking and received lots of praise and popularity. So a small group of American producers got together in 1955 and one of them said, "This is a great movie but American audiences don't like foreign movies with English subtitles, so let's get an American actor, maybe Raymond Burr as a reporter, edit the footage a bit and add a few scenes with the American, and call it 'King of the Monsters.' Maybe we can make a good return on our investment."
Well I don't know whether that meeting actually occurred but something like that must have happened. Burr's contribution is small, many times we just see him for 4 or 5 seconds against an indoor wall, just observing what is going on outside. But he does narrate all the way through.
Plus, the 1954 movie runs 96 minutes, this 1956 movie runs 80 minutes, so approximately 20 minutes of the 1954 movie has been edited out. Some of it is just softening the warnings about proliferation of the A-bomb and the H-bomb.
Otherwise it is essentially the same story using the original footage, with some scenes rearranged a bit, and Godzilla has the same fate.
Which is the better movie? Hard to say, many will prefer the original while I suspect some will prefer the second one with an American character and American narration. I enjoyed both of them, viewed on consecutive days.
Note, the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray disc from my public library has both versions plus a series of making-of extras that I found interesting.
Well I don't know whether that meeting actually occurred but something like that must have happened. Burr's contribution is small, many times we just see him for 4 or 5 seconds against an indoor wall, just observing what is going on outside. But he does narrate all the way through.
Plus, the 1954 movie runs 96 minutes, this 1956 movie runs 80 minutes, so approximately 20 minutes of the 1954 movie has been edited out. Some of it is just softening the warnings about proliferation of the A-bomb and the H-bomb.
Otherwise it is essentially the same story using the original footage, with some scenes rearranged a bit, and Godzilla has the same fate.
Which is the better movie? Hard to say, many will prefer the original while I suspect some will prefer the second one with an American character and American narration. I enjoyed both of them, viewed on consecutive days.
Note, the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray disc from my public library has both versions plus a series of making-of extras that I found interesting.
In recent years I have been entertained by the several 'Godzilla' movies. One thing they all have in common is a monster that comes from the sea and starts destroying everything. And it all started here, in 1954 Japan.
To appreciate the story here we have to realize post-war Japan was still very wary of weapons of mass destruction, particularly the A-bomb, which was dropped on two cities to end the war in 1945, and the more powerful H-bomb which was tested in the Pacific during the early 1950s. Those bombs are specifically referenced in this movie and postulated to have given Godzilla its powers.
It starts with one, then another, fishing vessel off the Japan coast being explosively burned. Scientists soon discover that it is a beast 165 feet tall, they named it Godzilla (or Gojira, in Japanese). Most of the middle of the movie are efforts to destroy the monster while it comes ashore to smash things and start fires in the communities.
A break comes with the discovery that a young scientist has discovered a way to make what he called an "oxygen destroyer" which, if placed in the sea near Godzilla, would cause its destruction.
I watched it at home, with English subtitles, on a Criterion Collection Blu-Ray edition from my public library. It also has the complete 1956 movie "Godzilla: King of the Monsters!" on the same disc. They did a good job in both restorations however, when you pause the picture in is obvious that the original print has lots of visual flaws. Still, played on a modern high-def TV it looks very good.
The extras on the disc are very interesting and show much about the making of the movie.
To appreciate the story here we have to realize post-war Japan was still very wary of weapons of mass destruction, particularly the A-bomb, which was dropped on two cities to end the war in 1945, and the more powerful H-bomb which was tested in the Pacific during the early 1950s. Those bombs are specifically referenced in this movie and postulated to have given Godzilla its powers.
It starts with one, then another, fishing vessel off the Japan coast being explosively burned. Scientists soon discover that it is a beast 165 feet tall, they named it Godzilla (or Gojira, in Japanese). Most of the middle of the movie are efforts to destroy the monster while it comes ashore to smash things and start fires in the communities.
A break comes with the discovery that a young scientist has discovered a way to make what he called an "oxygen destroyer" which, if placed in the sea near Godzilla, would cause its destruction.
I watched it at home, with English subtitles, on a Criterion Collection Blu-Ray edition from my public library. It also has the complete 1956 movie "Godzilla: King of the Monsters!" on the same disc. They did a good job in both restorations however, when you pause the picture in is obvious that the original print has lots of visual flaws. Still, played on a modern high-def TV it looks very good.
The extras on the disc are very interesting and show much about the making of the movie.
My only disappointment with this program is that it is only two episodes. I longed for more but maybe they told the whole story in just two.
I'm not certain why but actor Tracy Morgan has a running commentary role through both episodes. Maybe just to make it less serious and scientific?
Anyway most of us who have paid attention through life know about the Octopus, most of us know that it is a very popular food in many places. And some of us already knew that they are very intelligent.
All of that, and more, is covered in this documentary. I found it totally absorbing. It is strange to me, the Octopus has a very short life. They grow to adulthood rather quickly, the adult male fertilizes a female then she kills him. Then the female finds a safe rock cave underwater and stays there for months to care for the babies developing in their individual sacs, never eating and gradually wasting away. Shortly after the babies complete their development she dies.
A totally educational and entertaining series. I wanted more.
I'm not certain why but actor Tracy Morgan has a running commentary role through both episodes. Maybe just to make it less serious and scientific?
Anyway most of us who have paid attention through life know about the Octopus, most of us know that it is a very popular food in many places. And some of us already knew that they are very intelligent.
All of that, and more, is covered in this documentary. I found it totally absorbing. It is strange to me, the Octopus has a very short life. They grow to adulthood rather quickly, the adult male fertilizes a female then she kills him. Then the female finds a safe rock cave underwater and stays there for months to care for the babies developing in their individual sacs, never eating and gradually wasting away. Shortly after the babies complete their development she dies.
A totally educational and entertaining series. I wanted more.