Godzilla Contra-Ataca

Picked up the remastered version recently released. It has the Japanese and American versions of the film. I watched the longer Japanese version which is oh so much better. Gone is the stupid narration. The voices actually match the characters and don't come off dopey. There are also scenes with silences, something the American version seemed afraid to have. I used to think this was a dull and boring film, but it actually held my attention this time out, even when my brother was kibitzing to get me to go shopping with him. If you like these sort of movies and get the chance watch this in Japanese and see it for the first time. (FYI- the new remasters do not allow toggling between versions because the Japanese versions are usually longer, even by a minute or two than the Americans so you can only see the differences by watching the versions back to back.)

Another of Godzilla's species is discovered on an island, along with a spiky creature called Angilusaurus (or Angilus for short). Before long the two monsters are wrecking havoc.

Though this film was rushed out, it has the advantages of being made in the age when Godzilla films were serious-themed. The scenes in which city populations are told to turn their lights off to avoid Godzilla's attention at night are atmospheric and recall World War 2, when city lights were turned off to avoid the attention of enemy bombers. The music is haunting and the scenery, especially on the island, is suitably eerie. The film does tail away towards the end, but it's still one of the stronger sequels.

As with the original, and most other Godzilla films, the original non-dubbed version with subtitles is recommended.

This film is a decent follow up to the original film. It pretty much shows that you don't have to be a scientist or a major military figure to be a hero. The only thing negative criticism I have about it is that it tends to slow down when it gets to the scenes that feature only the human characters. However, the film really picks up steam when the fight between the two monsters begins.

Also, there is an interesting fact about this film. When it was first proposed that this film would be released in the United States, the title was for the American version was to be called "The Volcano Monsters" and it was to be written by noted schlock master Ib Melchior, the man behind such B classics as "Reptilicus" and "The Angry Red Planet", and his partner Edwin Watson. The proposed production would have used some of the footage from "Godzilla's Counterattack." The premise for the story was to involve the discovery of a tyrannosaurus (Godzilla) and an ankylosaurus (Angillas) in a cave on a remote island. The two monsters are then brought to San Francisco (the Japanese buildings would have been explained as being San Francisco's Chinatown) and then escape and start to fight all over the city. The ankylosaurus is killed during the battle and the tyrannosaurus is then left to rampage all over the city until it escapes to the Artic Circle where in the climatic battle it is covered in ice and preserved forever.

An interesting note, Melchior used several of the intended plot devices for "The Volcano Monsters" in Reptilicus, including the ending which showed the claw of another monster, which was poking out of the cave where the two monsters were found.

This is an OK first sequel for Godzilla, which involves two pilots that discovered a new species of Godzilla battling a dinosaur named Anguirus on an island. Actor Takashi Shimura re-prises his role as Dr. Yamane from the previous Godzilla film. During a conference scene, he showed a film that depicts scenes of the first Godzilla's attack on Tokyo, as his listeners express concern on the new crisis involving the second Godzilla. The monsters then later venture their way to the city of Osaka, where all the monster action take place.

This film features Godzilla's first foe, Anguirus. The battle sequences between the two monsters are solid - pretty neat, fast-paced effect. I wished the monsters' first appearance in the movie was given a more intriguing entrance; they just simply appeared on cue.

Composer Masaru Sato did a good job on scoring this movie and I think his Main Title Theme for this film is one of the best non-Akira Ifukube music I've heard in Toho films. The scenes of the city of Osaka's blackout to prevent Godzilla from attacking is good comprehension and suspense.

The subplot of Koehi Yamaji's (Yukio Kasama) fishery and the relationship between Shoichi Tsukioka (Hiroshi Koizumi) and Hidemi Yamaji (Setsuko Wakayama) provided a good piece of drama and realism (especially during them figuring out how to pick up the pieces after the monster destruction), but they did drag the movie on after the much of the monster action as the latter part of the film was too concentrated on the human subplot, making the film on the dull side and taking the spotlight away from the more exciting monster theme.

Overall, it's an average film, which lacks a little of the sci-fi suspense due to the dragging human sub-plot. But, the monster scenes were great.

Grade C

The Two pilots Kobayashi and Tsukioka must land on a remote Pacific Island and become witnesses of the fight between two giant monsters. After the battle, they both disappear into the ocean. Tsukioka informs scientists (including Dr. Yamane from the first "Godzilla" film) and the army about Godzilla and an unknown monster that looks like a prehistoric Ankylosaurus. The new monster therefor is named Angilas. Meanwhile, some bandits escape near Osaka and cause a car crash that is followed by large explosions. The fire attracts Godzilla to Osaka. The Japanese army tries to stop the monster using tanks, missiles and the air force. Then Angilas shows up too! The two monsters fight each other in the middle of the city in a brutal battle which is won by Godzilla. In order to stop him, the Osaka Defense Corps (and the two friends Kobayashi and Tsukioka) follow Godzilla to a snowy island near Hokkaido in northern Japan. Many pilots die in the final battle against the monster, as the army tries to cause an avalanche to bury Godzilla...

This is the little-known second film of the legendary Japanese Godzilla series, and the last that was filmed in black & white. It lacks, of course, most of the metaphoric meaning the first film had and is just a very entertaining, classic monster movie. The beautiful music score was composed by Masaru Satô, the favourite composer of Akira Kurosawa. It sounds a bit like a softer version of Akira Ifukube's great theme music for the first film. Like in the first "Godzilla", the black & white photography adds to the plausibility of the special effects, therefor they work really good most of the time. Probably the biggest problem with the effects is that the monsters move by far too fast in their fight scenes. But fortunately "Gojira no gyakushû" was the only Japanese monster movie ever to use this technique. Please note that this commentary is based on the original, uncut Japanese version of the film which really is the ONLY way to see it!! The American version is badly dubbed, has half of the movie cut out, inserts new scenes that don't make ANY sense, and has special effects footage stolen from other movies... it's just total crap. Everybody who is interested in seeing this film should look for the Japanese version, it's definitely worth the effort. Unfortunately, it is probably very hard to find. Despite the success of the film in Japan, the next "Godzilla" movie was not made for seven years.