Godzilla Minus One

[Azamiryou]

I really, really liked it. It hit me hard, and I can't stop thinking about it.

Also yeah @KenECoyote it got me in tears a few times too

It stuck in my mind, too, and it kept intruding into my thoughts for several weeks after watching it. And still, whenever I see or read something about it (like this thread).

And yeah, I cried too.

How good a movie is it? Very good. Way, way better than any American Godzilla movie. Better than Shin Godzilla, though that was good, too. I would even say better than the original — modern movie-making standards generally make things more lifelike and convincing.

Most important, I think, is that the monster is there to support the story, rather than the other way around. The people and their story aren't there as just an excuse to get Big G on the screen.

I have one nit to pick, one small change that I think would have made the movie better, but I won't talk about it here because it involves a spoiler.

 

[lawn dart]

Embarrassingly it's the first Godzilla movie which made me cry.

What? You didn't cry at the end of Son of Godzilla?

 

[Scott_650]

What? You didn't cry at the end of Son of Godzilla?

Is that the one where Godzilla and Minilla snuggle up at the end as the weather machine makes it snow? Getting choked up just thinking about it…

 

[lawn dart]

Yup, that's the one.

TCM had a Godzillathon a few days ago. Hadn't seen Son of Godzilla in many years. Honestly, I didn't remember any of the human parts of the movie. But that scene of Godzilla and Minilla in the snow is permanently etched into my soul.

 

[icyclops]

(Warning: May have a small spoiler.)

So I had this realization the other day. Maybe Godzilla represented the U.S.?

• In this movie, the main character was too afraid to attack a U.S. ship as well as Godzilla and is subsequently blamed for deaths resulting from both.
• Japan is later surprised by an attack so immense and devastating that it was beyond their belief and understanding. Entire city areas are destroyed quickly and there was an atomic component.
• The original movies later changes Godzilla (U.S.) from an enemy attacker to a protector. (For Minus One, this is mirroring the original movie where Godzilla was an enemy destroyer before later films made him a protector.)
• Japan's WWII actions "awoke a sleeping giant"

Thoughts?

Don’t over think this….its a story about a big radioactive lizard…..bad atoms, bad lizard…good giant moth.

 

[KenECoyote]

Don’t over think this….its a story about a big radioactive lizard…..bad atoms, bad lizard…good giant moth.

...

 

[Antares JS]

Don’t over think this….its a story about a big radioactive lizard…..bad atoms, bad lizard…good giant moth.

This is an extremely narrow minded point of view. Just because a story has fantastical or campy elements such as giant monsters, giant piloted robots, or space wizards, it doesn't mean there is nothing to the story beyond the surface level.

 

[Scott_650]

Apparently Godzilla Minus One isn't coming to streaming anytime soon. I saw an article saying they haven't signed rights to streaming yet.

I'll be buying the DVD/BR as soon as it's available. If I've gone to the theater more than once it's a good bet it's a movie I'll watch many times. With the way the streamers are decontenting I'm not going to rely on it being available in the future outside physical media.

 

[Antares JS]

I'll be buying the DVD/BR as soon as it's available. If I've gone to the theater more than once it's a good bet it's a movie I'll watch many times. With the way the streamers are decontenting I'm not going to rely on it being available in the future outside physical media.

The downside of streaming has been the dwindling of physical media. There are several streaming shows that I would love to have on disc, but discs were never made available.

 

[Marc_G]

Indeed the sun is unfortunately setting on physical media. Best Buy just announced they will no longer sell it. Soon it will become even harder to obtain.

 

[Scott_650]

This is an extremely narrow minded point of view. Just because a story has fantastical or campy elements such as giant monsters, giant piloted robots, or space wizards, it doesn't mean there is nothing to the story beyond the surface level.

On the other hand G-1 is so well written and constructed that it's totally enjoyable just for what's on the screen. I don't recall exactly what we were watching the other night - maybe the latest episode of Reacher? - when my wife turned to me and remarked about how fun it was to watch something and not be concerned with any subtext. Sometimes it's plenty ok to just be entertained

 

[Scott_650]

The downside of streaming has been the dwindling of physical media. There are several streaming shows that I would love to have on disc, but discs were never made available.

And we're seeing the return of pirating after a reported drop over the last few years!

 

[Antares JS]

On the other hand G-1 is so well written and constructed that it's totally enjoyable just for what's on the screen. I don't recall exactly what we were watching the other night - maybe the latest episode of Reacher? - when my wife turned to me and remarked about how fun it was to watch something and not be concerned with any subtext. Sometimes it's plenty ok to just be entertained

Sure, all I am saying is that campy elements don't mean there is no subtext. Whether you concern yourself with the subtext or not is entirely up to you.

 

[KenECoyote]

On the other hand G-1 is so well written and constructed that it's totally enjoyable just for what's on the screen. I don't recall exactly what we were watching the other night - maybe the latest episode of Reacher? - when my wife turned to me and remarked about how fun it was to watch something and not be concerned with any subtext. Sometimes it's plenty ok to just be entertained

Yes, reading the Frankenstein or Moby Dick stories are extremely entertaining and you definitely DON'T need to know of any other underlying meanings at all in order to enjoy them, but sometimes there are and sometimes it's just reflective of the life and times of the author, which may become critical of society.

Book discussions would be pretty boring if they only talked about the action on the screen.

BTW- I almost majored in English since it was my best subject and I learned what insights the teachers were looking for (secret to doing well is writing about what the teacher thinks the story is about, not what you think lol).

 

[Antares JS]

(secret to doing well is writing about what the teacher thinks the story is about, not what you think lol).

Which is why I loathed English classes.

 

[KenECoyote]

Actually, one of the better insights I read about was how with Godzilla Minus One, the overall theme of U.S./Atomic weapons bad changed to include one of admitting Japan's faults during WWII (which for decades they seemed to simply ignore, deny, repaint) and to show that Kamikaze pilots did the wrong thing... it was better to survive and live than to mindlessly give up your life for something that didn't make sense (and was wrong) because of blind duty.

Being Chinese (born in Hong Kong, brought to the U.S. as a baby) and growing up with parents that simply loathed the Japanese for what they did in WWII (read "The Rape of Nanking"), this was really an incredible change for me and looong overdue.

 

[Azamiryou]

(Quoting HistoryVortex)
Godzilla's very name emphasizes the monster's foreign nature. Gojira, as he is called in Japan, has his name spelled in katakana, the written characters used in Japan to represent foreign words.

Almost all animal names are written in katakana in Japanese, even if they are historically Japanese words and have kanji.

Gojira (ゴジラ) is a portmanteau of gorira (ゴリラ, "gorilla") and kujira (クジラ, 鯨, "whale"). Although gorira is a loan word, kujira is not.

In other words, the use of katakana has nothing to do with Godzilla being "foreign", it's just the way you usually write animal names in Japanese (and the way you usually write the two animal names that were combined to make "gojira").

 

[KenECoyote]

"However, American audiences saw a different film when it was brought stateside as “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” roughly two years later, Tsutsui said. The movie was heavily edited, placing the white actor Raymond Burr at the center of the adaptation. The scholar noted that an estimated 20 minutes of the original Japanese film, predominantly the politically charged portions, were cut out of the American version."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-...r-hiroshima-hollywood-whitewashed-it-n1236165
So there you have it. Originally there was a pretty strong political statement (in the first Godzilla movie), but it was edited to be less so for the U.S. audience and to focus more on the entertainment.

 

[JoePfeiffer]

Don’t over think this….its a story about a big radioactive lizard…..bad atoms, bad lizard…good giant moth.

I understand people who want to shut their brains off and be entertained -- there are times I do that myself. What I don't understand is criticizing people who want more.

 

[icyclops]

This is an extremely narrow minded point of view. Just because a story has fantastical or campy elements such as giant monsters, giant piloted robots, or space wizards, it doesn't mean there is nothing to the story beyond the surface level.

who said that? Always love those who criticize others for their thoughts…narrow minded runs both ways I’m afraid.

 

[icyclops]

I understand people who want to shut their brains off and be entertained -- there are times I do that myself. What I don't understand is criticizing people who want more.

No ones shutting their frog brain off…who criticized who? Like many I think you are over thinking this to a frenzy. Geeezzzz

 

[icyclops]

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Sure thing, and what about Ultraman….so many great Japanese shows, so little time. If you watch a lot of big monster shows from Japan you may see a common thread In their cinematic greatness….not everything is such high brow…

 

[KenECoyote]

Sure thing, and what about Ultraman….so many great Japanese shows, so little time. If you watch a lot of big monster shows from Japan you may see a common thread In their cinematic greatness….not everything is such high brow…

I actually agree!

My favorite movies include Evil Dead, Starship Troopers, Alien, Terminator and zombie movies.

Not every movie has underlying meanings and movies are generally meant to entertain.

However, it doesn't mean that the writers didn't mean to convey underlying messages or make overt statements. In fact, Starship Troopers actually had a lot of that (I've also read the book). Terminator also seems to be a clear warning about technology.

BTW - I didn't watch G -1 for any messages or statements, I just watched it for enjoyment and it delivered that in spades.

 

[KenECoyote]

https://wornandwound.com/citizen-dr...70th-anniversary-of-the-king-of-the-monsters/

 

[Antares JS]

who said that?

You did. People were talking about the movie's possible subtext and then you chimed in with...

Don’t over think this….its a story about a big radioactive lizard…..bad atoms, bad lizard…good giant moth.

 

[JoePfeiffer]

No ones shutting their frog brain off…who criticized who? Like many I think you are over thinking this to a frenzy. Geeezzzz

The term "over thinking" is a criticism.

 

[icyclops]

…

 

[icyclops]

ooops, maybe overthinking is criticizing too. Sorry.

 

[icyclops]

The term "over thinking" is a criticism.

It sucks to be arrested by the criticism police

 

[Donnager]

It sucks to be arrested by the criticism police

I don't believe the punishment is very harsh.