I finally bought the collector's edition of "Rodan" and "War of the Gargantuans". Thanks, Classic Media. Damn, what a good way to waste $25 bucks but the movies are so good it was totally worth it. The DVD is of good quality, although lacking the usual special features I was expecting. I was really hoping to hear the G-experts view on the two films but there is a nice hour-long documentary included. "Bringing Godzilla down to size" tells the complex story of Godzilla's rise to fame and tragic fall, yet soon return. "War of the Gargantuans", another Honda-flick, is a real treat, the unofficial sequel to "Frankenstein Conquers the World". With practically the same production team, the film is pretty damn good. Odako ( the giant octopus) is great in this movie. The last time I saw him was what, 62', back in "King Kong vs. Godzilla"? Sanda and Gailah are a nice break from the onslaught of reptilian and insect monsters, both looking nice and thankfully realistic. The "brother's" conflict is an interesting part of the story, and, like "Rodan", the human carnage really gives a more adult feeling while watching. We see some great action sequences, this movie starring the Maser tank, which will star in the exact same scene in "Godzilla vs. Megalon" thanks to horrendous stock-footage. Because of their "human" appearance and characteristics, the gargantuans can interact with the protagonist in a way a giant dinosaur, three-headed dragon, or giant moth just can't. This film is also one of the few to star an American actor, who fits in nicely. The music is dope, Ifukube delivering a nice and dark score. He even includes a spunky JSDF march, as he did in many of Honda's "Golden Age" movies, a nice edition. To be clear this American version was better than "Rodan"'s, but once again the score is heavily edited, not even including the JSDF theme at all! Either way, that annoying song at the nightclub is included, but seeing as Gailah kills the braud I'll let it go. As I watched it, one can't help but feel such disappointment with Godzilla. After "Invasion of Astro-Monster", the series went to total crap thanks to Jun Fukuda and the crappy scores. 1967, "War of the Gargantuans" was released, compared to "Son of Godzilla". Damn...... If Toho had simply let Honda continue doing the films without the sacrifice of the serious tone for a childish one that soon became played out; maybe Godzilla would've never even had to cut his Showa era short. Just a thought that was on my mind. Back to the 2-disc set, damn, good work Classic Media.
Review of The War of the Gargantuas
