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Godzilla (1998)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 12:39 am    Post subject: Godzilla (1998) Reply with quote



In the late 1990s I developed a survival skill that saved my sanity.

Whenever the missus turned into a raging monster and started roaring at me for real-or-imagined offenses, I would make a strategic retreat from the house, rather than make the mistake the Japanese military often did — waste ammunition in pointless combat with a fearsome foe that couldn't be stopped.

And whenever I used this brilliant defense, I'd make a bee-line for the local cinema and pick a movie from the 24 titles on the marquee. There was always something playing that was much better than staying home and being eaten alive. Shocked

So, that's how I happened to see Godzilla for the first time — and part of why I loved it.

But this movie would have won my heart even if it hadn't saved me from verbal dismemberment, because it fixed all the things about the legendary Japanese monster that had always bothered me — the chunky shape, the plodding walk, the apparent need to find a major city and lower the property values to zero just because he liked the feel of architecture between his toes.





Roland Emmerich's Godzilla has style, he's got class, he's got feet like Fred Astair's that allow him to outrun Blackhawk helicopters and swan dive into the East River so neatly that the Olympic judges would hold up signs with 10s straight across the board.

Godzilla would earn the Gold Metal in the swimming competition, too, gliding around underwater and dodging torpedoes like a bullfighter. Poetry in motion, this guy was, and I knew that all those beloved Harryhausen monsters had finally met their match.






So, ladies and gentlemen, that's my Godzilla story — a tale of rescued sanity and raging behemoths. I'm forever grateful to the Big Green Lizard.

If you find yourself under attack from a "significantly hostile other", just grab your DVD of this movie and find comfort in the arms of a caring and sympathetic monster.
Very Happy
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Dec 12, 2022 3:11 pm; edited 9 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I love this movie, but all the trailers were just annoying. They employed that technique which involves quick scenes separated by a dark screen. I hate that crap.

But these two were not just scenes from the movie, they were original shorts, and they're funny.
Very Happy


__________ Godzilla (1998) teaser A - 'Museum'


__________________



__________ Godzilla -1998 New years eve Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 1:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Big G in Godzilla (1998) was originally that of artist William Stout:



The Big G in Godzilla (2014) was hard to see because of the studio's insistence on secrecy and poor colorization (as well as a completely stupid story).

However MoreMax (part of the CineMax group that I get on DirecTV) showed a new print in which both the color and brightness were corrected.

This time the studio actually used Bill's design:



I wish that TOHO, Ltd. would use Bill's design.

Why am I posting this here? Centropolis Entertainment and TriStar Pictures both divisions of Sony Pictures [the producers of Godzilla (1998)] are planning a sequel but want to use Bill's design.

In addition Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. [the producers of Godzilla (2014)] are planning a sequel and are also using Bill's design!

Won't this be confusing?

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 10:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

What I loved about Godzilla (1998) was his wonderful speed and agility.

What I don't like about the original GLOBzilla is his plodding obesity. The design above is also a few hundred tons overweight. Sad

I just think Godzilla should look less like this —





— and more like this.




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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 2:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also preferred the scale of the 1998 version. It skirted the upper limit of the inverse square size / inverse cube volume / inverse-to-the-4th mass laws. The 2014 version (as indeed ANY of the Japanese versions) are way to large.

If a new Godzilla Vs King Kong is made with the 2014 Godzilla then what are we going to see? The Big G stepping on Kong and wondering where the monkey-poo came from?

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alltare
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Who is "Bill"? (see above)

Apparently, a lot of people think Godzilla 98 is a bad movie, but it's my favorite version by far. Good actors, good FX, best lizard, and a bit of humor made it a very watchable movie.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

The "Bill" which Butch referred to is William Stout. He states earlier that Wiillian Stout's design was used in the recent Godzilla. However, that doesn't seem to be strictly true based on the diorama below.

I Googled "artist Willian Stout+Godzilla" and found this.



Sculptor Shawn Nagle's diorama using William Stout's Godzilla designs.

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MetroPolly
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally, people who aren't Godzilla purists.

Frankly, I like this remake. I do have a couple gripes about it (the human casting and the runtime mainly), but nothing but praise about ol'Godzi. Like Bud said, lean, active, and better adapted for the plot than the slab of lizard skin from the original, or, heaven help us, the newest version, which definitely too big to be believable.

I saw the new one in theaters and felt it was a waste of money. And I'm not just saying that cause they found another way to trash the Bay Area.
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bulldogtrekker
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I bought Godzilla (1998) new, not used, DVD at Big Lots today......for $1.50.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 26, 2017 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

What a bargain! A great movie at any price! Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I found some nice trivia items on IMDB, starting with this funny one about Matthew Broderick. Very Happy
________________________________

In a television interview, Matthew Broderick said that the entire cast were given wet suits to wear underneath their costumes while filming in Hawaii. He was upset because his wet suit zipped up in the back, which made it difficult to put on every day. One day during a break in filming, he was talking with co-star Hank Azaria, who had his shirt off, revealing a wet suit that zipped up in front. Broderick remarked, "Oh, your wet suit zips up in front." Puzzled, Azaria replied, "They ALL zip up in front." Broderick had been putting his wet suit on backwards every day.

Note from me: Once a Ferris Bueller, always a Ferris Bueller.

Roland Emmerich admitted that he did not like the original Godzilla movies - he only agreed to the project after being promised to be able to do what ever he wanted with the series.

Note from me: This explains two things: Why Roland changed the design of Godzilla (which I don't like either), and why I like this movie so much! Very Happy

Despite the less-than-expected box office performance, this film still made more money worldwide than any other American movie based on a foreign film. It held this record until Godzilla (2014) claimed it 16 years later, although accounting for inflation, this movie still made more.

Note from me: And that item is for the folks out there who think the movie was a flop. HA! And consider the trivia item above in relation to the next one.Laughing

Although often called a box-office bomb in America and also known to have under-performed in other places as well, the movie was highly successful and profitable in a lot of international markets, which helped it become the third highest-grossing movie of 1998.

In some countries where the Japanese Godzilla franchise is unknown due to those movies not having been released there, it is still regarded as a classic monster movie.

And while the monster has famously been renamed to Zilla due to bearing little to no resemblance to the original Godzilla, and is commonly bashed by American and Japanese Godzilla fans alike, it is actually the default and by far the best recognized depiction of Godzilla in other countries, whereas the original Godzilla character is seen as inferior and laughable.


Note from me: Clearly the awesome design of Godzilla in this move is appreciated by intelligent people world wide!

Mayor Ebert and his assistant Gene are spoofs of the late film critics Roger Ebert and his partner Gene Siskel (who would pass away less than a year after the film's release).

This is in response to the duo giving negative reviews to Emmerich and Devlin's earlier films Stargate (1994) and Independence Day (1996). The film also co-opted the duo's trademarked "Thumbs Up" gesture from their various television shows by depicting Mayor Ebert's campaign as "Thumbs Up for New York!" and Gene later disapproving of his decision to exploit the disaster by giving him a thumbs down

When the actual Siskel and Ebert reviewed the film on their show, it received two thumbs down and Gene Siskel commented on being spoofed in the film; he said it was "petty" and asked the filmmakers "if you're going to go through the trouble of putting us in a monster movie, why don't you at least take advantage of having the monster either eat or squash us". The duo would later name the film as one of their worst films of 1998.


Note from me: Jeez, some guys can NOT take a joke, eh? Rolling Eyes

The film's first teaser trailer began appearing in theater a full year before the film was released. The trailer contained a shot of Godzilla's foot coming through the roof of a museum and crushing a T-Rex skeleton. This scene was cut from the final version of the movie. It cost $600,000.


__________ Godzilla (1998) teaser A - 'Museum'

__________



Note from me: I love the way this is a subtle dig at Jurassic Park. Kinda like saying, "King of the dinosaurs, my ass!" Shocked

The original plans called for two sequels to be produced. These plans were scrapped due to the poor reception of this film.

Note from me: This just breaks my heart. I loved this movie, and the sequels would (I'm sure) have been awesome. Sad

The policeman seen during Godzilla's arrival is the same policeman (both played by same actor) seen suddenly leaving his patrol car in the middle of an intersection in Independence Day (1996)

Note from me: Wow, talk about inter-film continuity!

An animated series called Godzilla: The Series (1998) was made which continued the storyline of the film. In the series, Tatopoulos accidentally discovers the egg that survived the destruction of the nest. The creature hatches and imprints on Nick as its parent.

Note from me: This idea is a bit inconsistent with the scenes in the movie which show several babies hatch out and then try eat poor Nick Tatopoulos!

The elevator music in a scene with Matthew Broderick is "Danke Schoen", which Broderick lip-syncs in a memorable scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986).

Note from me: What a nice tribute to Matthew's signature role!

Toho Studios gave the American creators a 75-page dossier of what they can and cannot do with Godzilla's character. This included the following rules:

1. Godzilla cannot eat people, only fish.

2. He has to have three rows of dorsal plates.

3. No more or less than three toes on his feet and four fingers on his hands.

4. He cannot be made to look silly.

5. He cannot die in the movie

Almost all of these points were disregarded, and according to Patrick Tatopoulos, the only specific instructions Roland Emmerich gave him was that Godzilla should be able to run incredibly fast.


Note from me: Oh, this is rich! Devlin and Emmerich disregarded this crap and —

(1) had Godzilla's babies gobble up Frenchmen like escargot,

(2) have two rows of lethal-looking hook-shaped dorsal plates,

(3) (The one about three toes they DID do),

(4) made the new one look GREAT when the original is the one that looks SILLY, for God's sake and,

(5) allowed Godzilla to die magnificently in the climax!

And yet, this next trivia item is puzzling when considered in relation to the above info.

Tohp Co. Ltd., the Japanese film studio that owns the rights to Godzilla agreed to allow an American version to be made, but only if the US studio followed a set of guidelines in order for the film to properly "capture the spirit of Godzilla"; both Script and Creature Design were immediately approved and, according to Patrick Tatopoulos in the making of Book of the film, the members of Toho Co. Ltd. were impressed with his sketches of the final design.

Note from me: Wow. I wonder if all that is true. If this next one is accurate, then I guess maybe the previous one is correct!

In response to the backlash against the movie and Japanese audiences being offended over the American reimagining of "their" monster, Toho spokesman Masahiko Suzuki deemed their reaction hypocritical, reasoning that prior to the movie's release, Japanese people had lambasted the original Godzilla movies as well.

Note from me: ありがとう, 日本 (Arigatō, Nihon!) Translation: Thanks, Japan

The first sequence of the AH64-Apache gunships hunting Godzilla through the streets references both Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) with the line "Echo 4 to Echo Base" and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) with "He's right on my tail! I can't shake him!" Both lines were spoken by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

Note from me: By gum, I knew those lines were intentional Star Wars tributes! Bravo! Very Happy

Matthew Broderick's character's name is Dr. Niko Tatopoulos, because Godzilla's (1998) designer and supervisor is Patrick Tatopoulos.

Note from me: Nice touch. Very Happy

]Many people believe that the failure of this movie single-handedly ruined the giant monster genre for several years, but another reimagining of a classic creature-feature that came out the same year, Mighty Joe Young (1998), bombed much worse and made American audiences turn away from the genre.

Many foreign markets, where the movie actually was a success, continued fruitlessly waiting for the never-produced sequel, confused as to why none ever came.


Note from me: For the record, I ALSO love Mighty Joe Young, and I can't imagine why it wasn't a blockbuster hit as well!

Damn, it seems like there are more clueless people who don't know a good movie when they see it than there are intelligent people who recognize a finely crafted film that should be praised! Rolling Eyes

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 8:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At least it wasn't a man in a monster suit!

That has NEVER worked convincingly in ANY movie involving out-sized creatures!
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MetroPolly
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PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2017 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's one for you. I got a chance to watch Beast from 20,000 Fathoms last night, and I couldn't help noticing that there are more than a few similarities between it and the '98 Godzilla. Nothing major, but subtle things, like location and the pacing of the plot.

Just wanted to see if anybody else noticed that or I'm nuts.
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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Fri May 05, 2017 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good old TBS gave us a good monsterfest last night!
There was some similarity in the pacing I think.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 06, 2017 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Interesting idea, guys! Being a big fan of both movies, an analysis and comparison of the two will be fun. That said . . . here we go!
________________________________

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - A dinosaur is resurrected in the arctic by an atomic test.



___________


Godzilla (1998) - The iguanas in the South Pacific are mutated by several atomic tests.





Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The revived dinosaur is drawn to the New York area because it was once a major breeding ground for its species.

Godzilla (1998) - The mutated monster is drawn to New York because it's an island covered in tall structures which make it easy to hide in while it lays its eggs.

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus comes ashore at the New York City frieght docks.






Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla comes ashore at a small wooden fishing dock.

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus wanders into the streets of the city, terrorizing the citizens and flattening cars.






Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla strides into the New York streets, crushing vehicles and causing panic.





Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus is attacked by a squad of shotgun-armed policemen who cause it to flee by crashing into the side of a building and emerging on the next street over.





Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla is attacked by military helicopters which pursue it until the monster crashes into a building and then ambushes the choppers by bursting from the building behind them.

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurs is fired on by heavy artillary, but the shells only inflict minor damage.

Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla is fired on by heavy artillery and missiles, but he is so agile he evades the larger weapons fire.

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus is reported to have gone into the Hudson river and escaped for a period of time.






Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla dives into the Hudson River (a GREAT scene) and outmaneuvers several submarines.





Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus unexpectedly comes ashore at Coney Island, surprising the military.

Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla surprises the audience (including me when I first saw the movie, because I thought the movie was over) by tunneling from the river bottom of the Hudson to the ruins of Madison Square Gardens after the building has been destroyed by missiles Shocked

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus makes its last stand amidst the complex structure of the Coney Island roller coaster.






Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla makes his last stand atop the complex structure of the Brooklyn Bridge.





Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus is slain by firing a radioactive bullet into his open wound while a large crowd watches from outside the park.

Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla is slain by several volleys of missiles fired into his flanks while a large crowd watches from the end of the bridge.

Beast from 20,000 Fathoms - The rhedosaurus has a long and dramatic death scene, skillfully animated by Harryhausen to give the monster a tragic demise.

Godzilla (1998) - Godzilla has a long and dramatic death scene, in which he finally collapses within a few yards of the main characters while they actually look into each other's eyes in the final moments of his demise!
________________________________

My love for Godzilla (1998) has always been heavily influenced by the obvious fact that it was the modern equivalent of Beast from 20,000 Fathoms! It is the noble descendant of that great movie.

Thanks, MetroPolly, for making us aware that there are indeed similarities between these two great movies.Very Happy

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Jan 09, 2024 3:34 pm; edited 6 times in total
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