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Godzilla Cinematic Universe Thread


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9 minutes ago, Gistech said:

 

It is, yes. "Looking For A Truck" from about 2:15.

 

I... like it.  And then of course I had to look this up.

 

 

I like that too.  Always fun to discover something you've always been dismissive of is actually good.

 

 

What are the coolest variations/arrangements from over the years of that theme?

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5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

I... like it.  And then of course I had to look this up.

 

 

I like that too.  Always fun to discover something you've always been dismissive of is actually good.

 

 

What are the coolest variations/arrangements from over the years of that theme?

 

Ifukube was pretty consistent with his orchestration of that theme whenever he scored it though there were variations of it throughout the films and some of the films he scored didn't use it at all. In the films it does appear, it's much like the way Jerry Goldsmith treated his Star Trek: The Motion Picture theme. I'd say the best variation of it is in his last Godzilla score, Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah, for the end credits. The end credits arrangement also includes his King Kong theme.

 

 

Going back to an earlier point about Godzilla appearing 'fat', here are two Japanese Godzillas:

 

o9JgxFB.jpg

zyUGCMK.jpg

 

I'd say they both seem more 'fat' than the Legendary one.

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To me, the best recording of the Godzilla March is on the Godzilla vs Mothra '92 soundtrack. I liked how he replaced a lot of the percussion in favour of deep horns, which gave this version some colour and variety.

 

The versions recorded for Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla '93 and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah are okay, but not my go-to ones.

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So if I was thinking about watching a Japanese one, would that Shin Godzilla movie from 2016 be a good place to start?  It's a reboot right?  I don't really feel like delving into the full series, I just want a good place to start and if I decide I'm interested maybe one day I could go backwards.

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Just now, Disco Stu said:

So if I was thinking about watching a Japanese one, would that Shin Godzilla movie from 2016 be a good place to start?  It's a reboot right?  I don't really feel like delving into the full series, I just want a good place to start and if I decide I'm interested maybe one day I could go backwards.

 

Yeah, Shin Godzilla is great! You'll have fun with it.

 

The earlier ones I think you can avoid are Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon. I kid thee not, you'll be bored shitless.

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1 minute ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

Yeah, Shin Godzilla is great! You'll have fun with it.

 

It's the start of a new series, right?  With planned sequels and the whole cinematic universe thang?

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I haven't actually seen any Godzilla movies, only the excellent Godzillathon by James Rolfe where he goes through every single one until 2004:

 

If you have time, watch through to get a feel of the different series and maybe pick a few to watch. Don't recommend doing so in a single sitting, though, your head will explode from the cheesy awesomeness. I'll also start with Shin Godzilla maybe even today.

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Shin Godzilla and Godzilla 1954 are both very good films to watch, definitely.

 

You have to bear in mind that the original three eras are distinct: they all share the 1954 film as their starting point (though the Millennium films - "Godzilla 2000" onwards - tend to alter the 1954 film) but are not otherwise related to each other. The Showa era is known more for its campy style in which Godzilla becomes a hero. The Heisei era keeps very true to the ideas of the original film in that while Godzilla can be heroic, it's no friend to humans and would just as soon as destroy them just to get to its objective. It lacks the campiness of the Showa films. The Millennium era tends to be a bit of a blend of both and as seen as something of an experimental era for Godzilla. For the most part, the Millennium films hold no continuity with each other (apart from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Tokyo SOS).

 

The current 'post-2014' era (I personally think of it as 'Millennium Continued') carries on with the experimental style. Shin Godzilla is the first, while there is a new anime Godzilla trilogy with two films currently out and another in production for later this year.

 

5 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

 

It's the start of a new series, right?  With planned sequels and the whole cinematic universe thang?

 

Shin Godzilla is a standalone even if it does have an open ending. There are no sequels currently planned. After 2020, Toho will be rebooting again for its own 'cinematic universe'.

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Just now, Disco Stu said:

I gather from the soundtrack that it features a lot of original Ifukube music tracked in?

 

For Shin Godzilla? Yes, they chose to track in some of Ifukube's music.

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I'm a Filmstruck subscriber, a streaming service that's a joint venture between Turner Classic Movies and The Criterion Collection.  And lookie lookie :) 

 

image.png

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39 minutes ago, Cherry Pie That'll Kill Ya said:

 

Yeah, Shin Godzilla is great! You'll have fun with it.

 

The earlier ones I think you can avoid are Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon. I kid thee not, you'll be bored shitless.

 

Oh god. I know people complain about Godzilla 98 and Godzilla 14, but The Smog Monster is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. My friends and I have coined it "Godzilla Vs The Giant Flying Dump"

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34 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

I gather from the soundtrack that it features a lot of original Ifukube music tracked in?

 

Wait hold the phone--you watched Jaws 2 and not Shin Godzilla? 

 

The tracked music is double-edged for me: they're really effective outside of the obvious clash of sound quality, but there's the part of me that's thinking "Aw man, I wish they did something original here." Both film and score still have a strong identity, though. You can definitely tell this is a live action film directed by a dude in animation. 

 

One thing that composer Sagisu inherited from Ifukube very well was how big and gutsy he made the brass sound, which can be a difficult thing to pull off (bunch of instruments on same notes playing ffffffffff does not make things truly loud or full). John Williams has payed tribute to this sound several times with scores like Lost World and War of the Worlds.

 

Also, Ifukube was a legit, prolific composer in his own right, you should check him out!

 

 

 

He wrote this when I think he was 24.

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They were supposed to remaster the Ifukube material for Shin Godzilla but apparently it proved too time-consuming and daunting: the method they went with was to record certain orchestral sections anew and layer them over the mono material. You can hear the method in action in the Terror of Mechagodzilla piece on the Japanese OST.

 

TBH, I would have just re-recorded the pieces entirely so that the music quality is consistent.

 

I've heard it said that Ifukube was Japan's answer to John Williams (cue the backlash!) but to me he was much more like Jerry Goldsmith.

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TBH I never saw the original Japanese version of Godzilla (1954) until recently, (took me long enough ;)). Great movie indeed. :up:

 

When I was younger, far younger I saw the American version w/Raymond Burr and thought hmmm this doesn't look right :blink:.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, shockwave said:

TBH I never saw the original Japanese version of Godzilla (1954) until recently, (took me long enough ;)). Great movie indeed. :up:

 

When I was younger, far younger I saw the American version w/Raymond Burr and thought hmmm this doesn't look right :blink:.

 

 

 

That's funny because for years in the 90s, the original Japanese version was the easiest to see since it was aired often on SBS, our foreign language channel. The Raymond Burr version seemed to be an elusive item for a long time, not having a mainstream VHS release until 1998.

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Most of the Japanese movies aren't even available over here. The 1954 film, the English dub of King Kong Vs Godzilla, Shin Godzilla and the two anime movies (via Netflix) are available but no others.

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Two more images from King of the Monsters alongside the two already posted.

 

http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/957489-all-hail-the-king-first-godzilla-sequel-photos-debut#/slide/3

 

One of them is just the Mothra mural, but the other one is interesting: it's clearly supposed to be the Oxygen Destroyer from the 1954 film.

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Figured I'd post the EW pictures here in the thread for people.  The other in the coming soon link are in one of those slide shows where you can't open the photo in a new tab.

 

Spoiler

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gz_321675328712918309321.jpg&w=2200&q=70

 

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Zilla was fit.

 

3 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

Figured I'd post the EW pictures here in the thread for people.  The other in the coming soon link are in one of those slide shows where you can't open the photo in a new tab.

 

  Hide contents

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gz_321675328712918309321.jpg&w=2200&q=70

 

 

Mrs. Bates?

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This image leaked out yesterday too. This is said to be Rodan's design in KOTM. Faithful yet new, like Godzilla.

 

Spoiler

Rodan_KOTM.jpg

 

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If that design is really the new Rodan then a huge thumbs up from me.

 

And if it isn’t, where can I get one?

 

Also noticed Godzilla’s dorsal fins appear to be slightly altered to look more similar to the Japanese films.

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Who do you think should score King of the Monsters? I'm leaning towards Giacchino and really because of his score to JWFK and the fact he would almost certainly use past themes. As a test I put parts of the JWFK score to the atomic breath scene from Shin Godzilla and it works. Really, really well. Shame I can't upload it because if I put it on YouTube, Toho will block it immediately.

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As long as one of those geeks is capable of churning out at least one good theme without background noises like a washing machine, I don't care.

 

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I know the poster says may 2019, but it really LOOKS like it says May 2018 until you stop and examine it

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