Godzilla 1985 40th Anniversary Retrospective (Fanbase Feature Crossover)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Scree hello and welcome to Geek History Lesson. I am
Ashley Victoria Robinson and if you know me, the sound
effect already told you what this episode is about. So, friends,
I know, I know, I know. You're like, when is
Jason coming back? I'm dying for Jason to come back.
I'm sorry, friends, but you're gonna have to hold out
a little teeny tiny bit longer. He is still sidekicking

(00:38):
Holmes's ultimate sidekick over at you Hop. So this week
we have a very special episode for you with some
special friends who are going to make us all feel
better that Jason isn't here. Not only are you going
to get to hear me on this episode, but you
are going to get to hear the president and smartest
people and thought leaders behind fan Base Press Bryant Dylan,

(00:59):
and we are also joined by Dave Baxter, the host
of the Wine and podcast, and Jack Phoenix, librarian and writer,
to discuss the iconic nineteen eighty five American remake of Godzilla.
If you are new here, Godzilla is one of my
favorite things in the entire world. It's a franchise that

(01:19):
we have had past episodes on here that you can
check out and I got a chance to revisit this
as part of the fan Base feature series from the
good folks over at fan Base Press and Bryant Dylan,
again president of fan Base Press, incredible writer in his
own right, including Something Animal and Identity Thief, kindly allowed
us to share our amazing discussion with you, So gear

(01:41):
up for this exhabitation of Godzilla nineteen eighty five.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Hey, this is John Lamon, writer of Chew, and you
are entering the fan Base.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Hello.

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Everyone, welcome to a new episode of the fan Base
Weekly podcast. This is a special edition of our show
as we're conducting a panel discussion on the fortieth anniversary
of the feature film Godzilla nineteen eighty five. Now, before
I get to my wonderful panel, I do want to
note that all episodes of the fan Base Weekly podcast
this month are sponsored by the digital comics app Comics

(02:16):
dot one.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
We're honored to have Comics.

Speaker 4 (02:18):
As a sponsor and to look forward to sharing details about
that app with you later in the show. For anyone
that doesn't know, I'm Brian Dylan. I am co founder
of fan Base Press. I'm also co host of the
podcast The fan Base Weekly, and I'm the writer behind
several projects including Something Animal and Identy Thief. I will
be your moderator for this discussion, so let me go
ahead and introduce my fellow panelists.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
First up, we got Ashley V.

Speaker 4 (02:41):
Robinson, a three time Ringo nominated comic book writer whose
credits include Jupiter Jet and Aurora and the Eagle. Ashley
is also the co host of the Geek History Lesson podcast. Ashley,
welcome back to the show. Always a pleasure to have you.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
I just want to say that I'm also very excited
to be talking Godzilla for the second time with you
us saying it's a comeback or a series.

Speaker 4 (03:02):
It definitely could two years in a row now so exactly.
We are also joined once again by Jack Phoenix. He's
a librarian and a writer as well as author of
the School Library j Journal, star reviewed book Maximizing the
Impact of Comics, graphic novels, manga and more, and he
recently immigrated to Toronto, Ontario with his husband to quats

(03:27):
and boxes of comic books.

Speaker 5 (03:30):
Jack, welcome back, Hi, thanks for having me.

Speaker 4 (03:35):
And we are joined by a final returning guest, David Baxter,
host of the weekly podcast Entertainment, where he pairs wines
with entertainment, often with guests from both the wine and
entertainment industries.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
As the logline says.

Speaker 4 (03:50):
We always know what we like, or we always know
what we like or dislike, but we rarely know why.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
So what better way to.

Speaker 4 (03:58):
Learn about that than by comparing different lines to different
types of entertainment and compare how they both hit us
and affect us the way that they do. Dave, welcome
to back to the show.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
You know, from dinosaurs to aliens to dinosaurs and now
finally over to Kaiju.

Speaker 3 (04:14):
It's all little critter.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Or big critters. It's all big critters. That's all I
ever talk about with you.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
But I love it.

Speaker 4 (04:19):
Creatures, creatures, creatures. We'll keep the trend going.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Well. I'll throw out a spoiler warning.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
This film has been out there for a while forty
years now, but if you are saving yourself for Godzilla
nineteen eighty five, please come back after you have seen
the film. Let's talk about Godzilla nineteen eighty five briefly,
just the behind the history scenes. It is obviously a
nineteen eighty five Kaiju film. It's directed by R. J.

(04:49):
Kaiser and Koju Koji Hashimoto. The film is a heavily
re edited American localization of the Japanese film The Return
of Godzilla, which was produced into distributed by Toho Pictures
in nineteen eighty four, and, in addition to the film
being recut, retitled, and dubbed in English, Godzilla nineteen eighty
five featured additional footage produced by New Excuse me, New

(05:13):
World Pictures, with Raymond Burr reprising his role as the
American journalist Steve Martin from the nineteen fifty six film Godzilla,
King of the Monsters, which ironically itself was also a
heavily re edited American adaptation of the nineteen fifty four
Japanese film Godzilla. I'm going to turn actually to my panelists.

(05:34):
I'm sort of coming out of left field with this,
but the plot summary that I had for this film made.

Speaker 3 (05:42):
Me instantly have a question.

Speaker 4 (05:43):
So I was like, well, I will I will do
a group plot summary for those who are trying to
figure out this film. This film features the return of Godzilla,
but do you all interpret that it's the return of
the same Godzilla from the original film or is it
a Godzilla that returns.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
We know the answer to that, We don't I don't
have my I don't have a camera on, but I
am wearing glasses and I'm gonna um.

Speaker 6 (06:12):
Actually, because there is a point.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
In the movie where they say this is like we
we don't know what happened to Godzilla.

Speaker 6 (06:18):
I'm like, there's patently false.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
Yeah, no, what happens at the end of the birth
there are multiple like we are so many Godzilla's deep
at this point.

Speaker 5 (06:26):
So, yeah, Raymond birth character in the America and Godzilla
I today five, Raymond birth character says, in thirty years ago,
they never found any corpse.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Okay, all right.

Speaker 5 (06:37):
So but then the in the Return to Godzilla, which
obviously this is derived from, they make it pretty clear,
they heavily hint. They make it pretty clear that it
is a new Godzilla. Yeah, that has appeared.

Speaker 3 (06:50):
Can I just say too? Is a fun point of history.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
The second Godzilla movie ever made the original sequel to
the original movie all the way back in the nineteen fifties. Yeah,
they did make it a different Godzilla. They made a
point to say that, like it was not the original
returning that one was dead and gone, and that's the
Godzilla we actually followed all the way to the end
of the seventies, not the Godzilla from the original movie,

(07:13):
and now this is if it is the return of
the og Godzilla, this is the first one that ever
Wall Jill, you mean Gigantis the fire Monster.

Speaker 1 (07:21):
But if you if you want to, if you want
to lay your your hat on ret cons and messy
continuity at the foot of Western comics, let me tell you,
friends have Godzilla and the James Bond franchise got them
so far beat.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
I love it.

Speaker 4 (07:38):
It's so chaotic in its own way, but so and
I think we talked about this last time. Actually, it's
so interesting in the way that it almost increases like
sort of a legendary status of it because it feels
like it feels like a real legend where there isn't
a thought out canon or chronology. It's just these stories
that come from here and there, and sort of it's.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
Like a game of elephone, right, it just changes from
culture to culture, from person to person, from group to group.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Yeah, it's really ultimately, which is I think where you
have to say that this adaptation of the film and
the original Japanese identity for theatrical cut comes from. It
doesn't matter, It does not matter your head canon is
what matters which Godzilla this is how many Godzillas they are?

Speaker 6 (08:20):
Are they all called Godzilla? Like sure, Jan why not?

Speaker 1 (08:25):
The most important thing that I hope we really drilled
out on is the portrayal of the Americans, because boy
does it feel timely?

Speaker 3 (08:31):
Oh yes, oh yes. Well, and going back to.

Speaker 4 (08:36):
My description about, you know, the film itself, this is obviously,
in many ways like a soft reboot as much as
it's a sequel to the original Godzilla, whether we're talking
about the localization or the original Japanese film. But once
again with the American film, the nineteen eighty five version,

(08:57):
so much of the complexity of the political over tones
is sort of removed or turned in, sort of like
a very pro American version. And I definitely want to
hear what all of you had to say about revisiting
this film, But just before we get there, we did
have I do have a few of the critical responses.

(09:19):
When the film came out. Roger Ebert gave the film
officially one star and argued the film can only succeed
as a so bad it's good experience. So he said,
he feels that we were trying deliberately to create a
film where dialogue was consistently awful, the synchroarized, the lip

(09:40):
syncing wasn't synchronized, and there was inconsistency with Godzilla's size.
And then we have Vincent Candy of The New York Times.
He also panned the film. He basically focused mainly on
how it failed to update either its themes or special
effects from those scene in the nineteen fifties, and elaborated saying,

(10:01):
Godzilla quote still looks like a wind up toy, one
that moves like a arthritic toddler with a fondness for
walking through teeny tiny skyscrapers end quote. So I think
we're probably gonna have better opinions on this film than that.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
But everything that they are listening as a negative is
what I don't know about everyone else on the spanel,
but it is what I go to these Godzilla movies, like.

Speaker 6 (10:23):
All of this is a plus for me.

Speaker 4 (10:25):
Well, sort us off, Ashley, When did you first see
this film? What is it like revisiting it this year?

Speaker 1 (10:31):
When I first went to university and I was at
the height of my film snobbery, I got really into
the Godzilla mythos as a concept, and then I got
really into Matha. I think I told the story last
time about how I spent about five years pitching a
mathrias a feminist icon article that absolutely nobody would green
light for me. And this particular localization, which is not

(10:55):
the first nor the last time we will, unfortunately see
such a thing in the Godzilla franchise, is maybe one
of the more legendary versions, and it is horrific, and
that is exactly why it should be enjoyed to the fullest,
perhaps with your intoxicative choice, depending on the type of
person and the type of lifestyle that you lead.

Speaker 6 (11:11):
But I have a real softness for this.

Speaker 1 (11:15):
I don't love dubs generally speaking, but when you're given
no other choice, and when you look at it from
the point of view of this is what an Eastern
studio thinks a Western audience like. It's a very interesting
piece of history sort of under under many many layers
like that. So I have a huge fondness for it.

(11:36):
It's like two hours long.

Speaker 3 (11:38):
It's one of those movies.

Speaker 1 (11:39):
At any point if we're like, oh, you want to
watch Godzilla nine eighty five, be like absolutely ten out
of ten, and then we can watch the Pacific rim after.

Speaker 6 (11:45):
What more could you possibly want. It's not good, but
it's a good time.

Speaker 4 (11:50):
I feel like this became a beloved film for me
because it was the one that was at the video
rental store most available, you know, like the Guyzolla films available.
This was the one that was out on the shelf
at the time, and so I watched it a lot,
and I, you know, have the same kind of feelings
for that you have, Ashby Dave, What would you be

(12:13):
your take on this?

Speaker 3 (12:14):
When did you see it? And what do you think
this year revisiting?

Speaker 2 (12:19):
So I might be an outlier amongst the group here,
but like I didn't really.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
Grow up with too much Godzilla.

Speaker 2 (12:25):
I watched whatever was on TV at any given time,
and I never knew what actual movie that was, and
I would always just catch it in little bits and pieces.
I am sure I have seen Godzilla nineteen eighty five
or parts of it at some point in time, but
it was only recently in recent years, like within the
last five years, that I finally started to watch all
the new Blu ray releases of everything.

Speaker 4 (12:45):
You know.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
I've got the Criterion of the Shawa era, I've got
all the Blu rays of the Hesei of I'm probably
not pronouncing that correctly, but.

Speaker 3 (12:52):
The Heesi era, and of course the only one they
released was.

Speaker 2 (12:55):
Return of Godzilla, the Japanese version, not the American version.
So I watched that one, and this might have been
my first time actually watching Godzilla nineteen eighty five front
to back in my life.

Speaker 3 (13:10):
In fact, it took me a little while.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
When you sent about a week ago the email prepping
us for this podcast, was the first dawning realization you
didn't mean Return of Godzilla, and I was like, oh,
oh shit, I have to quickly legally procure Godzilla nineteen
eighty five because it's so available everywhere. So I did
and finally watched it twice through for the first time.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
So yeah, I got thoughts.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
But I am definitely more wed to the Japanese version
because I've just seen that more often, like the I
like the dourness. I'm actually a little stunned that when
I looked into the history of Godzilla nineteen eighty five,
the director was like, oh, the Japanese one was so campy.
Americans can't take that seriously, so now we have to
make a really campy movie. And I was like, did

(13:59):
you watch the same movie on w I don't know
the Doris Godzilla in like ten ten to twenty years
buddy like, but okay, So I mean it's it is
a good time, it is fun, it was hard, and
I do think there's a great idea at the core
of it. And I won't talk too much about this
yet because we're going to talk about in the main discussion,
but getting the whole world involved rather than localizing it

(14:23):
purely in Japan, because this is very much about you know,
Godzilla is a nuclear weapon metaphor, and now we're dealing
in a world by nineteen eighty five where nuclear weapons
are everywhere and every once got them. And that's a
big piece of what this movie is about, is updating
from the original. So I'll just leave it at that
for now.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
Though.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Also no pressure, Dave, but I think you're going to
have a very unique perspective coming into this fresh based Jill, I.

Speaker 3 (14:47):
I think so well. And I did.

Speaker 4 (14:49):
I almost did the reverse that you did, Dave. I
have seen nineteen eighty five over and over. I have
never seen the return of Godzilla, and I ended up
going onto HBO Max now was what was available, and
they said, you know what I've seen eighty five enough
times that I can talk about it. I'm gonna watch
this version, so I have both versions swimming around in
my head, you know recently as well. Now, Jack, what

(15:14):
are you What are your thoughts when did you watch
nineteen eighty five?

Speaker 3 (15:17):
What are your thoughts watching it today?

Speaker 5 (15:21):
This is one of the most important movies to me.

Speaker 3 (15:25):
So I was.

Speaker 5 (15:28):
I was like five years old when I went to
see this movie, and it was the first movie that
I ever saw in theaters. This is This began my
love of Godzilla, This began my love of dinosaurs, of horror,
of just you know. And I kept the poster for it,
which I shared with you recently that I did have

(15:49):
to I had to sacrifice for this move here to
to Canada, and it kind of broke my heart. But
I did find it a good home. But it's I
I absolutely love this movie so much. I mean, I know,
at my heart, like and I can't I do. Who
knows how many times I've watched it. I mean when
I'm just kind of feeling down or whatever, I just

(16:10):
I just pop it in and just like have it
play in the background. I love so much about it.
And I only watched the I had read the graphic
novelization of the Return of Godzilla, like back in the nineties.
I found a copy of that, so it kind of

(16:30):
filled in some gaps for me. That nineteen eighty five
leads in like the giant sealouse that you know has
a big appearance but then only gets a brief mentioned
by the Americans in this version, like that there's another
giant sealouse like washed up somewhere, and I was like,
what is it and why? You know, the Japanese version
gets into that a little bit more. But so I
did watch Return of Godzilla, the actual Japanese version, and

(16:54):
I was like, well, this isn't the same, Like this
doesn't even have a this isn't even a company by
Bandy versus Godzilla, Like this isn't this isn't the same
at all. But I still I still very much enjoyed it.
But there's something special about this one. I mean, just
in all its eighties wonderful corniness. I I just but

(17:16):
you know, my husband was watching it. I was watching
it rewatching it today and my husband kind of came
into the room and he was just like he heard
some of the dialogues, some of the geopolitical stuff, going on.
He was just like, huh, this is pretty good. And
I was like, right, like this is a good like
this is a solid movie. Like why why did they
everyone shot upon it back then and sometimes they get

(17:39):
shot upon today. I don't really get it, but you know,
I get some of it, but I just I love it.

Speaker 4 (17:45):
Well, Jack, why do you start us off then on
what you see as a standout scene in this film?

Speaker 3 (17:50):
What is uh? What is the scene for you? The hobo?

Speaker 5 (17:58):
Not a single other goddilla has ever given us that
perspective of like, you know, of someone taking advantage of
the goddilla attack like that and treating it. And that
also just emphasized that just really brought home this idea
of of Godzilla as natural disaster too. You know that
this is a disaster movie, and I love that this

(18:19):
movie is treated as a disaster movie. We can talk
about how corny it is all we want. That is
its framework, which also harkens back to the original, and
the original is often credited as the first disaster movie ever,
even though it's a giant monster. So I actually love
that scene. And it's also just that little bit of
comic relief that we need that we know that because

(18:42):
the whole movie, as you know they mentioned, is pretty dour,
and in the American version, it's the Americans that add
the comic relief until the hobo shows up and then
it's like, oh, it's great, so so for me that
that's it. Like I love that, And I also do
like the Raymond Burr scenes. I really like his his
performance specifically, it really stands out to me, even though

(19:06):
it's so obviously chopped. I mean, you know, but what
could they do or they get it's like super imposed them,
like you know, but that that and and Godzilla's roar
in this one, and the music, the music Godzilla's roar,
although those two things, it was like they were signaling

(19:26):
to the audience this is a very different Godzilla than
what you're used to, you know, like when we say
it's PG please, you know, parental guidance suggested like this
might be scary, and.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
I love that. Definitely agree.

Speaker 4 (19:41):
I feel like there's a real, uh, there's a very
established tone. If you grew up as as we did
a Jack with this as your Godzilla film, it sort
of sets what you expect I think from the from
the franchise going forward.

Speaker 3 (19:57):
Ashley, What's the standout scene for you in this film.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
I really love everything with the reporter duo, the hot
young guys in this, not least of all because they
are the hot young guys, but they give me the
type of there's in all of my favorite Gonzilla movies,
there's always a character who has a sense of wonder.

(20:22):
They're not always the same types of characters, but when
I think about the original film, it is the elder
scientist and his wonder is definitely represented as a big,
big respect and they these two sort of young guys
who we see running as exposition dumps from scene to scene.
They bring the kind of wonder that you have for
Godzilla when you're first getting into it. It's kind of

(20:44):
like what I felt like Dave was sort of describing
watching this movie earlier.

Speaker 6 (20:48):
There's always if you're into it, there's always a part of.

Speaker 1 (20:50):
These stories and these archetypes that really grab you, and
so they're usually my favorite characters. I really enjoyed them
just barreling into all the scenes where they meet the
sister of this I don't know anybody's name in this, sorry.
All of our Japanese is very bad, so you're gonna
have you're gonna have to just go and be very
friendly to us listening to this. But when they discover

(21:11):
that she's a connection to them and they're able to
connect with her organically because they're confused and interested and
she's confused and he information.

Speaker 6 (21:19):
I just loved everything that they did. And then I
found when when we when we went to get Raymond
Burr and there was just like his grandson in the garage.

Speaker 1 (21:31):
I found that scene very strange and funny, Like all
of the edit and insert scenes are also very charming
and funny because they are so against.

Speaker 6 (21:40):
Tone for the rest of the movie. The rest of
the movie is really driving towards something.

Speaker 3 (21:44):
It really knows what it's doing.

Speaker 6 (21:45):
And then it's like would you like a slice of
apple pie? My young man?

Speaker 1 (21:50):
And as somebody who did sort of the opposite to
what Jack did, like I'm from Canada and I moved
to America, I was like, that is that was for
a long time my vision of America, which was largely
reported by the King of Hell. So there's always like
a particular charm in that for me as well. So
there's there's the wonder of wow, this is a god
dylla story. And then there's like, Wow, look at these idiots,
as are what I liked you best.

Speaker 3 (22:12):
Dave, what do you got for us? Let's stand out scene?
Do you want to mention for me?

Speaker 2 (22:18):
I think it's pretty much going to be. It's a
scene from Return to Godzilla.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
I'm just a little buddy.

Speaker 2 (22:23):
It is that helicopter rescue from the building, Like that
is an authentically nail biting scene where you think someone
or some portion of your main characters are going to die.
I was convinced the first time I saw that scene.
I'm like, oh, yeah, this is the tragedy. Here's where
it happens. That and those those giant sealouse whatever those

(22:43):
things were, is it's the one time that we've ever
seen like a greater radioactive eCos like the things that
feed on like living on Godzilla's skin like a tick.
And I was like, oh, yeah, right, yes, that's important,
that would make sense. So I love that they kind
of did this alien homage in that scene and then
wound up giving it a better reason for being even

(23:06):
though the American version barely gives you that reason, barely
gives it lip service, but at the same time still
a brilliant scene that really stands out. So those two
for me, it's such an interesting opening to the film
with that seahouse, and I for years as a child,
was like, I have no idea what this thing is.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
Is this something that was on the island? Is this
just a monster? There are monsters around.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
It also feels like it could be something that is
maybe real, because especially the in by earlier I'm going
to say, like, I don't know pre mid nineties consul
in movie enough, so most of them they do borrow
a lot from actual palaeontology and actual ancient species, And
like a seahouse, You're like, that sounds like it could
be really weird giant sloths.

Speaker 3 (23:50):
Sure, why not?

Speaker 4 (23:51):
And then you're like absolutely, But I had always thought
that was a cool idea in Cloverfield, And now, of
course I have to give the nod back to the
Guy's franchise because they totally lifted it. The one scene
that I would have to mention that I think I
just get a undeniable, like physical joy out of or

(24:13):
so I don't even know, maybe it's a p in
inner piece. There is something so satisfying in an undefinable
way about Godzilla getting struck by lightning and seeing that
electricity go through his plates and and and yeah, whether
you are are you know, not on the side or
not you once he gets back up and wants to

(24:34):
fuck up that super X, you're just like, yeah, you
kind of deserve.

Speaker 7 (24:40):
It, you know.

Speaker 5 (24:42):
And I love that scene because it also introduces this
idea that we've seen in the more serious Godilla movies since,
including in Minus one that Godzilla. They introduced this concept
that Godzilla serves a greater purpose and that there's some
sort of inevitability here. And with Raymond, you know, with
with Steve Martin saying what a name? I know, I

(25:06):
know the man point to only call.

Speaker 2 (25:07):
Him mister Martin or it made sense in nineteen fifty,
but by nineteen eighty five it was a bit unfortunate.

Speaker 5 (25:14):
Yeah, but they like, you know, he makes a point
to say, and the scientists both make a point to say,
like that, you know, the beast serves a purpose. Nothing
could kill him. Of course, this won't kill him. He'll
be back. And I so that it kind of almost
lends this almost like supernatural quality to Godzilla, that this
this atomic explosion was destined to happen to bring him back,

(25:36):
so that he could finish fucking up, you know, humanity,
Like it was just like, well.

Speaker 4 (25:41):
And he's so attached to and they I can't remember
if they do this in the American version, but especially
in the Japanese version, he's so attached to this idea
of like an end Times figure appearing and the resurrection,
you know, the resurrection on screen, and then the feeling

(26:01):
of the fact that it's a fallout from American or
not American, but human.

Speaker 3 (26:10):
I don't know, flaws or or or arrogance, you know.

Speaker 4 (26:14):
Yeah, yeah, that we you know, accidentally, you know, launch
these weapons that we can't control and and sort of
re engineer our own doom, you know, and do.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
Our own we'll say.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
In the American version, that's he's also compared to a
force of nature, right, an elemental thing as well, and
hence the lightning and hence all those things.

Speaker 3 (26:33):
Like it's like that's a part he's a part of
that less a part of us.

Speaker 2 (26:38):
That's that's the one thing that's a little strange about
the American one that doesn't like you're like, you go
with it because it is more biblical, it is more
what have you. But and the Japanese version is a
bit more like there's still a little much more laser
focused on that nuclear bomb part right right.

Speaker 1 (26:54):
Although it does weirdly follow the lines that as like
Western storytellers we often have about East Asian cultures of
the exoticism of like.

Speaker 6 (27:02):
Oh, it's elemental, it is somehow of the planet.

Speaker 1 (27:06):
It is beyond us, like like it does feel out
of place, but when you, I think sort of when
you look back at who was at least in charge
of editing this cut, it makes sense a little bit
more like there's also, particularly for a Gonzala fill of
this era, there's a lot of cutting back to the
old movies as well, like all the way back to
the og Og and like it's cool because we have

(27:27):
a lot of homage moments with the train. Gotzilla has
always got to be menacing people on the train. But
then we have like the original footage and even some
of the lingering shots just over the set pieces.

Speaker 6 (27:37):
And you're like, I don't know if we need this
right now.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
We know it's implicitly this the same ish adjacent kind
of guy doing all the destruction right now, right well.

Speaker 5 (27:48):
I mean this movie was like ahead of its time,
you know, over the past several years. We've had so
many recools, right, like we've had that, We've had We've
had leperchonn returns, like we've had a bazillion of this.
Now we're used to this concept of like something can
be can ignore all the sequels before it and be
a direct sequel to the original. But in eighty five,

(28:09):
like this was a first So I kind of wonder
if they felt like they really had to like spoon
feed the Western audience that like, hey, I know that
you maybe sell Terror of Meca Godzilla ten years ago,
but that that didn't happen.

Speaker 3 (28:22):
Here, you know, they might not have.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
I actually wondered by nineteen eighty five how much of
that really came over here by then. I'm I'm I'm
I actually don't know, one way or the other. I'm
just wondering how that was because this is the beginning,
This was the beginning of home video, right, these are
the early days of that. So it might not have really,
it might have not been on our radar. We might
have seen the King of Monsters all the way back

(28:46):
when and kind of been a little in the dark
by nineteen eighty five for the most part.

Speaker 6 (28:50):
Possibly it's given me a lot of murdy McFly being like, hey,
your kids are gonna love this.

Speaker 5 (28:58):
Most of the Godilla movies up until Hair, which was
the last movie before this, before this, like reboot, most
of the movies had did get a theatrical releaser in
the US, but a lot of them went straight to TV.
So like sone of Godzilla got Deliversy, the seam Offster,
those were all straight to broadcasts, which was interesting.

Speaker 4 (29:17):
Yeah, I do remember the the Godzilla marathons every every
now and then on on specific channels.

Speaker 3 (29:25):
Well, you know, just to comment on or piggyback on
some of those thoughts.

Speaker 4 (29:31):
It's interesting because you know, clearly in the eighties is
also when we started to have the expansion of like
horror movie slasher movies, where they they you know, headed
towards that concept of like we've done so many sequels,
now it's time to do a sequel back to the original.
And now it's gotten so yeah, as as you were noting, Jack,

(29:51):
it's gotten so part of the the culture or or
language of pop culture of movie franchises at this time.
What I find really interesting as we evolve into these
expanding universes or storyteller you know different ways of cinematic storytelling.
Is that some of these things really line up in

(30:11):
a cyclical fashion that at first you could go, this
is sort of cynical, and this is a cash grab
or a need to repeat for the audience. But some
of them, like Godzilla, I think work really well given
the context of the story itself. I feel very similar
to others don't, but I feel very similar about like

(30:33):
the Death Star. I feel like the idea that there's
just this obsession with this kind of power, and you
know that I'm going to get it anyway I can
get it feels so real to me at this point
in my life, and Godzilla feels very much that way
as well. I feel like there is a sense of
history repeating itself, but it also feels so tragic and avoidable,

(30:58):
but unavoidable the same time, it feels like it's this
innate human flaw and every now and then we have
to have this this beast show up to kind of
like remind us, like how small, petty and arrogant we
are with our own abilities.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
I even think this film dares to have our human
characters address the same thing. The scene where the Japanese
officials are like, we will not use a nuclear weapon
to solve this problem. And like I said, I've seen
this movie a handful of times, it really knocked me
back this time and I was like, Wow, this is very,

(31:35):
very powerful in a movie that I would describe as
being in the Roger Moore era of Godzilla.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
Yes, and I will say to piggyback on that, you
know the thing about this movie that is the big
in my eyes update from the originals. The original is
about Godzilla as just the nuclear bomb metaphor. And in
this one, you know, we're by nineteen eighty five, you know,
we're we're in the thick of the Cold War and
what not, and this is about mutually assured destruction, right.

(32:03):
This is a Japanese prime minister having to weigh using
a nuclear weapon essentially to combat a nuclear weapon, you know.
So it's like god if Godzilla is that, then it's like,
do we drop a nuclear weapon to fight him? That's
exactly the same concept. Does if you fire, we fire,
and everybody dies, and we defeat We beat the monster,

(32:24):
but the destruction and the price is so high. And
that was the metaphor for nineteen eighty five.

Speaker 5 (32:32):
Yeah, and I really love the geopolitical stuff with like
with the Prime Minister, this impossible decision has to make
of do we say that we have evidence that Goddilla's
back and incite panic amongst our people and we don't
know he's coming here or you know, but if we don't,
then yeah, these two superpowers that we're kind of caught

(32:54):
in the middle here, like we're the real victims, like
Godzilla's going to come here, but these two superpowers then,
who don't are not in his range, are threatening to
destroy each other and cause the entire world to like
go into chaos.

Speaker 6 (33:07):
And Canada, so you're about to feel exactly what that
is like.

Speaker 4 (33:15):
Well, let me let me open this up a little
bit more, because I definitely want to get into the
themes of the film, which you're all you're all touching on,
and what what Godzilla represents. There's a really interesting moment
at the end of the film where Raymond Burr has
a closing narration only present in the the American version,

(33:37):
but he mentions he basically mentions Godzilla as sort of
a force of nature. He compares them to a tornado
and earthquake. He calls him innocent and tragic. But the
thing that sort of stuck with me. He says, whether
or not he returns or is never seen again by
human eyes, the things he has taught us remain. And so,

(33:59):
I you know, very open interpretation, but I'd love to
hear what do you what do you think Godzilla, whether
we're talking about nineteen eighty five specific the creature in
there or as a whole franchise, what do you think
Godzilla has taught us? And then, of course what do
you think thematically? This movie is saying that we haven't
yet touched.

Speaker 6 (34:18):
On big dumb monster movies are cool? Sorry, I was like,
I'm sitting on that for so long.

Speaker 1 (34:32):
I couldn't respect you enough to simply to finish question
how very amarried they are?

Speaker 3 (34:36):
Cool? They are. There's nothing I will not shame that opinion.

Speaker 6 (34:42):
What I'm always left with is the duty of care.

Speaker 1 (34:45):
Because I like the description that you quoted earlier Bryant
about that he's innocent in tragic I think, yeah, And
as the self acclaimed dominant species of this planet, we
do have a duty of care. So when something happens,
be it a natural disaster or something caused by us,

(35:07):
like a conflict, it's ultimately our job to make sure
that we put the pieces back together, and frankly, I
just wish we had a cooler thing in our real
life that taught us this lesson instead of our own falling.

Speaker 4 (35:18):
Yeah, Jack, what are your thoughts? What do you think
Godzilla has taught us? What do you take thematically from
this film?

Speaker 5 (35:24):
Well, I do just want to mention real quick, like
I really felt Godzilla's loneliness in this movie, and I
have since I was a kid. I always interpreted so,
you know, as Raymond Bird described him as tragic and innocent,
you know, I mean, I like the thing with the birds,
like this being the first movie that ever taught me
that birds and dinosaurs were connected. But I always interpreted

(35:49):
as a child that he was following the birds because
he was lonely, and that always just like got to me,
like it really got to be. But I think this
movie in particular, really which I already kind of mentioned
with the geopolitical stuff like that this movie is trying

(36:09):
to talk about the fact that, like we have to
work together as a global community because there will be
things in the pandemic is a perfect like example of this.
There are things that are going to happen that may
affect all of us, and we have to work together

(36:31):
to survive it and help each other survive it, and
sometimes just blowing the shit out of something is not
the answer. And you know, like the Prime Minister's trying
to explain that, like, you know, he's like, I think
we'll take the risk of Godzilla. And then when I
think about it, if I lived in that universe and
I am in a country where that had happened before,

(36:52):
and I kind of know what to do, like they
kind of know how to rebuild, then it's like, yeah,
I'm going to take that were what we saw happened
with the nuclear blast, thank you very much, that was
also dropped on our soil. Like but because that was
the thing that always got to me. It was just
the feuding of of the two superpowers and this misunderstanding

(37:13):
between the two. It had nothing to do with Japan,
and here there were form you know. Like also, I
find it fascinating that I learned later on, uh that
they made the alteration and this kind of fits the
theme too, like a meta theme, I guess, like what's
the movie stands for over the Japanese version? How they

(37:34):
the Americanized version changes it so that they're the Soviets
that we did not like at the time. You know,
we're uh intentionally like sent off the nuclear death.

Speaker 4 (37:47):
Where she goes from I'm going to stop the nuclear
missile too, I'm going to make sure its yeah, And there.

Speaker 6 (37:55):
Is when it's like I really want to stop it.

Speaker 5 (37:56):
I really could stop it.

Speaker 6 (37:58):
They're like, we have a strong point of view over
stick to it.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
So it was a simply bird guide and the Russians
are evil, Oh my god.

Speaker 5 (38:06):
And then also I think, uh, I also this movie too,
like it resonates with me, like appreciation for things that
basically for foreign films. So this movie does a whole
lot of It brings up a whole lot of stuff
with me because like, uh, nowadays, our sentiment is that dubbing,

(38:30):
we turn our noses up at dubbing right. But in
the fifties and onward all the way up that like
the eighties was when it was beginning to change. Our
attitude was just beginning to change. It used to be
that if you if, if you if, Americans showed that
they cared about a movie, they believed in it by
dubbing it right, like it was a compliment. It was

(38:50):
like a you know, because you could movie so much
more extensive. You bring a movie over, you slap some
toes subtitles on it, that costs you nothing, and that
didn't show that you really cared about this. Whereas you
repackage it, you've spent the money like they did with
this movie. Uh, then that shows that no, no, no,

(39:11):
you believe in this and you believe this is accessible
to all kinds of people. It's that It's just interesting
to me how our attitudes have changed, you know, like
and now now we are more interested in like what
did these what did the original voices have to say? Like,
let's stick as close to the original as we can.

(39:33):
And I think this movie, with its Doctor Pepper product
placement gives us, you know, some melod reasons.

Speaker 4 (39:37):
That's a why, oh we should all have Doctor Pepper well,
or I should always should be all drinking Doctor Pepper.

Speaker 7 (39:45):
You know.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
It's really interesting too, because I I my day job
is in localization, and it's we're in such a weird
place because of AI and I could easily see it
swinging back that way as well, because there's a lot
of push with some of the technology to go, oh, well,
you can take people's voices and then just you know,

(40:07):
digitize it and then have that same voice dub it
for various languages. So we might eventually because I think
the instinct is to get as to allow the natural
performance to be heard, you know, with subtitles these days,
so there might be a point where, you know, you
still get that performance. But we'll see, you know what

(40:32):
ethical what ethnical technology they're using it for or not,
you know, are not the.

Speaker 6 (40:36):
Extra mouthflaps half the fun speed racer.

Speaker 3 (40:39):
Like, come on they you know, you get no argument
for me.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
And I we'll say as a fun fact, I used
to work as a film scout for the Italian film market,
so I would find American films for them to buy
over there, and Italians, you know, they traditionally dubbed. They
dubbed their own films. They didn't shoot with sound, and
they would always dub the performance after the fact, and
so they were very used to dubbing everything. Nobody read

(41:06):
subtitles for anything. It was absolutely taboo, and it was
a pain in the ass because.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
Every movie caught.

Speaker 2 (41:12):
It cost about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to
do an entire dub track for a movie professionally, if
it was going to get theatrically released, it cost about
two thousand dollars to do subtitles, so you had to
like the value call on getting a movie over there.

Speaker 3 (41:25):
It had to be something.

Speaker 2 (41:26):
They were willing to spend two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars to get a proper dub track. But nobody would
read subtitles at the time. This was the OOS.

Speaker 3 (41:34):
I'm assuming things have changed by now, but I can't
promise that. So shy, don't we speak so much?

Speaker 4 (41:40):
I read that eighty percent of the audience now is
supposedly prefers subtitles, so it has been a change. Dave,
what can we learn from Godzilla? And what does this
film say to you?

Speaker 2 (41:52):
I mean, I think for me going back to that
mutually assured destruction thing. That's the number one thing that
I took away from this was that now that Godzilla exist,
you have like it's here and it's attacking Japan, but
the fear of America and Russia where that well he
can come for us, Like this can happen anywhere because
we all have the thing that he represents, right, so

(42:13):
it's like that thing can take place here We never
see the small countries that are not nuclear powers ever
running around fretting about Godzilla visiting them. Right, So it's
always this is this isn't us problem, This is this
is that whatever you want to call it, first world
problem or what have you, It is that thing, like
you're in nuclear power, this is the conundrum we're in.

(42:34):
And it does take teamwork in the sense of not
mutually destroying each other and finding a better solution. Even
though these things, now that they exist, they can't disappear,
you know, even if we dismantle them. Can we trust
that something that it's not somewhere else that someone could
build one stilled any time to know?

Speaker 3 (42:54):
How is there?

Speaker 2 (42:55):
And so Godzilla can disappear for thirty years, but we
he could still re emerge from the sea at any
given point in time. Like I think that's the great
metaphor of this one is it's like the original was
a was very much processing that trauma of the singular event,

(43:16):
and now it's like, Okay, now it's a franchise. Now
it's a thing that is here to stay, and it's
about every all of us. What are we what do
we want to say about that? And I think that's
what this movie is is really talking about.

Speaker 1 (43:28):
Now you've really got me wondering what teeny tiny little
nation state deserves its own Lichtenstein.

Speaker 6 (43:35):
DC, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (43:39):
Well, let's let's talk about the characters in the film.
Were there any particular performances or characters that I know
we've we've already talked about about the uh journalist, Yes,
we can drop more and Hobo and yes, the all
the key characters in the film clearly. Is there anyone

(44:02):
else that stands out to us that that you want
to mention? Go ahead, Dave, I think I.

Speaker 2 (44:07):
Think I'm gonna pronounce his name wrong, But Kaiju Kobayashi,
the Prime Minister.

Speaker 3 (44:12):
Juju sorry, e I E I see almost Kaiju.

Speaker 2 (44:15):
That's funny. I didn't recognize that. Yes, it's Kju Kobayashi.
But he had to weigh the using a nuclear weapon.
And there's a moment when the American missile is successful
and and you know, he just gets to sit there
waiting for this, like he doesn't even have the power
to counter the Russian the missile launch, and so he's

(44:37):
like uh huh, and he's sitting there and he's like,
do I tell my people do I not, And he's like,
I don't because there's nothing that can be done.

Speaker 3 (44:46):
But that's still a bad thing.

Speaker 2 (44:47):
And when that attack is successful, he does this amazing
thing where he kind of stands up and then sinks
back like he has no reason. They tell him it
was successful and just sort of like almost unbidden, he
makes him stand up and then like collapse.

Speaker 3 (45:01):
And I was like, that was good acting.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
Even in Godzilla nineteen eighty five, Fuck yeah, that was amazing.

Speaker 5 (45:06):
I felt that.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
I actually felt very similar about Yosuke not Suki, who
plays the professor in this, because I believe he's the
first people when my young hot journalist guys go out
into the world, that they go and consult, and he
gives a very world weary performance in that I've seen
this before, I've seen it again.

Speaker 6 (45:28):
No one is going to listen to what I have
to say, but I'm going to do my best because
I got it.

Speaker 1 (45:33):
And he is not a huge figure in the back
half of the movie, but every time he showed up,
I was like.

Speaker 6 (45:38):
This is gonna be a good time.

Speaker 3 (45:40):
Yeah, definitely agree.

Speaker 4 (45:44):
There are shots too with the Prime Minister as well
that I better kind of burned into my memory where
when you have that final montage with Godzill falling into
the volcano and we have all these like sort of meaningful, emotional,
you know moments. There's just something about certain actors who
have a presence and can can deliver on some of

(46:05):
those scenes.

Speaker 5 (46:08):
You know, Can I give can I give credit to
to to Daddy Raymond, Daddy Burr, I mean he's he
is Daddy.

Speaker 3 (46:16):
And I mean the original Steve Martin.

Speaker 5 (46:20):
The original Steve Martin, and I I loved I know
that it is. It's it's kind of silly to praise
his performance on this because they got him probably on
the a one room set and for like an afternoon
and then spliced in the scenes.

Speaker 3 (46:37):
In the movie, but not giving j W.

Speaker 6 (46:39):
Pepa from the James Bond franchise, you know, like, I.

Speaker 5 (46:44):
Mean, he just had. There is one moment that still
to this day kind of makes me laugh and did
even when I was a kid, even though I didn't
really know what they were talking about. When the you know,
the the ginger major is like the young folksy dude
is just like, you know, well, just to explain he
man explains to him a nuclear like the effects of
a nuclear explosion and then this guy who survived at

(47:06):
Goddilla attack is just like you know, the spouts off.
You know, it's like this story of like what it
hat like, you know, something that happened like you know,
doesn't you know decades ago? I just I love it.

Speaker 7 (47:19):
You know.

Speaker 3 (47:20):
He had a thankless script that they gave him too
that he had to deliver, so.

Speaker 5 (47:24):
And he does it down.

Speaker 2 (47:25):
Good job because some of the lines, like you can
tell they slapped this together in record time, and some
of his speeches, if you really write it down and
look back at that speech, you're like, boy, that makes
no sense.

Speaker 6 (47:38):
Getting this was written on the way to set that day, Yes,
right right.

Speaker 5 (47:42):
You know there's one moment in this movie that I
have always been so there when he first walks into
that like war room and he's just like there's nothing
that could be effective against Godilla perhaps except perhaps, and
they cut him off, and I've wanted to know all
these like forty years, I'm like, what was he gonna say?
What was the what was the perhaps?

Speaker 3 (48:04):
Well you know what he said.

Speaker 2 (48:05):
And the sad part is later the general goes up
to him and he's like, what can do we do?
Tell us what is possible, and Raymond Burr is like
nothing that's later in the movie, and I was like, well,
that's anti climate.

Speaker 3 (48:16):
Did you forget Grandpa? They tried, they tried.

Speaker 4 (48:20):
The one thing he was thinking, you're gonna suggest something,
you know, a nuclear bomb.

Speaker 3 (48:25):
That's what I was gonna say.

Speaker 4 (48:28):
You know what's really interesting is I I did note
when researching is that that Burr was apparently enthusiastic about
the role, but he had very specific demands. I guess
with with uh, you know, shooting, and he was adamant
that he would work no more than than three days,
no more than eight hours each day.

Speaker 3 (48:50):
And then he also refused to memorize his lines. He
insisted that the telepon.

Speaker 4 (48:56):
Prompters just had to be strategically placed so that he
could get them. And then the final thing was that
he would not you would not joke about He would
not treat Godzilla as a joke. It was an anti
nuclear allegory and he demanded that it be treated seriously
in his presence.

Speaker 2 (49:15):
And that's why that's why the generals like scratching on
the back of his head during the whole conversation.

Speaker 3 (49:19):
Because the lines are written on the.

Speaker 1 (49:24):
I can I can as a performer get behind like
we are treating this seriously, because yeah, we've all seen
versions of some of our most beloved Joel Schumacher directive
franchises where it was very clear that this this was
maybe taking the pisses is a bit far, but it
wasn't as serious.

Speaker 6 (49:45):
But also you're in a Godzilla movie, like, have some fun,
come on.

Speaker 3 (49:50):
This is cool.

Speaker 5 (49:52):
I guess when. I guess when when your daddy and
you you do kind of like you're like I was
here for the old magic, like I was. I was
in the like maybe it was the original, you know,

(50:13):
maybe he didn't like the direction it had gone it
the goofy, campy direction. I think, gone it.

Speaker 1 (50:18):
I think I've tracked Iron, tracked by a statement you've
sold me that's delightful.

Speaker 3 (50:23):
I mean, I do think that there probably is some
of that.

Speaker 4 (50:25):
I think that when you have that, it's it's like
Roy Scheider coming back for like another Jaws and being
like we're not doing this Jaws for ship.

Speaker 6 (50:32):
You know.

Speaker 3 (50:33):
Yeah, Well, I actually think it's like Donald.

Speaker 2 (50:34):
I think it's like Donald Pleasance in the Halloween movies,
where it's like, I mean he's he's obviously very histornic,
but it's the same performance from.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
Halloween one to Halloween six.

Speaker 2 (50:44):
He's like, I'm the I am this, this is what
I'm bringing, and you hired me, you brought me back
because I'm going to deliver the exact same thing and
it's lovely.

Speaker 3 (50:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (50:52):
And William is also Canadian.

Speaker 3 (50:58):
All the best people.

Speaker 1 (51:00):
Yeah, given that same level of dedication to the evolution
of Captain Kirk's history throughout the movies.

Speaker 3 (51:09):
Excellent. Well, we're going to take a quick break, but
we're going to come back.

Speaker 4 (51:12):
I have more to talk about Godzilla and some new
opinions I guess recent opinions on others looking back forty
years later.

Speaker 3 (51:21):
So everyone stick with us. We'll be back in a minute.

Speaker 4 (51:26):
All right, Welcome back to our fortieth anniversary on Godzilla
nineteen eighty five. And I wanted to look at this
piece that I forwarded to all of you. It's from
in review Online. I was posted earlier this year by
writer Christopher Stewartson, and it takes a detailed look at
at the return of Godzilla and Stuartson writes quote. The

(51:50):
film's US localization, released the following year as Godzilla nineteen
eighty five has been reviled by critics, but it's often
effective as a companion piece to Kogi Hashimoto's Japanese theatrical version.
Setting aside his clunky humor and overt Doctor Pepper product placement,
the script for Godzilla nineteen eighty five amplifies much of

(52:11):
what has already much of what was already present. Ultimately,
both versions depict Japan under attack and in need of
US military defense. God Azilla nineteen eighty five is simply
more ideologically overt end quote, and Stewartson also goes on
in his article to write that in this film, Godzilla's

(52:31):
presence ultimately clarifies Japan's post war proximity to and collaboration
with the US and the power it wields. Still further
returning to Godzilla's allegorical roots, as long as nuclear weapons
are maintained and the thread of their use persists, than
Godzilla the idea, as much.

Speaker 3 (52:49):
As the actual character will retain relevance.

Speaker 4 (52:52):
Cold War nuclear tensions literally and figuratively revive Godzilla, the
Monster and the series respectively. And so I don't know,
I guess when I was reading this piece what I
wanted to discuss with.

Speaker 3 (53:05):
The three of you is.

Speaker 4 (53:08):
Sort of the cyclical nature that I had alluded to earlier.
What I find really interesting about Godzilla in nineteen eighty
five is that it is repeating beats from the original,
but it's also it was also created in a time
that was repeated, where history was repeating beats, where these

(53:29):
tensions were rising once again, and we're finding ourselves in
not the exact same situation, but a very similar situation
these days, where we are looking back to the Cold War,
we're looking back to the tensions between nations and the danger,
and there are people that are now once again worried
about nuclear destruction more than usual, you know, it's an

(53:54):
increased worry. So I just wanted to take some time
to discuss, like the idea that Godzilla is this sort
of evergreen allegory because of this this thing that we
live with, this threat of nuclear destruction living over our
heads at all times, And do you feel like that,

(54:15):
I don't know, how do you look at it through
today's perspective, when you're living in this world that we
are living in. How does how does Godzilla in nineteen
eighty five, or the allegory that that is being used
in repetition throughout the franchise.

Speaker 3 (54:28):
How does it? How does it? How does it bounce?

Speaker 4 (54:32):
You know in your mind or you know, you know
in your opinion these days off of recent events, Dave,
why don't you take this one first?

Speaker 3 (54:43):
Sure?

Speaker 2 (54:43):
I mean, I think I think God's Zilla nineteen eighty five.
It's funny that you're also bringing it into today because
the next Godzilla movie that feels like a strange companion
piece to Godzilla nineteen eighty five is Shin Godzilla. And
that's because in Shin Godzilla, once again, it's Japan under

(55:04):
attack and the pressure from the rest of the world
for them to figure it out and to make it
keep Godzilla from coming after them, from coming to them, right.
And I know that there were plans if the Shin
Godzilla story had continued, there were plans for sequels where
that would have spread, where where this was going to
go well beyond Japan. And that was kind of the point.

Speaker 1 (55:26):
If we've done anything, it's that we can split timelines
so we can still see that.

Speaker 3 (55:29):
Because I still want to still see that.

Speaker 2 (55:31):
I still want to how okay, side ran, How amazing
would it be if we could do like the Godzilla
minus one sequel, then the Shin Godzilla sequel to the
Godzilla keep going like one Godzilla year going off of
these two, I would I'd.

Speaker 6 (55:45):
Be in love, Dave. I will green light that right now, if.

Speaker 3 (55:49):
Only it mattered.

Speaker 2 (55:52):
But I do think that this movie is also you know,
because they bring in America and the Russians and even
in the Return to Godzilla, even in the Japanese verse,
like the Americans and the Soviets were a part of
that movie nowhere near as visible, like they were kind
of like off screen, and the Japanese would talk about them,
although the Soviets occasionally would be on screen. And then

(56:13):
the American version just brought it all so much more
front and center, and they're like, yes, this is a
global issue that Japan is the victim of currently, you know,
so they're the ones that are truly in the crosshairs,
but it is it's the issue for all of us.
And then Shin Godzilla took that even further into the
modern day where you know, then the United Nations was

(56:34):
getting involved and it was like, if this befalls one
of us, it's not going to remain localized.

Speaker 3 (56:40):
That is the point I think of this.

Speaker 2 (56:42):
And I think that is where Godzilla nineteen eighty.

Speaker 3 (56:45):
Five it doesn't make the most of that theme, but.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
It definitely introduces it, I think for the first time
in the Godzilla mythos and does a decent job with it.

Speaker 3 (56:55):
So that's my take on it.

Speaker 4 (56:56):
Well, And it's interesting because you do have that advancement
of Japanese dealing with the problem, or japan dealing with
the problem initially in the first film, this becoming, as
you're saying, a more global situation, and I don't know,
I feel like the thing that hangs over my head
after watching this film is I don't know that we
would the world will react this way these days, you know.

(57:18):
I feel it feels sort of too hopeful to some degree,
even though it is a dour film.

Speaker 2 (57:24):
Well to the point of Shin Gunzil, it was all
about bureaucratic incompetence, like how things can't get done in
the timeline that it needs to to actually deal with
the issue that was a big piece, like in Japan,
but also elsewhere, and that is one hundred percent what
would happen today is where people would talk about it.
We'd worry about the repercussions, we'd worry about our own

(57:45):
citizens not wanting us to get involved or get you know,
become a part of the you know, our own soldiers
might die if they go over there or do like
all those issues, all those would become questions, All those
would become issues, and that it's just red tape. It's
a certain kind of red tape. They are things you
have to weigh, they are things you have to juggle.
But nineteen eighty five the Prime Minister weighs it and

(58:07):
has to make a decision like in that hour and
go and then you know, shin Godzilla was like how
what happens when you stretch that out and the destruction
just keep and Godzilla keeps evolving and mutating. And that's
kind of where probably a more modern version of this
would then take it even further.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
It's it's weird because it's sort of the bizarro problems
that you would have if a real life superhero showed up, right,
like if Superman showed up, So if Godzilla showed up
and was on our side trying to crush our enemies
instead of trying to crush us, you would have the
Superman problems, but presented, as you say, through these same
kind of lenses.

Speaker 4 (58:41):
Also, speaking of the superheroes, it also feels so close
to some of the themes and discussions that take place
with Watchmen and who's responsible for you know, doctor Manhattan.
And there's part of me that it kind of shows
me a little bit to say, but that the modern
Godzilla might almost be a situation where propaganda becomes the

(59:05):
biggest new element, you know, the idea that when I
think about the COVID pandemic, I start to think like
other nations suggesting that Godzilla was created by Japan, you know,
or that they're responsible for it, or that it doesn't exist. Well, yeah,
that's social media, is it's AI or whatever? You know,
it's not It's not a real problem. Jack, What are

(59:28):
your thoughts on on this, this allegory, this continued evergreen
allegory that Godzilla presents.

Speaker 5 (59:35):
Well, I want to go back to how you mentioned
that this movie shares a lot of the same beats,
you know, repeats a lot of the same beats as
the original. But if we want to split hairs, so
does minus one mm hmm. So, like, you know, here's
here's the human character girl, you know, here here's the

(59:55):
human characters. They're human drama, here's a minor appearan here's
the introduction appearance of Gozilla, which is always a minor
sort of appearance. And then here's more human drama and
getting to know the characters, and then here's here's some
bureaucracy at play. And so I think that there is
either either we could argue that that's just because that's
the disaster movie model maybe, or that it's because that

(01:00:20):
this still is that the the the topics that were
brought up in nineteen fifty four are just still that relevant,
you know that, And as Dave was saying, like it
does still like every movie has has brought in this
concept of the bureaucratic issues at play in Japan's role

(01:00:42):
in the greater global community. Eighty five nails it, and
then minus one nailed it in the sense that, you know,
by changing when it takes place that it takes place
during occupied Japan, you know, the American occupation, and so
like you have the Americans literally telling them like, nah,

(01:01:02):
you can't do anything, like nah nah nah. Like so
it's so interesting to me how I think these movies
really you know, I think that if I were Japanese,
I would probably be able to see a lot of
my national insecurities being projected and being manifested in these movies.

Speaker 3 (01:01:25):
And then.

Speaker 5 (01:01:27):
When we made when the American version came out in
twenty fourteen, I feel like there were a lot of
our insecurities in that one. I don't think we're as
honest with ourselves about that stuff. But you know, maybe
the Japanese are, but at least, but they're got of movies.
But it was, you know, it brought it. It was
it was like, well, what if these again, like kind

(01:01:49):
of referencing something that they've already mentioned, like what what
if the superpowers all become the targets? The advanced country,
the wealthy, rich kind of trees are the targets of
this thing that they cannot stop. And in that case,
it was like the Muto's you know. And so I
where our greatest strength becomes our greatest weakness, you know. Like,

(01:02:12):
but I just I think that Godzilla is a perfect
character symbol. I don't know, he can he is so
mourphable that he can represent the insecurities of pretty much
any nation that wants to make a version of him.
And I think that he's best when he is in

(01:02:34):
the hands of the nation that created him. But but
and then also but then the other monsters that he
his other opponents too, like the smad monsters also represent Yeah,
like what was that Miss Stare has a song about that,
like as a monster. But yeah, like, if it's not

(01:02:56):
Gotzilla himself, then his surrounding greater universe, which also can
we give a shout out to the fact that Godzilla
had a shared universe long before.

Speaker 3 (01:03:04):
We were used to the contest, Yes, very much so.

Speaker 5 (01:03:08):
So if it's not it's Godzilla himself doesn't represent the
insecurity as well, then one of his opponents, can You know,
I just I love this franchise for that. I mean,
even some of the corniest pieces of shit in this
franchise still have some pretty deep things to say. When
you really split.

Speaker 4 (01:03:26):
Hair as girl, you know, like, yeah, well it takes
us right back to I think I love about it.
And what has grown as I've talked more and more
to people about Godzilla and why they love godzill what
they get from these stories is that.

Speaker 3 (01:03:41):
He, uh, this figure, this whatever as you were.

Speaker 4 (01:03:44):
Trying to describe Jack, this archetype, this, this legend, whatever
you want to consider. It takes us right back to
like the cave man days of like telling stories. You know,
it's this, it's this like larger than life figure that
reflects whatever we need it to reflect in the moment
and allows us to process things, to understand ourselves better.

(01:04:05):
It's just so primal in a storytelling fashion in some
ways that.

Speaker 3 (01:04:10):
I just respect the hell out of it because of that.

Speaker 4 (01:04:13):
Actually, do you have any any final thoughts to add
on the archetype or I guess allegory element of Godzilla.

Speaker 1 (01:04:22):
I mean, I don't know if I can split those
hairs anymore because it was just so artfully done by
an absolute.

Speaker 6 (01:04:27):
Ninja in front of us.

Speaker 1 (01:04:28):
But I think even though it's super super easy, and
we did this a lot at the start, because there
are very light moments to dismiss, particularly this.

Speaker 6 (01:04:37):
Cut of this movie, what it does well.

Speaker 5 (01:04:39):
It does so.

Speaker 1 (01:04:43):
Deftly that maybe that's the mark of a truly great
Godzilla movie.

Speaker 6 (01:04:48):
Is like, does it look silly?

Speaker 1 (01:04:49):
But then you're gonna leave being like, but wait, this
is what my national insecurity would feel like.

Speaker 3 (01:04:56):
That's very true.

Speaker 4 (01:04:58):
Well, let's talk about out something entirely different, the concept
of community. This is something we're focusing here on fan
base at fan Base Press, this has been a difficult
year for everyone. We uh be talking globally, nationally, uh
industry wise, for the comic book industry or entertainment industries.

(01:05:19):
So we really wanted to put a focus on community
and the importance of its role within those communities. Communities
roll within those communities. Yeah, I'm I'm writing poetry right here.
The point being is that if you want to find
out what we're doing uh as fan base Press, you
can do that by going to fanbase press dot com.

(01:05:40):
But with these stories, we've been trying to look at
them through that lens, you know, where what what does
this story say about community? Is there something we can
take away about the importance of community from these stories?

Speaker 3 (01:05:53):
So I'll throw that to each of you. Jack, why
don't you start us off on this one?

Speaker 2 (01:06:03):
Hm?

Speaker 5 (01:06:05):
So I think that Okay, So just can you kind
of repeat the question? I mean, are we talking? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:06:11):
Yeah, it's just basically looking at this story through the
lens of community, and if you feel that they're the
story may have anything to say about it. But do
you feel like there's anything you could take away from
this story that reflects on that theme?

Speaker 5 (01:06:24):
Okay? So yes, but I honestly can't think of how
to phrase it of other than like how we've already
phrased it. That it's I feel like the story, you
know what, No, let me go to the pre I
was gonna say, like global community all that, but this story,
Godzilla as a franchise brings people together. Godzilla fans are

(01:06:46):
a community, right, and then fans of this movie, in particular,
this version of this movie seeking each other out, helping
each other find copies of it because it's not legally available.
That to me is that's community. Like I've loaned my

(01:07:06):
v I have kept every VHS copy I've ever had
of this movie, and I've like loaned the mouths people,
or I've you know, I used the burner and I
ripped it into a DVD and I've given them about
the people. So I feel like, at like any fandom,
there is opportunity for community here surrounding Goddilla and surrounding
this movie.

Speaker 3 (01:07:26):
That's funny.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
A while back, many many years ago, I bought like
on eBay, like all pirated copies of like the whole franchise,
like front to back kind of a thing. And as
they finally all started coming out on Blu ray and
like remastered editions, I finally got rid of them, and
Godzilla nineteen eighty five was the only one. I was like, yeah,
I definitely don't need to keep this because it's ours, right,

(01:07:48):
it's it's it's like, it's the American version.

Speaker 3 (01:07:51):
I'm like, that's not what I had this collection for.
And so I just let it. I not a second thought.
I let it go. And then I was like, wait,
that's the one I can't find anywhere. It makes no sense.

Speaker 2 (01:08:03):
But on that note, yet, this and up until very
very recently, the Godzilla versus Byolante, which not incidentally is
the direct sequel to this movie, those are the two
that like refuse to come out on any sort of remastered.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
Legally available addition.

Speaker 2 (01:08:19):
Now this is the last. This is the final one
that we're all waiting on. So yes, as a community,
help each other. And but that said, Jack, no, this
was totally illegal.

Speaker 3 (01:08:27):
I totally got it legally. So I don't know what
you're talking about. I believe you, as they're all on
the internet archives.

Speaker 5 (01:08:38):
I checked one.

Speaker 3 (01:08:40):
That's why I watched it.

Speaker 5 (01:08:42):
What on the archives?

Speaker 4 (01:08:43):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (01:08:44):
Really? But today like.

Speaker 6 (01:08:45):
Yes, like today, do you have a VPN.

Speaker 3 (01:08:55):
I do, but but see, isn't that the crazy part?

Speaker 4 (01:08:59):
Though?

Speaker 3 (01:09:00):
If you come from here you can't watch it.

Speaker 5 (01:09:02):
It's like yeah, wow, yay, okay, okay. We all know
that Toho is more litigious than Disney, so I was
just like, oh, they probably scoured in an archive and
make sure this got yanked, you know.

Speaker 6 (01:09:14):
Oh no, girl, she on there?

Speaker 1 (01:09:16):
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, I think we're really overlooking the
one of the most iconic scenes in every guzzle of franchise,
which is when the citizens of Tokyo are inevitably fleeing
into the subways or the bomb shelters and clinging to
each other because nobody has told them until but a
mere twelve seconds ago that they're about to die again.

(01:09:38):
And it leads you every time to the sense that
these people must be very close to their friends and neighbors,
which is a sense of community, but also much like
the citizens of Gotham City, why would you still live
in this version of Tokyo if at any point you
had survived not once, but multiple generational attacks from this monster,
would you not leave? That's there's always a nice sense

(01:10:00):
where someone is helping someone else and that you're like, you.

Speaker 6 (01:10:02):
Should move lives or.

Speaker 2 (01:10:08):
That too, although to be fair, this was only the
second according yeah, this according to legend, yes.

Speaker 1 (01:10:13):
Sure and uh and Michael Myers is only killed at
Crisp thirty people in that.

Speaker 2 (01:10:19):
He is always fresh out of hunting Jamie Lee Curtis
the first time and.

Speaker 3 (01:10:22):
Then and is she his sister?

Speaker 1 (01:10:24):
I couldn't possibly say I did fully forget that this
was only the second time, but still still.

Speaker 6 (01:10:30):
Move out of Tokyo.

Speaker 4 (01:10:33):
Just because I did not get to get anyone's thoughts
on it. What are everyone's thoughts on the Bambi versus
guy zoa opening? How does that set the tone for you?
Is this enjoyable?

Speaker 3 (01:10:44):
Is this silly? What do you?

Speaker 4 (01:10:46):
What?

Speaker 3 (01:10:46):
Do you? What do you think?

Speaker 2 (01:10:48):
I did not get to watch it as an opening
because where where I legally purchased my product?

Speaker 3 (01:10:53):
It didn't come with, Oh I didn't. I had forgotten,
like you've got to pay extra for.

Speaker 2 (01:10:59):
Yeah, I forgot that that was where that came, that
had been put in front of it. But yeah, I
can tell you that Bambi Versus Godzilla. An elementary school
teacher of mine played it for us for the first
time one day. As I cannot remember why, they just
put it on blew my mind.

Speaker 6 (01:11:15):
Yeah, yes, nuts to the Avengers. This is way cooler, Jack.

Speaker 4 (01:11:21):
Any any thoughts on Baby Versus Godzilla that you haven't
expressed yet, Oh.

Speaker 6 (01:11:26):
I have many.

Speaker 5 (01:11:27):
I mean it's I didn't understand what the hell I
was watching as a kid, but it still made me laugh.
And now I really see the irreverent, dark humor in it.
But now I also have so much more respect for
it now that I've learned that it was like a
student film. In this it was I did not know this, Yeah,

(01:11:47):
done by this one day. That's why all the credits
were just this one dude's name. And because it was
a student film this guy did in like nineteen sixty something,
I mean, and he I probably submitted it to some
animation festival. I forget the details now, but yeah, and
so he allowed it to I mean he was just

(01:12:09):
like they, you know, New World Pictures approached him about
adding it to the VHS release because VHS is at
the time, as we mentioned, this is one of the
first got dull of VHS movies and it was like
eighty bucks, right, and so they wanted to add they
wanted some value adds. So they just had this like
this little cartoon in front of it with hearkening back

(01:12:33):
to the old school days of movies when you had
like a Looney tune or a Pickey Mouse short, you know,
in front of it.

Speaker 1 (01:12:39):
It's all very YouTube before YouTube, not only having one
person as the sole credit for every possible position you
could imagine, but having a weird ten second TikTok clip
out that you're gonna put before it as well.

Speaker 8 (01:12:52):
Yeah, is Bamby a public domain character. The original version
of Bambi is a Swiss fairy tale.

Speaker 3 (01:13:04):
All right, So that's how I got around that.

Speaker 4 (01:13:05):
Okay, very interesting, such such an interesting little like you
know button on the front of the film. Well, let
me throw this out to you. We've got two new
Godzilla films in the works. We've got a a sequel
to What to Minus one that is coming. We've also

(01:13:28):
got Godzilla X Kan Supernova Supernova.

Speaker 3 (01:13:32):
I don't know if that's how the ex across is it.

Speaker 5 (01:13:37):
So when they when when they did the last one
on TV SAT and they actually had an announcer voice,
which is rare these days. They did literally just said
Godilla Kong.

Speaker 3 (01:13:46):
Godzilla Khan.

Speaker 5 (01:13:47):
Okay, all right, Yeah, the guy just said it as
you know, Goddilla Kong, the Lost.

Speaker 7 (01:13:51):
K Okay, So Godzilla Supera Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna It's like,
I'm not going to say Jiff, I'm not going to
say Godzilla Kong.

Speaker 3 (01:14:04):
I will.

Speaker 4 (01:14:04):
I'm here to say Godzilla. I will say it because
you you said that's how we say it. I will
be the betrayer. But Godzilla con Supernova we've got we essentially,
we've got two projects in the works. But I just
I wanted to hear like sort of wish fulfillment. I mean,
we heard a little bit of it. Uh, you know

(01:14:25):
earlier about the the shin Godzilla timeline alternate timeline. But
what would you want from the Godzilla franchise at this point?
Is there is there something that hasn't been delivered? I mean,
he's he's literally fighting all of the Avengers one by one,
I think right now in the comics, what more can
we get from from this guy?

Speaker 3 (01:14:46):
Already he's already passed that and now it's the whole
Marvel universe. Yes, that's right.

Speaker 4 (01:14:53):
I just picked up that book. I haven't read yet,
But good job, georg Georgia's GENTI.

Speaker 5 (01:15:00):
To lead on this one. Yes, go ahead, so okay,
because every this is a this is a case of
be careful what you wish for, because everything that I
have ever wanted I have gotten from this franchise. I
wanted a good, big budget American version.

Speaker 4 (01:15:19):
I got it.

Speaker 5 (01:15:20):
And now it is getting to the point where it's
coming back around to what the Godsila franchise tends to do,
which is it's getting really corny, big and dumb. But
I still like it. Right, But it like I'm like, okay,
when we get back to serious again, Well, then here
comes minus one, right, and now it's like, oh my god,
I didn't know that I needed. I always knew that

(01:15:40):
I wanted this to be taken seriously, but oh man,
this may be like cry like this hurt my heart,
like ouch, and then we've got I've always wanted, always
wanted to see God's Deli versus Superman, but unfortunately it's
not the right God's the loversus Superman. It's instead it's
the Monster Verse God's Will, uh, because the the real

(01:16:01):
Godzilla is too busy fighting the Avengers, so it's the
Monster Verse Godzilla. And it's not just it's got Justice
League versus Godzilla versus Kong and I'm like, well that's
too much. I just want Godzilla versus that's what I
wanted to say as a kid. So I'm getting everything
I want. But sometimes it's it's an embarrassment of riches,
or sometimes it's a little it's not quite what I wanted,
but I'm still getting it.

Speaker 3 (01:16:22):
Do you still want more? Zack?

Speaker 6 (01:16:23):
Or are you?

Speaker 7 (01:16:24):
Are?

Speaker 3 (01:16:24):
You say?

Speaker 5 (01:16:27):
But if I if I speak it out into the universe,
it will happen, and it might be a disappointment or
it might be I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:16:33):
Always, Ashley, what you got for us?

Speaker 1 (01:16:36):
What do you?

Speaker 3 (01:16:36):
What do you want from the franchise?

Speaker 1 (01:16:38):
If you if you listen to our sunrise on the
Reefing episode here on fan base Press, you'll know that
I'm a simple lady of simple pleasures. I really just
want a book from Finnicodair's point of view, and and
all that I want from Godzilla is more Mathra.

Speaker 5 (01:16:54):
Please.

Speaker 6 (01:16:55):
That's that's pretty much it.

Speaker 3 (01:16:57):
Shes got a nerve Mathra.

Speaker 6 (01:16:59):
Yeah, yeah, she looks really good in the Monster.

Speaker 1 (01:17:02):
She's like very sexy and very cool, and then you
murdered her right off the bat and the Matha Twins
bring back the Matha twins.

Speaker 3 (01:17:09):
Yes, we a.

Speaker 5 (01:17:10):
Mocker stand alone story and anti capitalism master standalone story.

Speaker 3 (01:17:14):
Yes, green Light, But I.

Speaker 1 (01:17:16):
Think I've made a lot of James Bond comparisons as well,
because it's very lazy and easy to do. But like
James Bond, I think Godzilla is served best when there
is no continuity. So make as many timelines as you want,
give as many people the green light as you want.

Speaker 3 (01:17:30):
More is more. I was digging in for Bond versus Godzilla,
That's where I thought you were going with that.

Speaker 1 (01:17:35):
The only Bond I will accept in Bond versus Godzilla
is Timothy Dalton because he's the only one I believe
could take that guy down with.

Speaker 6 (01:17:41):
His bare hands.

Speaker 3 (01:17:42):
Fantastic. Godzilla is the new Bond, right They're still trying.

Speaker 1 (01:17:46):
To Henry Golding's over there like smoldering in the background.

Speaker 3 (01:17:55):
He's gotta wear the bow tie. That's all I want, absolutely, absolutely, And.

Speaker 6 (01:18:06):
Then Mara is the sexy Bond girl.

Speaker 5 (01:18:08):
Of course.

Speaker 4 (01:18:11):
We're putting this together. David, what do you what do
you go first? Where you went from this franchise?

Speaker 3 (01:18:16):
Huh? Given you really?

Speaker 4 (01:18:19):
I mean you know what?

Speaker 3 (01:18:20):
I would still love to see it.

Speaker 2 (01:18:22):
As I mentioned before that shin Godzilla continuation because it
would have gone literally.

Speaker 3 (01:18:27):
Throughout the entire universe. It would have gone true anime.

Speaker 2 (01:18:31):
Epic where it was going to spread throughout the world,
then to multiple planets, and then Godzilla.

Speaker 3 (01:18:37):
You can you can look this up online very easily.

Speaker 2 (01:18:40):
But the plan was that Godzilla would literally become the
universe at the end of the trilogy, and we would
all be him and he would all be us in
the same way god was.

Speaker 3 (01:18:50):
So it was going in that.

Speaker 2 (01:18:53):
Insane This is red Dune, right, So godzill doing Dune
is like great, Okay, I have not seen that yet.

Speaker 3 (01:19:03):
I would still love to see that version.

Speaker 2 (01:19:05):
And I do think even something like Godzilla x Kong Supernova,
I think you can like, yes, it's the last one
was ridiculous and over the top, but you know what,
these movies have budgets that know, most other Godzilla movies
never have go further.

Speaker 3 (01:19:23):
You have one more shot.

Speaker 2 (01:19:24):
Probably I want this thing just so outrageous and so
just blow a hole through everything. It's like, why not,
this is our last chance probably to go that big
with a Godzilla. So I want to see the American version.
Just keep going out of the stratosphere. In that way,
in the way that Americans are good at going out

(01:19:45):
of the stratosphere in just that big, bold, boisterous, bombastic
way and insanity. And then for the Japanese, yeah, go
shin like blow our minds in that more internal way
where it's like the whole concept is like whoa.

Speaker 3 (01:20:00):
Should I should be on draw? I'm not on drugs.

Speaker 2 (01:20:01):
Guy, I didn't think that's where this was going, but
I should be because now I know where this is going.

Speaker 3 (01:20:06):
There's more, there's more to be had out there with Godzilla.

Speaker 2 (01:20:10):
I think there's also a little, you know, going back
to the comics, like there's been that Godzilla versus America,
the one shots a reason every different city in America
and whatnot, And I think that has a lot of
potential to where it's like we haven't seen Godzilla in
a lot of places on Earth and maybe him or
some you know, some Kaiju variation of him or something.

(01:20:30):
There's a lot to explore, as we've also already mentioned,
as we've been talking, so.

Speaker 3 (01:20:34):
I think there's there's there's steps to be mined. Still,
I would love to see them all.

Speaker 1 (01:20:38):
I find the Godzilla versus the individual cities so so
mean spirited.

Speaker 6 (01:20:43):
I can't help but be into the idea.

Speaker 1 (01:20:45):
Like, so, you know, you know, somebody walked into a
comic store saw Godzilla versus Chicago and was like, goddamn
fucking right, it made their whole day.

Speaker 6 (01:20:54):
It's so mean.

Speaker 3 (01:20:56):
We just get to watch them smash different cities. If
you're enjoying that.

Speaker 6 (01:21:00):
I hate St.

Speaker 3 (01:21:00):
Louis sports teams right exactly.

Speaker 2 (01:21:03):
You know.

Speaker 3 (01:21:05):
What is really interesting about.

Speaker 4 (01:21:09):
Some of this is that I feel like, not only
is Godzilla, you know, really flexible where we can we
can do uh multiple versions, a serious version, of campy version,
a television version, a film version, comic books all at
the same time. But I like this idea, Dave, of

(01:21:29):
that you're suggesting just like pushing it to the extremes
on on the the campy end. I mean, have I
have not followed these films? Have we gotten to aliens yet?

Speaker 6 (01:21:41):
Because we've gone so.

Speaker 4 (01:21:42):
Far beyond it?

Speaker 1 (01:21:44):
Okay, like like at this point you need to be
going like Godzilla versus Rue Paul level of ridiculous?

Speaker 3 (01:21:50):
Well really need we need to go even even further?

Speaker 6 (01:21:52):
Okay, no Godzilla would be stopped.

Speaker 4 (01:21:57):
Maybe it's and and we could combine the I guess,
so you could have good Godzilla. There is everyone who
is possessed of to godzillas. Then they must fight and yes,
good white Godzilla, dark Godzilla who will prevail.

Speaker 3 (01:22:14):
Very interesting stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:22:15):
Uh yeah, I guess I just wanted to see Godzilla
on the moon. But if you already can see that,
I'll go.

Speaker 3 (01:22:20):
You know, I know they do that.

Speaker 4 (01:22:21):
I know that they did that, and they did that before,
I mean modern day, modern day, modern day.

Speaker 1 (01:22:28):
Okay, I really want that pitch to be made by
everybody who makes for all mankind.

Speaker 6 (01:22:34):
So we treat it as if it is like definitely serious.
It's like Ed Baldwin is up there with and being like,
all right, you gotta listen.

Speaker 4 (01:22:42):
I would be really surprise if that happened in like
the seventh or eighth season of Hey, by the way,
we found something that's just so good.

Speaker 5 (01:22:52):
Think I did think of another wish. I want the
fighting games to come back in some legal form. I
want the Wii the Goddilla Unleashed We game to return.
I want to Fighting game day.

Speaker 4 (01:23:05):
All right, that sounds great, that sounds great. I didn't
even know there was a fighting game that sounds.

Speaker 5 (01:23:10):
Everybody you could fight as biolanty you could fight as
matha battery.

Speaker 1 (01:23:14):
They also have a pinball machine that is not only
one of my favorites, but considered to be in the
top five of all pinball machines ever made.

Speaker 3 (01:23:21):
Yes, nice. What platform was that Godzilla game for?

Speaker 5 (01:23:26):
So, the original was called Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee
that was for GameCube. Then they did Godzilla Save the
Planet that was for PS two, and then they did
Godilla Unleashed and that was for the Wii.

Speaker 4 (01:23:40):
Did you ever play the the Nash game that was
like a like a old school RPG where you'd like
do hit points back and forth.

Speaker 5 (01:23:49):
Oh wow, well wait, I never played. I never played
a Godilla fighting game. On the ny of it.

Speaker 3 (01:23:54):
It was not a fighting game.

Speaker 4 (01:23:56):
It was like you were fighting the various kaiju in
your city.

Speaker 3 (01:24:00):
Godzilla's Final Fantasy.

Speaker 4 (01:24:02):
Yeah, yeah, exactly exactly, but it had the nineteen eighty
five I remember they had the Super X and other
things in it as well.

Speaker 1 (01:24:12):
So, man, I just want like a Godzilla skinned Like,
I want a Godzilla skin Stardy Valley and a Godzilla
skin Pokemon Go. Like, how many weird games can we
interpose him into?

Speaker 4 (01:24:24):
Well, let me ask you about recommendations. We always love
to give people sort of an off ramp. If they've
enjoyed revisiting this film with us or the conversation, what
else can they check out? And it doesn't have to
be Godzilla specific, it could be tangentially related. So whatever
whatever you feel is appropriate that people would enjoy. Ashley,

(01:24:47):
why don't you start us off? What would you recommend
for those who enjoyed revisiting Godzilla nineteen eighty five?

Speaker 1 (01:24:54):
I think if you enjoyed revisiting this or in particular,
maybe you just tuned into this because someone it's making
you listen to it, or because someone you know is
on this podcast, or you love what Bryant does so
much that you listen every week, but you don't really
care about Godzilla. I think we're very lucky to live
in an era where we have some really nice, soft
contemporary intro to that. So I'm going to say, instead

(01:25:16):
of diving headfirst into Godzilla history, we can't, which can
feel like diving head ferson of Batman history. Check out
the Cloverfield franchise, particularly the first two are excellent, excellent, excellent.
I'm not just saying that because Spring Awakenings. John Gallagher
Junior is in the second one, so it's a must
watch as part of the cannon, but Promota Flowers is
also in it.

Speaker 6 (01:25:35):
She is.

Speaker 1 (01:25:36):
I also really really want to recommend Pacific Grim. It's
the best movie ever. It brings your love of Kaijus
and Big Mechs into one movie. And then if you
do need a Godzilla movie and our ardent adoration of
Godzilla minus one hasn't reached your heart and soul yet,

(01:25:58):
I think that's the it's for me, hance, I'm the
top recommendation.

Speaker 3 (01:26:04):
I haven't. I haven't answered this question, so I'll pose
it to you, Ashley.

Speaker 4 (01:26:09):
I've seen a lot of Pacific Rim Godzilla crossover fan art.
Is there a desire in the fandom for that to
actually happen?

Speaker 6 (01:26:19):
Not to be dramatic? But I would kill small children
for that?

Speaker 3 (01:26:21):
Yeah? Why is that not happening?

Speaker 6 (01:26:24):
Like who owns specific Rim would studios?

Speaker 4 (01:26:30):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (01:26:30):
Yeah, in the latest acquisite, so that that would be why?
But you know what border makes the Godzilla movies?

Speaker 4 (01:26:36):
Yeah, I would have thought it would be on the table.
But maybe maybe del Toro is the one. I can't
imagine he's got a one of Godzilla in his film.

Speaker 1 (01:26:43):
Right, yeah, I would be like, do you want to
not make a man from the black lagoot movie?

Speaker 3 (01:26:49):
Come on, Dave, what do you got to recommend to us?

Speaker 2 (01:26:54):
I would recommend I think there is one of the
one of my favorite movies of all time is you
know the og Godzilla director. After he did Godzilla, Ishidohnanda,
he went on to do a movie called Rodin. And
we've all seen Rodin in the Godzilla franchise after the fact,
but this was a creature he just made all on

(01:27:15):
his own in his own movie, and Ishoudohnda.

Speaker 3 (01:27:18):
He is allergic to humor.

Speaker 2 (01:27:20):
He only makes like absolutely absolutely hardcore, deadly serious dark
monster movies. But Rodin actually, like I watched it as
like an absolute adult, like only in recent years, and like,
that movie's fucking scary. It's actually freaky eerie. Like it

(01:27:41):
affected me. I was like, whoa guy like I almost
I was like, calm down.

Speaker 3 (01:27:47):
These movies aren't supposed to be like that.

Speaker 2 (01:27:49):
They're like like actually actually back off. But honestly, it
stayed with me. I think that's one especially if you
like the original, if you've ever seen the original Godzi,
if you haven't seen the original gods of I worksman
that too, like Good God Go Back. It is always
surprising how well it holds up even to this day.

Speaker 3 (01:28:04):
And then rode down. Huh.

Speaker 2 (01:28:07):
And there was something else that I had just on
the back of my mind. Let's see if I remember it.
But let's move on to Jack. I just lost know
if you think of it, Jack, what a what do
you got for us?

Speaker 5 (01:28:18):
Okay? So to our Goddilla. So you must read Goddilla Heist,
the comic book series that is currently or maybe finished
by now actually, but it's still okay. So the as
I mentioned, the the hobo is one of my favorite
scenes in this movie. You know, just this concept of

(01:28:41):
a Godilla attack and this guy takes advantage. So I
speaking into this fancy restaurant, eat and all the food,
drinking all the wine. Right, and so this is a
heist movie that takes place during a Godilla attack. But
it's in comic book form. It's so clever, like you
have to you have to read it, and then you
also need to read which it was nominated for an
Eisner Godzilla. Uh, here there be monster or here there

(01:29:04):
be dragons? Shoot, I forget that, but that is just
it simply just takes the toe Home monsters and just
changes their time period, so it just takes it back
to the days of the Pirates, right, And I was like, yeah,
it's so cool. And then I have to recommend Gorgo.

(01:29:25):
Gorgo is the the the British yeah like version of
of Godzilla, which it was streaming on shutter for a while.
It might still be there, and but it's it's it's
pretty pretty easy to find that and it's also just
wonderful and it's in its corniness and just ride and
ride in those coattails, those Godilla coatails. I love it.

Speaker 4 (01:29:48):
Yeah, those comics sound fantastic. I feel like therese should
be films.

Speaker 5 (01:29:53):
Oh yeah, oh a heist movie and during would be incredible.

Speaker 2 (01:29:59):
It'd be like, where are you come on? Blow another
three hundred million dollars, Like let's go, let's do this well.
And I guess Snyder, we don't care.

Speaker 4 (01:30:09):
Godzilla's so attached to the nuclear age in some ways,
but the idea of putting him in another time period
is such interesting stuff as well.

Speaker 3 (01:30:19):
I'll have to check that out. Fascinating.

Speaker 4 (01:30:21):
Thank you for the recommendations everyone. I do want to
give two fan base press recommendations. If you're looking for
more Godzilla centric content, I will give you a recommendation
of checking out the podcast that Ashley mentioned earlier, which
was our seventieth anniversary retrospective on Godzilla.

Speaker 3 (01:30:40):
That's the original one.

Speaker 4 (01:30:42):
And then we also have a fan Base Press interview
with Louis Joyce on bringing IDW's Publishing's Godzilla Skate or
Die to a close, which was a skating inspired Godzilla tail.
So I'll put links for those in the show notes.
You can check them out.

Speaker 6 (01:31:02):
Let us also not forget Fanbase Press zone Nuclear Power.

Speaker 1 (01:31:06):
I'll just say you very good series and if you
like anything about this podcast, you should absolutely pick up.

Speaker 3 (01:31:12):
Yes you are.

Speaker 4 (01:31:13):
If you're looking for Cold War themes and analogies along
with some supernatural abilities and characters, definitely check it out.

Speaker 3 (01:31:23):
We very proud of that book. Thank you, Ashley.

Speaker 4 (01:31:25):
Before we wrap up, I do want everyone to know
where they can find you and your work online. You
all do really cool things aside from talk about Godzilla
nineteen eighty five with me, So let's go around once
more and just let people know where they can find
you and your work online.

Speaker 3 (01:31:40):
Dave start us off.

Speaker 2 (01:31:42):
Yeah, the best place to find us online. I mean
I have my podcast Entertainment. If you just Google that
or search for it on any podcast platform, you will
find it. Our substack is our home base, which is
Entertainment Studios dot com. That's just entertainment with a V
I instead of the E. At the beginning, Entertainment Entertainment

(01:32:03):
Studios dot Com takes you.

Speaker 3 (01:32:04):
Right to our substack. Those are the best places.

Speaker 2 (01:32:06):
All our social media is linked, either at the podcast
or at substacks.

Speaker 3 (01:32:09):
You can find the rest of our social media links
from there. Excellent Ashley, Where can we find you in
your work online?

Speaker 6 (01:32:16):
You can find me all over the internet at Ashley v. Robinson.

Speaker 1 (01:32:19):
The V is very important. Ashley Robinson is a WNBA
player and I don't want to fight.

Speaker 6 (01:32:23):
Her for SEO.

Speaker 2 (01:32:24):
She is tall.

Speaker 6 (01:32:27):
And you can find geek History Lesson.

Speaker 1 (01:32:28):
We're all find podcasts or had It's called geek History
Lesson because we wanted to be easy to google. And
if this episode comes out before September thirteenth, come out
to the roguelike tavern and Bourban can see me perform
improvise Shakespeare in a bar.

Speaker 6 (01:32:43):
I would love to see you.

Speaker 3 (01:32:45):
Excellent Jack, Where can we find you and your work online?

Speaker 5 (01:32:51):
I'm most active on open source social media, so blue
Sky and Matdon, but Comics Librarian across pretty much all
social media except for her x is where I can
be found. And next year I do have two books
coming out. It's I've got the second edition of my
Maximizing the Impact of Comics book, and then I've got

(01:33:12):
a book about a celebration and history of movie novelizations
that'll be out from McFarland Press is. Currently we have
not decided on a title yet.

Speaker 4 (01:33:23):
I can't wait to check that out. That sounds very exciting,
But I want to say that I thank.

Speaker 3 (01:33:29):
You to all of you.

Speaker 4 (01:33:29):
Actually, Ashley, Jack, Dave, thank you for putting some time
aside just to talk about what I consider a fantastic film,
Guyzilla in nineteen eighty five. I'm glad to find some
compatriots who have appreciation for this cinematic gem.

Speaker 1 (01:33:46):
No, I'm really glad that nobody came in and was like,
I'm taking this to be against this, because that would
have been truly heartbreaking.

Speaker 4 (01:33:56):
You you, you three are going to be my godzilly
brother brethren. I appreciate you once again setting up some
setting side sometime to talk about this film.

Speaker 3 (01:34:05):
So thank you again.

Speaker 4 (01:34:06):
All right, everyone, You can find me online if you
want to at Comic book Slayer on Twitter. I'm also
on comic book as Comic Book Sniffer on Instagram, on
Blue Sky, and I will also recommend that you check
out both fan Base Press and the fan Base Weekly
on all social media Facebook, Twitter, Blue Sky, Instagram and more.

(01:34:29):
The fan Base Weekly podcast is on Apple Podcasts, so
you can subscribe to it there and rate the show
and then don't forget. You can also email us your comments, questions,
anything else, tell us your opinion of Godzilla in nineteen
eighty five. That email is Thefanbaseweekly at gmail dot com.
I also want to give a shout out to our sponsor,

(01:34:51):
Comics dot one. Comics dot one is a global marketplace,
crowdfunding platform, and app for independent comic creators that puts
the creators for the marketplace has over one thousand books
and counting. The crowdfunding has inbuilt fulfillment, and the e
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(01:35:13):
something for everyone. Signing up as a user is free
and they'll even give you access to a handful of
comics for free to help you get started. Head over
to comics dot one to grab a copy of your
next favorite indie comic. That's c coomix dot one. Thank
you for listening everyone. This has been Brian Dylan for

(01:35:34):
fan Base Press, where we celebrate fandoms and create new ones.

Speaker 3 (01:35:38):
Until next time, my friends.

Speaker 1 (01:35:40):
This has been part of the fan base Press podcast network.

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