The Japanese term is (dai)kaiju and refers to a film genre that features giant monsters, usually attacking humanity or fighting other similar creatures. Toho's Godzilla (the japanese wtitle is actually Godzira) is the most renowned character of the genre with other famous entries including Tsubaraya Productions' Ultraman and Daiei Film's Gamera. All of the above characters spawned a number of films with the latest Godzilla film titled "Godzilla Resurgence" scheduled to premiere in July 2016.
Drawing from themes like the atomic bomb and the animosity between Japan and USA or Russia, these films dominated the box office for more than four decades, starting at the 50's and generating tens of movies that occasionally paired monsters from different
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Strange deaths occur in a mining village and when Shigeru and a group of miners investigate a mine, they discover huge insect called Meganulon, which attacks them. Shigeru manages to escape and informs the police. however, they discover that their guns have no effect and they are barely saved by a cave-in. Soon after, a supersonic creature starts to attack jets, only to be revealed as a Rodan, a pterodactyl, who wants to reunite with his mate guarding eggs inside Aso volcano. In his path he wreaks havoc all over Tokyo.
Kenji Sahara is very good as Shigeru, in one of the most developed characters ever to appear in a kaiju film. Rodan and the Meganulon look very impressive and sinister, and the miniatures are extremely well built. Furthermore, Honda managed to retain seriousness throughout the film, avoiding the slapstick elements that were implemented in the next Rodan films.
Varan The Unbelievable (Ishiro Honda, 1958)
Toho last kaiju film shot in black and white featured a creature that resembled Godzilla, although its appearnce looked like something between a bat and a
... Century would be a good one. I think this is because of the revenge code and that they would expect people to take revenge and that it might lead to death. I feel the technology of the time and the period each film was made in.
Racist characteristics in films and stories are something that can be perceived in this generation, but was something that was normal and expected in the 1930’s. Sexuality and raciness were items that made films a commodity in the 30’s and King Kong uses both of these to attract a wide audience. These qualities are also a factor as to why King Kong remains a classic throughout the generations.
In 1954, Japan debuted the world’s first radioactive “king of all monsters”, Gojira. Gojira director, Ishiro Honda, sets the first scene with a destructive power emerging from the sea that would ignite a burning panic throughout Japan and force catastrophe in its wake—much like the atomic bomb it was birthed from. Gojira had a single purpose, to rampage across Japan and decimate everything in its path. As much as they tried to stop the monster, Japan’s defenses fell victim to Gojira’s indestructibility. As Japan’s last resort, they found hope in Dr. Serizawa’s emergence of new science and technology to dismantle Gojira. In the end, the bittersweet success of defeating Gojira with Dr. Serizawa’s Oxygen Destroyer was not dared to be forgotten or thought of lightly. Because if placed in the wrong hands, nuclear weapons testing may continue and another monster might appear again.
Through the talkies in the 30’s little changed (except sound). The 1950’s and 60’s focused on sci-fi, B movies and Hammer horror, often known as the ‘Atomic Phase.’ Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Alien at the Arctic Circle and The Thing (1951) are good examples. Horror then switched to witchcraft and zombie films such as Night Of The Living Dead (1968) and Day Of The Dead (1985). Conventions changed, we now had more suspense, people being trapped and spiritual terror. Towards the end of the era we also saw an increase in the amount of violence and gore but this was nothing compared to what came next.
After going on for so long, most would say this violence was just a part of life, unchangeable. However, I believe that the creators of this movie saw a glimpse into what could have become a very real apocalypse in the near future of Earth: the development and dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. This film, released just six years after the devastation of Japan and the end of World War II, acted as a warning of what the future could hold, if this violent streak
Throughout the fantasy film, Conan the Barbarian, the directors use many different film techniques to imply to the audience a specific message or deeper meaning. The film is about a young boy losing his family and being forced into slavery under the ruling of Thulsa Doom and his followers. Conan grows up being exposed to a barbaric lifestyle. He then uses this lifestyle to defeat Thulsa Doom and the disturbing ritual-like worshiping of the serpent. The directors use of cinematography to convey relationships, and costumes to portray the time period and social status of the characters.
The fifties was a learning year and the 60's became the time to express everything that they learned. The 60's was a time for new and innovative ways to entertain the people. Since the blacklisting continued in Hollywood, the making or films became very difficult to express. The restrictions, such as the production codes, kept the big corporations to produce films that had no interesting subjects. These films also had to be films that show no signs of communistic values. The film industry was failing to bring in the audience to the theaters. With the TV making a big wave all over, the U.S. the film industry was losing it is money. Then in 1961 something big happened, 20th Century Fox took apart its lot. This act was one that led to a chain reaction. Studios were assuming the role of distributors. This would allow the independent companies to come in and add a new flavor to the silver screen. During this time films changed it's traditional film making ideas. Things started to get graphic, more violent, sexual and more expressive. Movies had found a new look and with the production codes now gone and the blacklisting ending, there was an explosion of ideas that would be presented to the United States.
This film had spectacular performances from the actors, especially Takashi Shimura, who plays Kanbei. Kanbei is a seasoned samurai and he was first chosen by the elders of the village. Toshiro Mifune’s plays Kikuchiyo who is an abrasive samurai who bridges the gap between the warriors and the people who live in the village.
In Pearl Harbor, the film had many historically accurate scenes. For example, the Japanese were able to attack the Pearl Harbor base, because of the way they snuck up on the Americans. After the attacks the U.S. Military determined that, “[The Japanese] really did ‘disappear’ from US radars and flood the airwaves with references to every possible target in
For instance take Godzilla, in “Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast Called Godzilla” author, Peter H Brothers tells us some history behind the making of the monster. “Godzilla was made in Japan less then a decade after atomic bombs devastated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Still reeling from the trauma of atomic annihilation and the subsequent effects of radioactive poisoning, a team of Japanese filmmakers created a monster that embodied the fears and anxieties in Japan resulting from Nuclear Warfare” (51). Godzilla is a prime example of monsters symbolizing a societies fears. “We create monsters as a reaction to the fears we experience and our inability to control the world around us” (Asma 61). Our inability to not have control of our fate and what other people are going to do will never change, but creating Godzilla gave the people of these
Monsters are symbols and representations of a culture. They exist because of certain places or feelings of a time period. Monsters are “an embodiment of a certain cultural moment”. Author of Grendel, John Gardner, and author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, both create a monster to represent something larger than itself in order to have the reader reflect on their “fears, desires, anxiety, and fantasy” in society, which is explained in Jefferey Cohen's Monster Culture (Seven Theses). The latest trend in monster media, zombies, also fit into Cohen's theses on what a monster is.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
In 2006, a film directed by Clint Eastwood was released in theatres around the world titled Letters from Iwo Jima. Unlike most war movies that are produced for the American public, this film entirely captures the World War II battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the enemy. For a rare change, Letters from Iwo Jima shows the cultural aspect and daily life the Japanese soldiers experienced during the war. Although the film was given many positive reviews and was noted as one of the best films of 2006, it still received mixed emotions from both the Japanese and American public. One of the main ideas of the film focuses on the idea that good and evil exist on both sides, and that although we share different ideas, thoughts, traditions, and customs, we are all human and share more in common than we think.
Although I imagined the creature a human being with somewhat distorted features, another reader might view his appearance as a grotesque monster. On the other hand, the movie has shown him as a hideous monster created by a mad scientist. The monster’s appearance was focused on creating life out of dead body parts, sewing the pieces together that left horrid physical scars, and activating him with electricity.
In this paper I will offer a structural analysis of the films of Simpson and Bruckheimer. In addition to their spectacle and typically well-crafted action sequences, Simpson/Bruckheimer pictures seem to possess an unconscious understanding of the zeitgeist and other cultural trends. It is this almost innate ability to select scripts that tap into some traditional American values (patriotism, individualism, and the obsession with the “new”) that helps to make their movies blockbusters.