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Godzilla Vs Gigan 1972 Director: Jun Fukuda Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 89 minutes Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom Region Code: 99 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-10-19 Buy from Amazon |
 "Pretty ugly in terms of greatness"By golly! This is terrible! The special effects are, uh, only 5 cents? When King Ghidorah and Gigan (an interesting foe for big G) King Ghidorah does a kind of flip in the air, THAT'S A TOY MODEL FOR PETE'S SAKE! Anyway, here's the plot: Alien roach people from outer space build a Godzilla theme park for children to "relax" in, away from the hardships of life. The planet the people come from, is much like the planet Earth. It's suffering from pullution and radiation, so they try to take over Earth (enough invasions already!). So they send Gigan, a monster with giant claws and a chainsaw in his chest, and King Ghidorah, a three-headed monster we've always liked to see to destroy the planet (or rather Tokyo). Anguilas and Godzilla try to defeat them (which they always do, that's what we expect of kaiju films). Anguilas fights King Ghidorah and Godzilla fights Gigan. Godzilla vs. Gigan is the first Godzilla movie to have actual communication between monsters (and HORRIBLE voice choices!). Something that should be recorded in a Godzilla history documentary. Do yourself a favor, and don't whatch Godzilla vs. Gigan or Godzilla's Revenge, see any other G movie.  "Godzilla vs. Gigan Review"I personally liked Godzilla vs. Gigan. They put in a new monster, which is usually a good way to get a good movie. They also put in an old monster, King Ghidrah. I think you should buy Godzilla vs. Gigan.  "A good old movie."Im 15 right now, when i was about 8 i bought this movie at fred meyers, I enjoyed watching it for about 2 years straight then it got lost. I found the cassette sitting in a behind a pile of old movies about 2 weeks ago or so and i watched it. A group of aliens take over an amusement park and use it for there base. ((In a godzilla statue)). Then they bring 2 space monsters, one a new one ((And my favorite godzilla monster of all times.)) Gigan, A Half robot,Half Bird like creature cyborg with hooks. And 3 the headed monster ghidora. They control gigan and ghidora and make them trash tokyo, then godzilla comes with his sidekick to kick some aliens.... One cool thing was godzilla and his spikey sidekick could talk, However the voices were messed up. ((almost as if someone was trying to play a staticky recorded sound.)) And i dont know if it was just me, But i saw a Mothra caterpillar when godzilla was fighting ghidora near the bridge. I still think its cool, The fighting scenes were cool but i wish they wouldnt have moved so slow, ((When gigan throws godzilla, its almost as if hes flying on the moon.)) but i guess in 1972 they didnt have the special affects of todays movies. "I guess I've got a soft spot....."I'm sorry, I know this movie is campier than heck, and compared to modern American CGI the effects are horrible, but it really does the best with what it's got. This was the first Godzilla movie I ever saw and to be truthful it did scare me. The plot in this film is ridiculous and the acting is beyond bad, but with every Godzilla movie the monsters are what really matters. This one brings back three favorites: the hero, Godzilla; Anguirus, the steadfast sidekick; and the infamous bad guy of bad guys King Ghidorah. It also throws in a new monster to slap Godzilla and Tokyo around: Gigan. This monster is the saving aspect of the movie. In my mind Gigan is one of the best giant monster creations ever thought up. In design he a cross between a T'Rex, a robot and chicken (I know it sounds stupid, but it works) with gigantic can opener arms. I also like the overflowing personality given to Gigan, he's deadly but a bit of a coward. Since this film he;s only appeared once more in the Goszilla series (Godzilla vs Megalon). Hopefully we'll get to see him again.  "Godzilla talks the talk and walks the walk in this one"Godzilla talks in this movie. I don't know who came up with this idea or why, nor do I know why his voice is made to sound like a Billy Crystal impersonation of an old Jewish man. Thankfully, Godzilla is a monster of few words; he and Anguiras speak only a couple of times in the movie. As for the plot, it is your typical inane Godzilla story--aliens have begun building a Children's Land Amusement Park, centered around a giant Godzilla replica; claiming to be seeking world peace, they are actually plotting to take over the earth. An out-of-work cartoonist, whose comics feature such horrible monsters as the Monster of Homework and the Monster of Overbearing Mothers, manages to stumble across the group's evil plans. Working with such allies as a black belt lady not immune to fainting and a Japanese Jerry Garcia lookalike, he sets about foiling the plans of the bad guys. The aliens send for King Ghidorah and Gigan from their home world in the Hunter Nebula. The alien monsters begin laying waste to Tokyo, but finally Godzilla and his sidekick Anguiras arrive to fight. Godzilla had apparently become lazy and neglected his normal training regimen because he is far from all-powerful when the melee begins. Not only is he abused by Ghidorah and Gigan, but he walks right into an alien trap. Anguiras, who really has little offensive capabilities, gives a gritty performance, even taking on King Ghidorah monster-a-monster at one point. At points in this battle, though, it is anyone's fight. The special effects here are not that special, but that's okay with me. Many of the scenes of destruction make obvious use of model cars, buildings, tanks with toy soldiers, etc.. Godzilla' costume does indeed look pretty ragged, barely holding up through the end of the fight. Gigan does not impress me that much; the tusk-like hands are okay, but the rotating circular saw in his chest seems sort of weird. King Ghidorah, my favorite Godzilla foe, looks horrible in this movie. His three heads each look like they have reached middle age, and his whole appearance seemed rather drab. Most disappointingly, he is totally static (with unmoving heads) when he is shown flying in outer space. A lot of people seem to prefer this film to its successor, Godzilla vs Megalon, but give me Megalon over Gigan any day. For me, besides the utter ridiculousness of making Godzilla and Anguiras talk, this movie represents Godzilla's worst fight performance and most bedraggled appearance. It's not the worst Godzilla movie, but it is far from the best. |
