When we arrived at the State, the line of people buying tickets extended from the theater up East Main Street and around the corner onto Brown Street. Mom did not want to wait in line with two youngsters in tow, so we took the Baldwin Street bus back home and returned a few days later to see Godzilla when the line was shorter.
That film gave me nightmares for years! Especially the scene where a throng of people climb a hill and lo and behold, Godzilla shows up at the top of the hill!
I recalled this while watching Godzilla: King of the Monsters on New Years Eve. This is the 2019 entry in the Godzilla saga and having seen a lot of other entries in the saga, my expectations were not high. Surprisingly, the film was very good. The film brings back a couple of my favorite monsters (Rodan and Mothra), its soundtrack uses music from the first Godzilla film and the climactic battle of the monsters takes place in Fenway Park!
Thinking about my Godzilla nightmares, I also recalled that my Mom told me that she had nightmares for years after her mother took her to see Frankenstein when she was a youngster.
Like mother, like daughter!
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| Wearing Brahmin |
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| Akihiro Miwa |
I am one of those people who think the new CG Godzilla movies cannot compete with the old ones. The old ones were so bad they were great. A guy in a rubber Godzilla suit stomping on a 10 inch high model of Tokyo wins every time. LOL
ReplyDeleteFor me, it was 'those damn Flying Monkeys'. AND the witches! Horrible screechy voiced witches...
ReplyDeleteAlong with the fact we were watching the first on air broadcast of 'The Wizard of Oz' in the early 1960's on a crappy, old, faded screen 17" Black and White TV.
A LOT of young minds cannot decide what is real and not-real or what is truly threatening or non-threatening. That would be me....
As for me, I STILL avoid Horror or Monster (no monsters exploding from the chest cavity, please!) movies-- UNLESS they are being ridiculed on 'Mystery Science Theater 3000'. Is that still on?
Velma
Velma - MST3K is also on the road! A live touring show is coming to my toen this month.
DeleteWhen my family was going to see THE SOUND OF MUSIC for the second time (1965) I opted for a double feature at our small, neighborhood cinema. Don Knotts in THE SHAKIEST GUN IN THE WEST and KING KONG vs GODZILLA. I was NOT disappointed - bad rubber monster suits and all.
ReplyDeleteAnd, being a born and bred Bostonian, I now MUST see Godzilla in Fenway!!!
I was around 12 and my friend and I had permission to go to our first horror film at the Hyattsville theater -- "Frankenstein" and "Cat People" We got bus money but decided to walk and spend the money on popcorn.
ReplyDelete"Frankenstein" was scary but the issues it was dealing with went over our 12-year old heads. "Cat People", on the other hand was about people -- a woman (Simone Simon) in particular -- who became leopards under certain circumstances. That one got into my head, as the director intended, and was the more scary of the two films.
On our walk home there was a disturbance near our path home. It was some cats fighting and all we thought of was, "LEOPARDS"!!! We ran as fast as we could all the way home, maybe 1.5 miles. I ran into the house, locked the door and ran into my room and hid under the bed. My parents must have had WTF??? looks on their faces and when my mom eventually fished me out of my hidey-hole and heard my story they had a great laugh at my expense. How could they laugh when Lenny and I might have been eaten by Leopards??
Perhaps this was the start of my preference for films that require me to have my brain activated all the time. "Cat People" (1942), by the way still holds up after all these years, as does another such film, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". It was years before seeing a truckload of watermelons didn't send a chill down my spine.
Before Akihiro Miwa went into voicing animated characters he was a beautiful actress. "Black Lizard" is a good example of her playing a dangerous woman and pulling it off perfectly. It's worth a look -- if you can find it.
ReplyDeleteYou can view "Black Lizard" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCV2_3AgPlU
DeleteThanks for the link, Stana.
Delete'CAUSE THERE
AINT NO WAY (!)
I AM GONNA INPUT
'BLACK LIZARD'
into my search engine!
;-p
Velma
It's nice to see a model - the gorgeous young woman in the Brahmin advert above - who doesn't look anorexic.
ReplyDeletePenny from Edinburgh.
I agree, Penny. I hope to continue to use less anorexic models in the future.
DeleteDear Stana,
ReplyDeleteI love humongously large monster movies. I enjoyed the latest 2 USA Godzilla films (especially in 3D). My very favorite huge monster film was 2013’s PACIFIC RIM (especially in 3D ... one of the very best 3D films). It has an excellent cast including the great Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, and (in a shorter, yet terrific supporting role) Ron Perlman. The production design and special effects are SPECTACULAR. And, the consistently terrific 3D depth is awesome. And, besides the film having multiple Godzilla-sized monsters, the plot, acting, and character development are all wonderful. Unless you have a 3D TV (like me) and can buy or rent the 3D Blu-Ray, it’s still very much worth renting the 2D version.
I rate PACIFIC RIM the highest “5 Lipstick” rating.
Love,
Sheila.
I like Pacific Rim!
DeleteHis original Japanese name is 'Gojira'.
ReplyDeleteGodzilla is anglicized translation of the Japanese word gojira. Gojira is actually the combination of two Japanese words: gorira, which means gorilla and kujira which means whale. ... Over time, the two mixed and he was named 'Gojira.'" However, that stagehand was never identified.
I have seen Gojira and IMHO, it is a better film than the Americanized (Raymond Burr) version.
DeleteHaruo Nakajima was the actor in the Godzilla suit.
The new BBC production of "Dracula" has a very strong middle bookended by weaker material, but it is still worth the time.
ReplyDeleteThe female lead, Dolly Wells, should be on your list of actresses at 5-10.
Dear Stana,
ReplyDeleteI have a suggestion for a new blog you can start. Since FEMULATE covers males emulating females, MONSTULATE could cover men in rubber suites emulating monsters!
Sorry ... sometimes I’m just a smidgen SILLY.
Love,
Sheila.
me and Godzilla were born in 1954, that explains everything...
ReplyDelete