Japan's favorite mon-star : the unauthorized biography of The Big G / Steve Ryfle.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ryfle, Steve.

Contributor:

EBSCOhost.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Godzilla films--History and criticism.

Godzilla films.

Godzilla (Fictitious character).

Godzilla.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (374 pages) : illustrations, portraits

Place of Publication:

Toronto, Ont., Canada : ECW Press, [1998]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Bigger, badder, and more durable than Hollywood's greatest action heroes, Godzilla emerged from the mushroom cloud of an H-bomb test in 1954 to trample Tokyo. More than 40 years later, he reigns as the undisputed monarch of movie monsters, with legions of fans spanning several generations and countless international boundaries.

Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G" is the first authoritative guide to the Godzilla legend published in North America. The book covers every aspect of the Godzilla legend, from the monster's symbolic origins, his transformation to Japan's reluctant protector-hero, and his forgettable child-geared antics of the 1970s to his triumphant return in a series of all-new Japanese-made films in the 1990s. It dispels the myths and illuminates the mysteries of this enigmatic monstar, and is loaded with background information, trivia, and interviews with the people who created Godzilla -- then and now. Including in-depth analysis of all 22 Godzilla movies.Behind-the-scenes production details on the monsters, the special effects, the "Americanization" of the Godzilla movies, the quirky English dubbing, and other facets of Godzilla lore. Interviews with and profiles of Godzilla's creators, monster actors, and cast members.

Rare details on unmade films that would have pitted Godzilla against Frankenstein, a "Ghost Godzilla," and monsters with names like Bagan, Redmoon, and the Gryphon, plus the full story of Steve Miner's never-filmed American Godzilla movie in 3d! The full background story on Tri-Star Pictures' big-budget, U.S.-made, high-tech Godzilla blockbuster remake.

Contents:

Introduction: The Godzilla Era

Part 1 Ground Zero

The 1950s

1. Birth of a Legend: Godzilla a.k.a. Godzilla: King of the Monsters! 19

2. You Can't Keep a Bad Monster Down Godzilla Raids Again: a.k.a. Gigantis: The Fire Monster 61

Part 2 Golden Age

The 1960s

3. Clash of the Titans: King Kong vs. Godzilla 79

4. Madame Butterfly: Godzilla vs. The Thing 103

5. Enter the Dragon: Ghidrah: The Three-Headed Monster 113

6. Voyage into Space: Monster Zero 121

7. It Came from Beneath the Sea: Godzilla versus The Sea Monster 133

8. All in the Family: Son of Godzilla 139

9. War of the Worlds: Destroy All Monsters 145

10. Unknown Island: Godzilla's Revenge 155

Part 3 Dark Days

The 1970s

11. Toxic Avenger: Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster 161

12. Twilight of the Cockroaches: Godzilla on Monster Island 173

13. Lost Continent: Godzilla vs. Megalon 181

14. Robot Monster: Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster 195

15. Bride of the Monster Terror of MechaGodzilla: a.k.a. The Terror of Godzilla 199

Part 4 Resurrection

The 1980s

16. The Legend is Reborn: Godzilla (1984) a.k.a. Godzilla 1985 215

Part 5 Second Coming

The 1990s

17. The Name of the Rose: Godzilla vs. Biollante 251

18. The Time Travelers: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 265

19. Earth's Final Fury: Godzilla vs. Mothra 279

20. Cyborg: Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla 287

21. Enemies: A Love Story: Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla 295

22. Requiem for a Heavyweight: Godzilla vs. Destroyer 305

Part 6 Godzilla vs. Hollywood

The Future

23. Remade in America: Godzilla (1998) 321

i. Cast and Credits 351

ii. Godzilla on Video 367

iii. Cyberspace Godzilla 370

Personnel Files and Interviews

The God(zilla) Fathers: Tanaka, Honda, Tsuburaya, and Ifukube 39

The Heavy: Raymond Burr 59

City-Smashing to the Beat: Masaru Sato 75

Monster Scribes: Shinchi Sekizawa, Takeshi Kimura 92

The King's Court: Actors and Actresses 94

The Controller Speaks: Yoshio Tsuchiya 127

The Rebel: Nick Adams 129

Successor to the Throne: Teruyoshi Nakano 167

Godzilla in the Flesh: Haruo Nakajima 178

White Guy in Monsterland: Robert Dunham 185

Modern-Day Monster: Kenpachiro Satsuma 261

Swan Song: Akira Ifukube 315

New Wave Godzilla: Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott 330

Sidebars and Special Sections

Godzilla's Birthplace: A brief history of Toho and the Japanese movie industry 24

Godzilla Talk: English dubbing in Japanese monster movies 149

Godzilla, American Style: Hanna-Barbera's cartoon series 209

Pop Monster: Godzilla references in books, music, etc. 243

Godzilla Invades LA 317

The G-Archives: Unmade and Obscure Godzilla Projects

Hot Lava: Synopsis of The Volcano Monsters 70

Moth Holes: The evolution of the Godzilla vs. The Thing screenplay, by Jay Ghee 111

Godzilla Conquers the World: Frankenstein vs. Godzilla, by Jay Ghee 119

Evil Brain from Outer Space: Godzilla vs. The Space Monsters, by Jay Ghee 176

Monster for Hire: Godzilla vs. Redmoon, by Jay Ghee 177

Ultra-Goji: Godzilla and Japanese TV super-heroes 188

The Electric Kool-Aid Kaiju Test: Cozzi's colorized Godzilla 207

Godzilla versus ... Cleveland? 224

Begin the Bagan: The Return of Godzilla, by Jay Ghee 226

Synopsis of Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3-D, by Fred Dekker 227

The Giant Rat and the Killer Plant: the original story of Godzilla vs. Gigamoth, by Jay Ghee 259

S.O.L. on the Satellite of Love: Godzilla vs. MST3K 276

Development Hell, Toho-Style: Mothra vs. Bagan and Godzilla vs. Biollante, by Jay Ghee 284.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-374).

Electronic reproduction. Ipswich, MA Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781554903481

1554903483

Publisher Number:

99969833969

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.