The War of the Gargantuas (1966)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frankenstein's Monsters:
“
|
A crisis, striking from the mountains and the sea! Greater Tokyo is the battlefield of death! (山から海から襲い来る危機！大東京は死の決戦場！)
|
„
|
— Japanese tagline |
“
|
An important film of our age!
|
„
|
— International trailer tagline |
“
|
Can a country survive when two Gargantuas battle to the death?
|
„
|
— American tagline |
The War of the Gargantuas (フランケンシュタインの怪獣 サンダ対ガイラ Furankenshutain no Kaijū: Sanda tai Gaira, lit. "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira") is a 1966 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda and co-written by Honda and Kaoru Mabuchi from a story by Reuben Bercovitch, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced by Toho with co-funding from Benedict Pictures, it is a loose sequel to the previous year's Frankenstein vs. Baragon. It stars Kenji Sahara, Kumi Mizuno, Russ Tamblyn, and Jun Tazaki. The film was released to Japanese theaters by Toho on July 31, 1966. Maron Films released an edited English-dubbed version of the film to United States theaters on July 29, 1970, as part of a double feature with Monster Zero.
Following a shipwreck, the lone surviving crew member blames the accident on Frankenstein. Other disasters soon follow, much to the confusion of Frankenstein's former caregivers Paul Stewart, Akemi Togawa, and Yuzo Mamiya, who recalled the creature being friendly and never aggressive toward humans. When the JSDF deploys its newly-developed Type 66 Maser Cannons to destroy the rampaging green giant, a second brown giant arrives to rescue him. Stewart realizes that the savage Green Gargantua, named Gaira, must have regenerated from severed tissue left behind by the Brown Gargantua they raised, named Sanda. Sanda soon learns of his brother's habit of eating humans and attacks him, triggering a battle to the death between the brothers in Tokyo. Akemi pleads to save Sanda from the JSDF while Sanda tries fruitlessly to end his brother's rampage non-violently.
Plot
One night, a fishing boat in the waters just off Japan finds itself under attack by a Giant Octopus. Just before it can strangle one of the crew members to death with one of its tentacles, the monstrous cephalopod is attacked by a gigantic green-haired humanoid creature. After dispatching the Octopus, the giant begins violently attacking the boat and attempting to sink it. Sometime later, one surviving crew member is being held in a hospital. Representatives try to get the story of how the ship sank from him, but he says in terror that the ship was sunk by Frankenstein. The maritime authority is hesitant to believe that the ship was sunk by this "Gargantua," and dispatches divers to investigate the shipwreck. They uncover the clothes of all of the other four crew members, which are soaked in blood and look as though they were chewed up and spit out. Another boat soon falls victim to the Gargantua and a group of civilians finally witnesses the creature emerge from the water as they try and bring in a fishing net. The maritime authority contacts Frankenstein expert Dr. Paul Stewart in Kyoto to ask him if it is possible the Gargantua is the Frankenstein he raised at his institute. He dismisses the notion, stating Frankenstein died at Mount Fuji and would never live in the sea nor eat humans. Furthermore, reports of huge humanoid footprints in the Japanese Alps have led Stewart to investigate along with his assistant Akemi Togawa, while their colleague Dr. Yuzo Mamiya travels to investigate a salvaged shipwreck believed to be attacked by the Gargantua. Stewart and Akemi find the footprints in the mountains and accept the possibility they were left behind by Frankenstein, while Mamiya finds a mucous membrane left behind on the shipwreck. Analysis of the membrane shows that the creature's cells are almost identical to Frankenstein's, and the JSDF determines that Frankenstein must be behind the attacks. On a cloudy day, the Gargantua comes ashore at Haneda Airport and terrorizes the fleeing civilians. When the sun peeks through the clouds, the Gargantua immediately runs back to the sea, which Mamiya determines must mean the monster is averse to bright light. The three scientists attend a conference in Tokyo to discuss countermeasures, but Stewart is still of the belief that the Gargantua in the sea and Frankenstein are different individuals.
That night, the Gargantua comes ashore in Tokyo and menaces a lounge singer before making his way into the countryside. The JSDF approves Operation L, a plan to use electromagnetic weapons including the newly-developed Type 66 Maser Cannon to kill the Gargantua. The plan is carried out, with Trip Wire Cannons firing at the monster's legs before the Masers unleash their electromagnetic rays on the Gargantua. The beast tries to retreat to a river, but finds the water electrified. Just as the JSDF has the Gargantua at their mercy, a brown-haired Gargantua emerges from the forest and helps the other up. The brown Gargantua waves off the JSDF and helps his green counterpart to safety. Stewart and Akemi conclude that the Brown Gargantua, designated "Sanda" by the JSDF, is the kindly Frankenstein they raised. Analysis of tissue recovered from the Green Gargantua, Gaira, shows his cells are identical to Sanda's. Mamiya proposes that the two Gargantuas are brothers, with Stewart saying the analogy is not far off. He proposes that when Sanda escaped their lab and went to Lake Biwa, some of his flesh tore off on a rock and grew into Gaira. While the kindly Sanda grew up in the mountains and was raised lovingly by Akemi, Gaira grew up in the dark depths of the ocean and became a hateful, violent beast. Stewart says the Gargantuas are more like clones than brothers, and determines that any attack against them runs the risk of spreading their cells which could then regenerate into more Gargantuas.
Sanda has taken his brother to the mountains around Mt. Fuji where he helps tend to his wounds. Akemi and Stewart head to the area to look for the Gargantuas, but come face-to-face with Gaira as he menaces a group of hikers. As Akemi and Stewart flee, Akemi falls over the side of a cliff and hangs on a tree branch for dear life. Before she falls into the rocky rapids below, Sanda hears her screams and rescues her, breaking his leg in the process. Akemi is overjoyed that Sanda recognizes her, and watches as he limps away. When Sanda returns to Gaira, he finds his brother sleeping next to the bloody clothes of the hikers he attacked. Sanda is horrified at the revelation his brother preys upon innocent humans and strikes him with a tree in rage. Gaira awakens and the two Gargantuas battle, with Gaira running away and Sanda unable to give chase on account of his broken leg. Gaira storms through the Fuji area and retreats to the sea before the JSDF can carry out its plan to destroy the Gargantuas. Most troubling is that Gaira seems to have lost his aversion to light, meaning he could attack Tokyo again. This comes to pass as Gaira enters the city once again, with Sanda converging on his location. The JSDF approves plans to attack both Gargantuas despite Stewart's protests. Akemi runs into the city streets to find Sanda and warn him to leave, with Stewart accompanying her. The two are soon menaced by Gaira, who grabs Akemi in his clutches. Fortunately, Sanda arrives and prompts Gaira to drop Akemi. Sanda tries to reason with his brother to end this senseless violence, but Gaira retaliates like a cornered animal and attacks his brother. Sanda continues fruitlessly pleading with Gaira, who continues lashing out. Finally, Sanda accepts that his brother cannot be saved or reasoned with and fights back. The JSDF opens fire on Gaira as the war of the Gargantuas moves toward the port, their Maser Cannons sustaining fire on the Green Gargantua. Both monsters fall into Tokyo Bay and continue their duel, gradually moving into the open sea. Planes drop bombs on the battling Gargantuas, but this activates an undersea volcano which begins to erupt. Both Sanda and Gaira continue to fight as they vanish amid the massive eruption. Mamiya finds Stewart with Akemi at a hospital and reports that both Sanda and Gaira appear to have perished in the eruption, though neither of their deaths could be confirmed. Akemi is heartbroken at the loss of Sanda, who gave his life to defend humanity.
Staff
- Main article: The War of the Gargantuas/Credits.
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Ishiro Honda
- Written by Kaoru Mabuchi, Ishiro Honda
- Based on a story by Reuben Bercovitch
- Based on characters created by Mary Shelley
- Executive producers Tomoyuki Tanaka, Kenichiro Tsunoda, Henry G. Saperstein, Reuben Bercovitch
- Music by Akira Ifukube
- "Feel in My Heart" performed by Kipp Hamilton
- Cinematography by Hajime Koizumi
- Edited by Ryohei Fujii
- Production design by Takeo Kita
- 1st assistant director Koji Kajita
- Director of special effects Eiji Tsuburaya
- 1st assistant director of special effects Teruyoshi Nakano
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Kenji Sahara as Dr. Yuzo Mamiya
- Kumi Mizuno as Akemi Togawa
- Russ Tamblyn as Dr. Paul Stewart (Japanese voice actor: Goro Mutsumi)
- Jun Tazaki as Major General Hashimoto
- Kipp Hamilton as club singer
- Yoshibumi Tajima as Hirai
- Nobuo Nakamura as Professor Kita
- Hisaya Ito as Chief Izumida
- Nadao Kirino as Lt. Col. Kazama
- Yasuhisa Tsutsumi as JSDF officer
- Henry Okawa as doctor
- Shoichi Hirose as mountain guide
- Kozo Nomura as JSDF staff officer
- Ikio Sawamura as elderly fisherman
- Ren Yamamoto as Saburo Kameda, Dai San Caijin Maru helmsman
- Noriaki Inoue as young mountaineer
- Yasuhiko Saijo as convertible driver
- Haruya Sakamoto as JSDF officer
- Mitsuo Tsuda as JSDF officer
- Wataru Omae as air traffic controller
- Kyoko Mori as nurse
- Hiroko Minami as convertible passenger
- Tadashi Okabe as reporter
- Yoshio Katsube as reporter
- Minoru Ito as reporter
- Shiro Tsuchiya as Ground Chief of Staff
- Takuzo Kumagai as Joint Staff Council Chairman
- Toku Ihara as diver
- Kuniyoshi Kashima as JSDF officer
- Masaaki Tachibana as reporter
- Hideo Shibuya as reporter
- Yutaka Oka as reporter
- Bin Furuya as coast guard
- Seishiro Kuno as fisherman
- Haruo Nakajima as Gaira
- Hiroshi Sekita as Sanda
- Yasuhiro Komiya as adolescent Sanda (Japanese voice actor: Kasei Kinoshita)
International English dub
- Hal Archer as Dr. Yuzo Mamiya / JSDF soldiers
- Nick Kendall as Major General Hashimoto / Professor Kita
- Barry Haigh as Chief Izumida / JSDF officer / reporter
- Warren Rooke as Lt. Col. Kazama / reporter / radio announcer
Glen Glenn Sound Company English dub
- Russ Tamblyn as Dr. Paul Stewart
- Virginia Gregg as Akemi Togawa / convertible passenger
- Jim Boles as Major General Hashimoto / Professor Kita / JSDF officer
- Sam Edwards as Lt. Col. Kazama / convertible driver
- Riley Jackson as radio announcer / JSDF officer
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles, and races
|
Production
Toho originally planned to produce a direct sequel to the 1965 film Frankenstein vs. Baragon, which was directed by Ishiro Honda. Honda, who was signed on to direct the follow-up, felt that the film would work better as a standalone independent story, and so it was decided to write the film as independent from the previous film.[2] The film's story was rooted in the ancient Japanese myth Umihiko Yamahiko. While the Gargantuas are technically clones created from cell division, they are deliberately referred to as "brothers" and not father and son. In the script, neither of the Gargantuas are named, they are only referred to as "Mountain Frankenstein" and "Sea Frankenstein." The first draft of the script was titled The Frankenstein Brothers (フランケンシュタインの兄弟 Furankenshutain no Kyōdai);[3] later titles included Strife of Frankenstein (フランケンシュタインの斗争 Furankenshutain no Tōsō) and Duel of the Frankensteins (フランケンシュタインの決闘 Furankenshutain no Kettō).[3][4] In a July 28, 1965 publication of Variety, the film was announced under the working title The Two Frankensteins.[5] The script did not include the Maser Cannons,[3] but Honda decided to add them to the film as he felt they would add to the dramatic atmosphere. Tohl Narita, later famous for his work on Tsuburaya Productions' Ultra Series and Mighty Jack, was in charge of the monster designs for the film.
Gallery
- Main article: The War of the Gargantuas/Gallery.
Soundtrack
- Main article: The War of the Gargantuas/Soundtrack.
Alternate titles
- Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira (literal Japanese title)
- Monster Giant Sanda (怪獣ジャイアント サンダ Kaijū Jaianto Sanda, Japanese 8mm title)
- War of the Gargantuas (alternate English title)
- Frankenstein: Duel of the Giants (Frankenstein - Zweikampf der Giganten; West Germany)
- The War of the Monsters (La Guerre des monstres; France; French Belgium; De Oorlog der Monsters; Dutch Belgium)
- The Monsters from the Secret Planets (Les monstres des planètes secrètes; France; reissue title)
- Katango (Italy)
- Kong, Hurricane on the Metropolis (Kong, Uragano sulla Metropoli; Italy; reissue title)
- Katango's War (the Netherlands)
- Duel of Monsters (Pojedynek potworów; Poland)
- Battle of the Giants (Kong and King) ((קרב הענקים (קונג וקינג; Israel)
- The Invasion of the Gargantuas (A Invasão dos Gargântuas; Brazil)
- The Battle of the Giant Simians (La Batalla de los Simios Gigantes; Spain; La Batalla dels Simis Gegants; Spain (Catalonia))
- The War of the Gorillas (La Guerra de los Gorilas; Mexico)
- King Kong Wars (King Kongarnas krig; Sweden)
Theatrical releases
- Japan - July 31, 1966
- United States - July 29, 1970
- Canada - November 6, 1970
- Thailand - 1967
- Brazil - October 1967
- France - January 3, 1968; 1970
- Turkey - November 5, 1968
- Italy - November 1968; 1976
- Colombia - 1968
- West Germany - 1968
- Mexico - 1970
- Portugal - November 9, 1970
- Netherlands - July 19, 1973
- Finland - 1974
- Poland - 1975
- Spain - 1976
- Israel - 1977
- Sweden - September 19, 1977
Foreign releases
Toho commissioned an unedited English dub of the film for international export. While the company responsible for the dub's creation remains unconfirmed, several of the voice actors heard in it can be identified as associates of Ted Thomas' Axis International, based in Hong Kong.{{#tag:ref|The 1998 books Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G" by Steve Ryfle and Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo! by Stuart Galbraith IV state that the export dub was recorded by Tokyo-based company Frontier Enterprises.[6]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|1998
- ↑ Ryfle 1998, p. 125.
- ↑ Hariken, Ryu (1992). Godzilla Monster Super Quiz. Kubo Shoten. p. 123. ISBN 4765910601.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. pp. 106–109. ISBN 9784864910132.
- ↑ Tokusatsu Hiho Vol. 3. Yosensha. 13 March 2016. p. 121. ISBN 978-4-8003-0865-8.
- ↑
- ↑ Ryfle 1998, p. 152.
