The War of the Gargantuas (1966)

From Wikizilla, the kaiju encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
Article.png
Image gallery for The War of the Gargantuas
Credits for The War of the Gargantuas
The War of the Gargantuas soundtrack


The War of the Gargantuas
The Japanese poster for The War of the Gargantuas
Alternate titles
Flagicon Japan.png Frankenstein's Monsters:
Sanda vs. Gaira
(1966)
See alternate titles
Directed by Ishiro Honda
Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, Kenichiro Tsunoda, Henry G. Saperstein, Reuben Bercovitch
Written by Kaoru Mabuchi, Ishiro Honda;
Reuben Bercovitch (story)
Music by Akira Ifukube
Funded by Toho, Benedict Pictures
Production company Toho
Distributor TohoJP, Maron FilmsU.S.
Rating Not Rated
Box office $3 millionU.S.[1]
Running time 88 minutesJP
(1 hour, 28 minutes)
92 minutesU.S.
(1 hour, 32 minutes)
Aspect ratio 2.35:1
Rate this film!
4.32
(25 votes)

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

All brand new!
„ 

— International 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.

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 (voice actor: Kasei Kinoshita)

International English dub

  • Barbara Laney   as   Akemi Togawa
  • Hal Archer   as   Dr. Yuzo Mamiya / JSDF soldiers
  • Nick Kendall   as   Major General Hashimoto / Professor Kita
  • John Wallace   as   Hirai
  • 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

Dutch ad for The War of the Gargantuas in Het vrije volk: democratisch-socialistisch dagblad (March 14, 1974)

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.[a] This list does not include Thomas himself or his wife and fellow voice actor Linda Masson, however, possibly due to the pair having spent the majority of 1966 away in England.[8] This export dub was recorded no later than 1970, when news coverage of dubber Nick Kendall (real name Nicholas Kapochena) ceases in South China Morning Post and he appeared to have moved back to his native Canada.[9] An unknown voice actor dubbed over Russ Tamblyn’s voice, and although Tamblyn called the monsters "Gargantuas" on-set,[10] the export dub follows the complete Japanese dialogue, in which both Tamblyn's dubber Goro Naya and the on-screen cast call the monsters "Frankensteins." The export dub features the earliest known dub roles of prolific Hong Kong voice actors Barry Haigh and Warren Rooke.

An 88-minute English-dubbed version of the film was submitted to India's Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC) by Patel Enterprises of Bombay, and passed uncut with an "A" rating on March 1, 1967.[11] The film bore the title The War of the Gargantuas-Brother of Frankenstein in the CBFC's report on this decision, and the title The War of the Gargantuas The Brothers of Frankenstein in its report on a trailer rated three days later on March 4. The CBFC passed the trailer with a "U" rating and ordered deletions to two sections matching the contents of the export trailer.[11][12] The earliest identified Indian screening took place on January 31, 1969, with several more screenings occurring in 1972, all under the title Brother of Frankenstein.[13][14]

In 1973, the export dub saw theatrical release in the Netherlands with Dutch subtitles, as Katango's War. Original newspaper showtimes and ads rated the film "14" or "14 jaar," for persons aged 14 and up. The film first screened at the Royal in Amsterdam, North Holland on July 19 of that year[15] and continued to play across the Netherlands through 1980. The last known screening occurred at Theater Kerkrade in Kerkrade, Limburg on December 20, 1980.[16]

Though Toho included the export trailer on their Japanese 1992 laserdisc and 2002 DVD releases of the film, the dub itself remained difficult for the wider public to access for decades. A Dutch video distributor active in the 1980s called Video Movies Leerdam (VML) released the film on VHS twice; these remain the only home video releases of the export dub. Both of the tapes that VML issued use the title Gappa en de vliegende monsters van Dracula (the Dutch theatrical title for Gappa) and their covers include artwork and publicity stills for Gappa, as well as the names of that movie's director and top-billed cast. However, the summary on the back of both tapes details the plot of The War of the Gargantuas and the tapes themselves feature a transfer of an original 35mm projection print of Katango's War, which includes the English opening credits meant to accompany the export dub.[17][18][19] Due to heavy projection damage, the print contains a large number of splices accounting for the loss of the English ending title, as well as parts of and entire lines. As a result of the splices, the print runs only 74 minutes in PAL (or 77 minutes at 24 frames per second).[20]

U.S. The War of the Gargantuas and Monster Zero double feature poster

U.S. release

The War of the Gargantuas was released in the United States in 1970 by Maron Films as a double feature with Monster Zero. Dialogue supervisor Riley Jackson dubbed both films at Glen Glenn Sound. The script refers to the monsters Sanda and Gaira as the "Brown Gargantua" and the "Green Gargantua," respectively. UPA brought back Russ Tamblyn to dub all of his own lines because, as post production supervisor Richard Krown recalled, Toho "did not record [Tamblyn's] voice very well." Krown adds that "he wasn’t happy doing that. It was very obvious he was not happy doing that. In a couple of days, we did all his lines, but he was not very sociable."[21] The U.S. version contains nearly 10 minutes of alternate scenes, extended scenes, and unique special effects shots, all filmed during principal photography at Toho by arrangement of UPA and Henry G. Saperstein. Most of the alternate scenes establish Russ Tamblyn's character earlier than the Japanese version by inserting him into scenes where he did not appear in that version.[22] UPA altered the film's music score significantly, replacing instances of Akira Ifukube's "Operation L" leitmotif with a library track by American composer Philip Green entitled "Terror Hunt" and occasionally with other cues from the film. Cues from Monster Zero were also inserted.

Janus Films made the export dub available to stream via STARZ and FilmStruck in 2017,[23][24][25] marking the export dub's first public stateside exposure. For their presentation of the film, Janus synced the export dub to a transfer of the Japanese version. Toho provided materials for the dub in much better condition than the Dutch print; however, while they provided a complete element of the dub runtime-wise, the mix lacks part of a PA announcer's dialogue during Gaira's attack on Haneda Airport and partially switches to the original Japanese for this brief moment.[26] Though FilmStruck closed in 2018, Janus' presentation of the film remains available on Max and The Criterion Channel.

Video releases

Toho VHS (1983)

  • Region: N/A
  • Cassettes: 1
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Special features: None
  • Notes: Reissued in 1996 with the addition of the "overseas" (UPA) version of the film.

Toho LaserDisc (1985)

  • Region: NTSC
  • Discs: 1
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Special features: None
  • Notes: A remastered version was released in 1992.

Toho DVD (2002)

  • Region: 2
  • Audio: Japanese
  • Special features: Excerpts from the UPA version of the film, images of Monster Giant Sanda 8mm sonosheet and picture book set, audio commentary by Kumi Mizuno moderated by Toshiaki Sato

Toho DVD (2007) [Toho Special Effects Giant Creatures Box]

Toho Blu-ray (2010)

  • Region: A/1
  • Audio: Japanese

Classic Media DVD (2008)[27]

  • Region: 1
  • Discs: 2
  • Audio: Japanese (2.0 Mono), English (2.0 Mono)
  • Special features: Bringing Godzilla Down to Size documentary (69 minutes)
  • Notes: Packaged with Rodan. Out of print.

Videos

Trailers

Japanese trailer
U.S. trailer
U.S. The War of the Gargantuas and Monster Zero trailer
U.S. The War of the Gargantuas and Monster Zero TV spot #1
U.S. The War of the Gargantuas and Monster Zero TV spot #2
U.S. The War of the Gargantuas and Monster Zero radio spot
West German trailer
International trailer

Miscellaneous

English credits from the international version
Roger Corman hosts The War of the Gargantuas for AMC Monsterfest 1999
Wikizilla: YouTube The Gargantuas in Scooby-Doo?

Trivia

  • The War of the Gargantuas was theatrically released in Japan as a triple feature with Tsuru no Ongaeshi and Jungle Emperor.[28]
  • The Japanese cut of The War of the Gargantuas makes several ambiguous references to Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965), but the only direct link between them is the name "Frankenstein," which appears in the Japanese title for this film and is used to refer to the Gargantuas ("Frankensteins") in dialogue. Allusions and flashbacks to the events of the previous film seem to recast and rename the three main characters and move their laboratory from Hiroshima to Kyoto, while inserting Sanda into Frankenstein's role.
    • Additionally, Kumi Mizuno's character in this film, Akemi Togawa, is very similar to her character Sueko Togami from Frankenstein vs. Baragon, leading some to erroneously believe that she was reprising the role.
  • According to the 2014 book Godzilla Dictionary (New Edition), both The War of the Gargantuas and its predecessor Frankenstein vs. Baragon take place in the same timeline as the Godzilla films of the Showa series.
  • A shot where Gaira avoids blasts from the Maser Cannons by crawling into the cover of trees is reused as stock footage in both Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) and in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), with Gaira's partially-visible form standing in for Gigan and Megalon, respectively.
  • The War of the Gargantuas is referenced in the beginning of the 2002 Godzilla film Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, and stock footage of Gaira from the film is shown. Supplementary materials for the sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Tokyo SOS reveal that The War of the Gargantuas is part of the continuity of the two films, along with the events of several other non-Godzilla films from the Showa era.
  • The War of the Gargantuas is the third and final co-production between Toho and UPA subsidiary Benedict Productions, following Frankenstein vs. Baragon and Invasion of Astro-Monster. It was not, however, UPA's last involvement with Toho's kaiju films, as the company aired Terror of Mechagodzilla on television in the U.S. in 1978.
  • This film marks the first appearance of the Maser Cannons in a Toho film. The Maser Cannons would go on to become famous recurring military weapons in Toho's Godzilla films over the next several decades.
  • The American producer of the film, Henry G. Saperstein, had reportedly planned to make a collaborative Japanese-American Godzilla film. It has long been speculated that this film would pit Godzilla against one or both of the Gargantuas, but there is no concrete evidence supporting this. However, author Patrick Macias mentions in his 2006 book Otaku in USA - Love & Misunderstanding! The History of Adopted Anime in America! that Saperstein allegedly planned to produce a sequel to The War of the Gargantuas featuring Godzilla battling against one of the Gargantuas as a cyborg, though this idea was also never realized.[29]
  • The original ending of the film was to not only have Sanda and Gaira swallowed up by the underwater volcano, but the lava was to have spread to Tokyo where it was to destroy the city as well as the remaining cells of the monsters; cited in an interview with director Honda in Guy Tucker's Age of the Gods: A History of the Japanese Fantasy Film.
  • Gaira and Sanda re-appeared in Go! Godman episodes 16 "Godman vs. Sanda" and 17 "Godman vs. Gaira" as well as in Go! Greenman Episodes 4 "Greenman vs. Gaira" and 31 "Greenman vs. Sanda." Gaira later made an appearance in the 2008 Go! Godman film.
  • The insert song "Feel In My Heart" (also known as "The Words Get Stuck In My Throat" in the U.S. version), performed by Kipp Hamilton, was later covered by the American rock band Devo.[30]
  • Quentin Tarantino based the fight between Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah in Kill Bill Vol. 2 on the final battle from The War of the Gargantuas. He showed his copy of the film to both actresses and told them he wanted it to be "The War of the Blonde Gargantuas."
  • During the 2012 Oscars, there was a segment called "First Movie Moments" where famous actors describe the first movie they remember seeing. Actor Brad Pitt stated that the first movie he ever saw was none other than The War of the Gargantuas.[31]
  • Hajime Isayama happened to see The War of the Gargantuas on television as a child, and has said that it served as an influence when he created Attack on Titan.[32] Isayama's manga was later adapted into two live action tokusatsu kaiju films by Toho in 2015.
  • The Chinese poster for the 2018 film The Predator was inspired by the poster for The War of the Gargantuas.[33]
  • In the Japanese trailer for the film, Sanda and Gaira both have roars which differ from those in the actual film. One roar is a higher-pitched Rodan roar and the other is Varan's roar mixed with King Kong's. These roars would go on to be used for the Ultra kaiju Antlar and Chandora, respectively.
  • While they have never appeared in a Godzilla film outside of stock footage, the Gargantuas have appeared in officially-licensed Godzilla media such as video games, manga, and comic books.
  • Renji Oki, author of the novels GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse and GODZILLA: Project Mechagodzilla, stated in an interview that he considered including the Gargantuas in one of the novels, but the novels' setting supervisor Seichi Shirato did not feel right using them without Frankenstein being involved in their backstory.[34]
  • In a 2019 interview, Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty commented that his top pick for monsters to be added to the Monsterverse would be the Gargantuas, followed by Biollante.[35]

External links

Notes

  1. 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][7] This claim is dubious, however, as none of the voice actors identified in the available dub are known to have ever recorded outside of Hong Kong, and no dub featuring Tokyo voice actors has ever surfaced.

References

This is a list of references for The War of the Gargantuas. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. Ryfle 1998, p. 125.
  2. Hariken, Ryu (1992). Godzilla Monster Super Quiz. Kubo Shoten. p. 123. ISBN 4765910601.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works. villagebooks. 28 September 2012. pp. 106–109. ISBN 9784864910132.
  4. Tokusatsu Hiho Vol. 3. Yosensha. 13 March 2016. p. 121. ISBN 978-4-8003-0865-8.
  5. Variety, July 28, 1965.jpg
  6. Ryfle 1998, p. 152.
  7. Galbraith IV 1998, p. 40.
  8. South China Sunday Post - Herald 1966, p. 73: "Mr Ted Thomas, Radio Hongkong Senior Producer, sailed with his wife for England. They will be away for a year during which time Mr Thomas will take a BBC course . . ."
  9. Vancouver Sun 1970, p. 42: "Metro Theatre will present Arthur Miller's drama, A View From the Bridge, from Feb. 12 - 21. Featured in the cast are Nick Kendall Kaopchena (sic), Pat Barlow, Henrick Sanghaas, Janice Perry, Barry Schawb and Paul Batten. The director is Michael Berry."
  10. HD Retro Trailers (11 December 2019). "The War of the Gargantuas (1966) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]". YouTube.
  11. 11.0 11.1 The Gazette of India 1967, p. 570
  12. The Gazette of India 1967, p. 569.
  13. Malabar Herald 1969, p. 6.
  14. The Times of India 1972, p. 2: "BROTHER OF FRANKENSTEIN (Color). Russ Tamblyn, Kunni (sic) Mizuno."
  15. Het Parool & 1973, p. 2.
  16. Limburgsch dagblad 1980, p. 10.
  17. Gappa-hol-2000.jpg
  18. "Gappa en de vliegende monsters van Dracula". LastDodo.com. 27 July 2016.
  19. "Re: DUTCH VHS SLEEVES". The Cinehound Forum. 1 January 2008.
  20. Japango (12 April 2004). "GAPPA - FRANKENSTEINS FLIEGENDE MONSTER (1967)". OFDb.de.
  21. "GODZILLA'S CROWNING MOMENT! UPA's Post-Production Supervisor Richard Krown on Americanizing Toho Classics!". Vantage Point Interviews. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  22. azog (30 April 2010). "War of the Gargantuas, The (Comparison: Japanese Version - US Version)". Movie-Censorship.com.
  23. Clark, Ryan (2 November 2017). "Starz Encore Action to Air Godzilla Throughout November; Janus Films Involvement". Kaiju & Tokusatsu Home Theatre.
  24. G. H. (Gman) (3 December 2017). "Criterion Godzilla Films to Stream on FilmStruck this Month". GODZILLA-MOVIES.COM.
  25. Tamura (2 November 2017). "Re: Criterion and Starz streaming Godzilla films". Toho Kingdom.
  26. SpaceHunterM (4 November 2017). "pwease no landy σωσ". YouTube.
  27. Amazon.com: The War of the Gargantuas
  28. 0002017418.jpg
  29. Macias, Patrick (2006). Otaku in USA - Love & Misunderstanding! The History of Adopted Anime in America!. Ota Publishing. ISBN 978-4778310028.
  30. Macias, Patrick (2001). Tokyo Scope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. Cadence Books. p. 22. ISBN 1-569-31681-3..
  31. Oscars 2012 - Brad Pitt's first movie moment was "The War of the Gargantuas"
  32. [1]
  33. Predator Gargantuas.jpg
  34. [2]
  35. McKenzie, Ron (13 August 2019). "Sinister Seven: GODZILLA's MIKE DOUGHERTY: KING OF THE MONSTER(KID)S". Rue Morgue.

Bibliography

Comments

Showing 30 comments. When commenting, please remain respectful of other users, stay on topic, and avoid role-playing and excessive punctuation. Comments which violate these guidelines may be removed by administrators.

Loading comments...
Era Icon - Toho.png
Era Icon - Showa.png
Movie
Era Icon - Gaira.png
Era Icon - Sanda.png
Era Icon - Oodako.png
Era Icon - Frankenstein.png