Kaiju Transmissions Podcast: Recent Episodes
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Join hosts Byrd and Matt as they discuss all things giant monsters, tokusatsu, and Japanese fantasy films. We'll also cover comics, cartoons, toys, books, and more! Come here for a regular dose of everything from Godzilla and Gamera to King Kong and Ray Harryhausen to Ultraman, and everything in between!
At long last, we're back with more Gamera talk! We are joined by guest hosts Tom and Eric to discuss Shusuke Kaneko's acclaimed Gamera trilogy and 2006's reboot, Gamera the Brave. Kaneko's Gamera trilogy of the 90s remains three of the most beloved kaiju films of all time by both fans and critics. We will talk about whether or not these films earned their reputation and discuss how they hold up in 2017. We then divert our attention to the 2006 reboot, Gamera the Brave which came and went with little fanfare. Did this movie deserve to have such a short shelf life or is it an unsung classic? And what should Kadokawa-Daiei be doing with Gamera in this current, kaiju heavy climate? We discuss all this and more!
As a Halloween bonus, Byrd and Matt discuss and review the first screen adaptation of William Hope Hodgson's "The Voice In The Night" (the short story that Toho's Matango was based on). This was an episode of the Alfred Hitchcock produced anthology TV series "Suspicion," which aired on NBC in 1958 and starred James Coburn, Barbara Rush, Patrick Macnee, and James Donald before their careers took off. This TV episode languished in total obscurity for decades until recent years when an old, faded print finally made its way onto Youtube. So how does this early adaptation differ from Toho's cult classic? Is this version or Matango more faithful to the original Hodgson story? Listen and find out! Happy Halloween!
Just in time for Halloween, Byrd, Matt and guest host Tom take a look at Daiei's Yokai franchise! This includes the original trilogy of 100 Monsters, Spook Warfare, and Along With Ghosts, as well as Takashi Miike's 2004 reboot, The Great Yokai War. You'll hear us discuss all four movies, as well as give a crash course on what a Yokai is, the influence of GeGeGe No Kitaro, and more! These are prime viewing in the month of October, so break out the Adzuki beans and enjoy!
On a new October podcast, Byrd and Matt are joined by guest host Tom to discuss Toho's "Mutant Trilogy." It is time to discuss more of Toho's human sized monsters, as we discuss The H-Man (1958), The Secret of the Telegian (1960), and the Human Vapor (1960). Although not as popular as Toho's giant monster films, the mutant films are every bit as noteworthy. As always, we have a lively discussion, as we discuss the origins of these films and give our reviews. Listen and enjoy as we discuss radioactive blobs, a teleporting serial killer, and a vapor man! But first we discuss our thoughts on the new Pacific Rim: Uprising trailer!
In our second October horror episode, Byrd, Matt, and guest host Trev (Days of Future Podcast, If It Bleeds We Can Kill It) dip their toes into the Eko Eko Azarak franchise with a discussion on the first three live action movies. Produced by Gaga Co. and Tsuburaya Films, these were based on the popular manga of the same name. The series follows a young schoolgirl witch who travels from town to town as a protector against demonic activity. We discuss the original manga and review Wizard of Darkness (1995), its prequel followup Birth of the Wizard (1996) and the TV-series spin off Misa the Dark Angel (1998). How do these hold up? Listen and find out!
On another very special episode, Byrd and Matt and joined by actress Linda Haynes for this candid, career spanning interview. Kaiju fans know her best for her role in Ishiro Honda's Latitude Zero. She also starred in many 70s cult favorites such as Coffy, Rolling Thunder, and Human Experiments. We discuss these films, as well as variety of topics such as her work with directors like Ishiro Honda, John Flynn and Jack Hill, stars such as Joseph Cotten, Akira Takarada, Pam Grier, and Robert Redford, her post-acting career, making positive changes in life, the convention circuit, turning down a role from Quentin Tarantino and more! Enjoy! Linda will be attending the Chiller Theatre convention in Parsippany, NJ from 10/27/2017-10/29/2017. If you're in the area, come and give her a visit!
Happy October! KT is once again going through Japanese horror films for the entire month and we're kicking it off with the classic anthology film Kwaidan, directed by the great Masaki Kobayashi. This independent feature was produced by Ninjen Club and distributed by Toho in 1964 and features four horror stories based on the Japanese folk stories of author Lafcadio Hearn. We discuss how the film was made, the unique musical score, the struggles that Kobayashi went through to finish the film, and the strange life of author Lafcadio Hearn. Enjoy!
Byrd and Matt welcome special guest, author John LeMay ("The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monsters" book series) on the podcast to discuss kaiju movies that almost were! It seems almost as if for every Godzilla movie that got made, there are several scripts for other movies that never saw the light of day. John's newest book, "The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monsters: The Lost Films" details that very subject. We talk to John about his book, his beginnings as a writer, the process of writing the book, and why he's so drawn to the topic of unmade films. Then we also talk our favorite unmade Godzila/kaiju projects, and the ones we would have liked to see the most. We talk about infamous lost projects like Mothra vs Bagan, Godzilla vs Batman, and the proposed Toho/Hammer co-production Nessie, as well as obscurities such as Japan SOS, Bride of Godzilla, and Godzilla vs. M. We also debunk some common myths along our way. So listen up, relax and learn about the Godzilla movies we ALMOST had!
On a special episode, Byrd and Matt welcome Linda Miller, best known for her role as Susan Watson in the Toho/Rankin-Bass classic King Kong Escapes! In addition to her starring role in one of Toho's golden age kaiju films, she also made an appearance in Toei's cult favorite, The Green Slime. Linda discusses both films, her modeling career, being directed by the great Ishiro Honda, language barriers on the Japanese sets, working with stars like Akira Takarada, Rhodes Reason, and Richard Jaeckel, her convention experiences, why she stopped acting, and what she's done in her post-acting life. Linda will be attending the Chiller Theatre convention in Parsippany, NJ from 10/27/2017-10/29/2017. If you're in the area, come give her a visit!
On a very special episode of the podcast, we are ridiculously excited to welcome the legendary and prolific martial arts action star Sonny Chiba! Matt ventured to Fandom Fest in Kentucky to sit down and talk with Mr. Chiba. With nearly 200 acting credits, Sonny Chiba has done it all. He's well known for his roles in cult classics like the Street Fighter series, Golgo 13, Message From Space, the Yakuza Papers and Bodyguard Kiba. He's been in everything from early tokusatsu films like Golden Bat and Invasion of the Neptune Men to work in Hollywood with Kill Bill and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. He's done dozens of yakuza and martial arts films. He's also done a lot of stunt work, as well as founding the Japan Action Club for stunt/action actors. Listen as Sonny describes a variety of topics including legendary director Kinji Fukusaku, Vic Morrow, being cast by Quentin Tarantino, Fast and the Furious, language barriers on set, early tokusatsu hero film sets, differences between Japanese and Hollywood films, late actors Ken Takakura and Hirkoi Matsukata, advise for future stunt actors and more! Special thanks to Hiro Kitagawa for translating for this interview.
On a very special edition of the podcast, we present another celebrity interview with actor/stuntman Kenji Ohba! Kenji is best known for playing the long-running Toei tokusatsu superhero Space Sheriff Gavan, as well as his long career as a stunt man. Matt traveled to Fandom Fest in Kentucky this past July to conduct this interview. Ohba discusses his tokusatsu beginnings as a stuntman/suit actor in shows like Kikaider, being mentored by Sonny Chiba, mentoring Godzilla actor Tom Kitagawa, the difficulties of stunt work, how working on tokusatsu TV shows has changed over the years, and of course, the continued popularity of the Space Sheriff Gavan character (who he still plays to this day). Tune in and enjoy! Special thanks to Hiro Kitagawa for translating for this interview.
Byrd and Matt are joined by silent film historian and film restorationist Nicolas Ciccone to discuss Willis O'Brien and Harry O. Hoyt's 1925 game-changer The Lost World. Nicolas had the experience of reconstructing the film with newly discovered footage for Lobster Films' upcoming blu-ray release (in addition to providing the audio commentary). This pre-King Kong dino-on-the-loose classic is the very first giant monster run amok film and the true great grandfather of the entire giant monster/kaiju genre. We discuss the making of the film, the differences between the original Arthur Conan Doyle novel and the film, the early career of Willis O'Brien, Obie's falling out with Herbert Dawley on The Ghost of Slumber Mountain, the casual racism in the film, the brand new extended cut, lost footage, the new restoration and more! Much of this film has been lost over the years, only available in truncated versions pieced together from various elements, and the upcoming blu-ray will be the most complete version seen since the 1920's. Flicker Alley will be unleashing Lobster Films restoration on 9/19/2017 with a brand new 2k transfer!
Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (If It Bleed We Can Kill It and Days of Future Podcast) to take one of our occasional detours outside the giant monster landscape to examine the the Death Note franchise. In the early 2000s, this supernatural thriller became a worldwide phenomenon, starting with the successful manga and anime series. It also spawned multiple live action films from such genre heavyweights as Shusuke Kaneko, Hideo Nakata and Adam Wingard. Our discussion is mostly based on the two 2006 Shusuke Kaneko films and Adam Wingard's American adaptation that just dropped as a Netflix Original. We'll also touch on the manga and anime, the L spin-off film, and the 2016 Japanese sequel Light Up The New World. We also discuss the recent "whitewashing" controversy surrounding the Netflix film. But first, we discuss the Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters teaser and the recent news that Steven Soderbergh was planning a remake of Matango!
From June 30-July 3 of 2017, Godzilla suit actors Haruo Nakajima and Tom Kitagawa were featured guests at the Days of the Dead convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the panel Q and A with the two actors from the convention. Unfortunately, this would also become one of Haruo Nakajima's final interviews and his final convention appearance. The two men answer questions about how they got involved in suit acting, working in the suits, working with miniatures, their thoughts on the American Godzilla films and more! With the clearance from the Days of the Dead con, KT is proud to present this panel discussion with two legendary kaiju performers! Listen and enjoy! Special thanks to Nick Adam Poling and Jonathan Crocetti for providing the audio, Christopher Marti for his post production work, and Corey Hannigan for translating at the panel! DISCLAIMER: The audio for this is a little rough, as the convention did not have a proper set up to accommodate some of the recording hardware. After a lot of post-production work, we are presenting it in the absolute best quality we were able to get from the elements available.
Matt and Byrd are joined by special guest, Ed Holland of Monster Attack Team magazine! We interview Ed about the creation of the magazine, its hiatus, and its resurgence over the last few years! Just how does one get a high quality magazine made in 2017? Ed also tells us about being on the sets of Ultraman Powered and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. But first, we discuss Ed's relationship with the late Haruo Nakajima, who passed away shortly before this recording. Ed did a lot of stateside events with Mr. Nakajima and shared some great stories and insights! Kick back and enjoy!
For our very first LIVE episode, we present our 50th anniversary panel discussion on 1967's GAMERA vs. GYAOS. Byrd and Matt are joined by Nicolas Poling (of the Monster Report on YouTube) to take a deep dive through how it was made, how it originated, the SPFX, how it changed the Gamera franchise, the social climate of the time that is reflected throughout the film, differences in the rare manga adaptation, audience Q & A, and more! DISCLAIMER: The audio on this one isn't perfect since the convention couldn't support some of our hardware, but we cleaned it up the best we could!
Due to some MAJOR technical difficulties at G-Fest, the audio from our interviews with composer Michiru Oshima, director/SPFX Director Kiyotaka Taguchi and assistant director Kazuhiro Nakagawa were all unusable. To make up for it, we've transcribed the interviews for us to discuss them on the podcast, where we can talk about their answers and give our thoughts on what they had to say. Oshima discusses working on the Godzilla films, working with Seijun Suzuki, and composing for anime and video games. Taguchi discusses working on Godzilla films, the Ultraman shows, his short films, and his thoughts on CGI. Nakagawa discusses his film Day of the Kaiju, working on Attack on Titan and Shin Godzilla, and his thoughts on the Monsterverse. So listen up and hear our reflections on getting the amazing opportunity to interview these incredible people. But first, we have some fan mail! Also, check out the text transcripts of the interviews at maserpatrol.wordpress.com!
Byrd and Matt dig into the life and career of famed monster music composer Akira Ifukube! To do this, they interview Ifukube's official biographer Erik Homenick (who runs AkiraIfukube.org) and film music buff John DeSentis (conductor & co-organizer of the Ifukube 100 and Symphonic Fury kaiju music concerts). As an added bonus, they've brought some SUPER rare Ifukube music cues (reconstructed and recorded by John from Ifukube's manuscripts). This is UNHEARD Ifukube music you will only hear on this podcast! We discuss how the composer got involved in film music, his preferred instrumentation, why he didn't get along with Akira Kurosawa, his political views, his relationship with Ishiro Honda, how he felt about his kaiju scores, the creation of Godzilla's roar and more! Then we take a dive into how he got involved with the original Godzilla film, and debunk some common myths about the score. This is a packed episode, so listen up!
Byrd and Matt are joined by guest Chris (of the Other Sounds Podcast and Cosmic Monster) to discuss the work and life of Haruo Nakajima, who passed away on August 7, 2017. Nakajima is best known for playing Godzilla from 1954-1972, as well as playing Rodan, Mothra, Baragon, the Green Gargantua, Varan, various Ultraman kaiju, and many others. Nakajima was the most prolific suit actor of the Showa era and endured plenty of dangerous situations by playing monsters underwater, being flung through the air on wires, having explosives go off near his flesh, being buried alive, and more, all in the name of entertainment. We discuss Nakajima's start as a stuntman, working with Akira Kurosawa, his filmography, and our favorite Nakajima roles, as well as who he was to us and his legion of fans worldwide.
Byrd and Matt discuss two creature features from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. First we discuss 2006's The Host and dissect the film's themes and the real life incidents that influenced the film. Then we discuss the recent film Okja, which just dropped as a Netflix Original. We go deep into the themes of each film, and discuss the hot topic of what the original content created by Netflix and other streaming services means for theatrical films and big studios.
Byrd, Matt, and guest Trev (of If It Bleeds We Can Kill It and Days of Future Podcast) take KT's first dive into the Giant Robot genre by discussing what is arguably the biggest giant robot franchise in the world. We discuss all five of Michael Bay's Transformers movies, as well as the Japanese roots of Transformers (which many seem to forget), our memories of the original animated series, and why Bay's blockbusters seem to grab audiences more than the recent kaiju films have. The "Bayformers" series was one of KT's biggest viewing challenges yet, and for Byrd, these movies proved to be his cinematic kryptonite. How did the crew fare this time? Listen and find out! But first, Trev reports back from San Diego Comic-Con and discusses the presence of kaiju properties there, including the recent Pacific Rim: Uprising teaser video!
Byrd and Matt are back home from G-Fest XXIV and they're ready to talk all about it! We discuss interview recordings gone horribly wrong, meeting KT listeners, highlights and new information learned from various panels including those from Shinji Higuchi, Kiyotaka Taguchi, and Yuji Kaida, seeing Kong: Skull Island in 70mm, meeting director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (and what we learned from his Q and A), being a kid again at the Field Museum's Jurassic World exhibit, and more!
On a very special episode, Matt and Nick Poling (of The Monster Report) sat down with suit actor and stuntman Tom Kitagawa! Kitagawa is best known for playing Godzilla in five of the six Millennium series films, playing King Ghidorah in Mothra 3, and playing many of the heroes in Toei's Sentai series. Recorded at the Days of the Dead convention in Indiana, Matt and Nick chat with Mr. Kitagawa about his start in Battle Fever J, stunt work on the Sentai shows, the challenges of playing Godzilla, working in TV vs film, winding down after a long shoot, recovering from his recent surgery, and more! Special thanks to Cory Hannigan for translating during the interview.
Byrd and Matt take a look at Toho's disaster epic, SUBMERSION OF JAPAN. What happens when Toho decides to make destruction spectacle without giant monsters? We take a look at Shiro Moritani's SUBMERSION OF JAPAN (1973), Shinji Higuchi's SINKING OF JAPAN (2006), and Minoru Kawasaki's parody film THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN (2006). We compare and contrast the films by talking about their political themes, effects, and how each version is a product of their times.
Byrd and Matt are joined by very, very special guest, G-Fest organizer Jeff Horne! With G-Fest 2017 on the horizon, Jeff talks to us about a variety of topics, including the history of the convention, how it has evolved over the years, online fandom vs real life, convention guests, movie screenings, favorite G-Fest moments, and all the work that goes into organizing a convention every year. We also talk about what first time attendees can expect. We also announce that Kaiju Transmissions will be part of a live panel at G-Fest! G-FEST XXIV will be held from July 14th to July 16th, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Oâ??Hare.
Byrd, Matt, and Eric take a deep dive into Daiei's OTHER kaiju franchise, Daimajin! In 1966, Daiei released not one, not two, but THREE films all starring the gigantic stone god Daimajin. A combination of the Japanese daikaiju and jidaigeki (period drama) genres, these are some of the most unique and interesting giant monster films to date. We discuss the three films and we also touch on the Daimajin reboots that got cancelled over the years, the TV series Daimajin Kanon, how Daiei never quite took full advantage of their monster roster, and the future of their monster franchises!
Byrd and Matt are joined by Hedorah superfan Chris (of the musical project Cosmic Monster) to discuss the life and career of Yoshimitsu Banno, who passed away on May 7th, 2017. Banno is most well known for writing and directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah, but he did quite a bit more in his career. We discuss his life and career from his early days as an assistant director for Akira Kurosawa to writing/directing Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), writing/assisting on Toho's Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974), his cancelled Godzilla 3D IMAX project, executive producing the Legendary Pictures Godzilla film in 2014, kick-starting the MonsterVerse, and everything in between! We hit on the genesis of these projects, environmentalism and Banno's place in kaiju history. Banno never got the credit he deserved for his contributions to the genre, so we wanted to give the father of Hedorah his due! RIP Mr. Banno!
For our MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL, we take a look at a angry kaiju mothers! We start by talking about 1961's GORGO out of Britain. Then we talk about Nikkatsu's GAPPA: THE TRIPHIBIAN MONSTER (1967) and the long forgotten Fox television movie GARGANTUA (1998). We also touch on other angry gigantic mothers. Mothra, Jurassic Park's T-Rex, Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, and more! We also touch on the part our own mothers played in our hobby, Byrd's daddy issues and the latest King Kong, Jurassic Park and Ultraman news. Happy Mother's Day!
Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (Days of Future Podcast/If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It) to discuss the recent giant monster indie COLOSSAL directed by Nacho Vigalondo. We discuss male entitlement, alcoholism, dissociation from foreign violence, toxic relationships, and giant monsters as an externalization of real life personal problems. Of course we also touch on the now infamous Toho lawsuit that held up the production. Colossal is a very different type of movie in the giant monster landscape. So listen and find out what the guys thought of this dark, offbeat giant monster dramedy!
On this episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by frequent guest Eric to discuss and celebrate the Shochiku studio's lone kaiju Guilala, one of the genre's oddest creations! We discuss 1967's "The X From Outer Space" and the 2008 comedy sequel "Monster X Strikes Back" (which turns into one of our most contentious reviews and leaves Byrd speechless). In addition to Byrd having a meltdown, you'll also hear us discuss Guilala's bizarre non-film career, how to pronounce "Guilalanium," possible racist undertones, and the charm of such a bizarre beast! Enjoy and keep your Guilalanium handy!
In celebration of Mystery Science Theater 3000's brand new season on Netflix, Byrd and Matt are joined by MST superfan Trev (Days of Future Podcast/If It Bleeds We Can Kill It), this time to discuss the phenomena that is MST3K! Although the show's reputation among kaiju fans is rather split, there are a great many who got their first taste of the genre through MST, spawning a life long obsession with all things tokusatsu. We start by discussing the genesis of MST and the misconceptions about it in some genre film circles, which leads into a spirited defense of the show. Then we discuss the history of the show, network changes, host switches, what the show did for the Gamera franchise stateside, and the true value of a film being loved on an ironic "so bad, it's good" level. And of course, we discuss our favorite episodes, riffs, and moments from the series!
At long last, we finally have the results from our Godzilla movie ranking poll! Over the winter, we conducted a survey asking listeners to rank all 31 Godzilla movies and Byrd, Matt, and Tom have the results. We give some predictions and then discuss what we found. Do certain age groups prefer certain eras of the franchise? Where do strange outliers like Godzilla (1998) fall? Where did the recent Legendary film and Shin Godzilla place overall? What movies are the most loved/hated? We have the answers! But first, we read and answer some listener mail, where we'll discuss box office, our favorite non-kaiju monster movies, and more!
At 3:00AM, an exhausted Byrd and kinda drunk Matt consider rebooting the podcast as ORCACAST, where we will dedicate each episode to the 1977 masterpiece, ORCA. What better way to start such an experiment than with a full blown audio commentary on the movie? We'll talk stiff whale props, aborted rubber whale fetuses, how an Orca would know how to start an explosion, how the Orca could have fought King Kong in the aborted sequel, Blackfish, globsters, exploding whale carcasses, and more! Byrd's semi-drunk roommate also acts as our first ever live audience. How did the OrcaCast experiment go? Was it a roaring success or was it one of the worst, least professional podcasts ever recorded? Decide for yourself! Happy April Fool's Day.
Byrd and Matt are once again joined by Trev (of If It Bleeds We Can Kill It, Days of Future Podcast) as we discuss the new big budget Hollywood Power Rangers reboot. The film was met with a lot of doubt by a lot of fans, so how did the movie hold up? Listen and find out! We also talk about the film's origins, the original Max Landis script, the sequel graphic novel, and what we'd like to see in the next movie. But first, we have some news on the Godzilla anime, and Byrd and Trev give their impressions after watching the first episodes of Power Rangers: RPM.
Byrd and Matt are joined by guests Trev (of If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It and Days of Future Podcast) and the Goat (Hillbilly DVD Reviews, 1980s Movie Graveyard) for a casual and nostalgic look at the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series. We discuss its Super Sentai origins, growing up with Power Rangers, our favorite episodes and characters, the two theatrical films (1995's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie and 1997's Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie), and what we hope to get out of the upcoming big budget reboot.
Our Kongathon comes to an end with the release of Legendary Pictures' Kong: Skull Island. Matt and Byrd are joined by Trev (of If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It and Days of Future Podcast) to discuss the latest King Kong film. We give an in-depth discussion of the film's pros and cons and decide if it lives up to the hype. We also give our personal rankings of all of the King Kong movies and discuss how the new film compares to Legendary's other kaiju films. So how does the second entry in Legendary's MonsterVerse stack up? Listen and find out!
Our last episode leading up to the release of Kong: Skull Island sees us looking at the 2005 King Kong remake directed by Peter Jackson. In addition to our review, we talk about how the movie came to be, the differences between the theatrical and extended editions, and the career of director Peter Jackson. It's hard to believe this movie is nearing 12 years old, so how does it hold up after all these years? Listen and find out!
The next installment in our lead-up to Skull Island has us taking a detour to have a sleep deprived look at five King Kong rip-offs from around the globe. With King Kong being so popular, everyone wanted a piece of the action. We'll discuss Britain's KONGA (1961) and QUEEN KONG (1976), America's THE MIGHTY GORGA (1969), South Korea's APE (1976), and Hong Kong's MIGHTY PEKING MAN (1977). We also touch on the obscure 2010 Kong remake from Bangladesh and some of the unlicensed animated versions of King Kong. We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, as some of these are among the worst giant monster films we've ever seen. Which of these are worth tracking down and which are the stinkers? Listen and find out!
On the next installment of our King Kong recap, we examine the Dino De Laurentiis remake from 1976, and its 1986 sequel King Kong Lives. But before reviewing the films, Byrd exhausts himself by recalling King Kong's convoluted legal rights history and the extremely troubled production of the 1976 remake. For some, these films bring a nostalgic sense of joy. For others, they represent a giant black eye on the franchise. What side of the fence do our hosts fall on? Listen and find out!
In the latest in weekly series leading up to Kong: Skull Island, we take a quick break from the King of the Apes to talk about his spiritual little brother, Mighty Joe Young! We discuss the Willis O'Brien/Ray Harryhausen classic from 1949, as well as the 1998 Disney remake. We'll discuss both films, Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, Rick Baker, and the advantages of practical effects over CGI. How do the adventures of Mr. Joseph Young of Africa hold up? Listen and find out!
To kick off our weekly King Kong spectacular to lead up to the release of Kong: Skull Island, we set our sights on the Japanese King Kong films. Join us as we discuss Toho's King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and King Kong Escapes (1967) at length. We also touch on the two lost Japanese Kong films, the American/Japanese cartoon The King Kong Show, Kong's appearance on Toho's Go! Greenman, unmade Japanese Kong films, and even some of the many King Kong manga! The King of the Apes has a rich history with Japan and we wanna tell you all about it! But first, we have the latest news regarding Godzilla 2 and Legendary Pictures!
For the second part of our interview, director/writer/critic/translator/photographer Norman England tells us all about the art of subtitling, working with Takashi Miike on the film Yakuza Apocalypse, his time working with Sushi Typhoon, being an American film critic in Japan, Japan's treatment of foreigners, the Japanese film industry, why he isn't currently directing another film, and the amount of effort that goes into making a movie. We also touch on Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, and the time Norman found a rare Son of Godzilla poster tacked to a wall in the middle of nowhere!
Kaiju Transmissions welcomes its first Guest of Honor by welcoming (all the way from Japan!) writer/director/critic/translator/photographer Norman England to the show! As many fans know, Norman wasn't only the director of the Bringing Godzilla Down To Size documentary, but he's also spent MANY hours on Japanese film sets, including Gamera 3 and many of the Godzilla films (in addition to countless other Japanese genre films). In this first part of a two part interview, Norman shares many stories from his 100+ days working with the Toho crews, as well as his experience making what is arguably the definitive Godzilla documentary. In addition to that Norman also tells us about several books he's working on, nationalism, his thoughts on Shin Godzilla, and misconceptions that fans have about Japan. But first, we discuss Norman's inexplicable love of Howard the Duck and what it was like seeing movies in the torn down grindhouse theaters of 42nd Street in New York City back in the 80s.
Byrd and Matt are joined by musician and film music connoisseur Chris Marti of Cosmic Monster to discuss the music of kaiju films! We go discuss the various composers of kaiju films, our favorite composers and scores, and just how important music is in kaiju films. We follow that up with a monster music playlist that Chris put together for us, which includes well known tracks and oddball obscurities! Intro music: -Cosmic Monster- "Up From The Depths" -Marasu Sato- "The Appearance of MechaGodzilla" Kaiju Music Playlist: -Akira Ifukube- "Godzilla Comes Ashore" -Kunio Miyauchi- "Ultra Q Theme" -Masaru Sato- "Yacht, Hurricane and Monster" -Riichiro Manabe- "Monster Match III" -Erven Jereb- "Godzilla's Revenge Title Credits" -Magnetic System- "Cozzilla Main Theme" -Isao Tomita- "Great Prophecies of Nostradamus" -G.H.Q.- "Give Back The Sun" (cover)
In the holiday spirit, Byrd, Matt and Eric give the gift of an intro to the world of kaiju collecting! They discuss what their first Godzilla collectibles were, and how their collecting habits have evolved with age. Matt and Eric talk their love of kaiju toys and Byrd discusses why he loves Japanese kaiju books that he can't read. Matt and Eric also give advice for people new to collecting kaiju toys. They also discuss their favorite items in their collections, and the ones that mean the most to them. This episode also features the debut of "Up From The Depths," the official Kaiju Transmissions theme song by Cosmic Monster!
To celebrate the release of a new Star Wars film this coming weekend, Byrd and Matt got together at 2:00 AM to take a delirious, sleep deprived look at two completely bonkers Japanese Star Wars knock-offs from the 1970s. Toho's War in Space (1977) and Toei's Message From Space (1978) were both put into production to capitalize on the success of the original Star Wars, which was going to be released in Japan in the summer of 1978. Listen as the two exhausted hosts discuss horned wookiees, flying battleships, rapist lizard men, and drunk Vic Morrow to ultimately decide- which studio made the better Star Wars rip off?
On our very first audio commentary, Byrd, Matt and Tom tackle Ishiro Honda's Godzilla's Revenge (aka All Monsters Attack)! This oddball kids movie is far and away one of the most maligned entries in the Godzilla series. We'll discuss the history and sociopolitical themes of the film, as well as the pros and cons. Does this movie deserve its reputation as one of the worst kaiju movies ever or should it get more credit? Listen and find out! We might just surprise you!
On this special post-Election Day episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by Japanese culture guru and musician Chris Marti (of the one man band Cosmic Monster) to discuss the loaded messages behind Shin Godzilla. Arguably the most politically charged Godzilla film to date, what exactly is the film trying to say? And how much of it has been overlooked or misinterpreted by fans outside of Japan? What made Prime Minister Shinzo Abe so attracted to the film? Join us as we answer those questions and discuss Fukushima, nationalism, international affairs, censorship, post-WW2 Japan, Shinzo Abe, and how the message in this film compares to previous Toho classics!
Our October horror series concludes with our Halloween episode! Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (of If It Bleeds We Can Kill it and Days of Future Podcast) to talk about Nobuhiko Obayashi's HOUSE, one of the oddeste genre films in Toho's Showa filmography. Based on a story by his ten year old daughter, Obayashi's film is truly one of the most unique cinematic experiences one could hope to see. HOUSE remains a cult classic to this day due to its carefree childlike spirit and its use of every practical effect in the book. Join us as we discuss how this oddity came to be and why it continues to be a cult favorite the world over. We also touch on Obayashi's aborted "A SPACE GODZILLA" project. But first, we discuss the success of Shin Godzilla in the US, the Power Rangers trailer, and the passing of director Kensho Yamashita.
NEW EPISODE: On this installment of our October horror series, we are once again joined by Tom of the Second Run Podcast to look at Ishiro Honda's cult classic Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People) from 1963. This is stylish horror film is arguably the most layered (and bleak) monster movie to come out of Toho in the Showa era. Join us as we discuss the movie's themes of isolation, societal breakdown, sexuality, and grotesque body horror. We also discuss Honda's relationship with screenwriter Takeshi Kimura, and how Kimura's works reflected his personal struggles. We'll even touch on the original short story by William Hope Hodgson, which the film was based on. Join us, but please don't eat the mushrooms!
For the next spooky October episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by Tom of the Second Run Podcast to take a look at Toho's Dracula Trilogy (aka The Bloodthirsty Trilogy) of the 70s. Many people are aware of Toho's interpretations of King Kong and Frankenstein, but their stylish Dracula films got lost in the shuffle here in the States with only the second and third films getting brief television runs and VHS releases in the 1980s and early 1990s. So how does Toho's loose take on the Bram Stoker mythology add up? Listen and find out!
On this episode, we take a super thorough look at Shin Godzilla, the latest entry in the franchise. After 12 years, Toho have come back to release a what is arguably the most divisive and unique entry in the long running series. There is SO much to talk about wiht this movie that we had to get some special guests to help us! Join Byrd and Matt with special guests Eric, Tom (from the Second Run Podcast), and Trev (from If It Bleeds We Can Kill It and Days of Future Podcast) as they unpack every aspect of the movie. We dissect everything from the political themes, the changes to the Godzilla character, the effects, and the state of the franchise to the reaction the movie has been getting on both sides of the pond. This is a long and contentious episode, so strap yourselves in!
Happy October! To kick off a month of horror-centric episodes, we will be looking at Toho's take on the Frankenstein Monster by examining 1965's Frankenstein Conquers The World, and its sequel The War of the Gargantuas. We are joined by special guest Jelli of the Second Run Podcast to talk about both movies in depth and even touch upon the Gargantuas' incredibly odd post-film appearances. With the classic monsters on everybody's minds this month, it is only proper to give some attention to Toho's interpretation of the most famous monster of all time! Intro- Akira Ifukube- "Horror Theme from Frankenstein vs Baragon" Outro- Devo- "The Words Get Stuck In My Throat"
Just in time to get us caught up to Shin Godzilla's US theatrical release, we are joined on this episode by special guest Eric to wrap up our Godzilla Recap. We'll be diving into 2014's big budget Hollywood Godzilla reboot from Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. We discuss the movie's long origin, the pros and cons, MUTOs, and we debate whether or not Ford Brody is the worst human character in Godzilla history.
The newest installment focuses on the third Japanese series of Godzilla films. After the Tristar movie, Toho took matters into their own hands and started a new series of films, which lasted from 1999-2004. How do these six films hold up over a decade later? Listen and find out!
Our Godzilla series recap continues with the most despised entry in the series. Roland Emmerich's GODZILLA (1998)! Far and away the most divisive take on Godzilla and the most maligned entry in the series by G-Fans. But does the movie deserve this reputation? Is it as bad as everyone says? And does any of it hold up all these years later? Would it REALLY be a better movie without the "Godzilla" title? Listen and find out as Matt and Byrd dissect one of the most hated giant monster films ever made. We also touch on the animated television series sequel to the movie, as well as the unmade pitch for Godzilla 2. But first, Matt has some thoughts on the new Voltron series, and we discuss the several starts and stops that Tristar's Godzilla project had to endure before the Emmerich film was greenlit.
Byrd and Matt go all the way back to the giant ape that started it all. 1933's classic KING KONG! We talk about the origins of the film, as well as how it and its (also 1933) sequel SON OF KONG hold up after over 80 years. We also discuss how King Kong changed the cinema landscape and the massive impact it had on Japanese special effects artists and film makers. Do Byrd and Matt find the movie as good as it is influencial? Listen and find out!
Byrd and Matt talk their way through all 7 Heisei Godzilla films. Now that these movies are 20-some years old, how do they hold up? Listen and find out as we dissect each Godzilla movie from Godzilla (1984) through Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995). Before we talk movies, we discuss news and events with the announcement of the Godzilla anime film and Byrd reports back from the Mothra Rifftrax event and a local Godzilla art gallery in Detroit. Plus, an intro with an unexpected tangent about Jason X, the Leprechaun films and the weird phenomena of movie novelizations!
On this episode, Byrd, Matt and special guest and Gamera super-fan Eric discuss the Showa Gamera series in all of its weird wackiness. With the benefit of Eric's gift to take the original Gamera films seriously, they discuss the merits (or lacktherof depending on who you ask) of all 8 original films. Spinning turtles! Hot alien girls! UFOs! Dictator sharks from space! Maggot infested elephant trunks! The Gamera series had it all. As the plots of these films get crazier and crazier, the hosts get more and more sleep deprived. By the end we're all delirious, which is only fitting for a podcast about the craziest run of kaiju films ever.
On this episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Eric to discuss their summer convention experiences! Byrd reports back from G-Fest 2016. Matt and Eric discuss their experience at FandomFest where they met and dined with three Godzilla suit actors and Ultraman himself! But first, a news roundup with Shin Godzilla's opening weekend box office, the trailer for Kong: Skull Island, the trailer for The Great Wall and its "whitewashing" controversy, and some news on Legendary Pictures' merger with China's Wanda Entertainment.
On this episode, Byrd and Matt look at the Showa Godzilla series from Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster all the way through the conclusion with Terror of MechaGodzilla. But first, the two discuss Gareth Edwards' exit from Godzilla 2, which transforms into a tangent where Byrd goes on a fiery rant about the problems with fandom and entitlement in the internet age.
On this episode, Byrd and Matt take a look at the standalone kaiju movies of the Showa era. Godzilla wasn't the only one dominating the screen in the early days! We discuss a handful of entries from the Golden age of Toho as we discuss some of their non-Godzilla kaiju films. On the table this time are Rodan, Mothra, Varan the Unbelievable, Dogora, and Yog: Monster from Space. But first, we have news on Godzilla Resurgence's US release, the Godzilla: Total Destruction fan anime, Voltron, and more Power Rangers casting! We end with a brief plug for Arrow Video's astounding blu-ray release of Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan. Enjoy!
Byrd and Matt start their full series recap of the entire Godzilla series by taking a look at the first six films in the series. But first, some quick Daimajin news and the run down on how exactly we're going to recap the series.
On the premiere episode of Kaiju Transmissions, Byrd and Matt discuss just what made them Godzilla/kaiju fans to begin with. They'll talk about their first exposure to the genre and what has kept them involved through all these years. But first they share their reactions to the Godzilla Resurgence trailer, the first images from the Power Rangers movie and more!