An Appreciation of All Things Dark and Ghastly
by Robert Troch
Executive Producer, “Showdown of the Godz”
During the shooting of "Showdown of the Godz," George Takei asked me, in a very puzzled sort of way, what I found so interesting about Godzilla. Why Godzilla? (I can almost hear him saying this right now in that unmistakable voice of his.)
I already knew the answer, as I had thought about this question many times before. First..... I think a short trip down memory lane will help. I really loved all those movies as a kid. Godzilla, Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra, King Kong etc. Besides seeing them for the first time on television, I even saw a few at the drive-in. In fact, I will never forget the night that as a 9-year-old boy I saw “Destroy all Monsters.” 11 Japanese monsters in one film! It was one of those movie moments where it is never as thrilling as that first time you see it. Anyway, the first Godzilla movie I ever really saw was “Godzilla vs Ebirah” (called “Godzilla vs the Sea Monster” in the US). Back then there were still UHF channels, and one of them, channel 32 in Chicago, broadcast that movie every evening for a week! You better believe I (at 7-8 years I think) was in front of the TV every night to watch. Not that I remember every detail, but I am pretty sure my father said,
"Are you kids watching that again?" more than once.
Then there were those cool, and super-condensed super 8 Ken films. We owned a projector, so I of course cajoled my parents into buying some of those super 8's. Not only Japanese monster movies, but “Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman,” “Dracula,” “Creature From the Black Lagoon,” “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” and boatloads of other genre films. Of course back then there was no VHS, DVD, or internet. I either had to watch those weird little, silent super 8's (or 8 millimeter if you choose to buy them that way), catch one every now and then at the drive in OR make sure I scanned the “TV Guide” every week so I could watch them in our own family room.
There were also those amazingly memorable soundtracks. More than once I recorded the audio from a Godzilla movie onto my cheap cassette recorder. Once I had done that, I tried to play it along with the super 8 version. Of course it never worked that well, but what did I care? I could hear Godzilla's music and watch him at the same time.
The legendary Forrest J. Ackerman’s “Famous Monsters of Filmland” (a magazine I eventually had a subscription to) was the ONLY source around to get any information about these strange movies from Japan--plus lots of pictures complete with goofy captions. It actually turns out that almost all the actual "information" concerning Godzilla movies was totally inaccurate. I, or course, had no way of knowing that, and because of “Famous Monsters” believed that King Kong wins the fight in the "Americanized" version of “Godzilla vs King Kong,” while Godzilla wins the fight in the Japanese version. Of course, the real truth is that Kong wins in both versions.
Lastly I was very much into the old Aurora model kits. These were THE only game in town, and they were unmatched. Today, of course, they are highly regarded collectables, and if you have an original with one of those way cool boxes, you have a good investment. The first one I ever bought and built up was the Frankenstein Monster, but of course the next was....you guessed it--Godzilla.
You’re wondering what this has to do with Mr. Takei’s question. Bear with me—working up to that. When I was growing up, I spent a fair amount of time by myself. My father was always working, building his business, and my mother kind of left me on my own. I was also a smallish kid at that age; I matured late. Deep inside, I identified with these monsters. They were so powerful. Like Gods. They could go anywhere they wanted. Do whatever they wanted. If they were shot at, they just got mad and destroyed everything. It is probably one reason I was also a very big fan of comic books. Especially the Justice League, Legion of Super Heroes, the Avengers, Spider-Man etc. Anyway.....if anyone got in these monsters’ way, they were in trouble. They couldn't even be killed. They also all had pretty cool-sounding names. Godzilla! Varan! Baragon! Rodan! Mothra! King Ghidorah! Gamera! It wasn’t just, "Oh, look, it's the giant lizard!" They really were like some kind of surreal, mythological figures.
As I got older and into my teens, I began to forget about all things monstrous. I thought about them every now and then, but that was about it. Funny thing, though...what goes around comes around again. What’s programmed into you as a kid stays there, lying in wait like… like some kind of, well, monster. And so about 12 years ago, I got curious again. It was then that I stumbled upon a lot more resources than I ever had as a kid. A fanzine, books and even the internet. I found out about the handmade craftsmanship and blood sweat and tears that went into those Japanese monster epics for decades. I learned the names of the producer, directors, writers, actors, composers, special effects guys, cinematographers, art directors and for the first time got to see the films in original Japanese language via bootlegs.
Before I knew it, I’d plunged headlong into the never-ending pursuit of collecting Japanese monster toys… AND THEY WERE/ARE COOL! Figures of monsters (tiny, small, regular and huge sizes), amazing model kits, posters, bottle caps, reproductions of the monster suits from the movies, electronic toys....the list is long. Because they are my source of all power, my fountain of youth.
Which finally brings us back to George Takei's question. My love of Japanese monster epics started as childish escapism and empowerment -- something bigger than life, fun and powerful that I could identify with. Later, I grew to appreciate the other side of it -- the craftsmanship, the behind the scenes stuff and yes, the art involved in creating rampaging giant beasts.
Which has led me to the production of the short film "Showdown of the Godz." That should answer the question better than anything.
Robert Troch, 3/08 |
