Gigantis: The Fire Monster

I saw this in a theater back in 1959. It was part of a double bill with "Teenagers From Outer Space"'. Talk about two "B" movies. As with most Americans, it was the first Japanese monster movie I'd seen. The monsters were so obviously men in suits that the audience laughed. Godzilla's foe, Anguirus, appeared to be wearing tennis shoes under his suit when viewed from behind. This flick had bad "special effects" even by 1950s standards. I didn't care for this first effort, but I grew to like the Toho franchise eventually, once I got used to the dopiness of it.

When I reviewed the original Japanese-language Godzilla Raids Again, I mentioned I thought it was a little better than the original Japanese Godzilla. I also admired the way the American-edited Godzilla, King of the Monsters! used the new Raymond Burr-added footage and narration seamlessly. Not so with this American-edited version of the sequel. For starts, it begins with some kind of history lesson before the beginning credits which didn't seem necessary. Also, there's now a narration by one of the leading characters that is used way too much especially when we can see what is happening as he describes the action! And there's some stock footage from other films that also seems like unnecessary padding plus the action scenes at the end now seems too rushed for some reason (or maybe it just seemed that way). And what's with the retitling to avoid mentioning Godzilla? In summary, Gigantis, the Fire Monster gets a no recommendation from me.

The immediate sequel to the original Godzilla, Godzilla Raids Again, usually isn't deemed to be a worthy sequel to the original. While it may not have the potency and pathos of the original, I'd argue there are some moments present in the film that attempt to reach the same heights of the original. It's arguable how successful that was but it's at the very least worth checking checking out.

The film's American version on the other had is a far different story. It re-contextualizes the film into the standard trappings of a run of the mill American monster movie. For all that can be said about the Raymond Burr version of the original Godzilla, it was by far the most respectful of the early Americanization that many Japanese monster films experienced. The film's use of stock footage that pales in comparison to the original effects and the infusion of stereotypical imagery makes for a much more dull and dry experience. And if one is not already a fan of the original Raids Again, then Gigantis does it no favors. What Gigantis, the Fire Monster attempted to do was to reduce Godzilla to just a generic monster, and egregious mistake to do with a character who is by far the opposite.

On goes my quest to watch as much Godzilla stuff I haven't already as I can before Godzilla Minus One arrives here in Australia in December. It's my favorite movie series (it's that or Tora-san; that's a real Sophie's Choice, actually), and even when Godzilla isn't even Godzilla - he's called "Gigantis" in this movie - I'll still watch it.

So maybe Gigantis, the Fire Monster isn't fully a Godzilla movie. It takes footage from the second film in the series, Godzilla Raids Again, and mostly seems to serve as a re-dub; maybe there are some editing changes, too. It's definitely not as interesting a re-cut as other Americanized versions of Godzilla movies, like the one from 1956, the King Kong vs. Godzilla re-edit in the early 1960s, or the 1985 version of The Return of Godzilla.

It might be the least essential one to watch, even for die-hard Godzilla fans. There are some name changes, the dialogue's changed, and I think some sound effects have changed, too. But it only has the bare minimum stuff required for this to count as a "separate" movie, rather than a redub, which are common.

As for Godzilla Raids Again, it's not a series high point, but it is interesting. I definitely didn't mind it and think it's decent. It's the second and final Godzilla movie shot in black-and-white, and the first one where Godzilla fights another big monster. And the monster's not King Kong, Rodan, King Ghidorah, or even Mothra, like one might expect - Anguirus. I feel like that would be a good trivia question, though Anguirus is still fairly well-known... just not as much as some of those other foes Godzilla took a few more years to encounter.