The War of the Gargantuas

For monster lovers, this has to rank up there as one of Toho Studio's greatest and most satisfying giant monster movies. For those looking for it, there's plenty of nonstop monster mayhem and devastation on tap. However, it's hard for me to decide which of the two versions I prefer; the Japanese original (which calls our creatures "Frankenstein's" and is a direct sequel to Toho's own FRANKENSTEIN VS BARUGON, aka FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD) or the U.S. edition (which christens the beasts "Garganutas" and works better as a separate stand alone story). This may be a rare occasion where the American rendition proves to be more entertaining, for a few reasons...

One grisly sequence shows the evil monster chewing a woman victim up like a piece of meat and spitting something out; in the Japanese version it's a bouquet of flowers, while in America it works more effectively as the girl's clothes.

Another quality I prefer in the U.S. edition is some of the music. Just works better for me during the action sequences of the monsters being fought off by the army as well as when they're beating each other up.

In the American film, Russ Tamblyn is especially funny to hear while looping his own embarrassed voice into English. And no matter which version you settle on, you'll still get the treat of hearing a female nightclub singer belting out that horrendous and long-vilified classic tune with hilarious lyrics that include "the words get stuck in my throat"! Worth watching for this alone! *** out of ****

This is one of the more original Toho productions out there, and it's also one of the more frightening. The Green Gartantua is the bad one, and he is only too happy to eat people whole whenever he gets the chance. The classic seen in this movie is when the Green Gargantua comes ashore near a hotel/apartment complex and tears the walls off exposing people inside. Then he grabs one and pops them into this mouth, chewing with gusto! To top off this great scene he *spits out* the chewed clothes of the person he ate, sort of like a person would spit out a cherry pit.

This movie really needs a re-release on DVD!

This is certainly one of the better non-Godzilla kaijus. It has plenty of action and in some ways it has a love story within it. The character Akemi has a deep motherly affection for Sanda (the Brown Gargantua) and is willing to do anything to protect it from the wrath of the army who see him as nothing but a menace. In the meantime, Gaira (the Green Gargantua) is the true evil. He sees man as nothing but food and this brings him into conflict with his brother who is gentle in nature but results to violence as a last resort.

We'll give credit to TOHO productions, it is different from the Godzilla films, which I adore. It seems they just used different monsters while using the same scaled army vehicles and scenery. Having viewed Frankenstein Conquers the World, this "Sequel" doesn't quite add up to it's previous storyline which was a little vague, blame it on poor editing? Had they expanded on why and where these 2 monsters originated from, it would make more sense, while still leaving out human dialogue. I saw this film as a child, it scared me into believing there really were creatures walking around stomping on people! When you hear the lady singing on the cruise ship, and that poorly written song sticks in your head, believe me, you'll wish she had been eaten first. The movie is a classic, worth a look see.

In case you've been asleep for a while, this is the sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World, in which the Frankenstein monster has grown into two giant creatures. You see, it was established in the first film that the monster, if in parts, would continue to regrow itself, and so that's what happened. A part grew into a creature in the ocean, and another as a land creature, one good and one not. The creatures have a fondness for each other, basically being brothers of a sort, but the evil one eventually disappoints the good one, and then hell breaks loose with one of the best giant monster battles ever from Toho, second only to Kong and Godzilla. These monsters are the type that would make any creature fan proud and a vast improvement over the original Toho Frankenstein. They must have been listening to the fans about the first one's appearance because they did it right this time.