Godzilla vs. Gigan is the low point of the Showa Era, if not the entire franchise. This distinction reflects the tattered-state of the broader Japanese film industry in the early 1970s; especially for high-concept tokusatsu movies that were hemorrhaging young audiences to the television market. Consequently, Godzilla vs. Gigan attempts to have its cake and eat it too; it is a bare-bones production that recycles much material from previous hits.
Director: Jun Fukuda
Screenplay: Shinichi Sekizawa
Producers: Tomoyuki Tanaka
Cinematography: Kiyoshi Hasegawa
Editing: Yoshio Tamura
Music: Akira Ifukube
Select Cast: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Tomoko Umeda, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima, Zan Fujita, Toshiaki Nishizawa
Runtime: 89 minutes
Country of Origin: Japan
Japanese Release: March 12, 1972; U.S. release, 1977, as Godzilla on Monster Island
Following the equally questionable, yet experimentally bolder, film Godzilla vs. Hedorah, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka sought a return to basics. He brought back director Jun Fukuda (Ebirah, Horror of the Deep; Son of Godzilla) to tell the story of cockroach aliens who use a family theme park as a front for world conquest; they pit space monsters King Ghidorah and Gigan against Earth’s defenders Godzilla and Anguirus. Along the way, a band of young sleuths attempt to foil the dastardly plans. The plot is as straightforward and familiar as Tanaka had intended. Viewers, however, may find it all too simple.
Nevertheless, the movie manages one bona fide highlight with the introduction of the villainous Gigan. The titular kaiju is a fiendishly outrageous beast that looks like a cross between a chicken and a tool shed; it sports arm-blades, a laser visor, and a rotating buzz-saw placed squarely in its belly. The absurd design works, however, with Godzilla and Anguirus struggling to overcome the weaponry. Gigan proved popular enough to subsequently feature in Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004).
But apart from Gigan there is little to enjoy for discerning adult fans of the series. This bears elaboration. Godzilla vs. Gigan is so kid-centric that the entire effort reeks of pandering. Unlike another oft-maligned kid centered film, Ishiro Honda’s All Monsters Attack (1969), Fukuda’s Gigan offers scant thematic insight. His picture is stuffed with characters and images that only serve to light up juvenile dopamine receptors: a comic book artist, his karate-kicking girlfriend, and a goofy hippy sidekick. Not to mention the Children’s Land angle and a script with dialogue that speaks to the lowest common denominator. Most cringe worthy is a sequence with Godzilla and Anguirus talking to each other via animated speech bubbles.
On paper, these creative choices could have amounted to something interesting; but because of the lack of budget, inexperienced performers, and listless direction it never gels. In fact, compared to Fukuda’s other crime-tinged, action-packed films like Megalon and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974), Gigan is a slog. The crime elements are entirely toothless and the kaiju rumbles are a disjointed mess largely comprised of footage from Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964). (Incidentally another film where the kaiju talk to each other, but with a sense of campy joy.) What original footage there is of the fights, features tame choreo and a lot of standing around. It may be enough to entertain its elementary audience, but it is ultimately a sad place for characters with such rich histories.
In the end, Godzilla vs. Gigan had much working against it. Perhaps a more determined director could have persevered with a marginally decent film. But as it stands, the movie simply reflects the tired attitudes of Toho; indeed, it is a tiring watch when the franchise offers so much to otherwise love.
by Vincent S. Hannam
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