Battle Of The Beasts Essay, Research Paper

In 1954, with nothing but their creative minds, the Toho Movie company

produced the first giant monster movie. Japan s Godzilla was brought to life. In 1998, with nothing but Lucas Arts special effects, and a name which guaranteed a blockbuster, the Centropolis Movie Company produced the All American Godzilla Flick. U.S.A. has finally found its own Godzilla. But is this new creature better than the Asian one? Despite the technological advances and successful advertising, the U.S. Godzilla has really no comparison to the Japanese one.

Cinema has changed a lot in 45 years. In the times of King Kong and

Dracula, ” scary” had a very significant meaning. Nowadays we are too smart for that. To make a lot of money, one might say a science fiction movie needs to look real. In this respect, the American movie is far better. The American audiences want to see an exciting movie. In this respect also, the American movie is better. The movie is also, in most regards, a better movie then any which came out in Japan. It is not however, Godzilla. The American monster doesn t even look like Godzilla.

The appearance of Japan s Godzilla is better. The American Godzilla leans forward at the hips when he walks. He has triangular bony plates and a thin pointy tail. His mouth is like an iguana s. The Japanese Godzilla is not a lizard. He is a mutated creature unlike any other. His bony plates are actually flimsy growths that are all over the place. Godzilla, who was meant to signify nuclear holocaust, also closely resembles a human. In this way, we can see a character out of him, not just another giant lizard. His eyes are both pointed forward like a human, he walks upright like a human, and he has long forearms like a human. Godzilla doesn t have scales, he has big vertical grooves in a leathery skin. He has a wide stance, muscular legs, and an expression that just takes some peoples breath away. And his greatness goes far beyond his looks; you can also see it in his heart.

The Japanese Godzilla is better because he has a soul. He is powerful, yet sometimes defeated. He is an unstoppable force of nature, but also a warrior. Godzilla is a giant monster, but he is also a character. His face has expressions, and he has a lot of motivation. Such monsters are almost non-existent in American culture besides a few. King Kong, Frankenstein, and Dracula are all successful because the monster made sense. If the audience can t feel sorry or sympathy for an evil creature, the creature has not done its job. Today s American audiences do not have monsters with souls. Our monster movies are about the people in the films, not the monsters. For example, Alien, Predator, Jurassic Park, Jaws. They are big computerized props. The audience has no emotion towards them. When they are

on the screen sometimes we might want them off. The American Godzilla is a

lizard, nothing more, even if it looks realistic. Lastly, the Japanese Godzilla is better in the respect that it does not look

real. No Godzilla movie has ever been 100% realistic. The U.S.A. Godzilla film is realistic. When an audience watches it, they believe their eyes. When you watch a Japanese Godzilla movie you can appreciate the fact that it is a movie. It never once seems real. The audience can play over the weird science and rubber suits in their minds. Japanese Godzilla movies aren t real, they re fictious; beyond real. They are like we imagine when we read a book. Most of all however, Japan s Godzilla is fun to watch, America s is not. America s Godzilla is just a cool lizard from the discovery channel. We have maybe to many special effects. Ever since Jurassic Parks incredibly realistic dinosaurs, we are not as excited by the terrible lizards we see and read about. When something mythical becomes real, it is no longer as interesting as it was before.

One of the best Godzilla movies ever made would have to be Godzilla vs.

King Kong. The battle between the large east and west monster. There are a lot of good scenes in it, including when King Kong shoves a big tree down Godzilla s throat, and he coughs it back up. At the end King Kong and Godzilla are fighting when they suddenly fall over the side of a cliff. They fall in water, and King Kong is seen swimming to shore, presumably saying Godzilla is dead. But is he? Remember he can swim underwater!

Godzilla isn t an animal. He isn t a lizard or a dragon or a dinosaur or even a guy in a rubber costume. Godzilla is a world wide movie legend. Really, Godzilla is too big to fade away. Godzilla is really one of a kind.