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film _Godzilla, King Of The Monsters_ (vhs/ntsc)

• faces: Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura
• originally titled _Gojira_ (cross between "gorilla" and japanese word for "whale"
• directed by Ishiro Hondo
• cold war
• anti-nuclear sentiment

"I need only mention in passing that there is a curious reappearance of the Catfish tradition in the popular Godzilla  cycle of films which arose after the nuclear chaos unleashed upon Japan.  In fact, the symbolic details in the evolution of Godzilla filmic poplore parallel in a quite surprising way the traditional Japanese and Chinese mythological and folkloric themes of combat with an ambivalent chaos creature (some of the films, like _Mothra_, directly recalling the ancient motifs of the cosmic egg/gourd/cocoon) that is usually tamed,, after the failure of the civilizational order, through the special and indirect agency of children."

 - Girardot - _Myth & Meaning In Early Taoism: The Theme of Chaos (hun-t'un)

• 604 track _God Is God (Front 242 God Zilla Remix)_ MP3 by Juno Reactor
•  sample: "god is god" by christian gun nut Charlton Heston
• 604 release _Godzilla/Mental Floss_ 12" on TIP
• Simpsons episode _Lisa On Ice_ (avi)(25.6megs) references "monster island" and a sequence showing Godzilla, Mothra & Gamera
• Raymond Burr's character in _Godzilla_ was named "Steve Martin"
• film _Godzilla's Revenge_ (vhs/ntsc) (1969)
• track _Dischordzilla_ MP3 by Luke Vibert off of _Stop The Panic_ on Astralwerks (2000)
• instrumental ska track _Godzilla Main Theme (Godzilla vs. SkaGodzilla Mix)_ MP3 by Audio Active off of _Destroy The Monsters compilation CD (2000)
  • samples from the movie at the beginning
• track _Godzilla Flick_ MP3 by The Flaming Lips off of _Hear It Is_ (1986)
• alternative pop track _Godzilla Said To God When His Name Wasn't Found In The Book Of Life_ MP3 by American Music Club off of _Mercury_ (1993)

math rock entity Rodan

• _Tron_ MP3 (192k)
• release _Rusty_ 12" on Quarterstick (1994)
• 1. _Bible Silver Corner_ MP3 (96k)
• 2. _Shiner_ MP3 (vK)
• 3. _The Everyday World Of Bodies_ MP3
• 4. _Jungle Jim_ MP3 (96k)
• 5. _Gauge_ MP3
• _Big Things, Little Things (Peel Sessions)_ MP3 (192k)
• _Darjeeling_ MP3 (192k)

_Rodan_ (1956) is a science fiction movie made at Toho Studios in Japan. It is one of a series of "giant monster" movies that found an audience outside of Japan (especially in America). The first "giant monster" movies of the 1950s, called kaiju, were filmed as serious horror and adventure stories, before the genre devolved to the level of "kiddie" entertainment in the 1960s and 1970s.

Rodan follows in the footsteps of other Japanese monster movies, such as Godzilla, which involve a giant monster being awoken from an ancient hibernation by human beings. In this story, miners digging far into the earth stumble across a clutch of giant caterpillar-like insects, which viciously attack several of the miners and prompt a government investigation into the matter. The giant bugs turn out to be little more than food for two gigantic flying beasts (similar to the pteradactyl, except they are far bigger and far more powerful), who hatch from giant eggs and proceed to terrorize the entire world.

Rodan is notable for its action scenes, which are filmed surprisingly well and which still excite audiences today. Unlike most of the Toho monster movies, which featured "action" scenes consisting of roaring monsters lumbering across the landscape at a stupefyingly slow pace, the battle scenes and monster rampage in Rodan are thrilling, exciting, and fast-paced; it is much easier for the audience to suspend disbelief and accept the typically mediocre special effects here. The emphasis on action, thrills, and willingness to scare the audience makes Rodan one of the superior films in the kaiju series.

Usenet: alt.fan.godzilla

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