Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

First episode of the new year, and we start off with returning guest host, Rudy. He comes to the studio to discuss our favorite monster of cinema, Godzilla. We talk about the second film to feature Godzilla in Godzilla Raids Again. For this episode I got receipts because we try to defend this from the critics who had not been kind to this film.

Variety

 Mar 28, 2024 10:44am PT

https://variety.com/lists/godzilla-movies-ranked/all-monsters-attack-1969/

All Godzilla Movies Ranked By Matthew Chernov

This list didn't include the NetFlix Animated Movies

Out of 35 He ranked this at 31 

"Notable only for introducing Godzilla’s dog-like adversary Anguirus, who would go on to become one of the most beloved beasts in the series, this rushed production is marred by awkward direction, threadbare special effects, and an interminably slow and meandering second half that dispenses with monster fights in favor of pointless human drama."

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Rotten Tomatoes

https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/all-godzilla-movies-ranked/

All Godzilla Movies Ranked

Rank at #20 with 64% 7 Fresh and 4 Rotten on the Tomatometer 5.00 out of 10 Rating

Popcornmeter All Audience Reviews sits at 36 % 3 out of 5 Rating

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IndieWire 

https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-godzilla-movies-ranked/godzilla-raids-again-aka-gojira-no-gyakushu-1955-2/

All 38 ‘Godzilla’ Movies Ranked from Worst to Best

by Wilson Chapman March 28, 2024

Includes the Netflix Animated Movies

Ranked at 31

"A quickie sequel to the groundbreaking 1954 original film, ‘Godzilla Raids Again’ feels like a downgrade in every possible way. Pitting Godzilla against quadrupedal dino kaiju Anguirus, the film establishes the formula of throwing two monsters into the same movie and seeing who’ll win, but renders their battle with cheap effects and setpieces that feel like the leftovers from the groundbreaking original. The non-Godzilla parts of the film don’t quite land either; a lot of time is spent with the human cast this time around, all of whom feel like poor substitutes for the iconic cast of the original. In retrospect, ‘Godzilla Raids Again’ feels like the awkward middle child of the Showa years, caught between the grandiose tragedy of the original and the goofy fun of the later sequels to mixed and mostly boring effect. "

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Collider

https://collider.com/godzilla-movies-ranked/

 

Every Godzilla Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

By Jeremy Urquhart Updated Mar 29, 2024Includes the Netflix Animated Movies

Rank at 30

Coming out just one year after the original Godzilla, Godzilla Raids Again is notable for two main reasons. The first is that it's the only Godzilla film other than the original to be shot in black and white, and the second is that it's the first time Godzilla is pitted against another giant monster - here, it's series regular Anguirus.

For those reasons, it's an interesting and sometimes engaging sequel, but it does feel a little rushed and uninspired. It paved the way for future movies to be about more than just humanity vs. Godzilla, but also fell very short of measuring up to the first film. Definitely not bad, and maybe a little over-hated, but nothing too special, either. It's also interesting because it's one of the original Japanese Godzilla movies that got an English-language/American-produced re-edit, 1959's Gigantis, the Fire Monster.

 

Vulture

By James Grebey, a Vulture contributor who writes about genre TV and movies.

Updated June 2, 2024
Doesn't list all 38 films, on List 23 of the films. Godzilla Raids Again.

 

Wikizilla 

https://wikizilla.org/wiki/Godzilla_Raids_Again

Trivia

·  Godzilla Raids Again was the first Godzilla film to feature multiple monsters.

·  The Godzilla suit used for this film, the GyakushuGoji, was slimmer and lighter than the previous ShodaiGoji suit used in the first film, putting less pressure on actor Haruo Nakajima and thus making every fight scene with Anguirus easier.

·  The JSDF's tactic of enforcing a blackout in Osaka to protect it from Godzilla is the same tactic used by Japan at the end of World War II to protect cities from Allied bombing raids.

·  Godzilla Raids Again is the only Godzilla film to date where Godzilla's dorsal fins consistently do not glow prior to him releasing his atomic breath. Later films would only occasionally not show the discharge, often by mistake.

·  Godzilla Raids Again is one of only two Toho Godzilla films in which the JSDF defeats the monster at the end with existing technology rather than a fictional superweapon, along with The Return of Godzilla.

·  There are no scenes in this film which feature Godzilla using his atomic breath from the full suit-view. Every time he does, the hand-operated puppet head is used. This is due to the fact that the suit's mouth could not open wide enough.

·  Gigantis, the Fire Monster was distributed in the United States by Warner Bros., who would go on to distribute the films of Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse 55 years later.

·  After this film's release, Toho took a seven-year hiatus from making Godzilla films. However, during these seven years they continued to make kaiju films, and introduced two of the other most recognizable monsters from the Showa era: Rodan and Mothra.

·  In the Kaiju Guide for the PlayStation 3 and 4 Godzilla video game, Anguirus' bio states that he once battled a monster called "Gigantis," who has since been banished from this plane of existence, an inside joke referencing the American version of Godzilla Raids Again.

·  Godzilla Raids Again is the last Godzilla film to be filmed entirely in black-and-white and in the Academy aspect ratio.

·  Two shots of newspapers place the events of Godzilla Raids Again in January of 1955, possibly stretching into February.

·  In the scene at the Yayoi Restaurant in Hokkaido, the song that the fishermen are singing is the Hokkaido sea shanty "Sōran Bushi" ("ソーラン節").

·  Several other kaiju films since Godzilla Raids Again have used similar Japanese titles, including King Kong Escapes (キングコングの逆襲 Kingu Kongu no Gyakushū), Terror of Mechagodzilla (メカゴジラの逆襲 Mekagojira no Gyakushū), and Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (ギララの逆襲 洞爺湖サミット危機一発 Girara no Gyakushū: Tōyako Samitto Kiki Ippatsu). Additionally, the 2023 animated series Chibi Godzilla Raids Again takes its name directly from Godzilla Raids Again.

·  Godzilla Raids Again was the first of four Godzilla films to have been scored by Masaru Sato.  

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Clips are used for transition and to further the discussion of the program.

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