The Return of Godzilla Commentary (Dragon Ball-o-Ween) (S1E24)

Welcome to Final Forum's Dragon Ball-oween Spooktacular!

In this episode, Jelli and Bekinney are joined by Kyle Byrd and Matt Parmley of the Kaiju Transmissions Podcast for a fun break from format and into the world of Godzilla films. It's part of our October/Halloween Festivities where we're taking a break from breaking down Akira Toriyama's worldwide manga and anime phenomenon and delving into times our franchise's creators have "put on a costume" and worked on other shows and movies. In this case, it's Akira Toriyama's EXTREMELY BRIEF cameo in a Godzilla movie: The Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1984, aka Godzilla 1985, aka Godzilla, aka Gojira).

In this episode:

• Jelli and Bekinney place a call to Byrd and Matt from Kaiju Transmissions
• We each talk about our initial experiences with this movie
• Breaking down the production facts, including director Koji Hasimoto's vision with a Screenplay by Shuichi Nagahara, production by Tomoyuki Tanaka, and score by Reijiro Koroku.
• The effects sequences were handled by Teruyoshi Nakano and we talk about his general philosophy when it comes to making movies
• We discuss how the 1970s treated Godzilla with Terror of Mechagodzilla, and re-releases of Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and Mothra vs. Godzilla
• We mention the inclusion of a script draft that introduced a never-to-appear kaiju named Bagan
• We unveil the history behind the film's genesis, from an idea by Steve Miner and a script from Fred Dekker
• Ishiro Honda's decision to decline the offer to direct based on his ongoing work with Akira Kurosawa
• The film's setting during the Cold War and high tensions between the United States and Russia/Soviet Union and how this affected the film when it came time to dub it and adapt it for American audiences
• Highlighting the differences in the American version, Godzilla 1985
• How the 1976 King Kong film led to this movie being released and influenced the creation of the 20-foot-tall Godzilla Cybot
• We highlight the cast, including Yosuke Natsuki, Keiju Kobayashi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Ken Tanaka, Hiroshi Kamayatsu, and a cameo from director Shinpei Hayashiya
• We discuss the cultural and historical significance of Mt. Mihara, where the film's climax takes place
• The short, Bambi Meets Godzilla, by Marv Newland, which was associated with this film theatrically and for years on television, as well
• ...and more, including some general pop culture, how the movie preceded Jurassic Park, trivia, and editorializing, as usual 

Join us as we continue to uncover the cultural meanings, publication facts, inspirations and more behind the wildly popular Dragon Ball franchise....or in this case, the Godzilla franchise....for our special Dragon Ball-o-Ween event!

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