33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Japanese & American cultures view Godzilla differently., November 2, 1999
This review is from: A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (Library Binding)
There are, of course, any number of books providing Godzilla's fans with critical filmographies of the movies and behind-the-scenes histories of their production. But David Kalat has done added something different to the tale.
"A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series" (McFarland & Company, Inc.) is a book that might well have been called "A Cultural History . . ." In it, Kalat goes beyond the familiar telling of "how they did it" to tell the story of what the Godzilla has come to mean to his two biggest audiences, the Japanese and the Americans. The format of the book is familiar enough - a chapter for each film, beginning with a synopsis and continuing with the story of it's production and a critical appraisal. But each chapter is not meant to stand alone. This book has a running narrative describing the different ways the films have been received on opposite sides of the Pacific up to "Godzilla vs. Destroyer."
The story of the often profitable, but often tense, relationship between the Japanese producers and American viewers is detailed here as in few other books. And the tension that often exists between Japanese producers and Japanese viewers, and among the producers themselves, has never been described in as much detail as in Kalat's book. (Not in English, anyway.) For instance, in the second half of the Heisei series, Toho began actively pitching it's kaiju stories towards women, who make up the majority of Japan's moviegoing audience. Did you ever think of "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2" as a chick flick? This is how Toho planned and presented it.
Kalat provides seperate chapters for the first King Kong, Rodan and Mothra films, to show the reader how they blended into, and influenced, Godzilla's world. Other chapters throughout the book describe Godzilla's "extracurricular activities" in television and merchandising. One chapter, "Godzilla vs. Ultraman,"
shows how Toho fell under the influence of it's own televised imitators in the early '70s, and how this influence showed up in the movies.
"A Critical History . . ." was published in 1997, when TriStar's "Godzilla" was still in production. But there is a chapter describing the various false starts of an American Godzilla film up to that time. It is a longer story than many fans might suspect.
David Kalat does an excellent job of telling the story of how the Godzilla's films came to be. He provides a bibliography and hundreds of reference notes, which is a good thing, because there will be many times when you find yourself flipping back to the notes to find out "where did he learn that?" But he's done something more important than that. He tells us why anyone should care about Godzilla. He shows us what the films mean, from more than one point of view. The tension between the points of view is the focus of his book.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Book ... Not Only for Godzilla Fans !, October 22, 2002
This review is from: A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (Library Binding)
I am not a Godzilla fan (I don't dislike them; I am neutral towards them). But this book is amazing even if you don't care about the movies, because like them or not, Godzilla movies are an important part of our modern culture. This book is detailed, interesting, always enlightening, and very often hilarious to read. A great book can be a pleasure to read even for those who would not be interested in the subject. This is such a book.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Amazing Read for Godzilla & Film Fans, November 14, 2001
This review is from: A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (Library Binding)
This is an amazing book and I am absolutely fascinated by it, from both the standpoint of a film buff as well as a Gojira fan. I certainly hope Mr. Kalat does a follow-up now that G is enjoying a rebirth in Japanese cinema (from Godzilla Millenium to GMK and beyond) and the book itself stops at Godzilla v Destroyah, his supposed "death" in Japan. (The plan was to turn the reins over to Tri-Star in the USA, but since the '98 American Godzilla stunk so very much, fans worldwide convinced Toho to revive it in their own image).
Excellent book for both film fan and Godzilla lover. No pictures, no diagrams, no schlock; just great writing and amazing detail.
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