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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 08/25/00 -- Vol. 19, No. 8
Chair/Librarian: Mark Leeper, 732-817-5619, mleeper@lucent.com
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper, 732-332-6218, eleeper@lucent.com
Distinguished Heinlein Apologist: Rob Mitchell, robmitchell@lucent.com
HO Chair Emeritus: John Jetzt, jetzt@lucent.com
HO Librarian Emeritus: Nick Sauer, njs@lucent.com
Back issues at http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County meets on the
second Saturday of every month in Upper Saddle River; call
201-447-3652 for details. The Denver Area Science Fiction
Association meets 7:30 PM on the third Saturday of every month at
Southwest State Bank, 1380 S. Federal Blvd.
===================================================================
1. Because of the various spin-offs, we have decided to move the
mailing list administration for the MT VOID to eGroups, a mailing
list hosting service.
Some time in September, you will get a piece of mail saying you
have been added to the mtvoid group at eGroups. No action is
required unless you want to unsubscribe or change your email
address, in which case it's probably easier if you do this ahead of
time by sending email to eleeper@lucent.com or mleeper@avaya.com.
[-ecl]
===================================================================
2. With the release of GODZILLA 2000, there have been a number of
reviewers mentioning the first Godzilla film, both the Japanese
version GOJIRA and the re-cut American version GODZILLA, KING OF
THE MONSTERS. The web has, however, very few reviews of the
original film.
GODZILLA really has to be seen as two very different films. You
have to see the film as it was released in the United States, and
you have to see through that to the original Japanese film. The
Japanese film, made as an imitation of THE BEAST FROM 20,000
FATHOMS, turned into a fairly serious allegory of the close of the
Second World War and the fear of nuclear weapons. This was in part
because of timing. The film was made just after a Japanese fishing
boat had strayed into the waters where the hydrogen bomb had been
tested. The fish they caught were radioactive but were still
allowed to be sold in Japan. When the Japanese found out that
dangerous radioactive fish had been sold to unsuspecting citizens
they blamed the United States and they called the incident Americas
third atomic attack on Japan. The script is also is an exploration
of the theme of the responsibility of the scientist to the world
and an indictment of the developers of the atomic bomb. So the
plot of BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS, the indignity over the fishing
incident, and festering anger over the use of nuclear weapons in
the war all came together into a story of a primordial evil coming
out of the sea.
The American version crudely interpolates American reporter Steve
Martin (played by Raymond Burr) into the story. The scenes with
Burr are obviously of a different film stock and have no
overlapping characters whose faces are seen. Actually the
characters of Emiko Yamane is both in scenes with Martin and
without, but when she is with Martin her back is to the camera and
her blouse is a different plaid. Clearly another woman stood in
and the filmmakers could not quite match the blouse material.
Martin appears to be in several of the key points of activity as
the Japanese react to the attack of the monster, without ever
really participating much in the action except to throw in
occasional comments like "I can't believe what just happened."
For the plot here I will describe the American version, though
there are some differences in order of events. (For example, the
Japanese version is not told in flashback like the American version
is.) The film opens looking at the destruction that has been
wrought on Tokyo. It looks like it was intended to suggest that a
nuclear blast has taken place. That was probably not the intent of
the original film, since it does not have this opening sequence.
Journalist Martin was on his way by plane to cover another story.
During a layover in Japan to visit a school friend, Dr. Serizawa,
he is called in and questioned if he saw any anything unusual from
his plane. Ships from the Japanese fishing fleet have been
disappearing. Sometimes they get off distress calls that say
mysterious things like the "ocean has exploded." (That is actually
a very powerful image, by the way.)
Soon the mystery seems to be centering around Odo Island, near to
all the disasters. There the natives have worshiped a terrible god
who has lived in the sea. They call him Godzilla. Scientists go
to Odo Island to discover if there could be some connection between
the island and the disasters. While they are there something very
like a storm destroys half the island. But it is a funny kind of a
storm that is oddly destructive. It destroys their helicopter as
if it were a toy (which with the low-budget special effects is
exactly what it looks like). The natives think the island was
attacked by their deity.
A ship full of scientists, headed by Emiko's father, paleontologist
Dr. Yamane (Takashi Shimura), comes to investigate the island and
discover radioactive remains from the storm. Finally the island
deity shows himself in clear weather, a four-hundred-foot dinosaur,
a survivor from two million [sic] years ago. (The Japanese version
says he is two hundred feet.) He has lived in the sea for all
human memory, but now nuclear testing has goosed him up, made him
radioactive, and he wants to wreak revenge on the world.
Godzilla dodges the depth charges of the Japanese fleet and makes
his way to Tokyo harbor. Then he comes ashore twice, laying waste
to the city in two very nicely filmed sequences. Up to these
sequences we have seen little of the monster and after we will see
little, but these two sequences are supremely powerfully filmed.
Meanwhile we learn that Emiko has been promised to Dr. Serizawa but
is actually in love with Ogata, a young navy officer. Serizawa has
his own problems and is not very interested in Emiko. He has
developed a powerful weapon that could kill Godzilla, but to use it
would mean revealing it to the world. Being a moral Japanese,
unlike immoral American scientists, he believes that the discoverer
has responsibility to be certain that his discoveries are not used
for evil purposes. Serizawa has revealed the weapon to Emiko and
she has told Ogata. Serizawa must weigh his fears against what
Godzilla is already doing to Tokyo. (Ogata argues that Serizawa
should use the weapon. You have your fears, which may become
reality. And you have Godzilla, which is reality.) Serizawa must
resolve his moral dilemma.
Sometimes the lack of a budget can work in the favor of a film.
GODZILLA certainly benefits from the low budget of some of its
production. The scenes of the attacks on Tokyo have a sort of
crudeness that in black and white, a little fuzzy, gives them an
almost documentary quality. Scenes of the great beast are almost
always shot from a low angle, looking upward. Why this approach
was abandoned in later Godzilla films is unclear, but the size of
the creature is emphasized in a way that would be difficult in a
color film. Filming in color at eye level just does not convey the
threat and no other film has ever made a giant monster as
frightening.
Some of the best effects were found by chance. The model steel
towers melted under the hot studio lights. They were remade and
the effect of their melting was combined with an aerosol spray in
Godzilla's mouth to create the effect that his fiery breath was
causing the damage. The sound of the great beast's heavy footfalls
were created by a drum. I personally never associated the
drumbeats as being anything but mood music, but the sound works
that way. On the other hand, the sound of stroking the strings of
a large cello-like instrument with a leather glove, then slowing it
down and playing it backwards, acts as the groans of Godzilla. It
sounds like steel girders giving way in hell. The effect is just
about perfect. The musical score is crude with its military
marches, but somehow they seem to work.
When the effects work they are terrific, when they do not work,
they do not work. All too often the effects are just a bit on the
cheesy side. There are scenes when we are obviously looking at a
hand-puppet. Even that would not be so bad, but we then see what
is supposedly a photograph of what we had just seen and it looks
nothing like the puppet version. There was a similar problem in
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS. Another problem is with the
Godzilla suit itself. Godzilla has what can best be described as
an A-line figure. He has very heavy massive legs and gargantuan
feet, but his trunk is not commensurately large. His legs also
have and unfortunate tendency to have folds on a way that a jacket
might but an arm would not. The crudeness of the filming conceals
the fact that Godzilla has external ears in a way that reptiles do
not. The producers at Toho thought that people would assume
Godzilla was deaf if they did not give him obvious external ears.
Of course a parrot has no external ears and hears well enough to
repeat sounds he hears. The film also features a traveling matte
of a view directly into the face of the beast as seen from Tokyo
tower. It is one of the worst jobs of matting I ever remember
seeing. Some of Bert I. Gordon's matte jobs look good by
comparison. In most scenes the beast is shown moving in slow
motion to accentuate his size, but when he bats away missiles, he
moves at normal speed and spoils much of the illusion. However, it
should be remembered many of Universal's classic films have their
moments when they do not show consummate visual craftsmanship.
DRACULA, for example, has some very silly scenes including a silly
scene of a bee coming out of a bee-size coffin. In some ways we
cannot be really sure where some of the errors crept in. We are
told a disaster at sea occurred at 3:30 AM, but when we saw it
earlier the crew was on the deck and the sun was shining.
Where THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS had just showed its monster in
the streets and people running from it, GOJIRA looks more at the
emotional effect on people. What made it to the American version
is fairly effective, but what was cut out are some very impressive
scenes. In one scene of the Japanese film only, a mother sits at
the base of a building near where the monster is rampaging. She
sadly tells her children that they will all be with their father
soon. This tone is surprisingly bleak for a monster movie. The
whole population of Tokyo seems to mourn the great losses wrought
by Godzilla. Themes of sacrifice, honor, and suicide seem to
accent the bleak tone of this film. Other imaginative scenes
include a view of the monster ravaging Tokyo with a cage of birds
seen in silhouette in the foreground. In other scenes we see
Godzilla walking and the dust his huge feet kick up.
It is never easy to judge acting ability of someone who is speaking
in a language you do not know. This film does have the second-
best-known international actor from Japanese film. Dr. Yamane is
played by Takashi Shimura, the star of films like IKIRU and THE
SEVEN SAMURAI. Unfortunately the actor who dubs his lines in the
American version is not very good. Particularly noticeable is his
inability to pronounce the word "phenomenon" which he says
"phenonemon." To have such an educated man making that silly
mistake is unintentionally humorous.
This is a film with some very nice visual imagery and it has become
a favorite film. It is not so much a good film as a weak film with
some very good moments. The American version I would have to give
only a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. The Japanese version is
probably a high +2 film.
It should be noted that also that this is the most influential film
ever made in Japan. It was Japan's first international cinematic
success. It spawned the Japanese genre of "kaiju" films. "Kaiju"
is Japanese for "monster" and the continuing Godzilla series,
Japanese anime, and even Pokemon are direct descendents of this
film. [-mrl]
===================================================================
3. GOJIRA NI-SEN MIRENIAMU (a.k.a. GODZILLA 2000) (a film review by
Mark R. Leeper):
Capsule: This is the first Godzilla movie to
get a wide American release since GODZILLA '85.
And it is no bargain. The plot is poorly
constructed and things happen for no apparent
reason. The effects are better than in the
past, but still occasionally cheesy. Godzilla
has a new look that makes him resemble more a
martial arts weapon than a giant dinosaur.
Still this film is fun for Godzilla fans who
rarely get a chance to see the big guy on the
big screen. Non-fans are unlikely find much to
enjoy. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), high +1 (-4 to +4)
What can I say? For the sort of viewer who enjoys seeing two men
in rubber monster suits battle over a city that looks like
cardboard boxes, this might be the film for you. I liked it.
Godzilla got to me at an early age and I am too old to become
objective about Godzilla films now. As I said in the capsule,
there is not a lot done really well in this film, but it is a lot
of fun for people who like Godzilla films. There is a certain
thrill of anticipation in seeing the Toho Films banner at the
beginning. Even the best are crudely made and often a little
incoherent, but they are also a good time. Non-fans can be assured
that they will not be much impressed by GODZILLA 2000 and can tune
out of this review at this point.
Plot? Well, truth be known, there is not a whole lot of plot.
Scientist Yuji Shinoda left the employ of the Japanese government
and formed the minuscule Godzilla Prediction Network, a startup
that predicts where and when Godzilla will show up and strike next.
Yuji does the science and Yuji's ten-year-old daughter does the
financial work. They are joined on a Godzilla hunt by Yuki
Ichinose, a photojournalist looking for a story. Together they
discover that finding Godzilla can be a big mistake.
At the same time some scientists have found an odd rock, 600 feet
across, in the ocean of Japan. Because it shows some intriguing
abnormalities they decide to bring the rock to the surface where it
can be studied, lifting it with floats. Oddly the rock seems more
enthusiastic about reaching the surface than can be explained as it
rises up past the floats. It then hangs over the water and waits
for sunshine to activate it. It seems under the stone shell is an
alien craft that has been waiting 60 million years to come back to
life so it can complete its mission. It would be telling to say
what its mission is, except that logical or not, there will of
course be another monster for Godzilla to fight. (And of course it
will be just roughly Godzilla's height. Godzilla never has any
fifty-foot monsters to fight.)
Word on the street has been that the new film is intended to come
right after the original Godzilla film in its own new series. That
was true of the film we call GODZILLA '85, which did spawn its own
separate series of Godzilla films in the 1980s and 1990s. (To save
confusion I will use American titles.) That second series repeated
many of the same mistakes that the first series did, but it was
aimed at a higher level. The rumor has been that like GODZILLA '85
(and of course the film we call GIGANTIS, THE FIRE MONSTER),
GODZILLA 2000 is a direct successor to the original GODZILLA, KING
OF THE MONSTERS. However, a cursory look at the film tells us this
is simply not true. Godzilla died in the first film and all other
films are supposed to feature a second very similar Godzilla beast.
Yet in GODZILLA 2000, attacks by Godzilla are taken to be a
periodic phenomenon. There is even a Godzilla Prediction Network.
At the end of the film there is a comment about all of Godzilla's
attacks in the past have taught lessons. None of this would make
sense if only the events of the first film and this one had taken
place. The second series apparently ended with the death of the
second Godzilla and his replacement by his son, just reaching
maturity. Logically it would make sense to say that the new
Godzilla is really the son from the second series. But so much
logic is probably more than the series can reasonably be expected
to bear.
Godzilla is like James Bond. His looks change but the character
himself is timeless. His face had a very lumpy appearance and buck
teeth in the earliest film and then became more dinosaur-like for
KING KONG VRS. GODZILLA. As the series became more childish and
aimed at younger children his features became rounder and less
frightening. In the second series he looked a lot better and
consistent from to film, but just a bit rubbery. His looks never
changed. For GODZILLA 2000 again his looks have been modified to
please the younger set. This time, however, it is a younger set
brought up on NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13TH. The new
Godzilla has sharper teeth with four canines regularly spaced on
each side. His back fins are more jagged, sharp, and vicious-
looking. It looks like they crossed the traditional Godzilla with
a punk rocker.
Toho Studios from the beginning did excellent work with labor-
intensive special effects. But not every effects problem could be
solved with inexpensive labor. Visually their films were always
very nice, but their special effects were not always very
convincing. As time went by their visual effects got better. This
film really represents a big jump in the quality of their effects.
There are many very nice images. And what attracts people to a
Godzilla film has got to be the visuals. It certainly is not the
writing. Toho films can usually be counted on for nicely composed
scenes with good use of color. Where possible in the new film
Godzilla is shown from a low angle to accentuate the height. A low
angle camera was used in the first film and then abandoned for most
of the first series. It was used sparingly in the second series.
Here again the camera creates an illusion of great size by shooting
upward, in fact he looks larger than he ever has before. Several
new compositions of shots give this film a look that is unique for
the series. For those who like to just stare in awe of the size
the mega-saurian, this is the film.
The writing however, is not the best of the series and has some
strange touches. There are some half-hearted attempts at humor
that seem thrown in as an after-thought. There is one short
sequence of slapstick comedy, in this case almost literally
slapstick, and it seems like it belonged in another movie. There
are some allusions to JURASSIC PARK, DR. STRANGELOVE, and perhaps a
few other films. (By the way, the film scene someone is watching
on TV when we can hear only the dialog is Morris Ankrum being
interrogated by aliens in EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS. I wonder
what film was used in the Japanese-language version.) I have never
been quite able to make out if the writing in these films is out of
kilter or if it just works better in Japanese. But the final
scene, like the writing in several of the situations, just does not
work. It almost seems to be rooting for Godzilla as he destroys
Tokyo.
The musical score by Takayuki Hattori is a little too polished and
Western for a Godzilla film. Godzilla films usually have Japanese
military marches and brash brassy music. Much of that feel is
missing here. The film is released by Tristar who hopefully have
learned to leave Godzilla films to the experts after their own
attempt to make a Godzilla film ended up with something of a
monstrosity. (Though rumor has it that their own attempt to make a
Godzilla film failed in large part because of constraints placed on
them by Toho executives.)
Even for Godzilla fans, this could have been a better film. It is
only mid-range in the quality of films in the second series. Still
as he approaches fifty years old, it is good to know the big guy
still looks good on the silver screen and in some ways better than
ever before. I rate this GODZILLA 2000 a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale
and a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. It will be interesting to see
if its sequels will get an American theatrical release. [-mrl]
===================================================================
4. THE CELL (a film review by Mark R. Leeper):
Capsule: Yet another serial killer plot, but
one with some difference. This one becomes a
sort of FANTASTIC VOYAGE of the mind crossed
with NATURAL BORN KILLERS. A psychologist
travels within the mind and visions of the
serial killer (and vice versa) in a race to
save a victim from a deathtrap. The film has
some remarkable visions in an otherwise
pedestrian plot. There are lots of intriguing
ideas floating in this film of psychology made
visual. Be warned that the visuals and even
the dialog are a harrowing experience. Rating:
7 (0 to 10), +2 (-4 to +4)
THE CELL is one more story of the FBI trying to catch a serial
killer and free his captives. But when it seemed that there was
not much more that could be done with that tired plot, this film
has some refreshing new ideas. It is the premise that some
unspecified technological advance allows psychotic and psychologist
to enter the other's dreams and walk around in that surreal
landscape. Similar ideas have been tried before in films. In
SPELLBOUND, Alfred Hitchcock took us through the mind of a
neurotic's nightmare in a symbolic surreal world designed by
Salvador Dali. The concepts of actually visiting inside another
person's mind or dreams were explored in DREAMSCAPE and BRAINSTORM.
The latter film even suggested that there was a particular danger
being inside a psychotic's mind. NATURAL BORN KILLERS suggests a
natural disorder to a psychotic's mind, though it explores that
disorder without use of science fictional devices. All these ideas
come together in an otherwise simplistic violent serial killer
plot.
Catherine Deane (played by Jennifer Lopez) is a psychologist trying
to get into the mind of her young patient, Edward. A new device
allows her to do it in a much more direct fashion than what we see
used today. The invention lets her visualize his mind and dreams
and actually become a character inside of them. It is a tremendous
leap toward understanding her patient. And the vistas within his
mind are strange even if the boy has a rather standard normal mind.
Then Deane is given an opportunity to enter a most unusual mind.
The FBI has captured a serial killer, Carl Stargher (Vincent
D'Onofrio), and has him under sedation. But his most recent target
is still alive in a death trap somewhere.
FBI agent Peter Novak (Vince Vaughn) would like Deane to go into
Stargher's twisted, violent mind and retrieve a clue as to where he
is hiding and torturing his current victim. That said, there is
not much more plot to the film. The serial killer plot is
abbreviated and for the most part predictable. The real story goes
on inside the heads of Deane and Stargher and we see it as fantasy
worlds.
The success of THE CELL becomes very much the property of
production designer Tom Foden (of cable TV's "The Hunger") and art
directors Guy Dyas and Michael Manson. Dyas is debuting as an art
director, but he has been a production illustrator on several major
films including MEN IN BLACK, MIMIC, ARMAGEDDON, and GALAXY QUEST.
The worlds this team created in Stargher's mind are dank and
forbidding, twisted, dark and bloody. Religion is an important
aspect of both Deane's and Stargher's mindscapes but it has very
different roles in each of those worlds. Each uses religion in a
different way. There are many other tantalizing ideas floating
around. There is a strong hint that two different people seeing
the same subconscious world will see it quite differently yet each
will find the others actions consistent with the world they see.
First-time film director Tarsem Singh directs a script by first-
time writer Mark Protosevich. Singh intentionally mutes the colors
of the film to heighten the oppressive effect. So much of the film
is taken up with the fantasy world action, the real world story is
somewhat shorted. How Stargher was able to build his ornate
torture device leaves many unanswered questions. Other writing
problems are obvious. The film had a nearly perfect ending very
shortly after the action ends. Unfortunately the film keeps going
to tie things up more pleasantly and warmly and out of keeping with
the cold style of the best of what had preceded it.
The viewing public hardly needed another serial killer film. But
if another must be made, at least this is the way to do it.
Combine it with something fresh and creative with ideas. I rate
THE CELL a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
[-mrl]
Mark Leeper
HO 1K-644 732-817-5619
mleeper@lucent.com
The Believer is happy; the doubter is wise.
-- Hungarian Proverb