Here's "Sexy Beast," an article on Godzilla that I wrote for LA Alternative. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956), Godzilla 2000 (1999), and Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack! (2001) are all being screened as part of the American Cinematheque's "Giant Monsters on the Loose!" film festival.For this story I interviewed the festival's co-organizer and editor of SciFiJapan.com Keith Aiken; journalist and film historian Steve Ryfle; and editor of G-Fan Magazine J.D. Lees.
Here's an appetizer:
“With Gojira, you’re watching a film made by people who experienced a nuclear holocaust,” says Aiken. “The film was made nine years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was very fresh in people’s minds.” A visit to the aftermath of Hiroshima left a powerful impression on Gojira director Ishiro Honda, adding an unexpected gravitas to scenes of crowds running for their lives, children being measured for radioactivity, and the injured masses suffering in hospitals.
Image: Still from Gojira (1954), which Classic Media is releasing on DVD on September 5.
