Thanks for the article mention--I liked it--bringing to my attention the Kirby Scale of Science alone is a great addition to my "toolbelt" of examining science fiction films!
I daresay that while perhaps "The Beast" was forgotten by the general public (i.e. a broad swath of millennials and post-millennials) it is fondly remembered, even beloved, by monster movie geeks (i.e. a broad swath of boomers, Generations Joneses and Gen Zs), B-movie warts and all, mostly for being Ray Harryhausen's breakout effort. And damn, the Rheosaur was such a cool monster, imbued with a surprising amount of personality for a thing of steel and foam rubber. Nowadays whenever I watch a Harryhausen monster movie I'll feel somewhat unsettled by my cat for a few hours—the animation of the creatures so perfectly captures the behavior of a predator animal. "Godzilla" was definitely the better film, but both approaches—the lumbering man in suit and the uncanny herky jerky puppet—seeded my childhood nightmares, and are an essential part of my cultural DNA.
A wonderful analysis of culture and nuclear - yes, I was also asking “which isotope!?” And Ankit, be thankful the artist and filmmaker Ralph Bakshi did not remake any of these titles - his style of animation is the stuff of nightmares.
I can't remember what I saw first, the Gojira/Godzilla movie or the Abominable Snow Monster (although it's possible some episodes of Ultraman beat both--I was only 7 or 8 in the very early 70's!), but I do remember being somewhat scared with the herky-jerky (and can there be any use of this word that doesn't involve some sort of stop action movie making?) movements of the first two. Another instance of how a kid growing up in the 70's was influenced by these things equally with no logic to distinguish between any of this! Thanks as always!
Seeing the Godzilla movies as a child in the 70s, I always thought the message was not a generic "menace" of nukes, but that unchecked American ambitions are going to destroy the world in unforeseen ways. That is, Americans are the problem.
If you want to learn more about the social impact of the 1954 Godzilla movie and all the not-to-sutble clues that link it to the Bravo test, I wrote a review back when the 2014 movie came out that looks at the links between the two films. https://physicstoday.aip.org/opinion/roaring-again-a-review-of-the-first-and-newest-godzilla-movies
Thanks for the article mention--I liked it--bringing to my attention the Kirby Scale of Science alone is a great addition to my "toolbelt" of examining science fiction films!
TYPO = wrecking havoc
SUGGEST = wreaking havoc
Oooh, can we do "20,000,000 Miles to Earth"?
With the unforgettable closing line: "Why is it always so costly for man to move from the present to the future?"
https://youtu.be/zALAM3HfQwc?si=xEJB5U2Y0I3HTZi7
The commander of Operation Experiment was a Major Officer.
I daresay that while perhaps "The Beast" was forgotten by the general public (i.e. a broad swath of millennials and post-millennials) it is fondly remembered, even beloved, by monster movie geeks (i.e. a broad swath of boomers, Generations Joneses and Gen Zs), B-movie warts and all, mostly for being Ray Harryhausen's breakout effort. And damn, the Rheosaur was such a cool monster, imbued with a surprising amount of personality for a thing of steel and foam rubber. Nowadays whenever I watch a Harryhausen monster movie I'll feel somewhat unsettled by my cat for a few hours—the animation of the creatures so perfectly captures the behavior of a predator animal. "Godzilla" was definitely the better film, but both approaches—the lumbering man in suit and the uncanny herky jerky puppet—seeded my childhood nightmares, and are an essential part of my cultural DNA.
Hey, credit to pre spaghetti western Lee Van Kleef for taking down the critter,....
A wonderful analysis of culture and nuclear - yes, I was also asking “which isotope!?” And Ankit, be thankful the artist and filmmaker Ralph Bakshi did not remake any of these titles - his style of animation is the stuff of nightmares.
Ah good old operation experiment - of course it led o unintended consequences.
Give me some of that isotope.
WHICH isotope?
THAT isotope!
I can't remember what I saw first, the Gojira/Godzilla movie or the Abominable Snow Monster (although it's possible some episodes of Ultraman beat both--I was only 7 or 8 in the very early 70's!), but I do remember being somewhat scared with the herky-jerky (and can there be any use of this word that doesn't involve some sort of stop action movie making?) movements of the first two. Another instance of how a kid growing up in the 70's was influenced by these things equally with no logic to distinguish between any of this! Thanks as always!
Seeing the Godzilla movies as a child in the 70s, I always thought the message was not a generic "menace" of nukes, but that unchecked American ambitions are going to destroy the world in unforeseen ways. That is, Americans are the problem.