Drinker's Chasers - Godzilla Minus One EMBARRASSES Hollywood

Talk about the little movie that could. Godzilla Minus One was made on a tiny budget of just $15 Million, yet it delivers the kind of cinema experience that most Hollywood movies could only dream of.

[@hunteringram6637]

Glad the big guy is the one destroying Hollywood. It's poetic honestly.

[@MelvoraFilms]

😂 haven’t thought of it that way but good one 😂

[@TI4438]

I saw this flic on December 7th of all dates.

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Too bad Godzilla can’t take a walk through the executive offices of Blackwater and Vanguard!

[@jamesescobar8577]

Couldn't agree more👍

[@Jadty]

@@TraditionalAnglicanOy!

[@Lawrence_Talbot]

Speaks volumes when a movie with a $15 mil budget absolutely destroys movies with $200+mil budgets. Take notes Hollywood or keep going bankrupt

[@brandonm4550]

Shows how far talent and skill can take you with a minuscule budget and also highlights how much waste their are in the studio system with filmmaking. The MCU films/shows of 2022/23 look worse than Ironman from over a decade ago with 3x the budget.

[@riffhousestudios96]

Hollywood just expected the money to keep rolling in, they forgot all the things that got them that money in the first place

[@SuperCrazyEstonian]

It´s impossible to make such a film in Hollywood for even a remotely similar budget. The writers and actors guilds demand too much. They have shot themselves in the foot too many times.

[@johnwolf2829]

Bankrupt? wHorrywood movies cost 10 times as much because they EMBEZZLE 90$ of the budget! And they when it flops, they don't have to pay the investors back. Simple stuff for simps that are greedy to the Nth degree. Haven't any of you see "The Producers"? That was from Mel Brooks back around 1970, I think.

[@thisisnotachannel]

I'm not defending Hollywood here... but in fairness, they expected general audiences to keep doing what they had been doing... and that was "consume product", "buy product merchandise", "consume next product", as zoned out and cluelessly as a frigging zombie. If people didn't pay for and support this bullshit for the last 15 or 20 years, then it never would have gotten as far as it has. It's only VERY recently that we've seen any real pushback regarding this garbage. Remember, the only language these corporate fucks understand is the one spoken by our WALLETS... and people are FINALLY starting to figure that out in large numbers.

[@jeffreydean5112]

97% RT critics score and 98% RT audience score. The movie is absolutely killing it.

[@blackdynamite_5470]

Rotten Tomatoes rating don't mean shit.

[@ascensionindustries9631]

​@@blackdynamite_5470True, but I've not seen a film rated with that cohesion.

[@rascality9714]

It's now 98% and 98% the movie is a classic.

[@silverfan9611]

​@@blackdynamite_5470you know a movie is insanely good when the critics and fans somehow have same opinion on it tho

[@djcrouton2680]

Yeah, it's really good. Hollywood doesn't care about making good movies, which is why they keep putting out superhero movies constantly. But those still make a lot more revenue (even The Marvels is crushing Minus One in box office numbers), so they keep putting out the same crap.

[@JiJ1511]

There's fan art of Godzilla ravaging Disneyland. It's rather applicable lately.

[@madambutterfly1997]

Send me a link to that picture

[@velociraptor3313]

Could you please send me a link of the fan art?

[@beowulfsrevenge4369]

Nice!

[@texasbeast239]

"Oh, no! There goes Disney & Co.! Go, go, Godzilla! Woo, oo, oo, oo!" 🎶 There's always that shot from "Godzilla Meets Bambi," too.

[@dansemacabre6515]

That would make Godzilla an American folkhero given how hated Disney has become

[@brianwalsh1339]

It’s amazing that a Godzilla movie actually made me CARE about the human characters in it.

[@och70]

I felt the same way. Normally I see them as annoying, this movie actually had me rooting for the humans, too.

[@SirBlackReeds]

Look up Godzilla: The Animated Series.

[@MrJustinOtis]

Never figured I'd have my expectations subverted for a Godzilla movie.

[@nicholasschrader7179]

Were most of the others you've seen from American studios?

[@vla1ne]

@@SirBlackReeds or GMK, or S.P. or possibly the millennium "Against Mechagodzilla" movies. godzilla has had quite a few great human subplots (AND quite a few horrid ones), and it's hilarious to me that people are only now realizing it.

[@thumperjdm]

My wife and I watched the first showing last Thursday. At the end she said, "I can't believe I'm crying at a freakin' Godzilla movie!" Great character development. Good story.

[@SomeoneIsAlwaysMovingOnTheSurf]

If the soundtrack was not there you would not have gotten so emotional, Naoki Sato did a phenominal job at conveying the emotions that the characters felt threw soundtrack" Divine" "fear" "resolution"

[@matthewdavis4877]

That soundtrack hit HARD! Definitely helped sell the emotion of the scenes.@@SomeoneIsAlwaysMovingOnTheSurf

[@CHIEFLUKE101]

​@@SomeoneIsAlwaysMovingOnTheSurffor sure! The soundtrack is amazing. Definitely knows what strings to hit for the emotions.

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

​@@SomeoneIsAlwaysMovingOnTheSurfMy first experience with Naoki Sato was his involvement with the anime 'Eureka Seven'. The parts of the soundtrack he was in charge of composing showed a great range of emotions from where the characters' personalities were (Eureka, Renton Thurston), including the mechs (GEKKO-GO, type theEND), and even the high (Sky of Hope) and low (Tragic Decision) moments of the plot. Hasn't dropped off, but greatly tuned his composing chops over the years, so I'm glad to hear his compositions in the movie's soundtrack. Bit of a departure from Shiro Sagisu with 'Shin Godzilla', in that when you want a soundtrack that really enhances the human emotion on display for this film, this is Sato-san's strong suit.

[@vcdf49a]

There were some people sitting behind us that were crying at the end of the movie. The last time I cried at a movie was when Bambi's mother got shot.

[@alphacause]

Godzilla: Minus One is proof that a monster film can have superb scenes of destruction, while having an equally engrossing human drama, and do it for a modest budget. In any other business, where producing quality while staying within budget is paramount, Godzilla: Minus One would be celebrated. Instead, most of mainstream Hollywood is staying silent about it.

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Of course they’re silent about it! they’d have to admit they’ve been doing almost everything wrong for the last 20 years!

[@emszabi]

The first cloverfield was similar in budget/success, if i remember correctly.

[@Yukiyu77]

I got the impression -1 is what Edward's 2014 Godzilla hoped it could be. Sadly, it fell short.

[@frankgesuele6298]

I'm sure Roger Corman approves of this film as an affirmation of his career 😎

[@SirRorschachJack]

​@@TraditionalAnglican20? Only since 2012

[@stoopidpursun8140]

Imagine creating a movie with such excellent writing and character development that the human element makes Godzilla a secondary feature of the story.

[@BestWayKilla]

>Secondary feature Speak for yourself, Godzilla's always the main event, and if he had gotten shoved to the side too much or if the scenes with him were shit, then I'd regard the movie as a total failure. Thankfully, they nailed that aspect too.

[@nicholascazmay2126]

I don’t think it’s so much Godzilla is a secondary feature as much as he is symbol. And I think that’s ok - at the heart of him, Godzilla was always a story about human trauma.

[@remyd8767]

​​@@BestWayKillaagreed. There was a 3rd act of the movie that had it gone on for another 10 min without godzilla, it would have been downgraded the movie. It's not about the lack of Godzilla scene time that people complained. It's that we don't get good prolonged quality scenes of Godzilla especially in daylight. The Japanese are not afraid to show godzilla clearly in daylight. This movie delivers that along with a compelling human story.

[@DHB373]

The human part of the story had me tearing up in the theater. Best movie of the year, hands down.

[@naslaz1496]

Godzilla was one of the reasons why the movie was so great and bone-chilling, his mere existence threatened the lives of Koichi and his family

[@mattcollins3591]

Crazy what happens when people want to see quality movies

[@djcrouton2680]

I'd agree with that, except The Marvels has made 2.5x the box office revenue. The problem is that people don't want to see quality movies. Which is why studios keep putting out superhero crap.

[@stevenmcburney8167]

@@djcrouton2680yeah like for instance a large portion of the audience for blockbuster films are families with children who don’t have the attention span to watch something with intelligent writing behind it. All they want is action and flashing colours and Hollywood knows that so they abuse it

[@olafgurke4699]

@@djcrouton2680 It also was made on what? 10x the budget? One is a foreign film with a handful of screenings not even shown in every cinema, mostly with subtitles, and the other is a massive domestic production of a widely recognized brand. And yet, the one making a profit isn't the big name studio. Evidently, some people will be entertained even when you throw shit at them. But many don't. Many enough that it matters, or else Hollywood wouldn't drive home loss after loss.

[@aligmal5031]

not really ppl don't support alot of quality movies sadly like blade runner 2049 for example and other movies

[@rosgoncharuk2403]

If you haven't seen the movie yet - go watch it, support a non-Hollywood masterpiece! Spread the word!

[@morganseppy5180]

I love that the ruin of Hollywood is waking Americans up to foreign films.

[@rosgoncharuk2403]

@@morganseppy5180 it's a great film even on it's own, just happened to be in time when Hollywood is garbage. Still would've been a success IMO.

[@mikeat2637]

@@morganseppy5180 That was an unintended after effect of the strikes. Streamers had so much overseas content available to them that it didn't bother them or their subscribers. Great content from South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary and a whole raft of excellent professionally done content from various markets. And now Godzilla Minus One is another great addition. I wonder who will bag the streaming rights for it.

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

Moviegoers got TOHO International to buy up another week of screenings, so go let people know!

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

​@@mikeat2637If I had to guess, Sony (via Crunchyroll), especially if they push for dubs into other languages. After that, possibly Netflix and Amazon Prime.

[@lordshell]

Anyone else notice the reversal of the music cues near the end? Normally the "Godzilla march" music is used exclusively for Godzilla. In this, they use it for the charge of the Japanese destroyers. It's a subtle way of reinforcing the idea that you should be rooting for the humans.

[@kaijuking3216]

Technically in the very first movie from 54 it was used for the Japanese army, then they adapted it to be Godzilla's main theme.

[@Ash_Wen-li]

Yeah as Kaiju King said, it was originally the Japanese military theme but afterwards they kept it for Godzilla

[@Roy_mustang7]

​@@kaijuking3216Just dodged the question like a bullet to drop some knowledge, what a king.

[@Ganon999]

That's actually quite common in a lot of the older Godzilla movies, it was a nice touch.

[@madscientist2621]

The Godzilla theme was the music to my childhood. I had tears in eyes during the final assault on Godzilla

[@RambleOn07]

Hollywood has consistently proven that hiring for anything but merit is extremely expensive and produces a terrible product

[@KrankyKaiju]

Seeing this Godzilla film in IMAX, with a packed theatre, was a jaw dropping experience

[@markroberts928]

That breath is INCREDIBLE in the theatre sweet JESUS

[@noo4pass]

Has no one else noticed the fun conversations you are having for a theater movie in years? I'm loving it

[@adaptivegamer9905]

Right?! Like a big fun movie that was also very clever, engaging and heart wrenching! Like what?! My gosh I totally forgot how that felt man seriously Hollywood has absolutely destroyed what it felt like to feel this buzz! Thanks to Japan AGAIN for providing even more beautiful entertainment. Studio Ghibli also has the “boy and the heron” which I hear was fantastic (obviously no surprise)

[@ipercalisse579]

​@@adaptivegamer9905 yes!

[@timeforthehammer1401]

I know a story of a real kamikaze whose plane actually had a malfunction and went down in the ocean. He requested another plane but was called a liar and was dishonorably discharged from the army. He said it was difficult to return home and was viewed negatively throughout most of his life but eventually, I believe, moved to the U.S. and lived a mostly normal life.

[@riffhousestudios96]

Imagine doing everything right and still being ostracized from your community

[@francois9018]

soooo.. current day western men then. Doesn't matter we do the dirty had jobs that women don't want we're still the oppressors XD@@riffhousestudios96

[@steveouk90126]

Oh yeah, when I was in the Air Force a former friend who was attending UC Berkeley at the time told me outright, "Your job is to die for me." The total and unquestioned sense of entitlement of weaklings is pretty significant.

[@morganseppy5180]

​@@francois9018take your black pill somewhere else. Lots of women respect men. Be a genuine person, and you'll find a partner.

[@morganseppy5180]

Echo Chamberlin revealed quite a bit in his summation of those pilots. I've never seen them described as irrational or mibdless. Will had it right that it was a grisly honor and they took pains to only recruit single men. There's a story about a kamikaze who's wife killed herself and their children so the pilot was "unburdened" and he could do his duty. (I assume, it made it easier to kill yourself from grief.)

[@GD-yl4lu]

The problem Hollywood writers have with writing likeable characters is its very difficult to do when the writers are thoroughly unlikeable themselves. It's the same when they say a writer can't write a character smarter than they are themselves.

[@Ash_Wen-li]

Writers can write smarter characters. It's just that they take a day to think of something their smart characters think of in a few seconds for example

[@mikeat2637]

Well, the current products of film schools are just pitiful because they are learning all about THE MESSAGE in school and about important dei and esg are as opposed to learning how to write cogent stories that the audiences will pay money to go see. And that's just millennials !!! I don't hold much hope for Gen Z, they are a LOT worse than millennials.

[@sigmacademy]

The other problem is that many of the characters in modern day movies and series are self-inserts - which works well when you are an interesting person, but not if you aren't. As a result, the characters they put forward is actually what they ACTUALLY think a "hero" or "heroine" does if that hero or heroine was they themselves, and that reveals a LOT about the mentality of the writer.

[@EvilDoresh]

@@Ash_Wen-li It's about _how_ you write them. If you're especially incompetent you end up with "I like science" guys

[@ProteinShowdown]

None of you know these writers. A lot of them are just normal people who have jobs. It’s difficult to write well on strict deadlines, and in most cases, the writers are skilled, good people who are equally good at their craft, but the studios are stepping in. Once again, a lot of this is just the product of a studio stepping in with their brand, not because writers are “unlikeable people.” They usually don’t care, they just have a job to do and want to put food on the table

[@MrKronosX]

It's great hearing this crew talk about great storytelling instead of responding to disappointments...

[@cyberspark4206]

Now this right here. This is how everyone should come out of the theater talking about movies.

[@TheMasterQuests]

Discussing it with passion yes absolutely

[@into_play3226]

It’s been so long since I’ve heard such discussion after a movie.

[@cyberspark4206]

@@into_play3226 I know right? This should be the converstation. "oh man that one part was so cool. I loved it when this and that happened." That is how movies should make you feel.

[@terrealexander4442]

You have to see this one in theaters. Godzilla's roar does not sound the same on your mobile phone or on the TV. I saw it in IMAX his roar was truly terrifying!

[@robjones1943]

Just saw Godzilla yesterday; it was a good movie. Way better than anything that's been in theater for awhile.

[@tylergoodman3560]

I wasn't expecting a low-budget Godzilla movie to be as good as it was, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Hope it makes a huge profit. 🎉

[@alexkogan9755]

Thus far between Japan and US it’s past 35 million.

[@into_play3226]

It still has its release outside of the US and Japan, plus the word of mouth surrounding it has been incredible. I’m sure financially the movie will do just fine.

[@blackdynamite_5470]

Can't wait for part 2 where a sleazy Hollywood elitist like The Rock get their hands on it

[@SpareSomeChange8080]

​@@alexkogan9755it's not even out in the UK yet, we have to wait until December 15th 😢

[@dhruvo100]

Best part is it doesnt feel like its low budget

[@frostbeard2212]

After this show I went and saw the movie. I never go to the movies through the work week, but this movie was worth the lack of sleep. Highly recommend. Thanks for keeping this talk spoiler-free!

[@thomaspunt2646]

Godzilla: Minus One cost $15 million and looks like it cost $200 million. The Marvels cost $200 million and looks like it cost $15 million.

[@SpecialAgentBillMaxwell]

It's a cool movie. I've never seen a Godzilla movie with this sense of dread. When he's marching through the city and you see that these people have no chance, it's just crushing. Then they piss him off and he fires off a breath weapon that was like the end of the world. It was like an Oppenheimer-level explosion. Good lord. How are they going to stop this? That's all you're thinking.

[@Mantikal]

The battleship that he instantly turned to dust when he fired the death ray from under water straight up.

[@SgtLube818]

@@Mantikal yeah, that was my, oh shit, this is gonna be real bad moment.

[@freakofnatur101]

They took a basic monster movie.. and crafted a diamond. Its beautifully written. Godzilla was brilliantly done. The story was superb. I have no qualms with this film it was terrific.

[@vincent207]

10:29 To be fair, even in the Japanese movies, Godzilla did at some point become less of an evil monster and more of a hero. At least until Shin Godzilla.

[@saloz9483]

Thank you. It's clear these guys never seen godzilla movies until now.

[@omnilisk279]

Yeah. A majority of the films take on the “Guardian of the World” aesthetic. Godzilla as a cataclysmic disaster is actually in the minority of films though it is where the series started and has occasionally returned to.

[@vla1ne]

Godzilla is well known for being both a protector, and an absolute menace. i don't think most of the people commenting on his nature have seen too many godzilla movies.

[@richdurbin6146]

In the first two films Godzilla was a destructive force of nature. Later Showa era films had him more as a protector to appeal to the the children's market. The Heise era films are mostlty about G fighting other monsters, if he protects humanity that's incidental. Finally the millenium series wanted him as a a force of nature again, with the exception of GMK where he was an outright enemy of Japan. In many of the films G does get fairly severely injured, with sprays of blood, acid to the eye, and even identifying scars such that he can be identified as an individual.

[@eastlondonblues]

I guess you didn't see The Return of Godzilla then. he's a straight up pure vengeful badass in that one.

[@kaiju115]

I’ve now seen Godzilla Minus One Five Times in theaters, as of now it is easily one of the best Godzilla movies ever made, it’s made it in my Top 3 alongside Gojira(1954) and Shin Gojira. Great story, great pacing, great atmosphere, great characters, great acting, great effects, and definitely one of the best Depictions of Godzilla to this day right up there with 1954, 1984, GMK, and Shin. EDIT: I’ve now seen the Godzilla Minus One, Ten Times in theaters, a New Record

[@jakekidd7821]

I’m just happy you mentioned 84 ❤

[@kaiju115]

@@jakekidd7821 such a criminally underrated movie

[@jakekidd7821]

@@kaiju115 totally. 54 and 84 are easily the most menacing Gojira’s for me.

[@szeltovivarsydroxan9944]

84 was the very first Godzilla movie I've watched when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Now I'm 38, and I've never stopped loving Godzilla movies. Minus One might be my favorite, with 54 and Shin following up.

[@richardgarcia1184]

When the director works in special effects I’m sure it has a positive impact on keeping costs low because he knows how to shoot with effects in mind.

[@davidmclean357]

i think the real money saver was having a clear image, a clear and finished script and a plan. no massive rewriters, reshoots, last minute FX changes that are expensive and SUCK because they cant give it the time it needs. Without giving the FX team time you get a rough draft and it costs more than a well planned finished shot. Start stacking those mistakes and you get huge budgets and poor products

[@cowboysreviews853]

He wasn’t shirking his responsibility towards Akiko, that’s a really amateurish and immature take on what was happening. On the contrary, he was doing everything he could to take care of both Noriko and Akiko as evidenced by taking a highly dangerous job so he could provide them with a lot of money very quickly. It was because he knew he wouldn’t be around for very long that he didn’t want Akiko getting attached to him and calling him “daddy.” It was not because he had problems taking responsibility, but the complete opposite

[@rindoubaka1574]

That's an interesting read of it. I read it as him not feeling like he deserved to have a family. He kept hold of the photographs with the engineers and their families and because of the responsibility he also felt like he didn't deserve what they had. I like your reading though and honestly it could be a bit of both.

[@narudan]

I disagree a bit with you. I don't think he felt like he deserved to be "happy" and "have a family" because he basically let everyone down. I think he felt like he SHOULD be dead. But yeah i can see where you are coming from and you could also view it that way that's fine. Taking that very dangerous job to provide money could be one aspect but i think he also kinda hoped he would die doing it.

[@RK-ck6pl]

​@@rindoubaka1574 I agree with you he had survivors guilt and didn't think he was worthy of a family. he felt guilty about his failure.

[@briangraysonesq.4955]

⁠​⁠@@rindoubaka1574i like how both you and cowboys looked at this because I think you are both right

[@TrayOfKimbap]

western audiences need the emotions and subtext to be spoonfed to them, seeing only the surface but incapable of stepping back to try and understand cultural nuances and differences, and empathy for suffering outside their first world bubbles. ironically the product of an upbringing of needing to talk about feelings/emotions lol

[@TobiasPatrick]

My wife loved the movie, and she is not a monster movie fan. The story could stand on its own with the character studies on PTSD, survivors guilt, and courage as a period piece.

[@AllenKey19]

Newsflash: People do not give a shit how much money has been pumped into a movie. People care about good storytelling, well written characters, and special effects that don't wrench you out of immersion. Hollywood needs to learn that sometimes less can be more goddamn

[@michaelmoser7497]

I really hope Mauler does an unbridled praise for Godzilla Minus One

[@deadcatthinks6725]

Already made 3x its production budget apparently.

[@fishclaspers361]

Much easier to do that when you don't have a ridiculous budget.

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

Between its initial release in Japan over the summer (made bank), and the US release (big profit), this movie did damn well.

[@Rob774]

I think it had to have cost more than 15mil to make.

[@vla1ne]

It's likely to make over 10x by the end of its' theater run. it's a damn good movie in a sea of bad ones, what else IS there to watch?

[@gordonagress4112]

Re: WW II Japanese press censorship -- I've heard one man say that he knew Japan was losing because the victories reported were getting closer and closer to the home islands.

[@leorivers7759]

As to Japanes Media control - The report of a man in Japan fromm WW2 that knew the enemy waa getting closer because the reports of victories were getting closer gave me goosebumps.

[@hopefulinfj]

Didn't expect to be tearing up by the end of the movie, but I full on ugly-cried, out of the blue. It hit me hard.

[@mariacostello1976]

Join the club!

[@BLD426]

You sold me. 😂

[@vknight7497]

I was crying while laughing about the fact I was crying at a GODZILLA movie!

[@fgav2]

I enjoy Godzilla whether he’s a nuclear menace or a guardian.

[@NicholasLaRosa0496]

He has different flavors. I love them all.

[@forsakenjones4695]

just don"t like the characters in the monarch movies.

[@brianmcguinness9642]

This is definitely a great, well-written film made by people who really cared about what they were creating. I want to see it totally kick ass at the box office. It deserves massive success.

[@intheknow6499]

Ironically, the budget of this movie is the cinematic equivalent of Obadiah Stane dressing down his scientists in Iron Man, and what Disney should be saying to their staff: TONY STARK WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE!!! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!!!

[@collegerebel]

Just came out from watching it. It was *easily* the best movie I've seen all year. It actually made me feel something. Damn that ending!

[@TI4438]

It was so nice to go see a movie and simply be entertained while stuffing ourselves with nachos and popcorn. I really miss going to the theater on a monthly if not weekly basis.

[@gokhanersan8561]

I miss that too. I dropped that habit around 2008.

[@SomeoneIsAlwaysMovingOnTheSurf]

It's criminal how the soundtrack is barely getting recognition. The film would not have had it's emotional impact as big as it was if it wasn't for Naoki Sato.

[@dpixvid]

The quiet parts sounded like the players were in a room next door... but not at the end!

[@FleetwoodtheRegicide]

The soundtrack for this movies is on point. I got it on iTunes asap it is such an amazing composition, one of the best up there with the soundtracks from Gladiator, Braveheart, Last of the Mohicans, Lord of the Rings. It just adds so much more to the movie.

[@l3R0K3N8BIT]

I think what helps is that Godzilla becomes the main characters personal boogeyman. Spoiler: He didn’t take his shot at the beginning, and as a consequence a much more powerful Godzilla returns to disrupt the peace he was trying to build for himself. Only by accepting his responsibility and defeating Godzilla is the main character able to move on and find peace

[@Mooxieclang]

It reminded me of Jordan Peterson telling the story of the boy and his dragon that grows bigger till he deals with it. It's like Godzilla is an embodiment of the Koichi's fear and death anxiety.

[@remyd8767]

But be honest. That gun would have done nothing to Godzilla even in that form. Instead of one or two surviving, all of them would have been dead instead.

[@cp6027]

@@remyd8767 Most likely, but at the time of the attack on Odo Island Godzilla hadn't been mutated by US Nuke tests. When he realizes that the mine blew a huge chunk out of the Mouth he knows that is the weak point. This also reinforces his failure to take the shot back at the start of the movie.

[@geechyguy3441]

I doubt those guns would’ve taken out Godzilla in the beginning.

[@battra92]

Godzilla could tell a great story in 1954 with a guy in a suit and miniature buildings. I can deal with the slightly fake looking boats.

[@FunPicard]

Films like Godzilla Minus One and Sound of Freedom give me hope that independents and foreign studios can claim the market Hollywood has abandoned, producing films for normal people who want high quality entertainment. I don't see the situation improving until a major studio collapses, and Disney could really help us out here by doing this.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

Godzilla having massive regeneration and him being a dinosaur who was mutated were both plots in Japanese files over the years.

[@chadelles2586]

I just saw this movie and have been a Godzilla fan since I can remember. The whole movie is just insanely good. I'm mean my god, it was so much better than anything I had expected. One of my favorite movies of the year. Easily a top 3 movie of the year for me.

[@Hollyclown]

Foreign films showing up Hollywood once again.

[@mericastrata]

Brought back fond memories of when you would actually want to immediately go back, buy a ticket and watch it again. My vote for oscar time. Film of the year.

[@benjaminmolina3456]

If I recall correctly in the original Godzilla movie, Godzilla is a metaphor for the atomic bomb. A singular, cold, emotionless force of nature which nothing can stop, a key element any Godzilla movie should respect.

[@SelecaoOfMidas]

Correct! One could tolerate the animated series from the 70s from deviating somewhat. But the recent Hollywood trilogy needing to reason with Godzilla to become an ally for "mUh cLimAtE cHaNgE" can GTFO.

[@nikeneon3188]

@@SelecaoOfMidas NGL I find kinda funy how his motivation in 90s cartoon was Godzilla thinking that main protagonist of Emmerich trash was his mother just because he was 1st living that he saw, so he beat other monster to protect him

[@Mantikal]

It's more of a Karmic response from the Universe. A vengeful Frankenstein type monster created indirectly by science - nuclear fallout radiation which damages the DNA/Genes of surviving life forms of the initial blast- which now is coming to deal with us!!!

[@NoESanity]

Which is also why godzilla started to become a hero over time, because it was part of the japanese populace accepting and leaning upon america. Godzilla became this giant monster that sometimes causes massive amounts of damage because he is a force of nation, but he is a wall stopping things that want to hurt people from getting out. I really wish we could get back to being the america that japan thinks we are.

[@vla1ne]

@@SelecaoOfMidas nah, godzilla has handled climate change a few times before, thing is, it's usually some manner of OTHER monster that appears as an aspect of it, like hedorah, or even (iirc) battra acting against humanity because it just hates what humans have done to the planet.

[@Mattlovesstuff]

I love that Monarch coincides with the release of this film. It shows the difference in understanding of the Kaiju genre between the West and Japan. But I'm just mad at how poorly Western writers do TV shows now.

[@jonathankozenko]

I just wanted to throw these two things in quickly -- 1 - In 1954, the idea was to have Godzilla be a long-dormant prehistoric creature awakened, scarred and mutated by the nuclear tests. There were legends about him, but it was never truly established if he ever came to shore previously; heck, the first time he's seen on screen, it's over a giant hill, and on that hill are a bunch of people (initially) running toward him with farming tools to chase him off. At the very least, his presence is rare enough that they would have no idea what they were up against if they thought farming tools could chase him off. --- As for him being a fully conscious dinosaur in World War 2 days, later mutated into the Godzilla that we know, this wasn't actually introduced as a story element until 1991's Godzilla vs King Ghidora. 2 - The whole facet of the military not being able to damage Godzilla was actually because of the sociology of Japan in that time. The Japanese military was actually still very unpopular at the time, as many Japanese civilians knew that the Japanese Military attacked America first and put a lot of the blame of their Country's destruction on them. Because of this, the filmmakers (who were surviving military themselves) did not want Godzilla's defeat to be a Military victory. This allowed them to bolster Godzilla's (or rather, Gojira's) intimidation factor by having the Military try everything they could to stop him, but failing completely. Because of this, the whole 'Giant monsters are invulnerable to artillery' trope was born, but it wasn't really meant to have this become a genre-wide trope moving forward. It was just something that the entire genre opted to carry forward on its own. -- I mention this as to why we never see Godzilla get injured from firepower (except for the Rolland Emerich movie, but then again 2004 Godzilla kicked that Godzilla's ass in literally ~5 seconds in Godzilla: Final Wars)

[@SupremeGreatGrandmaster]

In Godzilla 1954, the Japanese military DOES repel Godzilla's first attack. You don't see any injuries but they clearly hurt Godzilla.

[@jordansrhoads]

I'm convinced the smaller Godzilla on Odo Island is supposed to be Godzillasaurus from 1991. Odo Island is the fictional island Godzilla is first spotted on in the original 1954 film and in Minus One. Godzillasaurus is the Dinosaur like creature that gets turned into Godzilla when exposed to the atom bomb. Just like what happens in Minus One.

[@syllawblood]

Minus One is a prequel to Shin Godzilla

[@DrStrangefate]

​@@syllawbloodNot even a little bit...have you seen Shin?

[@syllawblood]

@@DrStrangefate Yes, how is it not?

[@DrStrangefate]

@@syllawblood Cause Godzilla clearly has a completely different form thats purely sea creature that endures forced evolution from being attacked and coming ashore. Minus One Goji will simply regenerate into another fully formed godzilla with a bit of difference. Idk how you could possibly think this could be a prequel even as head Canon.

[@PetsoKamagaya]

I'm Japanese, my grandfather survived the Nagasaki bomb, my uncle was a mid-schooler walking home from school near the end of the war when he was strafed by a US P51 pilot, my other grandfather managed to escape the Russians from Seoul after the war. So my mother-in-law fell in love with a kamikaze pilot - I can tell you, he did not want to go. Most of the kamikaze pilots were college kids - they didn't want to die. So they drank themselves into a stupor before launch and they flew tot heir death. It was such a waste of life (any war is). As for as the Russians, the Japanese knew. In typical Russian fashion, the Soviets broke the truce agreement and attacked Japanese territory in Asia and held many prisoners for several years after the war ended. I had a neighbor who was a prisoner near Sochi in the USSR (he's gone now). The abomic bombings are still part of Japanese psyche and will always be, thanks ironically to all the Godzilla movies.

[@ericomfg]

Strafed by a P51 LOL

[@Keeazul]

Mr Drinker, here’s a tiny correction. Daigo Fukuryu-Maru (Lucky Dragon 5 is a literal translation) was not DRIFTING into the American nuclear test zone. She along with the other 1,422 Japanese fishing vessels that were exposed to radiation were clearly OUTSIDE the restricted zones designated by US military. They didn’t control the blast well and miscalculated the weather factor to the testing as well. As a result, those finding boats were unintentionally INSIDE the danger zone already sometime BEFORE the blast, but the US official never reissued warning nor postponed the experiment. Several fishermen on Daigo Fukuryu-maru even showed symptoms of Accute Atomic bomb sickness such as radical immune system deterioration, but no American help came to them on the ocean. And the incident happened March 1954, the same year the first Godzilla went on cinemas in Japan.

[@madambutterfly1997]

Godzilla is the movie of the year. As somebody who doesn’t particularly like reading a movie, I enjoyed this. I cried multiple times. And I got a true taste of fear and this is the first time something like that has happened while watching a Godzilla movie. Never in my entire life have I felt sadness or fear while watching a Godzilla movie… and I’ve watched the original…repeatedly Will I watch this movie a second time? Hell Yeah!!! Will I change my stance on dub over sub? No.

[@NikkyVix]

As a friend of mine said: "'Godzilla Minus One' is the best sequel to 'Oppenheimer' we could get."

[@vla1ne]

I had that exact thought while i was in the theater, and almost burst out laughing at a VERY inappropriate moment.

[@highwindknight]

I was trying to find a showing at a reasonable distance from where I live, and I just couldn't. And now that it's getting extended, a bunch of nearby theaters are now playing it. I'm looking forward to watching it, and then seeing it climb up the charts.

[@geekrepublic8308]

It was simply fantastic. I teared up in the end too.

[@fauxshowyo]

"are people going to resonate with something set in WW2" I'd say when more than half the morons in the world are unironically calling for (nuclear) WW3 it resonates pretty damn well.

[@studio500]

The sense of guilt and duty to society is deeply inherent in Japanese culture. WW2 accentuated that by brainwashing the soldiers and citizens in positioning the emperor as deity. So Shikishima’s internal struggle travels well even in contemporary society. For int’l audiences, I would assume his guilt and redemption is relatable through general sense of failure in life. I loved this movie and hope more people would watch it. By far, the best human drama Godzilla has ever told. 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@katrita1146]

They didn' t brainwash the citizens and soldiers in to it, its in Japanese religion Shinto itself to consider the emperor a deity. The emperor is considered a descendent of the God that created Japan

[@yourikhan4425]

Japan to the rescue of entertainement.

[@drdassler]

🥉

[@jenniferst.george810]

100% we have Ghibli Studios this weekend releasing the Boy and the Heron. its on my list to see this weekend.

[@Enigmalake]

Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon

[@sporkenste1n236]

I think it's safe to say that the Roland Emmerich version is _The Last Jedi_ of Godzilla movies.

[@paulrogers6037]

Stephen King writes in "On Writing" that "it's never about the monster," and THE most important thing is to establish relatable characters first, long before even a hint of a monster is introduced. This is what Hollywood never learned. For Hollywood, it's always about the monster and the people are just cardboard cutouts. That's not storytelling; that's storyboarding.

[@rubenoteiza9261]

The mechanic Tachibana is so important in the plot because he is not really an independent character with a life of his own but just a projection of Koichi's soul towards the external worlds,. See how all what Tachibana does is just to exteriorize what Koichi feels, the self hatred, the sense of guilt, of humiliation, the despair then, finally, the will to fight and the recovery of his pride, resolve and self respect. Also see that the interactions of Tachibana are practically all with Koichi, if memory serves me well, because his own reason to be is to let Koichi's soul to express itself. That is why the best moment of the film from the POV of Koichi is when he is about to take off and Tachibana gives him full military honors, that is himself being himself again. That is why he absolutely needs Tachibana when he has finally decide to fight, he needs him because the mechanic is part of himself.

[@gokhanersan8561]

Tachibana had the weight of a Kurosawa character. Man, this movie made me want to pick up Japanase, so I can enjoy it even better.

[@BleedingUranium]

Very well put. Something that makes this especially great though is this literary/non-literal aspect doesn't come at the cost of the more grounded, in-universe aspects. Shikishima insists on the mechanic being Tachibana, to the point of seeming stubborn in the face of a grave threat, because he doesn't feel any other mechanic would install the bombs for him. Of course, he won't tell Noda about the kamikaze part of his plan, so when he begs Noda to keep waiting for Tachibana, it superficially seems like he's just selfishly trying to atone for past mistakes (which he is in a sense, but in a different way).

[@rubenoteiza9261]

@@BleedingUranium What is interesting is that what they needed most at the moment was something familiar with the design of the prototype, this was a new plane, still a secret, so there is no reason why Tachibana had to know much about it, The best people was someone who had participated in the design, an engineer, but the intensity of the pilot makes the audience overlook that fact.

[@CHIEFLUKE101]

I thought it was a phenomenal movie. I've been watching Godzilla since the VHS days and I can tell you this is one of the best ones. Obviously the tones are very different from the rubber suit days but this one was just so good. And of course you have legendaries Godzilla series which isn't bad either, but it's more dumb fun and I don't expect amazing storytelling in those movies.

[@Theo-ev6yu]

Hollywood Execs: "Toho made this film in Japan! With fifteen million dollars!" Hollywood Writers: "We're not Toho."

[@92EEM]

There is a KZbin channel called "History Matters" that does short 3 min videos about obscure moments in history. They actually put out a short video on what happens when Kamikaze pilots, for a lack of a better term, failed their mission and gives a lot more context

[@Raiden6277]

This movie made me cry. Koichi's arc hits hard. The parts near the ending made me cry hard.

[@HammerHeart3229]

I'm not a hardcore Godzilla fan by any means however I saw Minus One yesterday here in merry ol' England (Sorry Drinker & Mauler 😂) after the word of mouth I saw online about this movie and man... I fucking LOVED this movie! It blows my mind how awesome this movie was given it's $15,000,000 budget! All I can say is with the 200 million dollar flops Hollywood have crapped out recently they should feel bad, feel ashamed and take notes! Seriously if you haven't seen Godzilla Minus One go and see it! This movie thoroughly deserves it!

[@jonnypokemon]

Godzilla Minus One was one of the best movie going experiences Ive had since Top Gun Maverick. Solid character drama, amazing monster action, and a well constructed plot that ties the human characters to Godzilla in a way that is actually believable. I never mind subtitled movies but I know for some it gets bothersome, but please, go see this movie while its still in American theatres!!

[@jpnw3272]

I think the Shin Godzilla creature was harmed by the military as well. I won’t spoil it if you are wanting to watch it. Godzilla Minus One is a masterpiece! It’s a story of the human condition. A true heroic journey. Not only to the lead, but to all in the movie. This movie was one of the best experiences I had in the theaters in years. I’m hoping to go again soon. Please go see this movie. We want others to know these are the movies we want to see! Compelling story, characters, and topics everyone can relate to. What a movie! Bravo Toho!

[@WyoCutlass71]

The only bad review on IMDb is some guy complaining saying that Godzilla should just be an antihero, which just doesn’t make sense to me. This is creature of destruction, a force of nature!

[@macmcleod1188]

Hollywood also has a "star" problem. A large part of the budget goes to the top stars. But it's probably now more than they add to the bottom line.

[@raja-jl9os]

Actually biggest problem of Indian cinema 😂

[@vahlak6554]

My only two complaints for this movie, were that the fully-grown-mutated Godzilla didn't resemble the incredible version from Odo Island, and the pop out scutes. The contraction when launching the nuclear loogie was awesome, however. If they popped out in increasing lengths up his back, I would be incredibly satisfied.

[@thekingofchange1428]

I agree, the design on the island was awesome, but the later one was kinda weak. It was a nice reference to the Showa and Heisei designs though

[@6chhelipilot]

As a failed Kamikaze pilot myself, I really connected with this film.

[@kira-dk2mx]

The thumbnail is a situation no man should ever experience in their lifetime. And if it does happen...godspeed.

[@wymanrtaylor]

In the first 30 seconds, Nerdrotic keeps leaning over such that his arm blends perfectly into the cartoon arm of the background lmao

[@gordonm1935]

Haha, I thought I was the only one to notice. First time I wondered why Gary was striking such a dramatic pose

[@gfish7696]

My grandfather was a trainee Kamikaze pilot. Fortunately, the war ended before he went off to war, but I remember researching many things about Kamikaze pilots when I heard about it.

[@METALIZER26]

Godzilla has been hurt pretty bad in previous movies, sometimes by other monsters and sometimes by humans, like the bombers in Shin Godzilla or the Super-X in Godzilla 1984.

[@loveandgamingxx1744]

Gonna see it with my son this weekend

[@drdassler]

🥈

[@howlingdin9332]

Japanese Kamikazes returning to base without fulfilling their mission if they didn't find the target or had mechanical problems was actually a common occurrence and they weren't punished unless it happened too much. They didn't want to waste a plane and pilot on nothing.

[@eroche12]

What a great conversation!! And listening to smart people from different regions. The view from New Zealand, to Scotland to California.. the fisher boat incident was key for Japanese public. Also so many flavors of thoughts I could add simply because you guys drove the conversation in this style. Only two points I would add, 1. Like in the USA, Japanese youth are now not aware of the past (typical Genz :-)) 2. Timing of Oppenheim film. Too much coincidence. This should show us how much Japan is ahead in music, film writing and ofc manga/ anime. Allot of good story telling skills comes from manga and cartoons

[@jeffreydean5112]

I think it resonates now because of the wars and "wars" happening in the world now. We're kinda seeing it from a lessons to learn from standpoint. I think it shows the horrors of war and that even the "bad guys" have to rebuild and have innocent people. Sometimes it's the machine playing risk and most everyone involved doesn't want to be there.

[@alexanderwaller7354]

The best Godzilla stories, when he fights with other giant monsters, have a kinda "enemy of my enemy" feel.

[@reginaphalange9417]

unfortunately the distribution doesn't follow the success, in France only a very few movie theaters are gonna project it and during a couple of days, I hope the dvd / streaming release will allow the movie to reach more audience

[@raja-jl9os]

Netflix?

[@marcuschamp9881]

The Kamikaze was a rational response to the reality of the complete failure of the conventional attack method. IOt also needs to be recognised that many Kamikaze's returned from "failed" flights...cannot recall the proportion at this point but was quite high, around 30% or more. Some Kamikaze pilots went out and returned multiple times. Many scholars of WW2 have written about and considered the Kamikaze phenomenon at length. I have not seen the movie as yet (not usually interested in monsters movies), however if the movie brings an appreciation for this aspect of WW2 history, I for one applaud it.

[@Dr._Nope]

The movie is genuinely an awesome time! Easily my favorite Godzilla movie and more than likely my favorite monster movie overall! Glad to see it's getting the praise it deserves! As soon as I left the theater, I've been itching to watch it again! That's the best compliment I could give it!

[@colemanblack]

11:46 don't forget the post nuclear black rain scene. Something that marked the Japanese profoundly. The references were spot on in this film. Well done

[@hadtopicausername]

It's almost as if telling a good story in a skilled manner is the most important thing.

[@carbon-structure]

My wife really loved it too, which I was very surprised by (was a last minute date night idea). She cried and is still talking about and asking what led to the nuclear attacks of WW2 with some genuine curiosity, which I think is testament to the human elements of the story and as a quasi period piece that it isn't yet another dumb monster movie. Godzilla is an absolute evil demon in this film, the sound design is incredible and even (as a japanese speaker myself) the english translations are done with great care and cultural sensibility. So glad for the team that made this great film, they deserve nothing but praise and success for an amazing 70th anniversary homage to the original Godzilla. (but as an aside, what on earth did they do to Akiko to make her cry like that!? poor little kid 😂)

[@surfersilver6610]

Godzilla has some of the most Epic Movie music of all time up there with Darth Vader March, Superman theme, The Thing intro tune. I'm hoping they have it this movie and not too much gloss added to modernize it, the original's crudeness adds to the elements of destruction.

[@EvilDoresh]

Don't worry, it's there, and just like you remember.

[@BestWayKilla]

"I don't want Godzilla to be this antihero character" Implying that the Heisei moves weren't the peak of awesomeness in the series.

[@rustyshackelford4224]

That's so true

[@soulstarved4116]

The original 1954 movie, Godzilla, was directed by Ishiro Honda, who created Godzilla as a metaphor for the destruction and dangers of atomic warfare following the end of WW2 in 1945. He basically invented the kaiju, and this concept became very popular. Toho bought the rights and wanted to expand on the idea. Which led Godzilla down a more light-hearted anti-hero path so they could make it marketable. Ishiro Honda admitted that he never intended for that and has a hard time humanizing Godzilla. I think this movie is a more accurate representation of what Godzilla was supposed to be. It seems like an updated version of the original. The origin of Godzilla, is that its a race of semi-aquatic prehistoric reptiles who laid dormant in the earth until atomic weapon testing woke them up. Anything past that is speculation, but it's highly likely that they alongside other kaijus feed off radiation and other power sources, which is why the bomb woke it up.

[@AnthonyStinson-j8r]

Invented Kaiju? The hell? King Kong came out 21 years before Godzilla. Monster movies were a huge thing for decades before Godzilla. That takes nothing away from the 1954 work, but don't say he "basically invented the Kaiju" when Kong was around literally two decades prior to Godzilla releasing in 1954.

[@soulstarved4116]

@@AnthonyStinson-j8r Do you understand what a kaiju is? King Kong was adopted into the role because he fits the classification, but there's a reason why the word is in Japanese and NOT English. I'm in no way saying that he invented monsters, but it is undeniable that this is where the term "kaiju" started. If you want to really get nitpicky, you can credit the guy who wrote about the Kraken or the Behemoth.

[@AnthonyStinson-j8r]

that's the point... just because you create a phrase, doesn't mean you create the item. "Kaiju" existed for thousands of years before Godzilla. You literally said "He basically invented the kaiju"... no, he didnt... he just used the word in a film title. @@soulstarved4116

[@soulstarved4116]

@user-ww5dw7qn9r I'm confused on what we're disagreeing about. I did say *"basically"* implying that he did *not* invent kaiju, but he might as well have due to its impact. Perhaps "invent" is the wrong word, but what else would you call it? As far as I know, this was the first use of kaiju as a movie monster; creating and defining the kaiju genre. What would you call that besides "invent"? Is Godzilla the first kaiju movie? What is the first kaiju property, if not? Because King Kong does not count, as I said previously, that's American and was adopted into genre after the genre's creation. Is that what we disagree on? Kaiju has deep cultural roots, which I am unfamiliar with, but as I know it, the kaiju genre and the cultural kaiju mythology are unrelated. Only that the mythology inspired the genre. Is it the cultural vs colloquial term of kaiju that we disagree on? Would it be better to say: He created the kaiju genre.

[@WereThieves]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠ It was the first use of Kaiju as a movie monster, but I’m inclined to agree with @user-ww5dw7qn9r. Kaiju is just a Japanese term for media that contains big, mysterious monsters. By that classification, King Kong would’ve been the first one in the 1933. By your logic, that would mean Tsunami’s originated in Japan first since the term Tsunami is Japanese, although they were happening across the globe.

[@johnclark2849]

Loved the movie. I normally don't see them more than once in the theater, but this will be an exception. The real-life fishing boat wasn't anywhere it wasn't supposed to be. The blast was far more powerful than calculated and the wind pattern was different than the forecast. Double whammy for the fishermen.

[@leonardthelean]

I am half Japnaese and studied the kamikaze aspect quite a bit. Some historical details that add context. Towards the end of the war, mamy kamikaze pilots were NOT trained pilots. By that point, most were very young, some as young as 13. They were, obviously, drafted. So, yes, although rarely mentioned, many at that point did not go into a suicide dive. Other points. When the kamikaze program started, the most motivated were the Navy pilots, of which they had plenty; many speculate because of the harshness of the training. Army pilots were not as motivated, but that is a matter of very small degrees. Also, military leaders were aware that young pilots might hesitate, thus they provided a 'night of worldly pleasures' so that they can go into the afterlife knowing life. This 'service' was not provided as the war became more desperate. Just to be clear, my statements are only based on my research. I mostly reference the book 'Samurai,' by Saboru Sakai. Your mileage will vary.

[@At-07461]

My uncle volunteered to be a kamikaze pilot in WWII but ironically, was rejected for poor eyesight which unfortunately I have inherited...

[@arenkai]

This is probably the only Godzilla movie where swapping fromthe human plot to Godzilla action made me go "I really hope this is epic because I'm mad I can't follow them anymore" And every time it was epic. Every goddamn time ! The back to the humans and I was still feeling the emotions full blown. Magnificent movie.

[@LastSunrise1981]

It is the greatest Godzilla film I've ever watched. Growing up I would watch Gamera, Mothra, Godzilla, King Kong, and my favorite being "Godzilla 1985"(I know it has a different title). This film literally had me emotionally invested from beginning to end with the character development, its intense atmosphere, and the fact that Godzilla was downright terrifying, vicious, and a full on nightmare. Oh, the atomic breath? Perfectly chilling/haunting.

[@dritzzdarkwood4727]

I liked that Godzilla wasn't good or evil. It just was. A force of nature. Torrential rain or a storm might kill you, but there is no evil intent. I think that adds an even more strong sense of dredd.

[@gabrielboorom2683]

Godzilla has been every role there is: Hero, Villain, Father, Protector, Force of Nature, Organism in Agony, Metaphor for America, Metaphor for Japan, Metaphor for Nuclear War, Metaphor for the Unknown.