War Of The Gargantuas (1966) For a few reasons, we understand why this particular Ishiro Honda 'Kaiju' smackdown remains a favorite of fans and filmmakers alike.....
Unlike the various raging reptiles, insects and alien monstrosities in Japan's Kaiju Zoo, the humanoid Gargantua brothers (the gentle brown one and the raging green one) express the relatable emotions of sibling rivalry........Brownie exudes empathy for his pissed off bro, but Greenie just wants to kick ass, primarily his brother's.
Their passive-aggressive clashes, highlighted by Greenie snacking on people like grapes then spitting out their clothes, take up most of the running time. Director Honda hardly stops to slow the fun down with expositions from his actor cast.
The movie is practically non-stop monster rumbles....it comprehends the primal reason we'd watch Kaijus to begin with. We don't give a flying **** about the humans involved, just get to the punch-ups and give us plenty of 'em.
Which brings us to the topic that's always fascinated us about these films - the plight of American and European actors who somehow wander into Japanese monster movies.
In this category, we do NOT include, as you might think, Raymond Burr who appeared in footage inserted into the heavily re-edited, re-dubbed American version of "Godzilla". The closest Ray ever got to Japan was maybe ordering take-out Sushi.
No, we're talking about actors who were actual participants and cast members of the films when they were shot in Japanese studios. (That would include, of course, the entire Caucasian-only cast of Kinji Fukasaku's "The Green Slime")
For previously well known American actors, a Kaiju movie was the end-of-the-line, bottom-of-the barrel career move...one step before dinner-theater musicals, off-Broadway one man shows.... and porn.
And no one looks as if he knew that better than Russ Tamblyn, who glumly troupes through 'Gargantuas' as he's undergoing a colonoscopy without sedation.
Only a few years past his triumphs in "West Side Story" and "The Haunting", we won't even attempt to guess how Tamblyn found his way into this film. Any actor's career at any time could careen from lofty A-List heights to......well, to 'War Of The Gargantuas'. As the guy who follows the elephants with a shovel was heard to say, "What, and give up show business?"
Tamblyn's original dubbed line readings were accidentally erased and in his exhausted re-dubs, you can hear his disinterest and disdain for the entire procedure. But his robotic recitations of his dialogue, if nothing else, perfectly match his "just gimme my check and let me grab the next flight outta here" performance.
Fortunately, the Garganutas Brownie and Greenie are fully committed to their essential tasks of demolishing city infrastructure, kicking away those toy tanks and helicopters and popping a few human snacks for some added protein.
For the fans, these guys put on a damn good show and you'll really feel for Brownie as he makes futile attempts to curb his brother's anger management issues. 3 stars (***).
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