Leofwine_draca I'm a massive fan of kaiju movies so I come to these films predisposed to like them. I've seen most of the original GODZILLA series and am attempting to fill in a few blanks; one of those is GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, a late-entry instalment that pits Godzilla and his old foe Anguirus against new space-monster Gigan and an old enemy, King Ghidorah.GODZILLA VS. GIGAN is plenty of fun from beginning to end, and the formula for that success lies in having a human interest story that's just as entertaining as the monster stuff. This time around, a group of environmentalists and employees investigate the mysterious owners of a new Godzilla theme park, soon uncovering some dark secrets which inevitably throw Japan into peril.Godzilla is on good form in what is one of the grisliest of the series (who knew you'd end up seeing a Japanese blood spray in a children's film?). Anguirus is my favourite kaiju monster, purely because he isn't capable of much and it's kind of sweet to watch him getting beaten on so much, so seeing him here was a delight. Gigan proves a deadly foe - especially with that saw! - and King Ghidorah is, well, King Ghidorah. You can't go wrong with that combo, and inevitably GODZILLA VS. GIGAN turns out to be a colourful, action-packed romp.

dee.reid Today, I watched 1972's "Godzilla vs. Gigan" for the first time in years, to mark the film's 40th anniversary."Godzilla vs. Gigan" was directed in 1972 by "Godzilla" film series regular Jun Fukuda. It was a childhood favorite of mine. Although I can't be truly sure about it, I do believe that this was probably the very first "Godzilla" movie I ever saw when I was a kid. It's the movie that made me a loyal fan of the mighty King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla.In the film, alien cockroaches from the planet Nebula Space Hunter M have arrived on Earth, assuming human form by possessing the corpses of the recently dead, with plans of world domination; they are led by "The Chairman" (Zan Fujita), a child prodigy, and his chief lieutenant Kubota (Toshiaki Nishizawa). To do this, they have enlisted the aid of the three-headed space demon King Ghidorah and the cyborg-monster Gigan. Standing in their way, are Godzilla and Anguirus, who break free of their prison on Monster Island and it climaxes with a four-way battle between the four monsters at the cockroaches' base of operations at a children's amusement park."Godzilla vs. Gigan," made during a time in Japanese film history when Toho (which has produced every single "Godzilla" film made from 1954 to the present) was going through some well-publicized financial troubles. This was almost partially because money was being diverted away from films and into television, which was becoming increasingly popular at the time and was cheaper to produce. As a result of this, Toho was forced to take short cuts whenever, wherever possible, and the "Godzilla" films made during the 1970s suffered as a result.Quite popular at the time was the trend of recycling stock footage from past "Godzilla" movies and incorporating them with newly shot scenes to give the illusion of new footage. This will work well for people who do not possess a keen eye, but observant viewers will note the recycled scenery. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" and the next film after this one, "Godzilla vs. Megalon" (1973), suffered horribly from this. It also resulted, unfortunately, in a terrible inconsistency with the portrayal of the monsters. Primary example: the fire-breathing King Ghidorah, known for its aggressive, hyper-violent nature in past films, is largely on the sidelines this time, and it's clear when the monster is being shown in stock footage and is being presented in newly shot scenes by Fukuda.However, regardless of how poorly/cheaply made the movie is, "Godzilla vs. Gigan" is still quite entertaining and is nowhere near as bad as "Godzilla vs. Megalon" would be. "Godzilla vs. Gigan" also includes a cast of "regular" Joes and Joannes, rather than the heroic scientist and soldier types common to these types of films. These characters include the "cunning but stupid" struggling comic book artist Gengo Kotaka (Hiroshi Ishikawa), his fierce and independent girlfriend Tomoko Tomeo (Yuriko Hishimi) who also happens to be a black belt in Karate, and their two associates Machiko (Tomoko Umeda) and her hippie friend Shosaku (Minoru Takashima)."Godzilla vs. Gigan" deserves to be seen by any true fan of the King of the monsters. It's a good afternoon-killer and a "Godzilla" film that no matter how many faults it has, is still pretty gosh-darn entertaining.6/10P.S.: Is the new monster Gigan one of the coolest-looking "kaiju" ever created by Toho, or what?

Josh Downham After Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), producer Tomoyuki Tanaka did not want any more surprises. So the directing reigns went to long-time Toho Studios director Jun Fukuda, making it his third Godzilla film. The intention was to make a movie that harkened back to the glory days of Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964) and Monster Zero (1965). Unfortunately, Toho could no longer afford to produce such extravagant (for the time) special effects. So instead, we get an overabundance of stock footage from the two films mentioned, in addition to footage from Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964), War of the Gargantuas (1966), Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), Son of Godzilla (1967), and Destroy All Monsters (1968). As for the new footage, well there's a ridiculous scene in which Godzilla and Anguirus talk. In the original Japanese version, the two beasts make weird sounds like someone messing with a record player, accompanied by comic book speech bubbles. When the film was brought to the US, some genius decided to dub in barely comprehensible monster voices.Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) is that it has an excellent score - an Akira Ifukube greatest hits compilation. The battle with Godzilla and Anguirus in one corner and Gigan and Ghidrah in the other corner is entertaining if you can get past the fact that the Godzilla suit is on the verge of coming apart at every seam. After being used in the last three Godzilla films, dating back to '68, it's in a pretty shabby state by 1972. This isn't one I would highly recommend, but it's better than the one that came after it, Godzilla vs. Megalon.

Ferball I bought this expecting to see a cheesy popcorn movie and to my surprise this is one of the best g flicks i've seen. What even made me like this film even more is the music used in this movie. Gigan looks awesome and the final fight was breathtaking, in a weird way. Godzilla vs Gigan is mainly about cockroach looking aliens that plan on taking over earth and find "absolute peace". They disguise themselves as humans and send Gigan and King Ghidorah to destroy Godzilla.But this isn't the best Godzilla movie either. There are a few problems in this film. 1) The stock footage is a little to much for me. 2) The unnecessary talk scenes with Godzilla and Anguirus 3) the plot is just plain dumb.Overall this is a great entertaining Godzilla film, despite a few problems. I recommend this for anyone who happens to bored and wants a good laugh or any to Godzilla fan.