Picture of author.
6 Works 168 Membros 6 Críticas

About the Author

William Tsutsui is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Kansas.

Includes the name: William M. Tsutsui

Image credit: William Tsutsui [credit: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/JOHN SYKES JR.]

Obras por William Tsutsui

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Membros

Críticas

"Godzilla On My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters" by William Tsutui first published in 2004 by Palgrave Macmillan. Professor Tsutui commonly known as Bill is an accomplished academic with degrees from Harvard and Princeton and is the current President of Ottawa University in Kansas and his friends, students, and colleagues celebrate his passion for Godzilla by gifting him collectibles of the King of the Monsters anytime they return from a trip to Japan. Bill shares his passion for the Big G with all of us in his engaging book which combines elements of memoir, film history, pop culture, fandom, and why this giant atomic lizard and his progeny continue to resonate in Japan, the USA, and around the world. The book's introduction is titled Godzilla Mon Amour and opens in the early 70s with "When I was nine I wanted to be GODZILLA." He fulfills this wish by getting his mother to sew a costume which he wears to his Texas elementary school Halloween Parade with visions of cheers and recognition. Only to be tearfully humiliated when no one knows what his costume represents and he tears it off and refuses to go out Trick or Treating for Halloween candy. Fortunately, for Bill and us his enthusiasm as a G Fan continued unabated privately, if less so publicly at that time.

Then after the Introduction the book's chapters deliver on their descriptive titles with Chapter One: The Birth of Gojira which details how the film came to be with key creative participants Director Honda, FX Specialist Tsuburaya, Producer Tanaka, and Composer Ifukube; Chapter Two: The Godzilla Franchise looks at how an immediate sequel Godzilla Raids Again was produced six months later then nothing for seven years until back to back successes King Kong vs. Godzilla and Mothra vs. Godzilla formally launched the ongoing series; Chapter Three: Understanding the Monster considers the question of "what are these Godzilla pictures all about?"; Chapter Four: The Making of an American Icon investigates the transformation of the Japanese film Gojira into the American film Godzilla, King of the Monsters! and how dubbing, editing, theatrical, and especially television distribution of it and all the films that followed popularized him in the USA; Chapter Five: A Personal Godzilla surveys fans on what the character and films have meant to them and how a formerly isolated fandom has come together first with fanzines, then conventions, and the internet to share their mutual enthusiasms; Chapter Six: Godzilla's Spawn looks at monsters that followed in Godzilla's wake at other Japanese studios and then in films in other countries around the world; Conclusion: Godzilla Forever covers the mon-star's enduring popularity by discussing "What makes Godzilla such a malleable monster, an inveterate chameleon, a ready vehicle for others hopes, agendas, and fantasies, is by no means obvious."

This book is a fun and informative overview of how the films came to be and evolved from a serious horror film Gojira centered on a giant radioactive lizard that was a manifestation of the atomic bomb come to life into a kid friendly comedy inflected series of giant monster battles with Godzilla as the defender of Japan. The ubiquity of Godzilla has become such that even people who have never seen one of the films know that he is giant lizard with radioactive breath. As the author observers this pervasiveness is underscored by all words that have had zilla appended to them to imply large or monstrous such as truckzilla or bridezilla.

Some interesting Godzilla factoids-
Next year in 2024 Toho Studios will mark the 70th anniversary of two its landmark and defining films "Seven Samurai" and "Gojira" known globally today as "Godzilla" and the actor Takeshi Shimura starred in both of them. Inoshiro Honda directed many original science fiction films for Toho and only reluctantly returned to the series again and again until he retired. Honda was good friends with director Akira Kurosawa who persuaded by him to come out of retirement to assist on his film Kagemusha in 1980 and they worked together until Honda's death in 1993. The American dubbed, re-edited, and re-titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters! starring Raymond Burr was released in Japan and was a hit. The original Gojira in Japanese was not released in the USA until 2004. The name Godzilla was not created by American producers and was actually coined by the Toho marketing team and has become so widespread it is commonly used in Japan today. Another term created by the Toho marketing team was suitmation to describe the special effects used by Tsuburaya to bring Godzilla and his monster opponents to life with men inside the suits. The actor Haruo Nakajima wore the Godzilla suit in the mon-star's first 12 films from 1954 to 1972. Godzilla was the bad guy for his first decade and did not become the good guy until his appearance in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster released in 1964. Godzilla's iconic roar was created by composer Akira Ifukube rubbing a pine tar dipped glove on the loosened strings of a contrabass.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
ralphcoviello | 5 outras críticas | Aug 31, 2023 |
An enjoyable review of the culture of Godzilla movies, fans and collectibles.

read 8/28/2023
½
 
Assinalado
catseyegreen | 5 outras críticas | Aug 28, 2023 |
Godzilla, one of the most enduring characters in cinema, but what makes him so enduring? That's the question history professor and live-long Godzilla fan William Tsutsui tries to answer in this book.

As it's written from the perspective of a history professor, we get a good look at the history of the big G, from his conception on through the first two film series, to the disastrous American attempt in 1998, and up to his modern revival and follow-ups as far as 2004, marking the 50th anniversary of the King of the Monsters. Along with Godzilla's history, Tsutsui also looks at the other giant monsters that have stomped through cinematic history, some prior to G, like King Kong, and some in direct response to his reign, like the unfortunate Reptilicus.

Tsutsui also looks at the fan reaction to Godzilla and why they seem so smitten with the big town-wrecker. He explores the marketing reach and toy manufacture, as well as the numerous spin-off properties heavily influenced by Godzilla through the years, some on television that would ironically seal the big G's fate on the silver screen for a while.

With the keen eye of a scholar, Tsutsui turns his life-long obsession with the king of the kaiju into a thought-provoking look at a film tradition that has lasted 50 years and 27 (at the time of his writing) film properties. If you're a fan of Gojira, man-in-suit city stomping action, nostalgia, or in-depth analysis of film and fandom, then you should give this one a read. I definitely enjoyed it.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
regularguy5mb | 5 outras críticas | Mar 29, 2016 |
4.5 stars. I loved the original Japanese version of Gojira that was released last year! I'll never watch the American version again! This is a WONDERFUL book, written by someone who truly has a special place in his heart for Gojira, much like I do!
 
Assinalado
BooksOn23rd | 5 outras críticas | Nov 25, 2015 |

Prémios

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Susan J. Napier Contributor
Mark Anderson Contributor
Theodore C. Bestor Contributor
Joanne Bernardi Contributor
Aaron Gerow Contributor
Barak Kushner Contributor
Yoshikuni Igarashi Contributor
Eric C. Rath Contributor
Christine R. Yano Contributor
Yulia Mikhailova Contributor
Joyce E. Boss Contributor
Hirofumi Katsuno Contributor

Estatísticas

Obras
6
Membros
168
Popularidade
#126,679
Avaliação
½ 3.5
Críticas
6
ISBN
20

Tabelas & Gráficos