Quentin Tarantino calls it the “perfect giant monster movie” and is a major influence on Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire – Film News

Nicolas Cage’s favorite movie.

Almost a month after its release, Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire is the second highest-grossing film of the year. In its opening weekend, it grossed $194 million worldwide, behind only Dune: Part 2.

One of the film’s biggest influences is the Showa era of kaiju, but mainly the one in which instead of the giant lizard, only monkeys with different fur fought, like the big battle that takes place in the sequel to Godzilla vs Kong. Its about The Invasion of the Gargantuaswhich Quentin Tarantino defined as the “perfect giant monster movie”.

Godzilla and Kong – The New Empire: The film’s box office performance could define the direction of another sequel

Hairy Snapshot

Not only that, but it is Nicolas Cage’s favorite film, and it stands out among all the works of master Ishirō Honda, because according to him it is “fantastic and so strange, although the creatures and special effects are impressive, it also has a lot of personal feeling at its core.” Tim Burton mentions it as one of his all-time favorites, Brad Pitt revealed at the Oscar ceremony that it was the first feature film he remembers seeing and Guillermo del Toro says it was his main influence on Pacific Rim.

The curious thing about this 60s classic is that it is an action and monster film in which two creatures called Gargantuas face off in Japan (which is directly referenced in Adam Wingard’s new film), one of which is a laboratory experiment. by two scientists (played by Russ Tamblyn and Kumi Mizuno), who “advise” when destruction is unleashed. It is sometimes known as the story of Cain and Abel from the Toho studio.

Its original title reveals its true origin, Furankenshutain no kaiju: Sanda tai Gaira, a name that evokes a certain classic Universal monster, not by chance. Invasion of the Gargantuas began as a direct sequel to Frankenstein Against the World (Furankenshutain tai chitei kaijû Baragon, 1965), by Toho, but in the United States it was considered an independent film, with the ironic coincidence of being released in 1970 alongside The Monster Warstarring Nick Adams, who also starred in that first production.

Much more than fights in costumes

His success in the United States created this effect among the Baby Boom generation, and cinephiles like Quentin Tarantino not only consider him a great kaiju, but, he explained in the production of the Kill Bill – Volume 2 DVD, that he had him as a reference to direct his fight between Elle Driver (Daryl Hanna) and the Bride (Uma Thurman), and even asked Hanna and Thurman’s stunt doubles to study the film’s fight scenes for their epic battle.

Godzilla’s next villain could be a classic character from the franchise: Director of The New Empire suggests important return

Its impact on this and others like the current Godzilla and Kong, in the scene where Kong buzzing with other primates seems like a remake of some moment from that, may be due to the fact that the two giants fighting are humanoid apes, which offered much more freedom for the actors inside the costumes to fight as humans, an impediment that made others suffer with giant monsters from the 60s and 70s.

But it is not only a film influenced by its fight scenes, but it is also often considered one of the scariest of all Toho’s giant monster films, for example, for disturbing scenes like the one in which the green gorilla, Gaira, looks at a man in a boat underwater. Another controversial scene showed Gaira stuffing a woman in his mouth before devouring her. In the American version he even spat out the dress after he finished.

*Translation from a partner site of QuandoCinema

Stay up to date with news about films and series and receive exclusive opportunities. Listen to OdeioCinema on Spotify or on your favorite audio platform, Join our WhatsApp Channel and be a Card Adorer!