#yongary

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (January 21-27, 2024)

Godzilla Minus One made awards show history in both Japan and the U.S. this week. Its Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects is the first of the series (Godzilla [1998], Godzilla [2014] and Godzilla vs. Kong were previously shortlisted) and the first for any Japanese film. Small wonder Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and their team went berserk when the nomination was announced. The other nominees are The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Napoleon, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to IndieWire, The Creator has the edge, but Minus One could very well win. And while it naturally made less headlines in the Anglosphere, Minus One also picked up a whopping 12 Japan Academy Film Prize nominations, exceeding Shin Godzilla's 10.

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is now in North American theaters. I was intrigued enough to make it my fourth theatrical viewing of this movie, but in the end it did basically strike me as a gimmick. Godzilla Minus One was shot digitally with sets designed for color, so making it actually look like a film from the 40s was always going to be an uphill battle. Even with the regrade, there wasn’t a ton of contrast in most shots, and some of the scenes taking place at night were quite hard to see. Still, apart from the Odo Island massacre, I found the Godzilla scenes as gripping as ever.

Thanks to Minus Color, Minus One made $2.6 million this weekend, crawling back into the box office top 10. Its total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at $55 million, third among all foreign-language films released in the U.S.

Brush of the God, Keizo Murase's directorial debut after a lifetime in movies, is finally complete. It'll play at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March (link contains more images), and hopefully travel overseas very soon. Murase will also receive an Association Special Award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Clover Press shipped out copies of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett to Kickstarter backers, myself included. It's an excellent art book, and there are plenty of deleted and altered scenes mixed in with more familiar sequences. Believe it or not, Bennett drew the panel above for Kong: Skull Island—they considered having James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) flash back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. Not sure how that would've worked, as Ghidorah is generally not one to lie low for a few decades, but it's the first I've ever heard of it being considered. I'm hoping to post some more scans soon. Here's the order link.

Minecraft social media accounts teased a crossover with the Monsterverse, in what's likely to be the most high-profile of the Godzilla x Kong video game collaborations. The Mobzilla mod was created over 10 years ago, so this is long overdue.

The big toy news this week was Titanic Creations revealing the digital sculpt for its Yongary figure. This guy's had even less figures than Gorgo - I can only think of one, and very few of them were made - so expect massive demand. New Godzilla toys were also on display at London Toy Fair, both at the Playmates booth and among the plushies made by an unknown company.

[gojira-ekkusu]

[chernobog13]

YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP (1967)

Yes, 1967 truly was the year of the kaiju. Not only did every major studio in Japan release a kaiju film that year, but South Korea provided their own entry with this handsome guy.

The original Korean title of this film was The Great Monster Yongary; Yongary, Monster From the Deep is the title of the dubbed American version that appeared on television in 1969.

All prints of the original Korean version of Yongary are considered lost, and the American version is the only one that exists. Thus, when this film is shown in theaters or television in Korea people are watching the American version with Korean subtitles.

While this is not the greatest kaiju movie ever made, even in 1967, it's still a neat flick. It's fun to watch the Korean filmmakers do their best to match the kaju eiga that were produced in Japan.

And despite it's flaws, it's still a lot better than the 1999 reboot, Yonggary, which utilized a lot of pretty bad CGI (Yonggary, who hardly resembled his predecessor, was transparent through most of the film); had a silly, nearly incomprehensible story; and asked the audience to accept that jetpacks were standard issue for all US soldiers (it was NOT set in the future).

[randomdeinonychus]

Titanic Creations has launched the order page for their amazing Yongary action figure, sculpted by DopePope and with box art by Matt Frank.

Like their first Gorgo figure this operates like a crowd funding campaign where if 200 people pre-order that ensures the figure will be manufactured and the more folks order past that point the more accessories will be added.

Everyone has until June 30th to place orders, so there's time to save up if a person can't afford to order it right this moment.

I am so excited for this one, especially given that the flame breath plugs into an obvious nozzle in the mouth.

[erroseart]

Guilala, from "The X from Outer Space".

Yongary, from "Yongary"

Gologa, from "Gologa" (lost film as of 2023)

Wangmagwi from, "Space Monster Wangmagwi"

[rugops]

Yongary

[publicdomaincharacters]

Here is a public domain Kaiju,Yongary from Yongary, Monster from the Deep

[gigan91]

Day one of KaiJune! Yongary!

[deceitful-eyes]

WIP of my Huayangosaurus-inspired design for Yongary, for titanotober day 20

[dasnice]

Yongary: Monster From The Deep

An earthquake in central Korea awakens the colossal amphibious creature Yongary, that soon wreaks havoc through Seoul. 1967

[fandomlife-confessions]

[chernobog13]

Yongary on his way to Seoul for some good tteokbokki!

[randomdeinonychus]

Titanic Creations has launched the order page for their amazing Yongary action figure, sculpted by DopePope and with box art by Matt Frank.

Like their first Gorgo figure this operates like a crowd funding campaign where if 200 people pre-order that ensures the figure will be manufactured and the more folks order past that point the more accessories will be added.

Everyone has until June 30th to place orders, so there's time to save up if a person can't afford to order it right this moment.

I am so excited for this one, especially given that the flame breath plugs into an obvious nozzle in the mouth.

[schlock-luster-video]

On November 10, 2020, Yongary, Monster of the Deep was screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.

Here's some new Yongary art!