Well, it's October and I'm watching various horror-type movies both on DVD and on Turner Classic Movies.  Here are a couple of reviews.

Recent DVD reviews

 

Gojira               ***

1954

d. Ishiro Honda

 

I had seen the American version of the first Godzilla movie starring Raymond Burr several years ago but didn’t remember much about it.  Mostly I remembered murky cinematography.  A few weeks ago, however, I was listening to a podcast called Subject: Cinema presented by a couple in the Boston area who talk about a wide variety of movies.  One show was devoted entirely to Godzilla movies since one of the hosts is a huge fan of Japanese monster movies.  She was so passionate in defending this franchise that I thought I would revisit the first movie.  Luckily, the original Japanese version (without Raymond Burr) called Gojira was released on DVD in September.  Apparently, when the movie was edited for release in the U.S., 20 minutes were cut but the new DVD restores that footage. 

 

I was pleasantly surprised by Gojira.  Yes, Godzilla still looks like a man in a suit destroying a miniature set, but what makes the movie work is the setting and the consistent tone.  The film deliberately evokes Japanese fears about the aftermath of the atomic bomb that ended World War II.  Despite the science-fiction premise, the movie plays it straight and the grim tone gives the movie the right atmosphere.  If the movie had been set in New York, there probably wouldn’t be much to distinguish it from other 1950’s era monster movies.  I’m definitely curious about the other movies in the Godzilla series. 

 

 

 

The Curse of Frankenstein        ***

1957

d. Terence Fisher

 

This is the first entry in a long line of horror movies produced by Britain’s Hammer Films.  I haven’t seen very many of these, but I believe that many of them have vivid color cinematography (the better to show blood) and excellent sets and costumes.  In this version of Mary Shelley’s classic novel about a man playing God, Peter Cushing plays Baron Frankenstein, a talented scientist who goes too far when he tries to create life from death.  Christopher Lee plays the “Creature.”  Even with a running time of less than 90 minutes, the film seems a bit too leisurely paced but doesn’t drag.  The acting is good and the familiar story is told well.