THE MT VOID
09/22/23 -- Vol. 42, No. 12, Whole Number 2294

Co-Editor: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Co-Editor: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
Sending Address: evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com
All material is the opinion of the author and is copyrighted by the
author unless otherwise noted.
All comments sent or posted will be assumed authorized for
inclusion unless otherwise noted.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send mail to eleeper@optonline.net
The latest issue is at <http://www.leepers.us/mtvoid/latest.htm>.
An index with links to the issues of the MT VOID since 1986 is at
<http://leepers.us/mtvoid/back_issues.htm>.

Topics:
Correction (pointed out by Allan Kugel)
Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov (Fortieth Anniversary)
(comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
GODZILLA '98 (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
THE GENERAL (letter of comment by Gary McGath)
This Week's Reading (random reading and "chuck-it" lists)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

===================================================================

TOPIC: Correction (pointed out by Allan Kugel)

Allan Kugel pointed out that the link in the 09/15/23 issue for my
review of PATRIOTIC GORE was wrong. It should be
<http://leepers.us/evelyn/reviews/wilson.htm#gore>. [-ecl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov (Fortieth Anniversary)
(comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)

On 26 September 1983, Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov probably
averted nuclear war. Shortly after the Soviet military had shot
down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the Soviet nuclear early-warning
system reported that a missile had been launched from the United
States. As Wikipedia describes it, "Petrov judged the reports to
be a false alarm, and his decision to disobey orders, against
Soviet military protocol, is credited with having prevented an
erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its
NATO allies that could have resulted in a large-scale nuclear war."

So on Tuesday, raise a glass to Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov.

[See also Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov and the Cuban Missile
Crisis.]

[-ecl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: GODZILLA '98 (film review by Mark R. Leeper)

[Now that GODZILLA, a.k.a. GODZILLA '98, is being re-issued on 4K
Ultra HD for its 25th anniversary, this seemed like a good time to
run this review from 1998.]

Capsule: This film has little to do with the Japanese monster
Godzilla. A mutated iguana grown to giant proportions gets loose
in New York City. Most of the thrills are really warmed-over
JURASSIC PARK. Matthew Broderick is wasted, but Jean Reno has some
nice moments. The comic approach too often falls flat and does
little for the story. Rating: 4 (0 to 10), low 0 (-4 to +4)

In 1954 there was an anti-American uproar in Japan. A Japanese
fishing boat had unknowingly caught fish contaminated by an
American nuclear test. The fishermen had been sickened but not in
time to stop the fish from going to market. Japanese newspapers
called the incident another American atomic attack on Japan. The
Toho film company took outrage from this incident as inspiration.
That combined with the recent successes of the film THE BEAST FROM
20,000 FATHOMS and the re-release of KING KONG inspired them to
make their own monster movie. This was the bleak and very angry
film GOJIRA. In the story Gojira was a mythical beast identified
with a 200-foot radioactive dinosaur who comes out of the Pacific.
Made on a very small post-war budget, it very ingeniously stretched
some inexpensive special effects to massive effect. Some of the
sets initially used wax miniatures of large structures to save
money. Under harsh studio lights these props wilted and melted.
As an inspiration an aerosol spray was added to the hand puppet
that was Gojira's head together with the wilt effect combined so
Gojira had breath that would fry chicken.

American film entrepreneur Joseph E. Levine saw GOJIRA and seemed
oblivious to the anti-American tenor of the film. He crudely added
additional footage with American actor Raymond Burr. The name
"GOJIRA" probably sounded too Japanese for a country that had so
recently been fought a vicious war with Japan, so the name of the
monster was slightly modified to be less Japanese sounding but to
still fit the same lip movements. The resulting film was redubbed
GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS. The Americans turned this little
anti-American film into a big international success, the first such
success that there had ever been in the Japanese film industry.
Godzilla has remained an enduring character in Japanese film, even
as the character has been repeatedly modified. Two series of
monster films have been built around him. Finally it was decided
little more could be milked from the character, and Toho killed him
off and licensed the copyright to be used by other studios. Roland
Emmerich who made the films STARGATE and INDEPENDENCE DAY
apparently wanted to do his own giant monster film. No name they
could give their creature would have the marquee value of calling
their beast Godzilla.

While the new Godzilla may indeed have been inspired by Toho's
monster, the thing that they have ended up with has more
differences than similarities. The new Godzilla is a mutant marine
iguana owing its unusual genetics to French nuclear testing in
French Polynesia. (Incidentally, there are no marine lizards in
French Polynesia. The only marine lizard in the world is the
marine iguana, and it is found only in the Galapagos Islands.) The
creature, who would appear to be about a hundred feet high, with
powerful enough hind legs that it walks bipedally, though bent
over. The massive creature destroys a number of boats on its way
from Polynesia to New York City, fulfilling a mission of his own.

Called in to investigate is Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (Matthew
Broderick), an expert in atomic mutation called from a three-year
study of earthworm mutation at Chernobyl. Nick follows in the wake
of destruction left by the never-seen titanic beast destroying
ships. Also following in the wake seems to be a sort of French
secret agent, Philippe Roche played Jean Reno of LEON (in the US:
THE PROFESSIONAL) and of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE.

A full-scale Godzilla movie with the sort of quality special
effects that the Japanese could not afford to lavish on the film
was, at least for me, an exciting idea. Unfortunately, this was
not the film I was hoping for. The approach of GODZILLA is
intended to be in large part comic, but only Jean Reno manages to
make the humor really funny. Michael Lerner plays New York City
Mayor Ebert and is made up to look like Roger Ebert. His assistant
is Gene and looks just enough like Gene Siskel for us to realize
that that is the point of the joke. But the joke just falls flat
as often as it is used. As with INDEPENDENCE DAY there are several
scenes that are homage to previous films, also just not very
amusing. The film painfully lacks logic. People do some totally
unmotivated actions to keep the plot going, though it often slows
to a snail's pace. Or the plot will move forward by contrivance.
Nico suddenly get the urge to do a very specialized chemical test
on Godzilla's blood. It turns out he is looking for a result he
apparently had no reason to suspect and which on the face of it
seems impossible. But of course it turns out to be just the key
chemical test to move the plot forward. Many of the effects and
the thrill scenes are borrowed directly from JURASSIC PARK. The
love story awkwardly thrown into the mix is totally superfluous.
The empty plotting and failed humor attempts are certainly not new
to Godzilla films, but it was hoped that they would be left behind
with the low-budget special effects flaws.

The Japanese I have talked to have been anxious to see what
GODZILLA was to be like with good effects and a serious plot. I am
sorry to say that I expect that they will be disappointed. I rate
this one a disappointing 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low 0 on the
-4 to +4 scale. [-mrl]

===================================================================

TOPIC: THE GENERAL (letter of comment by Gary McGath)

In response to Evelyn's comments on THE GENERAL (1926) in the
09/15/23 issue of the MT VOID, Gary McGath writes:

The movie isn't "inherently racist" any more than ALL QUIET ON THE
WESTERN FRONT is inherently pro-Kaiser; many Southerners enlisted
out of mistaken patriotism rather than for the sake of maintaining
slavery. In contrast, BIRTH OF A NATION is loaded to the brim with
the worst kind of racism, explicitly glorifying the KKK. I won't
give an opinion on GONE WITH THE WIND, since I don't think I've
ever seen the movie, and it's been decades since I read the novel.

THE GENERAL is also, to the best of my knowledge, the only movie
with a train wreck scene created by wrecking an actual bridge under
an actual train. [-gmg]

In article <16ab5d68-0b72-47da-b72d-53424ad4e815n@googlegroups.com>,
evelynchimelisleeper@gmail.com () wrote:

>
> The other article is about books that have been on your "to-read"
> for a long time but you haven't gotten to. For many people these
> are daunting volumes such as WAR AND PEACE or REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS
> PAST.

I started War and Peace the day before I flew to the 2016 Worldcon in
Kansas City. I finished it about three weeks after I got home. But it
was a great read.

My reading speed has gone right down in the last few years and I'm
getting through fewer books each year. I'm trying to avoid all bookshops.

On 9/24/23 11:42 AM, eleeper@optonline.net wrote:

> TOPIC: Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov (Fortieth Anniversary)
> (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
>
> On 26 September 1983, Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov probably
> averted nuclear war. Shortly after the Soviet military had shot
> down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the Soviet nuclear early-warning
> system reported that a missile had been launched from the United
> States. As Wikipedia describes it, "Petrov judged the reports to
> be a false alarm, and his decision to disobey orders, against
> Soviet military protocol, is credited with having prevented an
> erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its
> NATO allies that could have resulted in a large-scale nuclear war."
>
> So on Tuesday, raise a glass to Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov.
>
> [See also Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov and the Cuban Missile
> Crisis.]

My song about Petrov is on SoundCloud:
https://soundcloud.com/garym03062/stanislav-petrov

>
> In 1954 there was an anti-American uproar in Japan. A Japanese
> fishing boat had unknowingly caught fish contaminated by an
> American nuclear test. The fishermen had been sickened but not in
> time to stop the fish from going to market. Japanese newspapers
> called the incident another American atomic attack on Japan. The
> Toho film company took outrage from this incident as inspiration.
> That combined with the recent successes of the film THE BEAST FROM
> 20,000 FATHOMS and the re-release of KING KONG inspired them to
> make their own monster movie. This was the bleak and very angry
> film GOJIRA.

Gojira is an excellent movie, with obvious resonances from World War II.
Some people can't get past the often cheesy special effects, but
Serizawa's conflict and the scenes of mourning are very effective.

>
> ===================================================================
>
> TOPIC: THE GENERAL (letter of comment by Gary McGath)
>
> In response to Evelyn's comments on THE GENERAL (1926) in the
> 09/15/23 issue of the MT VOID, Gary McGath writes:
>
> The movie isn't "inherently racist" any more than ALL QUIET ON THE
> WESTERN FRONT is inherently pro-Kaiser; many Southerners enlisted
> out of mistaken patriotism rather than for the sake of maintaining
> slavery. In contrast, BIRTH OF A NATION is loaded to the brim with
> the worst kind of racism, explicitly glorifying the KKK. I won't
> give an opinion on GONE WITH THE WIND, since I don't think I've
> ever seen the movie, and it's been decades since I read the novel.
>
> THE GENERAL is also, to the best of my knowledge, the only movie
> with a train wreck scene created by wrecking an actual bridge under
> an actual train. [-gmg]
>
> Evelyn responds:
>
> Some have pointed out that there are various scenes of slavery in
> the background of the earlier scenes which show how the people of
> Marietta were slave-holders, yet we are supposed to identify with
> them. Certainly the film is not as racist as BIRTH OF A NATION or
> even GONE WITH THE WIND.
>
> And I'm pretty sure you're right about the train wreck. [-ecl]

Another Keaton movie, _Steamboat Bill, Jr._, likewise doesn't have
anything overtly racist but has a scene that plays on stereotypes.
Keaton's character climbs out of the water and boards a boat, panicking
a black guy who's playing the banjo. It feels like something out of a
minstrel show.

In another scene, the father (Steamboat Bill Senior) is looking for his
son, whom he hasn't seen since early childhood. He approaches someone
whose face is hidden but is wearing a carnation, as the son said he
would. The man turns, and we see that he's black. But it's the (white)
father who gets laughed at, and the scene isn't in bad taste.

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com