Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guests Jess Dunne and Richard Drumm, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.
This week, Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One.
Unable to follow through on his assignment, kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima returns to the base on Odo island. However, his trip is interrupted by a strange and mysterious beast that the islanders call “Gojira.” Kōichi survives the experience and returns to postwar Tokyo, to find a city and nation in ruins. However, it quickly becomes clear that Godzilla is not finished with Kōichi – or Japan – yet.
At time of recording, it was not ranked on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 6th June 2024.
- Godzilla Minus One at the Internet Movie Database.
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- J. Hoberman writes about Godzilla for Criterion, January 2012.
- James Grebey at SyFy considers the American edit of the original Godzilla movie, King of the Monsters, April 2021.
- Erin Brookins at Collider writes about the removal of the atomic subtext from Godzilla, King of the Monsters, November 2023.
- Kimmy Yan at NBC writes about the tension between Japanese and American understandings of Godzilla, August 2020.
- Brian Merchant at Vice offers a brief history of the concept of Godzilla, August 2013.
- Jim Knipfel at Den of Geek considers the complicated legacy of Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla, May 2019.
- Sara Century at SyFy looks back on Godzilla: The Series, May 2019.
- Marc Weingarten at The Los Angeles Times considers the success of Godzilla: The Album, May 1998.
- Rolling Stone offers a brief history of the controversies and allegations surrounding Sean “Diddy” Combs, May 2024.
- Nathaniel Meyersohn at CNN offers a brief history of the Happy Meal, October 2022.
- Adam B. Vary at Variety reports on the Happy Meal toys for Captain America: Brave New World, May 2024.
- Godzilla teaser, 1998.
- Claudia Eller at The Los Angeles Times considers the relationship between Sony and Toho over Godzilla, June 2000.
- Samantha Nelson at Polygon looks at the co-existing American and Japanese Godzilla productions, March 2024.
- Scott Mendelson at The Wrap considers how the separate Godzilla franchises can coexist, December 2023.
- Gini Kopecky at The New York Times writes about the production and development of Flipper, May 1996.
- The New York Times reports on the death of André the Seal, July 1987.
- Melissa Hobson at The Guardian reflects on the complicated legacy of Free Willy, February 2024.
- Gabriela Cowperthwaite talks to Vulture about the overlap between Blackfish and Free Willy, July 2013.
- Godzilla Minus One wins the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, March 2024.
- Patrick Brzeski at The Hollywood Reporter considers the Oscar success of Godzilla Minus One, March 2024.
- Alison de Souza at The Straits Times reports on Steven Spielberg’s obsession with Godzilla Minus One, June 2024.
- Samantha Bergeson at IndieWire reflects on Christopher Nolan’s fondness for Godzilla Minus One, March 2024.
- Takashi Yamazaki talks to Midnight Eye about his life and his career, October 2006.
- Mark Schilling at Variety looks at a wave of postwar nostalgia sweeping through Japanese pop culture, September 2009.
- David Leheny at The Los Angeles Times considers the resurgence of nationalism in Japanese popular consciousness, August 2019.
- Godzilla: Menace from the South Seas by Yomota Inuhiko, published in Japanese Texts and Contexts, December 2007.
- Mark Schilling writes at The Japan Times about the somewhat charged reception to Godzilla Minus One in Japan, March 2024.
- Alexander Wallace writes about The Great War of Archimedes at Never Was magazine, December 2021.
- Mizuki Samuelson writes about The Eternal Zero at The Shenandoah Film Collaborative, December 2020.
- Mark Schilling writes at The Japanese Times about the controversy over The Eternal Zero, February 2014.
- Mark Schilling at The South China Morning Post reports on the old wounds reopened by The Eternal Zero, May 2014.
- Yun Feiyang at The Global Times expresses concerns about the increased nostalgic militarism present in Japanese blockbusters, April 2014.
- Kirk Spitzer at Time reports on Eternal Zero author Naoki Hyakuta’s denial of the Nanjing massacre, February 2014.
- The New York Times reports on Douglas MacArthur’s proposal to attack China and North Korea with atomic bombs, April 1964.
- R.W. Brands at The Smithsonian discusses Harry Truman’s firing of Douglas MacArthur, September 2016.
- Nicholas Driscoll at Toho Kingdom considers Godzilla the Ride, September 2022.
- Steve Sundberg at Old Tokyo considers the cultural and historical importance of the Ginza District, December 2018.
- Ross Melnick and Ken Roe celebrate the Nippon Gekijo Theatre at Cinema Treasures, July 2012.
- Tony Long at Wired looks back on the history of the ejector seat, January 2011.
- The Decatur Herald reports the first kamikaze attack of the Second World War, November 1944.
- Tony Perry at The Los Angeles Times writes about the legacy of the first kamikaze attack of the Second World War, October 1994.
- Takashi Yamazaki talks to IGN about how the end of Godzilla Minus One ties into larger franchise lore, May 2024.
- Mikikazu Komatsu at Crunchyroll reports on the popularity and success of Godzilla vs. Biollante, July 2014.
- Alexander Valentino at ScreenRant looks at the various easter eggs and references buried in Godzilla Minus One, June 2024.
- Luke Mahony at Japan Today considers the complicated relationship that Japanese culture has to suicide, June 2022.
- Andrew Chambers at The Guardian considers efforts to change the Japanese perception of suicide, August 2010.
- Anthony Breznican at Vanity Fair considers Zack Snyder’s relationship to Justice League, February 2021.
- Eric Vilas-Boas at Vulture considers the delay in getting The Boy and the Heron on streaming, April 2024.
- David Crow at Den of Geek makes an argument in favour of the streaming release of Godzilla Minus One, June 2024.
- Jodi Walker at The Ringer makes an argument for “the Summer of Glen Powell”, June 2024.
- Glen Powell talks to GQ about attending Tom Cruise’s intense film school, May 2024.
- Glen Powell talks about his slug, June 2022.
- Timothée Chalamet talks to GQ about receiving a lit of Tom-Cruise-approved stunts, October 2023.
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Filed under: This Just In | Tagged: blockbusters, Godzilla, godzilla minus one, imdb, japan, japanese nationalism, jess dunne, podcast, richard drumm, The 250, This Just In |
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