THE WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *cosmological, sociological*

I'm reasonably sure that when I saw WAR in a theater in the late sixties, it was an English dub that had excised all references to WAR's predecessor, FRANKENSTEIN CONQUERS THE WORLD. I also saw CONQUERS in the same period, and made no connections between the two movies.

The streaming English dub I just watched, however, includes references both in the spoken dialogue and in the subtitles, so that it's much clearer that WAR is a sequel. I don't mind that the subtitles don't always match the spoken words-- sometimes, this can be rather amusing-- but some of the spoken dialogue is simply not duplicated in any way.

A greater inconsistency arises from the use of the viewpoint characters from the first film, Bowen and Sueko-- an inconsistency particularly puzzling since WAR reunited the director and screenplay-scribe from CONQUERS. Bowen and Sueko are now Stewart and Akemi, even though the latter characters seem to have had exactly the same experiences with the Frankenstein Creature as did the former ones. Kumi Mizuno plays the role of Akemi in a manner indistinguishable from her portrayal of Sueko, and perhaps Toho hoped that new American actor Russ Tamblyn would be at least as good as Adams. Unfortunately, Tamblyn projects almost no conviction in his scientist-role and seems to be sleepwalking in search of a paycheck.

Nevertheless, the screenplay creates a palpable sense of mystery with regard to the recrudescent Monster, who now shows up as an equally large humanoid, but now covered in green fur. This creature, later dubbed Gaira, arises from the sea and immediately begins preying on human beings. Stewart and Akemi, upon learning of the giant's existence, are baffled, since New Frankenstein only ate lower animals. The green giant also seems to dwell largely in the sea, coming out at night to devour humans, and avoiding the light of day.

The mystery is solved when the army corners Gaira in the mountains. Gaira seems near destruction, but a second giant, brown in color and later named "Sanda," intervenes to guide his companion to safety. The scientists, who have almost nothing else to do in the movie, swiftly theorize that Brown Sanda is the original Frankenstein, though in the dubs I've seen they don't bother to explain why he's covered in brown fur now. As for Green Gaira, the scientists decide that he may have evolved from cells that Sanda lost while passing through the ocean, and that these cells then evolved into a seagoing, cannibalistic monster. In due time, the military is able to track down the two giants once more, but before that takes place, Sanda (who, like Frankenstein, cannot talk) discovers for the first time that Gaira's been scarfing down human beings. The giants fight, and their epic battle takes them out to sea, where the military attacks them both with laser beams. Conveniently, a dormant volcano erupts and seems to destroy both of the "Gargantuas."

Though there's not as much human interest in WAR compared to CONQUERS, Akemi is allowed to have a few "King Kong" moments with the gentle Sanda. The big battle-scenes also receive much more attention this time, with the usual excellent use of miniatures. It's of minor interest that whereas CONQUERS only showed an inhuman creature guilty of anthropophagy, Gaira is more like a reversal of Sanda's humanity, revealing in chowing down on humans-- though to be sure, he never eats enough to sustain such a titanic body!