The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

Audio Commentary: Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster (1964)

Join Byrd, Tom, Matt, and Kevin (of Maser Patrol/author of Kaiju for Hipsters) for an audio commentary on 1964's Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster!  Join us as we discuss some trivia, history, and even do some myth busting on Ishiro Honda's Showa classic.  There's not much to do in quarantine, so why not watch a movie with us?  Listen in and enjoy!

Virus (1980)

Byrd and Matt emerge from COVID-19 quarantine to discuss Kinji Fukusaku's pandemic panic film Virus, arguably the most ambitious Japanese film ever made.  Along for the ride are authors John LeMay (The Lost Films) and Kevin Derendorf (Kaiju for Hipsters, Maser Patrol blog).  The film shows how a fast acting virus spreads across the globe and wipes out all of the human race except for a small population in Antarctica. Based on a novel by Sakyo Kumatsu (Submersion of Japan), Virus had the largest budget of any Japanese film at the time and had a star studded cast of international stars including Glenn Ford, Masao Kusakari, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Sonny Chiba, Chuck Connors, Henry Silva, Bo Svenson, Robert Vaughn and more.  So how does the lofty disaster film fare?  Listen and find out!

Live at G-Fest 2019: Bringing Godzilla Down To Size with Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski!

On July 12, 2019 at G-Fest, Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski held a retrospective panel on Bringing Godzilla Down to Size, the documentary feature film that they wrote and produced for Classic Media.  Directed by Norman England, this eye opening documentary went to great lengths to highlight the history and enduring legacy of Japanese special effects films.  Join Ed and Steve as they share highlights of the film give a behind the scenes look at how it all came together! 

Thanks to Ed and Steve for letting us share this and to Christopher Marti for recording the audio.

Live at G-Fest 2019: Akira Ifukube: The Man, The Music, The Monsters with Erik Homenick, Reiko Yamada, John DeSentis and more!

On July 14, 2019, Akira Ifukube student Reiko Yamada and pianist Patrick Godon performed a piano concert of the composer's music at G-Fest 2019.  Following that concert, Ifukube's biographer Erik Homenick hosted a panel discussion with Yamada as well as conductor/composer John DeSentis (Kaiju Crescendo concert), film historian Patrick Galvan, and Japanese film fan Tyler E. Martin. The panel discussed Akira Ifukube‘s life and career as one of Japan‘s foremost composers. Several of the maestro‘s film scores, such as Godzilla (1954) and Rodan (1956) were closely analyzed.  Enjoy!

Toho's Tokusatsu Apocalypse

 

Byrd and Matt are joined by Chris Marti to discuss two apocalyptic Toho disaster films. First up, we talk 1961’s harrowing The Last War, a story chronicling the events leading up to World War III and the helpless civilians stuck in the middle.  Featuring excellent performances by Akira Takarada, and Frankie Sakai and some of Eiji Tsuburaya’s very best effects work. We follow that up with the banned end of the world epic Prophecies of Nostradamus from 1974.  This bizarre film shows us giant slugs, nuclear explosions, food shortages, cannibals, mutants, giant bats, and everything in between!  We’ll discuss both films, as well as numerous real life nuclear scares throughout history, Nostradamus, aborted sequels, Toei’s rare apocalypse drama The Final War, and more!  Join us as we talk about the more depressing corners of Toho science fiction in this stacked episode!

 

Godzilla Goes Criterion and Ultraman Gets The Blus (w/ the Maser Patrol Podcast)

More of Byrd's appearance on blogger/author Keven Derendorf's Maser Patrol Podcast with Justin Mullis sees the trio review Criterion's recent Showa Godzilla box set.  Also discussed is the complicated history behind why the set turned out the way it did and what content did/did not make the cut.  The two also discuss Mill Creek's massive and ambitious Ultraman release slate, as well as discuss the Ultra Q and Ultraman blu rays.  It is a good time for tokusatsu on home video, so enjoy the discussion!

The History of Godzilla on Home Video (w/ the Maser Patrol Podcast)

Byrd appears on author/blogger Kevin Derendorf's Maser Patrol podcast with blogger Justin Mullis (Man Creates Dinosaurs) to discuss the history of the Godzilla series on home video in North America.  We go through the various VHS, DVD, and Blu-Ray releases, all leading up to Criterion's long anticipated box set (which will be reviewed in detail in part 2 of this podcast).  So relax and get ready to take a trip down memory lane!

Garuda (2004)

Byrd and Matt wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving with a review of the 2004 Thai film, Garuda!  (Look, there aren't a lot of movies about giant birds so this was the best we could do this time).  We discuss the film's themes and give our full review, as well as its oddly popular status as a "kaiju" movie.  But first, we talk about the news of Godzilla vs. Kong's delay and Marvel's upcoming Ultraman comics.

Monsters, Mayhem and Mythbusting: Interview with Monster Maker Steve Wang!

For this very special edition of the podcast, we are joined by director and prolific special effects legend, Steve Wang!  Steve directed the Guyver 1 and 2 (among other films) and has created special effects and monsters for Predator, Evil Dead 2, the Monster Squad, Beetlejuice, Gremlins 2, and WAY more.  Steve joins us for a candid discussion where he talks about a variety of topics, including his early love for monsters, breaking out with Predator, quitting the first Power Rangers movie, the hardships of the Guyver films, his work on the 1998 Godzilla movie, transitioning into directing, producing Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight and more!  We also bust some LONG standing myths about Robocop, Ultraman, and Primus (yes, the band)!

Alternative Japanese Vampires and Frankensteins (The Last Frankenstein, Marebito, Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl)

Byrd, Matt and Tom have a cure for your Halloween hangover with this look at several Japanese films that took a different approach to two of the most famous monsters of all time- vampires and the Frankenstein monster!  First up, we have the 1991 oddity The Last Frankenstein, based on the stage play of the same name.  Then we have Takashi Shimizu's surreal 2004 low budget Marebito.  And finally, we have the insane crossover, Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, directed by exploitation mavericks Yoshihiro Nishimura and Naoyuki Tomomatsu.  Along the way, we discuss monsters watching porn, hollow earth theory, the Shaver mysteries, ganguru culture, and laffy taffy.  Join us and get through your post-Halloween blues!