Castle Bravo: A Godzillaverse Retrospective

Director Jun Fukuda is back with a vengeance and putting on his best Honda impersonation in this alien invasion story, bringing back Godzilla's most famous nemesis (King Ghidorah) and introducing a new monster that would go on to be one of the fandom's all time favorites. The 70s are here, and Fukuda knows how to party. We're joined this week by Josh Fagundes (aka Anoriand), a creator with more ta...

A first-time director was handed a miniscule budget and told to make a Godzilla movie in a month. The result is predictably messy, but would go on to be a cult classic regardless. Despite being ostensibly a family movie, we think we probably weren't supposed to watch this one sober. We're joined this week by friend and fellow SDGC host Brittney aka Peachia. This was her first Godzilla movie ever....

Dang y'all who's ready for a downer episode? Honda made a movie that should have ranked among his finest if it wasn't just a little bit off, devoid of the love and passion normally found in these movies. Turns out making movies is hard when your workplace is falling apart and one of your closest collaborators dies right as you start making it. Social Media Links The Show - twitter.com/CastleBravoP...

It's time for the most infamous Godzilla movie ever made: All Monsters Attack, aka Godzilla's Revenge. Director Ishiro Honda returns for this *explicitly made for children* movie about standing up to bullies and getting your money's worth out of old footage. During the process, we come to a final head against the miserable and frequently racist dubbing practices these movies endured for their orig...

For like the fifth time now... it's time. If Ghidorah the Three Headed Monsters was a coming together moment for Toho's most popular giant movie monsters, Destroy All Monsters was a coming together moment for every monster they could feasibly cram into the thing. Starring 11 or 12 monsters (do we count Kamacuras' webbed up corpse?), the Showa era's intended finale is the version of the alien invas...

We'll never be able to go back to a time before Minilla. Godzilla returns to the hands of director Jun Fukuda for another island adventure and finds himself an unwilling adoptive parent. It's the first appearance of the most infamous and widely-hated character in the Godzilla franchise, but certainly not the last. At least Godzooky could fly. We're joined this week by Lewis White, deputy editor at...

We return to Ishiro Honda and the rest of the Dream Team as they take another crack at a King Kong movie for Toho. Produced in partnership with Rankin Bass, King Kong Escapes is a lesser known Kong outing, and was originally intended as an adaptation of an even lesser known western animated series. Honda's pulp sensibilities prove far more memorable than anything that could have been pulled from t...

A new director enters the fray! Honda's busy with other projects, so this Godzilla film (famously almost a King Kong movie) went to director Jun Fukuda, who worked under Honda on several movies. In fact, for the first time so far on Castle Bravo, the entire Dream Team has taken the back seat. Unlike Godzilla Raids Again, it works out; it's recognizably Godzilla at its heart, but with a different f...

It's sort of a sequel to Frankenstein vs Baragon, but it's DEFINITELY a way better movie. Join us as we experience this highly influential kaiju horror classic for the first time. Seriously, the horror roots are strong in this one, in a way that Honda hasn't really done with his kaiju movies since Rodan. We're joined this week by fellow podcaster Case Aiken, from the Certain POV network. Most rele...

Can we pretend this was the start of Season 2? Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah all return for this explosive and personality-packed pulp sci-fi epic, featuring the Godzilla franchise's most famous alien antagonists: the Xiliens of Planet X. It's a worthy sequel to Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, and maybe one of the best overall times we've had with a movie yet. We're joined this week by the...

We're back, but Godzilla's not (yet)! Castle Bravo returns for Season Two, opening up with cult classic pulp scifi movie Frankenstein vs Baragon, also known as Frankenstein Conquers the World. It's a concept Toho had been trying to get off the ground for years, and it... doesn't hold up that well. Not a great start for the Dream Team this season. Get ready for the death of ideology. Social Media L...

It's the finale of Season One, and we're here with a movie that defined a franchise and gave us Godzilla's first turn from villain to hero. If King Kong vs Godzilla introduced the giant monster wrestling match, and Mothra vs Godzilla set the tone, then it's Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster that finalized the formula that would define the series for the next 20 years.  Social Media Links The...

This week features a slight cooldown between major Godzilla movies with the mixed-est bag of all time. Two part diamond heist mystery, one part giant monster movie, all fever dream, It's hard to call Dogora a cohesive vision. However, there's a lot of diamond in this rough, with memorable scenes and characters and a couple of the greatest shots of Honda's career so far. Dogora may have been made i...

We're joined this week by Super Deluxe Gamescast cohost Justin Drew, aka Roboplato, to talk about one of the most highly regarded Godzilla films of all time: Mothra vs Godzilla (not to be confused with Godzilla vs Mothra, a completely different movie made 30 years later). The themes and comedic, family-friendly tone of the original Mothra film blend with Godzilla's larger-scale destruction and mon...

When an undersea kingdom threatens global domination, Japan must take a superweapon designed to revive the Japanese Empire and use it instead to protect the world. Enter the Gotengo, a flying undersea warship with a big honkin' drill and more gizmos than the Mach Five. This machine kills fascists. Like... a lot of them. And sends a sea dragon packing in the process. Join us as we discuss a scifi a...

It's time for a high point of the season with the classic horror film Matango. A slow, tense survival movie with elements of body horror, this film is loaded with political messaging. Fans of The Last Of Us may feel at home with the cordyceps-like fungus overtaking the cast in this movie. Sure, the people are turning into mushroom monsters... but you could argue most of them were monsters well bef...

We're joined this week by our first of two guests this season, dad and Castle Bravo theme song composer David Van Dyke, to talk about a pivotal moment for the Godzilla franchise in a grudge match that changed a franchise. Grab your berry juice and fried octopus as we dive into King Kong vs Godzilla, the movie that may have actually started it all. "It all" being, like, all the monster fighting mov...

When it comes to the filmography of director Ishiro Honda, it may be best to keep as few expectations as possible, because every so often you get hit with a curveball. Gorath is, as best we can describe it, an absurdist film about nihilism and perseverance in the face of almost certain doom. There's also a giant walrus for about 5 minutes. You will dissociate watching this movie. Social Media Link...

The Queen of the Monsters arrives! Mothra may mostly be known for being a frequent sidekick/enemy to Godzilla, but starting with her debut film instead of a Godzilla appearance really changes the foundation for her identity. It's an excellent movie, full of both character and social commentary. Shame about the blackface though. If you've ever scoffed at the idea of a giant moth as a movie monster....

There's an interesting story behind the troubled production of Varan the Unbelievable. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily translate to a particularly interesting movie to watch. On the other hand, it gives us an excellent opportunity to talk about how things like studio interference, bad American recuts, and salvaging movies in the edit room. Plus, Charlotte learns about a new type of lizard,...

Invaders from the stars come for our land and our women in this strange cult classic pulp scifi film from Godzilla director Ishiro Honda. It's an interesting movie to watch, but also one that attempts multiple fronts of social and political commentary. It's a strange and at times messy movie, but one that helps establish a running set of political themes in Honda's filmography. Also, technically n...

It's time for the Kentuckiest monster movie ever made. Godzilla's taking a break for a bit, but director Ishiro Honda will stay busy, with Rodan being the first of many non-Godzilla films to eventually become connected to Godzilla himself. It's honestly a better spiritual sequel to the original Godzilla than the actual original Godzilla was. One thing's for sure, neither of us are taking any suito...

Godzilla sees a quick turnaround with a new sequel from a different director. It's an attempt at capturing the magic of the first film, but falls short in both execution and message. Interestingly, this is the only movie in our first season of Castle Bravo that comes from a director other than original Godzilla director Ishiro Honda, and we think it unfortunately shows. Still, it's a fun movi...

Our series begins where the film series begins: the original 1954 Godzilla. We talk about the historical context of the movie's release, explain the origin of our show's name, and tell the story (as best we know it) of director Ishiro Honda. That last part is important, because Honda's works comprise almost the entirety of our first season of Castle Bravo, and also lay the foundation for what woul...

With Season 1 currently in production, it's time for Derek and Charlotte talk the basics of the upcoming series. Call it a teaser, a preview, a trailer, or an explainer, but we call it Episode 0. Social Media Links The Show - twitter.com/CastleBravoPod Derek - twitter.com/DerbyCityDerek Charlotte - twitter.com/viscerocomplex