The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

In the latest in weekly series leading up to Kong: Skull Island, we take a quick break from the King of the Apes to talk about his spiritual little brother, Mighty Joe Young! We discuss the Willis O'Brien/Ray Harryhausen classic from 1949, as well as the 1998 Disney remake. We'll discuss both films, Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen, Rick Baker, and the advantages of practical effects over CGI. How...

To kick off our weekly King Kong spectacular to lead up to the release of Kong: Skull Island, we set our sights on the Japanese King Kong films. Join us as we discuss Toho's King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and King Kong Escapes (1967) at length. We also touch on the two lost Japanese Kong films, the American/Japanese cartoon The King Kong Show, Kong's appearance on Toho's Go! Greenman, unmade Japane...

For the second part of our interview, director/writer/critic/translator/photographer Norman England tells us all about the art of subtitling, working with Takashi Miike on the film Yakuza Apocalypse, his time working with Sushi Typhoon, being an American film critic in Japan, Japan's treatment of foreigners, the Japanese film industry, why he isn't currently directing another film, and the amount...

Kaiju Transmissions welcomes its first Guest of Honor by welcoming (all the way from Japan!) writer/director/critic/translator/photographer Norman England to the show! As many fans know, Norman wasn't only the director of the Bringing Godzilla Down To Size documentary, but he's also spent MANY hours on Japanese film sets, including Gamera 3 and many of the Godzilla films (in addition to countless...

Byrd and Matt are joined by musician and film music connoisseur Chris Marti of Cosmic Monster to discuss the music of kaiju films! We go discuss the various composers of kaiju films, our favorite composers and scores, and just how important music is in kaiju films. We follow that up with a monster music playlist that Chris put together for us, which includes well known tracks and oddball obscuriti...

In the holiday spirit, Byrd, Matt and Eric give the gift of an intro to the world of kaiju collecting! They discuss what their first Godzilla collectibles were, and how their collecting habits have evolved with age. Matt and Eric talk their love of kaiju toys and Byrd discusses why he loves Japanese kaiju books that he can't read. Matt and Eric also give advice for people new to collecting kaiju t...

To celebrate the release of a new Star Wars film this coming weekend, Byrd and Matt got together at 2:00 AM to take a delirious, sleep deprived look at two completely bonkers Japanese Star Wars knock-offs from the 1970s. Toho's War in Space (1977) and Toei's Message From Space (1978) were both put into production to capitalize on the success of the original Star Wars, which was going to be release...

On our very first audio commentary, Byrd, Matt and Tom tackle Ishiro Honda's Godzilla's Revenge (aka All Monsters Attack)! This oddball kids movie is far and away one of the most maligned entries in the Godzilla series. We'll discuss the history and sociopolitical themes of the film, as well as the pros and cons. Does this movie deserve its reputation as one of the worst kaiju movies ever or shoul...

On this special post-Election Day episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by Japanese culture guru and musician Chris Marti (of the one man band Cosmic Monster) to discuss the loaded messages behind Shin Godzilla. Arguably the most politically charged Godzilla film to date, what exactly is the film trying to say? And how much of it has been overlooked or misinterpreted by fans outside of Japan? What mad...

Our October horror series concludes with our Halloween episode! Byrd and Matt are joined by Trev (of If It Bleeds We Can Kill it and Days of Future Podcast) to talk about Nobuhiko Obayashi's HOUSE, one of the oddeste genre films in Toho's Showa filmography. Based on a story by his ten year old daughter, Obayashi's film is truly one of the most unique cinematic experiences one could hope to see. HO...

NEW EPISODE: On this installment of our October horror series, we are once again joined by Tom of the Second Run Podcast to look at Ishiro Honda's cult classic Matango (aka Attack of the Mushroom People) from 1963. This is stylish horror film is arguably the most layered (and bleak) monster movie to come out of Toho in the Showa era. Join us as we discuss the movie's themes of isolation, societal...

For the next spooky October episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by Tom of the Second Run Podcast to take a look at Toho's Dracula Trilogy (aka The Bloodthirsty Trilogy) of the 70s. Many people are aware of Toho's interpretations of King Kong and Frankenstein, but their stylish Dracula films got lost in the shuffle here in the States with only the second and third films getting brief television runs...

On this episode, we take a super thorough look at Shin Godzilla, the latest entry in the franchise. After 12 years, Toho have come back to release a what is arguably the most divisive and unique entry in the long running series. There is SO much to talk about wiht this movie that we had to get some special guests to help us! Join Byrd and Matt with special guests Eric, Tom (from the Second Run Pod...

Happy October! To kick off a month of horror-centric episodes, we will be looking at Toho's take on the Frankenstein Monster by examining 1965's Frankenstein Conquers The World, and its sequel The War of the Gargantuas. We are joined by special guest Jelli of the Second Run Podcast to talk about both movies in depth and even touch upon the Gargantuas' incredibly odd post-film appearances. With the...

Just in time to get us caught up to Shin Godzilla's US theatrical release, we are joined on this episode by special guest Eric to wrap up our Godzilla Recap. We'll be diving into 2014's big budget Hollywood Godzilla reboot from Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. We discuss the movie's long origin, the pros and cons, MUTOs, and we debate whether or not Ford Brody is the worst human character in Godzil...

The newest installment focuses on the third Japanese series of Godzilla films. After the Tristar movie, Toho took matters into their own hands and started a new series of films, which lasted from 1999-2004. How do these six films hold up over a decade later? Listen and find out!

Our Godzilla series recap continues with the most despised entry in the series. Roland Emmerich's GODZILLA (1998)! Far and away the most divisive take on Godzilla and the most maligned entry in the series by G-Fans. But does the movie deserve this reputation? Is it as bad as everyone says? And does any of it hold up all these years later? Would it REALLY be a better movie without the "Godzilla" ti...

Byrd and Matt go all the way back to the giant ape that started it all. 1933's classic KING KONG! We talk about the origins of the film, as well as how it and its (also 1933) sequel SON OF KONG hold up after over 80 years. We also discuss how King Kong changed the cinema landscape and the massive impact it had on Japanese special effects artists and film makers. Do Byrd and Matt find the movie as...

Byrd and Matt talk their way through all 7 Heisei Godzilla films. Now that these movies are 20-some years old, how do they hold up? Listen and find out as we dissect each Godzilla movie from Godzilla (1984) through Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995). Before we talk movies, we discuss news and events with the announcement of the Godzilla anime film and Byrd reports back from the Mothra Rifftrax event an...

On this episode, Byrd, Matt and special guest and Gamera super-fan Eric discuss the Showa Gamera series in all of its weird wackiness. With the benefit of Eric's gift to take the original Gamera films seriously, they discuss the merits (or lacktherof depending on who you ask) of all 8 original films. Spinning turtles! Hot alien girls! UFOs! Dictator sharks from space! Maggot infested elephant trun...

On this episode, Byrd and Matt are joined by special guest Eric to discuss their summer convention experiences! Byrd reports back from G-Fest 2016. Matt and Eric discuss their experience at FandomFest where they met and dined with three Godzilla suit actors and Ultraman himself! But first, a news roundup with Shin Godzilla's opening weekend box office, the trailer for Kong: Skull Island, the trail...

On this episode, Byrd and Matt look at the Showa Godzilla series from Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster all the way through the conclusion with Terror of MechaGodzilla. But first, the two discuss Gareth Edwards' exit from Godzilla 2, which transforms into a tangent where Byrd goes on a fiery rant about the problems with fandom and entitlement in the internet age.

On this episode, Byrd and Matt take a look at the standalone kaiju movies of the Showa era. Godzilla wasn't the only one dominating the screen in the early days! We discuss a handful of entries from the Golden age of Toho as we discuss some of their non-Godzilla kaiju films. On the table this time are Rodan, Mothra, Varan the Unbelievable, Dogora, and Yog: Monster from Space. But first, we have ne...

Byrd and Matt start their full series recap of the entire Godzilla series by taking a look at the first six films in the series. But first, some quick Daimajin news and the run down on how exactly we're going to recap the series.

On the premiere episode of Kaiju Transmissions, Byrd and Matt discuss just what made them Godzilla/kaiju fans to begin with. They'll talk about their first exposure to the genre and what has kept them involved through all these years. But first they share their reactions to the Godzilla Resurgence trailer, the first images from the Power Rangers movie and more!