Team Sanda or Gaira? ‘The War of the Gargantuas’ Dares to Ask Which Kaiju Monsters Have Souls
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First, read the spoiler-free BAIT: a weird and wonderful pick from any time in film. Then, come back for the BITE: a breakdown of all the spoiler-y bits you’d want to unpack when exiting a theater.
The Bait: Kaiju Cain and Abel Take Tokyo
As a horror and sci-fi subgenre, Kaiju was built on the promise of towering monsters threatening to squish entire cities on a whim. From North Korea’s bonkers “Pulgasari” (1995) to the global phenomenon that is Godzilla and the MonsterVerse, you’d be hard-pressed to find a mega-monster flick that doesn’t classify as midnight in some way.
But even measured against that vast category and the entire of Ishirō Honda’s legendary filmography, the writer/director’s “The War of the Gargantuas” (1966) is without question a cult classic. Also known as “Frankenstein’s Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira” — more on that later! — this loose sequel pits two hulking, hairy humanoids against each other in an uncharacteristically cerebral battle for the safety of Tokyo.
“West Side Story” star Russ Tamblyn appears here (replacing Tab Hunter during pre-production) as scientist Dr. Paul Stewart. He’s flanked by the dreamy Kaiju regular Kimi Mizuno as Dr. Akemi Togawa — who played a different but similar character in the movie this one in technically following up. Paul and Akemi are joined by the dry-as-sawdust Kenji Sahara as Dr. Yuzo Majida at their lab, where many of this movie’s most important but least exciting scenes take place.
A heavy military presence is desperate for the trio’s help after a strange creature arrives on the island’s shores. When a massive killer octopus erupts from the sea — attacking a commercial fishing boat and eating its crew — a strange green giant appears alongside it and decides to fight back. It seems like the day is saved… but after the two do battle and the squid loses, the apex predator turns its attention back to the toy-like fishing vessel and seeks out humans as snacks.
The researchers are questioned about an old specimen of theirs that might be related to this mysterious beast. Could this green…THING be none other than their old pal Frankenstein? In 1995’s “Frankenstein vs. Baragon” (also known as “Frankenstein Conquers the World”), the Imperial Japanese Navy suffers the wrath of Frankenstein’s obliterated heart when their post-World War II experiments on the mythical organ — bizarrely gifted to them by Nazis? — collides with the bombing of Hiroshima. Officials are almost sure Frankenstein is dead, but could his offspring carry on?
It’s certainly possible considering Frankenstein disappeared near Mount Fuji and his body was never found, but Akemi and Paul aren’t so sure. Like that blind hermit from “The Bride of Frankenstein” (you know, the one who just wanted to smoke weed and party with his new friend?), they knew the monster they worked with to be gentle. Revisionist flashbacks — which mimic scenes from “Frankenstein vs. Baragon” but replace Frankenstein with a brown version of the green, octopus-fighting Gargantua now wanted by the military — reflect a gentler, even child-like being. For better or worse, that monster loved Akemi, Paul, and the rest of their team back then.
Modern audiences wanted a giant lizard and equally giant gorilla to kiss in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” for a reason. Much like Mary Shelley’s famously misunderstood collection of corpse parts, Kaiju monsters are easy to root for and remarkably sympathetic when presented in the right circumstances. The title — plural “Garantuas,” not the singular “Gargantua” — spoils the existence of another Kaiju soon to emerge in Tokyo. But it’s not until the two behemoths meet face-to-face (snout-to-snout?) that the brilliance of Honda’s shaggy and timeless script becomes clear.
Named Gaira (the green one) and Sanda (the brown one) by a government oddly fixated on taxonomy in a time of crisis, the two massive figures are soon revealed as brothers — siblings who, yes, were born from the decaying flesh of their infamous father. The sweet Sanda could try to teach Gaira to be good. But in a subgenre that regularly tasks its monsters with battling for nothing more than physical supremacy, a slow-burn rehabilitation arc feels too outrageous for Honda to attempt.
As far hare-brained ideas go, “Frankenstein vs. Baragon” is the more obviously entertaining film. (Among other things, it’s got the aforementioned nuclear bombing, the perilous threat of a self-amputation, and an impressive sinkhole to bring the curtain down.) But Honda’s commitment to the complex and ultimately tragic story he tells with the “The War of the Gargantuas” demonstrates a quiet soulfulness that’s boundary-breaking not just for Kaiju but monster movies writ large. Its campy fun comes with a haunting essence — portraying its frustrated and confused villain like a young trick-or-treater stuck in a costume they’re still too far from home to take off. Gaira can’t help who he is… but can Sanda?
Plucked from the golden age of action-centric Toho films, this surprisingly thoughtful affair marked the end of an era for collaborations between the Japanese entertainment company and American producer Henry G. Saperstein. The landing on the final leg of their partnership was bumpy, but it also reunited Honda with special effects master Eiji Tsuburaya and composer Akira Ifukube for a project that reflects their talents as a team to this day. (Admittedly, the music can leave something to be desired as an almost endless readying-for-battle dirge, but it’s classic for the setting — and the miniatures and monster suits never fail to charm.)
With a rocky production history and multiple versions available internationally, “The War of the Gargantuas” is dense with history and lore, but lasts because it’s simple and pure in conceit. Are you Team Sanda or Team Gaira? It’s a philosophical question as much as a cinematic one: the kind of quandary you can only ever really know your answer to when you have a brother to love — and the power to destroy his puny city.
“The War of the Gargantuas” is streaming Max, Freevee with Prime Video, Tube, and more.
The Bite: To Frankenstein or Not to Frankenstein?
Ah, yes, they both die. Bleak, huh? And beautiful too.
You can’t be sure “The War of the Gargantuas” is better without Frankenstein when you know he was involved at one point. But even skipping the technical “first” film in this pseudo-duology, the impact of ol’ Frank’s spectral presence wafts over the sequel and his sons’ muddled legacies with a near-rapturous vengeance.
Sanda and Gaira’s tortured existence is fractured across several different versions of “Gargantuas” and that complicates this film’s interpretation — if only slightly. With Universal Pictures’ foremost reanimated monster in play, there are obvious parallels between the ill-fated Sanda, sociopathic Gaira, and a tortured zombie dad once played by Boris Karloff… even if he does look more like a caveman in “Frankenstein vs. Baragon.”
In the original telling, Shelley’s creation was driven to suicide by a mad scientist who didn’t love him and a village that wouldn’t accept him. Without Frankenstein (yeah, yeah, *Frankenstein’s Monster, I know) in “The War of the Gargantuas”, Sanda and Gaira are forced to stand alone as avatars for a classic battle of good versus evil. It’s intriguing then that instead of one monster reigning supreme, Sanda is forced to destroy not only Gaira but also himself to protect Tokyo.
There’s an argument to be made that things didn’t have to end like this. It’s a real Jack-and-Rose-could-both-fit-on-that-door moment in many ways and it would be nice if the military ended up helping at all. But the melancholy stinger to Honda’s film is what it is and that drives at a deeper sadness baked into the core of the monster movie as a format.
There’s becoming a monster and then there’s being born a monster. “The War of the Gargantuas” is memorable in part because its titular titans have mostly humanoid forms — a choice that loosely combines the success of something like “The Amazing Man” with “King Kong” while allowing for a fisticuffs finale that’s got sharper combat choreography. The emotion of how their fight ends helps that simpler designer choice stand the test of time.
Gaira can only be taken down by Sanda and, in a way, Sanda must become monstrous to make that happen. After so valiantly caring for his brother on that sandy bank — attempting to teach him the ways of the world and reveling in the knowledge that he isn’t orphaned alone (sweet babies!) — our monkey-ish Kaiju champion is forced to the same self-destructive end as his father for a new reason. Or, you know, he’s not because Frankenstein was never his father.
After Dark rarely recommends double features and the variations across “The War of the Gargantuas” aren’t significant enough to break that rule. Still, it’s something to think about when choosing which version you watched. The outcome will be the same, but where that conclusion settles in your brain will turn out differently — for better or worse.
IndieWire After Dark publishes midnight movie recommendations every Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET. Read more of our deranged suggestions…
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