Godzilla In The News 04/21/10 - Big G Influences Fashion And Music, Plus The Top 5 G Films According To CNN

Written By: Ken Hulsey

If you ever had any doubts in your mind on just how much Godzilla has effected American pop-culture, then today's news stories should erase them.

I have collected a couple of stories about how the big guy has influenced both classical music, and surprisingly, ladies fashions.

On top of that, I also have a list of Godzilla films that Patrick Macias at CNN thinks are the best.

For the record, my list of the five best Godzilla movies of all-time goes like this:

1. Gojira
2. Godzilla vs Destroyah
3. Monster Zero
4. Destroy All Monsters
5. King Kong vs Godzilla

I'm certain that your list would probably be different. A lot of people don't care for "King Kong vs Godzilla", but it was the G movie that got played all the time on TV when I was growing up, so It holds a special place in my heart.

Okay, now on to some more sophisticated talk about classical music and high-end fashion:

Ensemble originals reflect, anticipate 25th anniversary concert
The Newark Advocate - Abbey Roy

Memories of 96 trombones and a first concert on a too-small stage, nerve-wracking solos and emotional Christmas concerts, songs and people and venues -- all play vividly through the minds of the original members of the Heisey Wind Ensemble.

After 25 years, 10 of the originals remain active in the group. Among those, co-founder Don Workman has bragging rights: He has not yet missed a concert.

He will continue his unblemished record Saturday, taking up his tuba as the ensemble performs its spring concert with a program that tackles the more traditional "Fiddler on The Roof," while blazing a new trail with a piece called "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas."

"It's a good group," Workman said after having completed an enthusiastic description of the "Godzilla" piece -- which, for the record, will be accompanied by a slide show.

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Dedicated followers of fashion
Burbank Leader - Joyce Rudolph

“Asiatikos” is the theme for the 2010 show to be presented by the Woodbury Department of Fashion Design.

The event allows students of Woodbury’s fashion department to showcase their designs. The styles shown made the cut after being judged by fashion professionals during a show on April 20 at the university.

Senior Paige Ishida, of Burbank, based her group of fashions on the theme “Japanese Geeks” relating to those who love the old 1950s and ’60s sci-fi films like “Godzilla,” she said.

“I focused my theme on the nostalgic interests of the geeks,” she said. “I like how they are so passionate about things out of the norm. It’s fun for them, and that’s interesting.”

For a mossy green dress, she sewed a center panel with a water-like pattern of teals and greens representing Godzilla, she said.

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5 best Godzilla movies of all time
CNNGo.com - Patrick Macias

Godzilla -- or "Gojira" as he's known in Japan -- has been delighting moviegoers and destroying Tokyo for five decades now. The sum total of his screen appearances is 28 films plus one very bad Hollywood outing, with another U.S. remake set for 2012. But which of his films truly stand apart from the pack of men-in-rubber-suits that make up the kaiju eiga (monster movie) genre? Here's the short list of my personal favorites.

"Gojira" (1954)

Premise: A giant dinosaur mutated and awakened by atomic testing wreaks havoc until super-science finds a way to stop the rampage.

Why it's good: Director Ishiro Honda approached the 'monster on the loose' material as if he were making a documentary on Atom Age gloom and anxiety. The result is a classic of Japanese post-war cinema.

Godzilla, the monster: Special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya depicts Gojira/Godzilla as a terrifying walking H-bomb incarnate and a merchandise-ready movie star.

Trivia: "Gojira" was the most expensive Japanese movie of its time to produce, budgeted at around US$1 million -- an amount double that of "The Seven Samurai."

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See Also: Godzilla In The News 04/19/10 - Obama Worried Jolly Green Giant/Godzilla Conflict Could Destabilize Region / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/15/10 - The Angry Edition! / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/12/10 / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/08/10 / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/04/10 - Happy Easter! / Godzilla 2012 In The News 04/01/10 / Godzilla 2012 In The News 03/31/10