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eerietomOne interesting “side effect” (at least for me) of doing THC tinctures is a mild feeling of “disassociation” or an ability to tune out or separate sensory input. If I listen to music I can concentrate on one instrument and hear it very clearly. It’s not that I don’t hear the other instruments; it’s more like they “step aside” to make more room aurally. Sometimes I hear things buried deep in the mix, though that just might be my imagination (such as the man counting in Spanish on a track by mallsoft musician Yu). If I watch a movie that’s dubbed (such as the kung fu movies I like so much) and just concentrate on the voices, I don’t hear them as belonging to the still-visible characters on the screen, but to actors in a recording studio, and it becomes almost like listening to a radio play, albeit a rather strange one.
Comedy movies (even if I’ve already seen them and know the jokes) seem funnier. James Hamblin wrote:
Anyway, as a Showa-era Godzilla fan, I’ve long been curious about Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi’s 1977 re-release of the 1956 Americanized version (with Raymond Burr) of the 1954 Godzilla. Cozzi wanted to release Godzilla to cash in on the success of the 1976 King Kong remake, but faced two obstacles: Godzilla was under 90 minutes, and it was in black and white. Assured that theaters wouldn’t want to run such a film, Cozzi spliced in footage to bring up the running time. This included documentary footage from Hiroshima after the A-bomb was dropped, military stock footage, and even scenes from Gigantis the Fire Monster (the sequel to Godzilla). He also colorized the film, but not in the usual way say, of making grass green, the sky blue, and so on. Instead, he painted the screen with broad swaths of Otter Pop colors. He also added an electronic soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vincenzo Tempera. And, wanting to really grab the audience’s attention, he had the sound levels, particularly the bass, boosted. Unfortunately, most theaters in Italy weren’t equipped with modern enough speakers, so the result was a loud, muddy squall of noise.
Click image for larger view; opens in new window.
The colors, man, the colors!
Click image for larger view; opens in new window.
Godzilla invades Otter Pop Land!
Hearing that “Cozzilla” (as it is affectionately known) was a pretty psychedelic experience, I thought it would be fun to watch while stoned. I downloaded a version, put it on my phone in stereoscope, then watched it on my headset which makes it look like one is sitting in the front row of a theater. The version I downloaded was of particularly poor video and audio quality, but I felt this added to the experience. For example:
A: The images are sometimes so distorted as to become completely abstract, leaving the viewer with a kind of Rorschach test as to what he is seeing! One scene of Godzilla rising from the water is so dark all that shows are the edges of his dorsal fins, which now looked like wavy lines crawling across the screen. Trippy, dude!
Click image to view full-size in new window.
Just what the heck are we looking at here?
B: In some scenes, a sort of posterized/solarized look occurs. People’s faces lose some features and look flatter, almost like they’re wearing Noh theater masks. In other scenes the brightness is so highly contrasted, the effect is reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
C: The sound, particularly in the scenes where Godzilla is razing Tokyo or being attacked by the military, is so overdriven and bass-heavy that the soundtrack becomes Japanoise.
So, one might ordinarily look at Cozzilla and think it’s a really poor transfer of Godzilla. Or, if one tries to disassociate and imagine one is not seeing a “remix” (of a remix) of Godzilla but an original work, you get an Expressionist / Japanoise / Noh / Peter Max colors Japanese monster movie! Maybe I’d feel different watching it while not stoned, but I found it to be an exciting cinematic experience!
Aug 22 2023 update: Read about how I Cozzilla-ized the sequel to the first Godzilla film, Gigantis the Fire Monster (aka Godzilla Raids Again).
Bibliography
https://reprobatepress.com/2021/03/08/cozzilla-luigi-cozzis-godzilla/
Comedy movies (even if I’ve already seen them and know the jokes) seem funnier. James Hamblin wrote:
| How many times have you found yourself going on and on about some hysterical new movie — telling your friends they have to watch it or else they will never fully get you — only to realize that this “supremely hilarious…masterpiece” wasn’t actually a movie at all, but a stack of firewood? |
Anyway, as a Showa-era Godzilla fan, I’ve long been curious about Italian filmmaker Luigi Cozzi’s 1977 re-release of the 1956 Americanized version (with Raymond Burr) of the 1954 Godzilla. Cozzi wanted to release Godzilla to cash in on the success of the 1976 King Kong remake, but faced two obstacles: Godzilla was under 90 minutes, and it was in black and white. Assured that theaters wouldn’t want to run such a film, Cozzi spliced in footage to bring up the running time. This included documentary footage from Hiroshima after the A-bomb was dropped, military stock footage, and even scenes from Gigantis the Fire Monster (the sequel to Godzilla). He also colorized the film, but not in the usual way say, of making grass green, the sky blue, and so on. Instead, he painted the screen with broad swaths of Otter Pop colors. He also added an electronic soundtrack by Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vincenzo Tempera. And, wanting to really grab the audience’s attention, he had the sound levels, particularly the bass, boosted. Unfortunately, most theaters in Italy weren’t equipped with modern enough speakers, so the result was a loud, muddy squall of noise.
Click image for larger view; opens in new window.
The colors, man, the colors!
Click image for larger view; opens in new window.
Godzilla invades Otter Pop Land!
Hearing that “Cozzilla” (as it is affectionately known) was a pretty psychedelic experience, I thought it would be fun to watch while stoned. I downloaded a version, put it on my phone in stereoscope, then watched it on my headset which makes it look like one is sitting in the front row of a theater. The version I downloaded was of particularly poor video and audio quality, but I felt this added to the experience. For example:
A: The images are sometimes so distorted as to become completely abstract, leaving the viewer with a kind of Rorschach test as to what he is seeing! One scene of Godzilla rising from the water is so dark all that shows are the edges of his dorsal fins, which now looked like wavy lines crawling across the screen. Trippy, dude!
Click image to view full-size in new window.
Just what the heck are we looking at here?
B: In some scenes, a sort of posterized/solarized look occurs. People’s faces lose some features and look flatter, almost like they’re wearing Noh theater masks. In other scenes the brightness is so highly contrasted, the effect is reminiscent of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
C: The sound, particularly in the scenes where Godzilla is razing Tokyo or being attacked by the military, is so overdriven and bass-heavy that the soundtrack becomes Japanoise.
So, one might ordinarily look at Cozzilla and think it’s a really poor transfer of Godzilla. Or, if one tries to disassociate and imagine one is not seeing a “remix” (of a remix) of Godzilla but an original work, you get an Expressionist / Japanoise / Noh / Peter Max colors Japanese monster movie! Maybe I’d feel different watching it while not stoned, but I found it to be an exciting cinematic experience!
Aug 22 2023 update: Read about how I Cozzilla-ized the sequel to the first Godzilla film, Gigantis the Fire Monster (aka Godzilla Raids Again).
Bibliography
https://reprobatepress.com/2021/03/08/cozzilla-luigi-cozzis-godzilla/
