Godzilla
Created | Updated Sep 27, 2002
Godzilla movies are pure escapism. They depict a giant fire-breathing lizard called Godzilla (played by a man in a suit) who is sometimes aggressive toward humans, sometimes not, who often get's into fights with other giant monsters. The movies are Japanese, although an horrendous CGI'd American version was made.
CGI? Pah! We're talking men in rubber suits all the way here.
Tri Star's ill-conceived 1998 remake of 'Godzilla' has unfortunately sullied the public's opinion of the big green lizard. 'Godzilla' movies aren't renowned for their heavy plotting or magnificent acting but that was ridiculous! However 'Godzilla' has existed for over 45 years and I should think can survive this one setback.
'Godzilla'was a product of Japanese feelings towards the Americans. After World War II Japan was occupied by the Americans who regulated the cinema and censored any anti-American sentiments in its output. Writer Shigeru Kayama created the original film , 'Gojira',for 'Toho' Studios in 1954 as an allegory to shock the visitors. It was a dark, downbeat film about the destruction of Japanese cities as a result of A-bomb attacks by the West and the continuing use of Japanese waters by the Americans for nuclear testing. The destruction of Tokyo, as depicted by director Inoshiro Honda, is equal to that of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the scenes of the aftermath are as morbid as any documentary of nuclear holocaust.
In the film a number of shipping vessels are destroyed by an unknown force and panic grips Japan. The cause is a creature of immense size created by radiation poisoning, which can breathe atomic fire from its mouth. The monster, named Gojira (a cross between gorilla and the Japanese for whale, kujira) makes its way to Tokyo leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Gojira totally destroys Tokyo and in the process is discovered to be almost totally immune to any methods of retaliation. At the end though a Japanese scientist saves the day by using a device known as the 'oxygen destroyer' to reduce the monster to a pile of bones.
It's a simple enough storyline and one oft-used in western cinema. However, director Honda manages to create a masterpiece with limited budget and simple special effects (such as the famous rubber suit for the monster). Extra scenes were spliced in with Raymond Burr as an American news reporter and the film was released with great success in the west as 'Godzilla-King of the Monsters'. Unlike the monster movies that followed 'Gojira'delivered a genuine feeling of despair and horror and the added American footage did not detract from this. 'Gojira' set the stage for many more monster movies to come.
'Gojira No Gyakushyu'('Godzilla's Counterattack' or 'Gigantis : The Fire Monster') was actually a fairly worthy sequel which further elaborated on the origins of Godzilla whilst having him fight a monster named Angurus. Unfortunately this was the only Godzilla film to do this. In 1963 Toho released 'King Kong vs. Godzilla', an extremely shoddy affair with pathetic story, lacklustre action and laughable monster suits. Predictably it was a huge hit.
Toho continued in this vein for 12 years with films like 'Godzilla Vs. the Three Headed Monster'; pairing Godzilla up against various other Toho monsters such as 'Mothra'and 'Rodan'in what amounted to little more than thinly-disguised wrestling matches. With Godzilla becoming a 'good-guy'the series played more and more for the younger audience and, whilst being fun to watch, quickly paled in comparison to the magnificent original movie.
After 1975's 'Terror of MechaGodzilla' Toho had a break for 9 years. They resurrected the giant iguana in 'Godzilla 1984' which was a direct sequel to the original and once again had Godzilla as a villain. The success of this film brought about a whole new series with much tighter plotting and scripts coupled with great special effects (1991's 'Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah'standing up well against many big-budget western science fiction).
In 1995, with the Tri Star deal done, Toho brought the series to an end with 'Godzilla Vs. Destroyah'where the monster is finally killed off as his 'inner nuclear fire'goes into meltdown and he dissolves away. Hopefully though Toho will bring him back again because Godzilla movies are pure escapism ; they require no use of your brain yet are incredible fun whilst not being stupid. The Americans have shown that they cannot 'do'Godzilla so the Japanese should do it for them. After all, the monster was created as an 'up yours'to America in the first place.
******Since I wrote this, Toho have retaken the Godzilla crown, with the release of Godzilla 2000: Millenium and two other subsequent offerings. Yay!
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A Toho Godzilla Filmography (Japanese title first)
Gojira (1954)
Godzilla, or Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Gojira no gyakushu (1955)
Gigantis the Fire Monster, or Godzilla Raids Again, or Godzilla's Counterattack
Kingukongu tai Gojira (1962)
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Mosura tai Gojira (1964)
Godzilla vs. the Giant Moth, or Godzilla vs. the Thing
San daikaijû: Chikyu saidai no kessen (1964)
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster
Kaijû daisenso (1965)
Monster Zero, or Invasion of the Astro-Monster
Gojira-Ebira-Mosura: Nankai no daiketto (1966)
Big Duel in the North, or Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, or Gozilla Versus the Sea Monster
Kaijûtô no kessen: Gojira no musuko (1967)
Son of Godzilla
Kaijû sôshingeki (1968)
Destroy All Monsters, or Operation Monsterland
Gojira Fuantajî ~SF Kôkyô Fuantajî~ (1969)
All Monsters Attack, or Godzilla's Revenge
Gojira tai Hedora (1971)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah, or Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster
Chikyu kogeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan (1972)
Godzilla on Monster Island, or Godzilla vs. Gigan
Gojira tai Megaro (1973)
Godzilla vs. Megalon
Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974)
Godzilla vs. Bionic Monster, or Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster, or Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Gojira (1984)
Godzilla 1985, or The Return of Godzilla
Gojira tai Biorante (1989)
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Gojira VS Kingugidora (1991)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Gojira VS Mosura (1992)
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, or Godzilla vs. Mothra
Gojira VS Mekagojira (1993)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, or Godzilla vs. Super-Mechagodzilla
Gojira VS Supesugojira (1994)
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
Gojira VS Desutoroia (1995)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, or Godzilla vs. Destroyah, or Godzilla vs. Destroyer
Gojira ni-sen mireniamu (1999)
Godzilla 2000: Millennium
Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jii Shômetsu Sakusen (2000)
Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy
Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidora: Daikaijû soukougeki (2001)
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
CGI? Pah! We're talking men in rubber suits all the way here.
Tri Star's ill-conceived 1998 remake of 'Godzilla' has unfortunately sullied the public's opinion of the big green lizard. 'Godzilla' movies aren't renowned for their heavy plotting or magnificent acting but that was ridiculous! However 'Godzilla' has existed for over 45 years and I should think can survive this one setback.
'Godzilla'was a product of Japanese feelings towards the Americans. After World War II Japan was occupied by the Americans who regulated the cinema and censored any anti-American sentiments in its output. Writer Shigeru Kayama created the original film , 'Gojira',for 'Toho' Studios in 1954 as an allegory to shock the visitors. It was a dark, downbeat film about the destruction of Japanese cities as a result of A-bomb attacks by the West and the continuing use of Japanese waters by the Americans for nuclear testing. The destruction of Tokyo, as depicted by director Inoshiro Honda, is equal to that of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and the scenes of the aftermath are as morbid as any documentary of nuclear holocaust.
In the film a number of shipping vessels are destroyed by an unknown force and panic grips Japan. The cause is a creature of immense size created by radiation poisoning, which can breathe atomic fire from its mouth. The monster, named Gojira (a cross between gorilla and the Japanese for whale, kujira) makes its way to Tokyo leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Gojira totally destroys Tokyo and in the process is discovered to be almost totally immune to any methods of retaliation. At the end though a Japanese scientist saves the day by using a device known as the 'oxygen destroyer' to reduce the monster to a pile of bones.
It's a simple enough storyline and one oft-used in western cinema. However, director Honda manages to create a masterpiece with limited budget and simple special effects (such as the famous rubber suit for the monster). Extra scenes were spliced in with Raymond Burr as an American news reporter and the film was released with great success in the west as 'Godzilla-King of the Monsters'. Unlike the monster movies that followed 'Gojira'delivered a genuine feeling of despair and horror and the added American footage did not detract from this. 'Gojira' set the stage for many more monster movies to come.
'Gojira No Gyakushyu'('Godzilla's Counterattack' or 'Gigantis : The Fire Monster') was actually a fairly worthy sequel which further elaborated on the origins of Godzilla whilst having him fight a monster named Angurus. Unfortunately this was the only Godzilla film to do this. In 1963 Toho released 'King Kong vs. Godzilla', an extremely shoddy affair with pathetic story, lacklustre action and laughable monster suits. Predictably it was a huge hit.
Toho continued in this vein for 12 years with films like 'Godzilla Vs. the Three Headed Monster'; pairing Godzilla up against various other Toho monsters such as 'Mothra'and 'Rodan'in what amounted to little more than thinly-disguised wrestling matches. With Godzilla becoming a 'good-guy'the series played more and more for the younger audience and, whilst being fun to watch, quickly paled in comparison to the magnificent original movie.
After 1975's 'Terror of MechaGodzilla' Toho had a break for 9 years. They resurrected the giant iguana in 'Godzilla 1984' which was a direct sequel to the original and once again had Godzilla as a villain. The success of this film brought about a whole new series with much tighter plotting and scripts coupled with great special effects (1991's 'Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah'standing up well against many big-budget western science fiction).
In 1995, with the Tri Star deal done, Toho brought the series to an end with 'Godzilla Vs. Destroyah'where the monster is finally killed off as his 'inner nuclear fire'goes into meltdown and he dissolves away. Hopefully though Toho will bring him back again because Godzilla movies are pure escapism ; they require no use of your brain yet are incredible fun whilst not being stupid. The Americans have shown that they cannot 'do'Godzilla so the Japanese should do it for them. After all, the monster was created as an 'up yours'to America in the first place.
******Since I wrote this, Toho have retaken the Godzilla crown, with the release of Godzilla 2000: Millenium and two other subsequent offerings. Yay!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Toho Godzilla Filmography (Japanese title first)
Gojira (1954)
Godzilla, or Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Gojira no gyakushu (1955)
Gigantis the Fire Monster, or Godzilla Raids Again, or Godzilla's Counterattack
Kingukongu tai Gojira (1962)
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Mosura tai Gojira (1964)
Godzilla vs. the Giant Moth, or Godzilla vs. the Thing
San daikaijû: Chikyu saidai no kessen (1964)
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster
Kaijû daisenso (1965)
Monster Zero, or Invasion of the Astro-Monster
Gojira-Ebira-Mosura: Nankai no daiketto (1966)
Big Duel in the North, or Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, or Gozilla Versus the Sea Monster
Kaijûtô no kessen: Gojira no musuko (1967)
Son of Godzilla
Kaijû sôshingeki (1968)
Destroy All Monsters, or Operation Monsterland
Gojira Fuantajî ~SF Kôkyô Fuantajî~ (1969)
All Monsters Attack, or Godzilla's Revenge
Gojira tai Hedora (1971)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah, or Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster
Chikyu kogeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan (1972)
Godzilla on Monster Island, or Godzilla vs. Gigan
Gojira tai Megaro (1973)
Godzilla vs. Megalon
Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974)
Godzilla vs. Bionic Monster, or Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster, or Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Gojira (1984)
Godzilla 1985, or The Return of Godzilla
Gojira tai Biorante (1989)
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Gojira VS Kingugidora (1991)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Gojira VS Mosura (1992)
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth, or Godzilla vs. Mothra
Gojira VS Mekagojira (1993)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, or Godzilla vs. Super-Mechagodzilla
Gojira VS Supesugojira (1994)
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
Gojira VS Desutoroia (1995)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, or Godzilla vs. Destroyah, or Godzilla vs. Destroyer
Gojira ni-sen mireniamu (1999)
Godzilla 2000: Millennium
Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jii Shômetsu Sakusen (2000)
Godzilla Vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy
Gojira, Mosura, Kingu Gidora: Daikaijû soukougeki (2001)
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
