Essential Godzilla Movie List (1955-1995)

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | on January 21, 2008

Okay you crazy G-Tards!!! Want to join me in wrapping up in a blanket, drinking cherry soda with pop rocks and staring in abject wonderment at a Godzilla movie marathon ?

Okay you crazy G-Tards (rubber monster movie addicts) !!! If you really want to join me in wrapping up in a blanket, drinking cherry soda with pop rocks and staring in abject wonderment at a Godzilla movie marathon ? Then we’re gonna need to plan ahead…

Pic of Hiro and I
The best guy to help with this is my friend and employer Chef Hiro !!! Leader of the Spartan brigade of mercenaries and lunatics that prepare food down at Wasabiya Japanese Restaurant in good ‘ol CR. Hiro’s input was invaluable to my Look Out Tokyo !!! article, and he’ll be paying my medical bills when the cause of my Carpal Tunnel turns out to be the amount of extra typing I did.

I’ve chosen ten of my favourite Godzilla movies, and listed them in chronological order. I decided to keep my rubber-suited selections to just the 1st (Showa) and 2nd (Heisei) series’. Mainly because of my fondness for the earlier flicks, and also ’cause this is a nostalgia site… and it hard to get nostalgic about a movie that got released a couple of years ago.

So lets get on it ! And remember… Never dismiss a good ‘ol campy monster slug-fest for a more psychological, or special-effects filled film. You never know what you might find more entertaining. I think Goethe said it best : “Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.”

Gojira / Godzilla : King of the Monsters (1955) - The simmering, brooding first Godzilla film could just have easily been directed by Hitchcock for all of it’s brilliant use of soundtrack-as-atmosphere and dark chiaroscuro visuals. Even though the flicks centers around a giant lizard attack, it’s all the meticulously-arranged human storylines that drag you into the cataclysmic final moments. This movie is a bone fide classic ! Try to get the original (it’s been re-released as a Deluxe Edition from Sony, I think), but if you can’t, it’s worth it to nab the American release.

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) - Paying homage to the beast that may have originally inspired Godzilla, a much larger version of the titular American monster and ‘Zilla float around in giant balloon harnesses and slug it out over Mt. Fuji ! An all Japanese cast re-create their version of the Kong Islanders and have a luau dance party!!! Things are starting to get goofy…

Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965) - My personal fav Godzilla movie, this one is the perfect mix of almost-serious acting and completely irreverent monster-infused action. The citizens of earth swallow the proverbial hook dangled by the aliens from Planet X (we are SO gullible) and all hell breaks loose, ending in a three-way cage match between Godzilla, Rodan, and my main multi-headed mayhem merchant KING GHIDORAH !!!!

Destroy All Monsters (1968) - Basically this movie is …Monster Zero on crack!!! Cute Japanese female aliens named Kilaaks unleash a record-setting eleven giant beasts on various cities around the world. Once freed by human heroics, Godzilla leads the rubber -suited A-Team to Mt. Fuji (what is it about that place?) to fight Ghidorah again.

Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (1971) -Grimmer than most of the flicks released during the Showa series, Hedorah the Smog Monster represented Japan’s fear that their industrial golden age had a darker side. The giant red-eyed pile of refuse battles the G-Man on land and in the air (it’s so funny, you just might need new pants). Watch for the creepy little Hedorah animations… Ewwwwww.

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) - Universally despised as the worst Godzilla movie ever made (apparently no-one saw Son of Godzilla [1967]), this one features ‘Zilla, Gigan, a superhero that a third grader created, and a bug with drill-bits for hands. The premise is ludicrous, the special effects are hilariously bad, and the dialouge is, well… pretty much as horrible as always. This is the flick to put on after everyone’s had too many jello shooters. You’ll laugh so hard you’ll wake up the next morning with a cracked rib as well as a hangover… but it’s sooooo worth it.

Terror Of Mecha-Godzilla (1975) - How many G-movies feature aliens as the villains…? I dunno, but here’s another flick featuring multi-monster maelstroms. Black hole-dwelling bad guys with spaceship-shaped helmets unleash Godzilla’s robotic twin and a giggling pre-historic sea monster named Titanosaurus on poor ‘ol earth. A great fight scene takes up the later half of the film. Watch for Godzilla’s flying tackle on Titanosaurus near the end, you’ll feel the pain.

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) - Suddenly an engaging script emerges like a rose among the brambles… of course in this case the rose is 200,000 tons and spits acid. A neat story, a terrifying villianous monster, and a great battle rounds out one of my favourite films, but the ending will leave you kinda wanting more.

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) - A slight re-imagining of the original Godzilla story, featuring an all out war with the King. Super-humans from our future (with the blatantly US/USSR names Wilson and Grethcinko) take it upon themselves to obliterate Japan by destroying Godzilla’s past, and replacing it with a timeline where Ghidorah reigns supreme! I’m a sucker for time travel stories. Anyway yeah, the action is intense, and the appearance of Mecha-King-Ghidorah in the final moments is worth the price of a rental. Some say it’s an anti-American movie because of some scene where a dinosaur eats some US marines…. but honestly think about it… How many Japanese characters have died under the giant rubber feet of Godzilla during the 28 film series ? No-one calls them anti-Japanese.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) - Godzilla comes full circle and battles the physical embodiment of the Oxygen Destroyer that supposedly almost killed him in the original Gojira (1955). Destoroya has got to be the coolest looking monster in the entire Godzilla movie series (sorry Ghidorah). The battle is a classic, encompassing a huge part of the movie. Godzilla eventually succumbs to the Nuclear energy boiling up inside him and dies, transferring his life-force to his lil baby Godzilla son. Ahhhhhh… sweet.

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