My Top 10 Favorite Godzilla Films

As we come up 1 week until the new Godzilla: King of the Monsters film is released, I’ve been reflecting on my lifelong love for Godzilla. Since as long as I can remember I’ve always been into monsters and creepy stuff. I still have vaguely vivid memories of the first G film I watched (Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster) on TV. I have several Godzilla tattoos. Multiple action figures. Pretty much every film on DVD. Soundtracks. T-shirts. I even have a goofy mask. I’m a big Godzilla fan, no doubt about it.

I decided to compile a list of my 10 favorite Godzilla films, in no particular order.

 

GMK aka Giant Monsters All Out Attack I remember the first time I watched this flick. I had gotten a bootleg VHS (damn, remember those?) from a store in the bay area area called Kimono My House. I watched it in the afternoon and was wowed at how awesome it was. The incredible kaiju fights. The story. The effects. The actors. The twisted sense of humor (the woman screaming hysterically in the supermarket parking lot, the couple who try to take a selfie when Baragon is approaching and the hospital scene are priceless). The fantastic score. What an evil bastard Godzilla was in this film. This is just an awesome, action packed flick that still holds up very well today.
 

 

Godzilla x Megaguirus I recall watching Godzilla 2000 in a movie theatre when it was released in the US in a dubbed version. While that film was enjoyable, and I loved Godzilla’s new design (those huge, purple dorsal spikes), it didn’t have much of a lasting impression on me over the years. The next film in the so-called Millenium Series was Megaguirus, and I found that one to be much more fun. It was like a throwback to the 60’s fun films. Yes, some of the effects were bad, and it was quite silly at times, but I really enjoyed it’s fast pace and monster action. Megaguirus was a cool foe. I also really loved the score. I know that this one doesn’t rank too high on most G fans list, but it’s always been a personal favorite of mine.
 

 

Terror Of Mechagodzilla This was the 2^nd film to feature Mechagodzilla and the last film of the Showa series. After a string of silly, goofy flicks, this film went back to the serious, somber mood of some of the earlier entries. The score is fantastic (probably one of my absolute favorites), the story and characters are interesting, and the monster destruction and fights are quite memorable. I recall watching the dubbed version on TV as a kid and back then they showed the depressing ending, where Katsura kills herself in order to destroy the power supply of Mechagodzilla implanted in her body by the aliens. That scene helped to end the film on a grim note (even though Godzilla wins), and it always made an impression on me.

 

 

Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster aka Hedorah Good lord, I vividly remember the first time I watched this on TV. I had read about this film in the Random House book from the 70’s and had always wanted to watch it. For years it evaded me. Then, one day in the late 80’s, I was browsing through the TV Guide as I always did for what monster flicks would be on, and was elated to see it would be shown that upcoming Saturday afternoon. I recall that when it was over, I stood there, silently stunned. It was the weirdest fucking thing I had ever watched. Bizarre music, random cartoons and psychedelic style scenes, the fish head hallucination at the nightclub, and that ridiculous, groovy opening theme song (the English version called Save The Earth which I love and know the damn lyrics to by heart). I absolutely loved Hedorah and his many forms. This movie was like a bad acid trip, so damn strange, and yet I couldn’t help but loving every bizarre minute of it.

 

 

Mothra vs. Godzilla aka Godzilla vs. The Thing One of the earlier G films, it still holds up quite well today. It pitted the big G against Mothra, the giant moth introduced in the 61 film. The storyline is good, the music is great, and this has one of the greatest Godzilla entrances of all time. I love the 64 Godzilla suit, it’s still one of my favorites. Godzilla has plenty of screen time, and the fight with Mothra is quite memorable (both adult and the 2 larva offspring). This is one of the greats of the series.

 

  

 

 

Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster A personal favorite of mine as a kid, I watched it so many times on TV. Not only do you get Godzilla, but Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah, making his very memorable screen debut. This flick has great monster action, a lot of goofiness (the subplot about the princess possessed by the spirit of a martian, the bumbling assassins trying to kill her, the fighting between Godzilla and Rodan). When Ghidorah finally showed up he was a badass, laying waste to everything he touched. This was the film where Godzilla went from villain to hero, as he had to join forces with Mothra and Rodan in order to stop the space dragon. This is another very memorable, fun film.

 

Godzilla vs. Megalon This is yet another one I have vague memories of watching as a kid on TV. It’s one of the sillier entries, basically a wrestling match between 4 kaiju (well, 3 kaiju and a robot). Megalon has always been one of my favorite monsters, and who doesn’t love Jet Jaguar and Gigan? I recall during Godzilla’s 50^th anniversary, the Castro Theatre in SF was showing Godzilla films for a week or two, and I got to watch a crisp, restored version of this on the big screen. It was amazing experiencing this with a room full of G fans. The crowd was very enthusiastic, cheering and clapping throughout.
 

Gojira As a child I often watched Godzilla King of the Monsters, the English dubbed, edited version released in the US. It wasn’t until sometime in the 2000’s that I got to see a restored print of the original Japanese version (without the added Raymond Burr scenes). This film was amazing. Gone was the silly 50’s style dramatics and horrible dubbing. The original was a serious film that really showed the lingering horror of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It was scary, terrifically acted and somber. The scenes where Emiko is emotionally devastated over her  betrayal of Serizawa, Serizawa hearing a radio broadcast of singing children after the disaster, the woman holding her children and telling them that soon they’ll all be together with their father, and Serizawa’s sacrifice at the climax all hit particularly hard and are quite effective. This is the one that started it all, and what an amazing cinematic achievement it was. Even if Godzilla never went on to become a franchise, this still stands as one of the most important films ever made.

 

 

Godzilla 2014 I recall feeling so excited to see this on the big screen (with a hint of apprehension as the last time America attempted a Godzilla film in 98, I absolutely detested it). I watched this opening night in 3D with my nephew, niece and friend. I really enjoyed it and was pleased that America finally redeemed my hero. While the film didn’t have as much monster action as I would have hoped, I still found it very well done, the story moved fast, and I felt it accurately captured the panic that would ensue if such monsters really appeared. Godzilla’s new design was also nicely done. And I really liked the Muto. I know some fans have complained about the lack of Godzilla screen time, but this film really satisfied me, and I find myself getting sucked into it each time I watch it.
 

  

Destroy All Monsters This film was the holy grail of Godzilla films when I was growing up. I’d also read about this one in the Random House book and was so desperate to watch it. I used to scan the TV Guide weekly, praying that it would come on. One night it finally showed up. Saturday at midnight. I was thrilled. Then, to my disappointment, the station ended up showing Dementia 13 instead, and I was pissed (though Dementia 13 has gone on to become one of my favorite films). Finally, sometime in the 90’s, I was able to order a bootleg copy on VHS via mail order. I don’t recall the company that supplied it, but this was how I was able to watch the 90’s Heisei G films as well. Anway, my initial reaction was that it was a bit of a letdown. I had grown to believe that it was going to be a big all out monster bash, featuring all these great monsters. That wasn’t quite the case. Varan, Baragon and Kumonga were hardly featured. The scenes of the monsters rampaging through various cities of the world were more limited than I had imagined. However, it eventually grew on me. I enjoyed the Kilaaks. The big attack in Tokyo by Godzilla, Manda, Mothra and Rodan was well done. The 68 G suit was great and another personal favorite. And the final battle with Ghidorah, with MVP’s Anguirus and Gorosaurus (who drop kicks Ghidorah’s ass) was a lot of fun. This was the last of the 60’s films (well, there was Godzilla’s Revenge, but that was mostly stock footage), and it felt like the end of a great era. The score is quite memorable, especially during the ending scene. This has gone on to become a personal favorite, despite my initial enthusiasm being less than I had anticipated.

I imagine that next Thursday the 30^th I’ll be like a little kid again as I sit in a theatre and watch the new film. I’m very psyched and cannot wait. Thursday can’t come soon enough. As a kid and a teen, there were times when being a G nerd was sometimes something to be embarrassed or ashamed about, feelin like it was something that I should grow out of. Not anymore. I am happy with those wonderful memories and am proud of being a lifelong G fan. Being a G nerd is the best thing in the world! GODZILLA FOREVER!!!!!!