Watching Terror of Mechagodzilla knowing that it would be the final film in the original Godzilla series is like a long, sad goodbye to an old friend, complete with heartrending moments where relationships are forever ended and heads of giant metal robots are ripped clean off! Continue reading “Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)”
Category: Toho
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
So many times the bean counters in the film business get criticized for inhibiting great art. Such and such movie could’ve been so much better if we had the money to hire this guy or the time to shot this complicated scene. The special effects would have been so much more special if we just were given an extra $40 million. Godzilla vs. Megalon then is a breath of fresh air where budgetary constraints acted to give us the greatest of all early 1970s Godzilla movies featuring Gigan! Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)”
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Back in the 1970s, the local theater where I lived used to run these special summer matinée series where you got into some older, kid-oriented movie for about a buck. Some weeks, I’d scan the newspaper and be disappointed that it was wussy garbage like Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion or Zebra in the Kitchen (though I do kind of wonder what that zebra was doing in that kitchen). Other weeks were marked by the arrival of films that promised to be well worth an eight year old’s dollar. Obviously, I’m referring to movies like Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)”
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Here’s a movie that was so bad, once Toho got a gander at it, they put director Yoshimitsu Banno on suspension amidst concerns that he had irrevocably damaged the entire franchise. Thankfully, things got back on track with the next entry, Godzilla vs. Gigan, thus ensuring faithful viewers that all Godzilla features for the foreseeable future would be horrid for all the regular reasons and not go that extra mile by being trying to be socially relevant. Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)”
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
This movie, the twelfth of Godzilla’s career, finds him battling monsters from outer space in an effort to thwart some man-sized cockroach aliens’ plans to take over Earth. I guess one thing the big green G can say is that his job is never boring. Unfortunately, job-shadowing Godzilla in the early 1970s is a different matter. Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)”
Son of Godzilla (1967)
The first seven times were strictly professional! Now, the eighth time is personal! And for his family! And his island home! And it doesn’t matter if he has to battle through a blizzard or just a brat who won’t let a fella get some well-deserved shuteye! There’s no way on God’s green Earth Godzilla is going to let a couple of bugs run him out of his house and eat his only child! Continue reading “Son of Godzilla (1967)”
Godzilla’s Revenge (1969)
In an age of wussy concepts perpetuated on our nation’s youth by government schools such as conflict resolution and mediation, were it made today, Godzilla’s Revenge would certainly be slapped with a warning, if not outright banned by the Surgeon General! Continue reading “Godzilla’s Revenge (1969)”