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thezanyarthropleura · 11 months ago

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YET ANOTHER KAIJU FILM REC LIST

(Selected and arranged to account for modern tastes, as well as to highlight specific wants for fans of Godzilla: Minus One and/or Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire)

Notes:

Titles can be confusing, when in doubt differentiate films by year of release

"Showa" generally refers to films made from 1954-1980, while "Heisei" generally refers to films made from 1984-2006, with "Millennium" being a specific series of Godzilla films made from 1999-2004, within the Heisei era (the actual notation refers to the Japanese Emperor, but this is slightly offset with how it's used for kaiju films)

I've tried to list where the films can be watched, for free if possible, but this can change at a moment's notice (for instance, the TokuSHOUTsu Youtube channel currently has a livestream of almost all the Showa Godzilla films and one for the MST3K episodes featuring 6 Showa Gamera films and Gorgo, but I have no idea how long those will stay up)

More context and history about the kaiju film genre can be found at the end of the post

GROUP 1: EVERYONE

These films are the peers and equals of Minus One and GxK, in only the best respects.

The Gamera Heisei Trilogy - Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995), Gamera 2: Attack/Advent of Legion (1996), and Gamera 3: Revenge/Awakening of Iris (1999)

I would recommend this trilogy to ANYONE - even those hesitant to watch anything that isn't CGI, or that still don't think kaiju films can be good cinema. No matter what you're looking for in a kaiju film - engaging monster action, compelling human drama, deep metaphorical significance, fun action-adventure, hard sci-fi, spiritual eastern fantasy - these three movies are bound to be among the best at it. They're nearly unanimously praised as some of the best kaiju films of all time, and are the ONLY classic films with that honor that can visually compete with modern tastes in special effects.

Among the three: Guardian of the Universe is probably the closest analog to GxK, a fun action-adventure film about a girl who communicates with a giant monster. Revenge of Iris is closer to Minus One, introducing a darker mirror of the first film's story that invokes trauma and loss to great emotional impact. Which all leaves Advent of Legion in the middle, as a fairly formulaic but well-executed sci-fi alien invasion story.

These films are available free and subtitled on Tubi, or free and dubbed on Pluto. In a rarity, the dubs are done with love and care by fans of the genre and while they may not be the best way to watch the films, they're fairly decent.

GROUP 2: MODERN/NICHE

These films either excellently or acceptably compete with modern visual effects, but in other areas, are ultimately more dependent upon viewer tolerances and niche interests.

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

If you want to cry about Godzilla, this is it, this is the movie. Possibly the classic film that delves the deepest into the idea of kaiju as sympathetic, tragic beings, this film leans heavily into hard sci-fi and features a kaiju opponent inspired by the titular creature from the Alien franchise. It's the seventh film in the Godzilla Heisei series, but as most of the previous films are currently stuck behind rights issues and difficult to find, I'd recommend jumping into this one as a standalone (or, if anything, watch the original 1954 Godzilla film first, but if that doesn't interest you it's not necessary). This movie is readily available for free, subtitled on Pluto or dubbed on Youtube.

The Kiryu Duology - Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)

These two films face a number of pacing and production issues, and due to scheduling conflicts, the main heroine, mech pilot Akane from the first film (arguably one of the most compelling human characters in the entire Godzilla series), was unable to return for the sequel beyond a brief cameo. But despite feeling unfinished, not all the emotional weight of this duology is lost. The ethics-focused, techno-spiritual story being told still packs a punch, and visually, out of the entire suitmation era this is the best Godzilla, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla have ever looked on-screen. If first checking out the original 1954 Godzilla and the 1961 Mothra interests you at all, it may enhance the viewing experience, but if not, dive right in! Both these films are free on Pluto TV, but do keep in mind Against Mechagodzilla is the dubbed version.

Gamera the Brave (2006)

I've said it before, but this is the movie that most closely reminds me of Minus One, with its modern filmmaking style, deep emotional themes, and in particular, having a bright and hopeful appeal to humanity in a genre where many of the more serious films are tragedies. Personally I rank this one right up there with the 90s Gamera trilogy, if not even higher, but to appreciate it, you really do have to be here for a children's fantasy film with more charm and heart than fast-paced kaiju action. This film is free on Tubi, subtitled.

GROUP 3: CLASSIC

These films require a tolerance for the special effects of the 1950s through 1970s, which I realize some modern audiences may find difficult to appreciate, but are otherwise highly recommended.

All four of these films are available free and subtitled on Pluto through Criterion, and are additionally part of SHOUT! Factory's catalogue and playing on the livestream.

Godzilla (1954)

If you've seem Minus One or Shin Godzilla, the obvious route is, of course, to go back to 1954 and experience the original cinematic masterpiece of Godzilla as a nuclear horror. The one caveat I'll mention is that a lot of Minus One's effectiveness is in subverting one theme present in the original, so this will, in a way, feel like a step backward thematically.

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)

The outright most comparable classic film to GxK - a fun island adventure film wherein various entertaining personalities are shipwrecked and must work together to thwart human baddies and even recruit the help of Godzilla! This is one of my personal favorites, and while Mothra only appears briefly in the film, it expands on her lore quite a bit.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

This film is wacky, resembling an abstract art house film at times, but in many ways is a revisitation upon the dark, deep metaphors of the original, this time warning of the dangers of pollution through a truly terrifying monstrosity that gives Godzilla one of the most brutal fights of his career.

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Along with the original and Hedorah, this completes a trio of more dark and serious Showa era Godzilla films. It's the only Godzilla movie of its era to be written entirely (not co-written) by a woman, tells a dark and tragic tale, and yet is the height of 1970s superhero Godzilla as he takes on two powerful opponents at once.

GROUP 4: GRAB BAG

I'll throw in four more: these are just some of my personal recommendations and favorites that don't fit neatly into the other categories.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

The original and archetypical "multiple monsters team up to fight a greater threat" movie. This one is consistently on the edge of being called an objectively good film, but can be considered too cheesy and campy to make the cut. Nonetheless, it's a fun time, and it's also pretty much the only classic film where Godzilla and Mothra interact positively, if that's appealing to you. Like the other Showa Godzilla films, it's free through Pluto and SHOUT! Factory.

Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)

I really just wanted to put a Showa Gamera here, and this is one of my favorites. Just the campy, wacky, good time that is Showa Gamera, with a side of ocean theming - this extremely cheap film was partly funded through Kamogawa Sea World, which is the primary location featured in the film. It's free on Tubi along with the other Gamera films, and also makes a great MST3K episode, even if the version of the film used there is very low-resolution and the underwater scenes in particular suffer a little.

Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999)

Somewhat unique among its contemporaries for being a 2000s era film that features Godzilla as more-or-less the protagonist, with human characters that advocate for understanding and respecting him. It's an incredibly cinematic film - I would describe its special effects as ambitious, not always effective, but regardless it would be a great intro for new fans if it were more accessible. Currently, it's tough to track down, but another rare case where the heavily-edited US dubbed version is perfectly acceptable, and even sometimes considered superior to the original.

Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998) and to an extent, the whole trilogy.

I unashamedly love these oft-maligned films that are actually very comparable to the Heisei Gamera trilogy... in all respects but objective quality. Fun fantasy kaiju films featuring tiny women who fight each other with swords and flying mounts, while a superpowered giant moth beats up two space dragons and takes a break in the middle to beat up a genetically-engineered dragon. Lots of rainbows and lasers, and a vague, underlying exploration of the conflict between those with peaceful methods and those with violent methods without completely villainizing either side. If any of that sounds interesting, check these films out, they're currently readily available free on Pluto after a long history of the third and most serious/mature film being extremely rare and seldom-seen.

FURTHER NOTES AND CONTEXT:

Inspired by western giant monster films like King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and the summation of Japan's nuclear fear and trauma, the original Godzilla film in 1954 was a runaway success, beginning the kaiju genre as production company Toho ordered not only a direct sequel, but a broad scope of special effects films that ultimately gave us other classic kaiju like Mothra and Rodan.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the concept of a "Godzilla series" did not yet exist - Toho just made science fiction films, wherein some of them featured kaiju, and some of those, but not all, featured Godzilla. Many of these films were very loosely, and sometimes only retroactively, considered to be in the same universe or cinematic canon, creating situations where kaiju like Manda and Baragon would wander into Godzilla films after getting their start in non-Godzilla adventures like Atragon (1963) and Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965). (An example of a non-kaiju Toho film I would highly recommend is 1958's H-Man)

The 1960s also saw a "Kaiju Boom," where the genre was expanded beyond Toho to other studios in Japan and even to other countries. This brought about a number of new kaiju projects like Gorgo (1961), Reptilicus (1961), and Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967). The only of these films to be successful enough to spawn a series was Gamera (1965), from Daiei studios in Japan, and there were 7 Gamera films made from the mid-60s to early 70s. (Daiei has their own catalogue of Toku effects films, and also produced the kaiju-adjacent Daimajin trilogy (1966), period pieces set in ancient Japan about a giant warrior statue that comes to life)

Interest in kaiju films began to wane in the 1970s, and Toho largely narrowed its focus to a yearly Godzilla series with lower and lower budgeting. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) was the most cheeply-made of these, but several factors made it the most widely-known film in the US and solidified the genre's "rubber suits and cardboard buildings" reputation among the general public for the next 50 years. Also in 1973, Toho produced the giant hero television series Zone Fighter, where Godzilla, King Ghidorah, and Gigan appear in several episodes. The series was made to compete with Ultraman and other television-based Tokusatsu, which was swaying audiences away from films at the time. (I personally know very little about Ultraman and other costumed hero Toku, but I know there are many experts on here who could answer questions about those)

Toho continued to make science fiction and effects films throughout the late 70s and 1980s, such as The War in Space (1977), but kaiju films were out of fashion. Gamera had a brief pseudo-revival in 1980, but otherwise it was a long drought from 1975 to 1984, when Toho began the Godzilla Heisei series: a series of seven films that continued in 1989 and picked up to a film per yer from 1991 to 1995. These films featured more strict continuity and the recurring character of Miki Saegusa, marking one of the first steps away from the previous practice of switching out the human cast entirely from film to film.

In the late 90s, Godzilla was absent yet again, as Toho made the rights handoff to Sony for the 1998 American film. In his place were the competing late 90s Gamera and Mothra trilogies, both relatively unique in featuring multiple recurring cast members and worlds that blended sci-fi and fantasy elements. In America, the poorly-received GODZILLA (1998) spawned a more warmly-recieved animated continuation in Godzilla: the Series (1998-2000).

In response to the critical failure of the 1998 film, Toho craved redemption and launched the Millennium Series: six Godzilla films that, with the exception of the Kiryu Duology, were all standalone in hopes of attaining theatrical releases in the US (only Godzilla 2000 succeeded at this). With a general failure of the 50th anniversary film Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), Toho put Godzilla to rest, seemingly for good. Gamera the Brave in 2006 was the last true suitmation kaiju film, critically acclaimed but also a financial failure.

In the intervening decade, CGI took over, and was the name of the game by the time Pacific Rim (2013), Godzilla (2014), and Shin Godzilla (2016) kicked off the new "Kaiju Renaissance," the present era that includes Reiwa Godzilla and the Monsterverse.

#kaiju #tokusatsu #godzilla #gamera #godzilla minus one #godzilla x kong: the new empire

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