Gojira!

[bennie]

Probably the most known of all of the campy monster films and seeming to be the only one still in production and alive, which Godzilla is the best? Listed above are some of the more macro-intesive and popular ones. Which one is your fave?

The whole list would have been to long. See:

(From:
http://www.roberthood.net/obsesses/godzilla.htm and
http://www.strangenewworlds.com/issues/godzilla-movies-list.html)

Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1954)
Godzilla is aroused by hydrogen bomb tests. (The first movie that introduced Godzilla to the world.)

Godzilla Raids Again aka Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1955)
In this film Godzilla does battle with Angilas, a quadrupedal dinosaur with spikes on his back.

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
In this movie King Kong is pitted not only against Godzilla, but also a giant octopus.

Godzilla vs. Mothra aka GODZILLA VS. THE THING (1964)
Mothra defends Japan from Godzilla.

Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Ghidrah, a monster from outer space, faces Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan.

Godzilla vs. Monster Zero aka MONSTER ZERO (1965)
Ghidrah takes on Godzilla and Rodan once again.

Godzilla vs the Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla does battle not only with Ebirah, a giant lobster, but also Mothra and a giant condor.

Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla saves his son Minya from Spiga, a giant spider, and a number of giant praying mantises all called Gimantis.

Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Aliens from outer space gain control of all of the world’s monsters and send them to destroy civilization.

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla teaches Minya how to defend himself from the bully monster Gaborah.

Godzilla vs Smog Monster (1971)
Godzilla saves the Earth from Hedorah, a monster created by pollution.

Godzilla vs. Gigan aka GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND (1972)
Godzilla and Angilas are pitted against Ghidrah and Gigan, a giant robot.

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla and a robot named Jet Jaguar face Gigan and Megalon, a monster resembling a beetle.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla aka GODZILLA VS. THE COSMIC MONSTER (1974)
Godzilla and King Seesar, a foo-lion like monster, take on a giant robot resembling Godzilla.

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla does battle with MechaGodzilla 2 and Titanosaurus, a sea creature.

Godzilla 1985 (1984)
The Super X, a specially-constructed flying tank, is used to counter Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
A monster created from cells of Godzilla, a woman and a rose is pitted against Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Ghidrah aka Godzilla vs. King Ghidora (1991)
People from the future create the cyborg MechaGhidrah to defend Japan from Godzilla.

Godzilla and Mothra Battle for Earth (1992)
Godzilla faces Mothra and Battra, a "battle Mothra."

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Rodan and a giant robot created by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center take on Godzilla.

Godzilla vs Destoroyah (1995)
This film's scenario features a monster created from the dangerous weapon ("The Oxygen Destroyer") used to defeat the original Godzilla back in 1954. Godzilla dies!

Godzilla (1999)
Hollywood blockbuster. Hollywood flop. "The result ... directed by Roland Emmerich, was an utter disappointment, not because it wasn't spectacular, but because it wasn't Godzilla. The US Godzilla turned out to be an ordinary, albeit large, CGI lizard, without mythic resonance, without personality, without the real Godzilla's devastating indifference to humanity's weaponry. This pretender was a hunted animal, not a morally ambiguous force of nature. Gone was everything that made the world love Godzilla, and the cries went up like a soaring pteradactyl."

Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: The Giant Monsters' General Offensive (2001)
Metaphysics anyone? Godzilla was depicted as an incarnation of the war-dead and the other monsters guardian spirits seeking to protect the land from his wrath.

Godzilla GMK: All Out Monster Attack (2003)
Tie the whole story line together and try to defend the island with robot godzilla. Campy and good.

[Malcolm the Bear]

Well, the only one I've seen was the 1998 "Godzilla," made in the US and starring Matthew Broderick, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, and Jean Reno. It was okay...I think it was a little too long, but I enjoyed it all the same.

That one wasn't listed on the poll, though...and I didn't know that the US made another one (and is "Gidzilla" a typo?).

[bennie]

Yeah. it was a typo. You caught me in the middle of editing the full post. I had to find info on the newer films since most sites seem to only go up to about 1993 or so. Some of the newer films really rock.

My vote is for the first and the original. It's just your good basic monster movie. It's also very heavy handed at condemming the use of atomic weapons and advanced science. A cultual jab back at the US for Hiroshma and Nagasaki.

Every time I see it. I don't feel as bad about some of those wartime cartoons I've watched.

[Kahntiger]

My favorite Godzilla movie is without a doubt "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, I have it on video and it's one of the best movies I've ever seen, I saw the 1998 Godzilla, it was ok, but it paled in comparison to Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, that movie just plain ruled.

[cerberus]

Never seen any of them...

If i throw a dart at the screen to choose, does it count?

Cerberus

[MesaDragon]

I like 'em all really, being a hopeless Godzilla fan, but Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991) will always be my favourite because it had abit everything which made Godzilla great. Big battles with his most famous enemy, KG, who's also a cool monster. Good smashing stuff scenes too ( although not nearly enough ) and Godzilla just generally came across as cool, and in no way the geeky human defender he had been in the past and almost went onto be in the future.

Also they actually took the time to really put some effort into a stomp scene which makes a change, and I guess I just think Godzilla looks best in that one, this sort of... towering unstoppable force, complete with cute pudgyness and biiig feet which is always a plus with me.

I've not seen GMK fully, but I'm sure it'll be good what with Godzilla going back to his old "pissed off" persona, but GvsKG 1991 wins 'cus it's just full of everything I love in a G flick. Shame is, there STILL wasn't enough of it!

Mesa.

[Cye-chan]

ahh Godzlla moives. Seen a few over the years (and a few good pariodes to)

I've always been partail to the orgainal Godzilla movie and seen Godzilla vs Monter Zero. Which is alot of fun. I've got a copy of Destory all Monsters which I should get around to watching one of these days.

84 version is pretty entertainng too. Let's not talk about the recent holywood remake.. Godzilla 2000 was alot of fun too. .Saw that in the thearters.. Is that one on the list?

[Tombfyre]

I liked the first one quite a bit. ^^ But I liked em all! Big stompy critters!!

And... Cerb ISN'T inflatable??? Well shit, that ruins half my fun!

[Malcolm the Bear]

Okay, since we got the confusion cleared up, I voted for the US Godzilla, since (as I said before), it's the only one I've seen. And actually, there WERE stomps in it where people got smushed--they were just inadvertant stomps that you have to look a bit more carefully for. The only purposeful stomp that we saw didn't end up crushing Animal Palotti (Hank Azaria), but it did crush a nearby taxi cab. That small segment made me wonder if anyone involved with making the film was a serious pawslut... But, yeah, look for some trampling by the big G there in that there film there.

[SenorPhrog]

Here's the way I see it: if you're looking for excellent special effects, decent acting talent, and americanization, the 1998 Godzilla is the way to go. The character was undeniably beautiful, except to the eyes of a few Gojira "purists" who wouldn't have anything other than a guy in the rubber suit. The story wasn't the strongest, and even the acting was a little weak, but, let's face it--it was an american summer blockbuster. Very rarely do good action and good filmmaking cooincide. I remember reading a Mad Magazine feature called "15 minutes of fame" which had clever rhymes about various events of the time (most notably focused on the whole Clinton scandal, but there were plenty of others). The one that sticks in my mind was this:

Z is for 'Zilla,
A box-office hit,
Which shows Size Does Matter;
The plot? Not a bit!

Meanwhile, if you're looking for an actually good movie, something really respectable, there is only one *classic* that can truely be appreciated, and that's the original 56 version. Oh, the actual effects were no better than the later installments, but it was filmed in the era where b-movies were actually *enjoyable*--not just painful and bizzare, as the later G films would become. I actually remember reading about the latest "Godzilla 2000", made by Toho as a sort of appology to hardcore fans for selling production the rights to the American infidels, and my local paper gave it 4 out of 4 stars--not for its quality value, but its comedy value. Apparently, the thing practically MST'd itself. I unfortunately was never able to see it to back up this claim, but...it's good to see they haven't forgotten their roots. Now, if only they'd bring back Gamera, the Children's Ultradestructive Beast Friend, all would be truely right with the world.

...Or something. [/i]