TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA (1975): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 16

TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA  (1975)

aka. Terror of Godzilla

Here we are folks. We've truly reached the end of an era. Godzilla returns to once again fight his diabolical doppleganger Mechagodzilla, but this is the last time we'll see this particular version of Godzilla. Terror of Mechagodzilla is the 15th and final film in the original series, and it all comes full circle with Ishiro Honda, the original Gojira director, returning to take Godzilla movies back to their darker roots.

ALL MONSTERS ATTACK (1969): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY 11

ALL MONSTERS 
ATTACK (1969)

aka. Godzilla's Revenge

All Monsters Attack is largely considered within fan circles to be one of the worst Godzilla movies ever made. But is that being too harsh?

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS (1968): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY TEN

DESTROY ALL 
MONSTERS (1968)

aka. Charge of the Monsters

It's The Avengers of Japanese monster movies! It's the House of Frankenstein of rubber suit monster mayhem. Filling the frame with kaiju, it's Destroy All Monsters! Considered by many as a classic installment in the Godzilla series, Destroy All Monsters is a celebration of Toho's tokusatsu history and also a farewell to the golden age of Japanese monster movies.

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (1965): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY SEVEN

INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER (1965)

aka. Monster Zero
aka. Great Monster War
aka. Godzilla vs. Monster Zero

Space. The final frontier. These are the adventures of the kaiju Godzilla. His 60-year mission: to beat the ever-loving hell out of giant rubber monsters. To boldly go where no giant radioactive lizard has gone before. Today, Godzilla goes into outerspace for the campy and colourful romp: INVASION OF ASTRO-MONSTER!

GHIDORAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER (1964): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY SIX

GHIDORAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER (1964)

aka. Three Giant Monsters: Earth's Greatest Battle

aka. Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster

Aside from introducing one of Godzilla's classic enemies, Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster is held up alongside Mothra vs. Godzilla as one of the best kaiju movies of the Showa series. At the same time, it is decried by many adult Godzilla fans. You see, Ghidorah heralded a monumental and culture-shifting transformation that many Godzilla purists are still not happy about. For 30 years following Ghidorah, Godzilla would be firmly and unequivocally depicted not as monster but as a kid-friendly hero. And it all started right here.

MOTHRA vs. GODZILLA (1964): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY FIVE

MOTHRA vs. GODZILLA (1964)
aka. Godzilla vs. The Thing

It's time to bug-out as we take a look at one of the best, if not THE BEST, Godzilla movies of the Show Era series. We've seen Godzilla tangle with Anguirus, an original creation for Godzilla Raids Again. He's even battled the big ape on loan from RKO in King Kong vs. Godzilla. But for the first time ever in film history, Godzilla fights the winged mother of destruction herself: MOTHRA!

KING KONG vs. GODZILLA (1962): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY FOUR

KING KONG vs. GODZILLA (1962)

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up to witness a cataclysmic, catastrophic clash of titanic terrors! Get y'er front-row seats to the knock-down, drag-out battle of the century! Tonight Japan's reigning monster supreme Godzilla goes toe-to-toe with the American ape of astonishing strength: King Kong! When the dust finally settles on the ruins of Japan, who will emerge the new King of the Monsters?

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (1956): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY TWO

GODZILLA: KING OF 
THE MONSTERS (1956)

Although Gojira had already debuted in Japan two years prior, Americans would only come to know him in 1956 when Gojira was re-edited and released in North America as Godzilla: King of the Monsters!

GOJIRA (1954): 30 Days of Godzilla

DAY ONE

GOJIRA (1954)

A legend is born! As we count down to Gareth Edwards' big American remake of Godzilla, we turn our attention to the monster's origins in his surprisingly emotional, sad, and haunting Japanese debut.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GODZILLA

59 years ago today, the King of Monsters was born.

On November 3, 1954, Japanese audiences were introduced to Gojira. Directed by Ishirō Honda, Gojira plumbed Japan's post-war nuclear trauma to create a new sci-fi monster that lives on today as one of Japan's most famous pop-culture icons.


After American audiences were introduced to the king of monsters in 1956 as Godzilla, he was already well on his way to forging a new genre of monster movies in which men in rubber suits destroyed miniature sets and battled each other like clumsy latex wrestlers. Although this brand of monster movie fell out of popularity in the 60s and 70s, Godzilla survived. He also survived a 1980s reboot, a disastrous 1998 American take on the big lizard from director Roland Emmerich, and a basketball battle against Charles Barkley for Nike.


Although Godzilla has been absent from theaters for nine years, his influence is still felt in giant monster epics such as Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. But fear not, G-fans. In 2014, marking Godzilla's 60th anniversary, the king of the monsters will return to the big screen in Gareth Edward's highly anticipated reboot.