Talkback: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

[Cryptid_Liker]

First-time watcher here. I liked it a lot more than I was expecting to. The eerie tone helps portray the severity of the film's message really well, Godzilla's mannerisms were fun to watch, and the child actor (despite literally playing a character named Ken) is actually pretty good! Between him and Hoshino from Ultraman, maybe I just have a higher tolerance for tokusatsu children. Huh.

Anyways, recommend.

[daveblackeye15]

Always happy to hear another fan of this one.
Oh and apparently that animated smog factory...got an ornament. I dunno if this was brought up in a previous page.
https://wikizilla.org/w/images/5/57/Smo ... nament.png
...I WANT IT!

[eabaker]

Oh and apparently that animated smog factory...got an ornament. I dunno if this was brought up in a previous page.
https://wikizilla.org/w/images/5/57/Smo ... nament.png
...I WANT IT!

That is gorgeous!

[king_ghidorah]

So I just rewatched this and have some complicated thoughts on it.

On one hand, what really struck me with this rewatch is that this film is easily one of the best Godzilla films ever made. It's just very innovative in its approach to everything.

Now, while on a technical level I can finally see the movie for what it is....I still don't ENJOY it. It's so dark, dour, mean-spirited, and oppressive....perhaps moreso than any other film in the franchise outside of 54. Even then, 54 wasn't as aggressively "mean" as I feel Hedorah is. Granted, this was all by design...it's meant to act as an alarm to pollution etc., but it's a hard film to sit through for me and I feel kind of....gross after watching it.

[Zero One]

At first i did not like this movie i found it weird and out of feel(if you get my drift).
However after watching for the second time i quite liked it. I feel like every time i watch it the more it grows on me like Hedorah and pollution. Hedorah is a very cool kaiju and does some bad shit to Godzilla.

[G.H.B]

This is top five material dudes. Hedorah itself is, in my opinion, THE greatest Kaiju in cinema history next to Godzilla himself. In many ways Hedorah has an even greater thematic presence than Godzilla, as while the threat of nuclear annihilation is never zero, it has waned considerably over the past thirty years. Pollution and its effects on the environment/climate are an immediate threat to not only human existence, but the majority of the planet’s biosphere as a whole.

[Gojira18]

Recently rewatched this and honestly, it's still in my bottom 10. On the plus side, I love Hedorah itself as a Kaiju, the environmental themes are well-intended, and the first 10 minutes or so have some genuine intrigue. But after that, I'm sorry but this movie falls apart. The visual style shifts and inconsistent tone are incredibly distracting, the only characters worth a damn are Dr. Yano and Ken (The latter of whom being incredibly annoying) and the rest are utterly pointless, and the pacing is dull af with big stretches of the monsters doing absolutely nothing. I keep hearing people say this is an underrated masterpiece and....really?? I mean, to each their own but I consider this one of the most overrated movies in the series. It could've been a nice 40 minute short film but it got unnaturally stretched to an hour and a half.

[edgaguirus]

This film definitely has the most interesting visuals of the series. Whether it's an ocean littered with garbage, animation, or psychedelic images like the fish heads, no other film can compete with it there.

[Follinollante]

Just rewatched this one yesterday, this time in Japanese (no subs, so that was an experience).

I am incredibly pleased to say that I now like this film. My first viewing was an abysmal experience; I was bored out of my skull for the entire movie. I don't know if it was the poor dubbing or what.
This time, though, I legitimately enjoyed the film. I appreciate a lot of what the film did or tried to do, and there were definitely standout scenes, a lot of which are truly really well done, with my favorite one still being the scene in which Hedorah is drinking up the smoke. I think understanding a little more of the historical context of the film also helped.
Do I now think that it is an objectively good film? No. Definitely not. It suffers from, as many before me have said, poor pacing, hit-or-miss special effects, uneven tone, etc. But I do like the movie now, and that's really all that matters to me.

[Spuro]

Do I now think that it is an objectively good film? No. Definitely not. It suffers from, as many before me have said, poor pacing, hit-or-miss special effects, uneven tone, etc. But I do like the movie now, and that's really all that matters to me.

I used to be the same as you. Really disliked Godzilla vs Hedorah when I first watched it. But with every rewatch it slowly started to grow on me.

And now? Now I consider it to be one of the best Godzilla films. Top 10 material. And it keeps climbing the list with every passing year.

Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Do I now think that it is an objectively good film? No. Definitely not. It suffers from, as many before me have said, poor pacing, hit-or-miss special effects, uneven tone, etc. But I do like the movie now, and that's really all that matters to me.

I used to be the same as you. Really disliked Godzilla vs Hedorah when I first watched it. But with every rewatch it slowly started to grow on me.

And now? Now I consider it to be one of the best Godzilla films. Top 10 material. And it keeps climbing the list with every passing year.

Dread it. Run from it. Destiny arrives all the same.

Like smoggy it grows and grows as it grows stronger and stronger

Someone in another thread, maybe Cookson, suggested to bring Hedorah back and or/redo this movie. I had a thought that Hedorah and the setting/vibe it exists in should never come back. I like the effort that went into the GFes Godzilla Vs Hedorah short, and I actually like the GFW Hedorah design, but I think any sort of update on Hedorah and it’s movie will always be a pale imitation because Godzilla Vs Hedorah was truly a product of its time and environment.

[HedorahIsBestGirl]

Someone in another thread, maybe Cookson, suggested to bring Hedorah back and or/redo this movie. I had a thought that Hedorah and the setting/vibe it exists in should never come back. I like the effort that went into the GFes Godzilla Vs Hedorah short, and I actually like the GFW Hedorah design, but I think any sort of update on Hedorah and it’s movie will always be a pale imitation because Godzilla Vs Hedorah was truly a product of its time and environment.

While I don't think Godzilla vs. Hedorah should be remade, as it's already a masterpiece and very much a product of the 70s, I disagree that Hedorah shouldn't come back. Pollution continues to be a global problem some 50+ years after this film's release and I'd love to see a reimagining of Hedorah on the big screen, whether in a Toho film or the MonsterVerse. In fact, Hedorah is one of the few classic kaiju that I really think is overdue for a return, the other being Biollante. I'm not counting that piddly 20 seconds of defamation in GFW as a proper comeback.

Added in 1 minute 10 seconds:

I keep hearing people say this is an underrated masterpiece and....really??

We shall continue to preach the gospel, my brother in Godzilla.

[CyberZilla]

I wonder what kind of story could be told with Hedorah in the modern day. Maybe this hypothetical Hedorah “reboot” would involve micro-plastics and other such pollutants as part of its origins. Maybe an even more exaggerated ocean pollution motif, like he’s also a jellyfish mixed with a trash amoeba with plastics abounding in his flesh. I could see a trash bag “head” working on him to simulate both the trash and the jellyfish aspect. Gosh, maybe I should draw that. Just spitballing makes me want to imagine what a Reiwa Hedorah could be.

Great, this thread is making me wanna rewatch the movie again. Not that I’m complaining.

[edgaguirus]

I haven't watched this one lately either. I may join you.

Your plastic idea sounds intriguing. It could be tied in with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a miles long area where microplastics and other trash/debris have accumulated. Wouldn't it be interesting if all that plastic and such returned to haunt us in kaiju form.

[KingSkeetorah]

What can I say about this movie that hasn't already been said? Definitely nothing. I love the shit out of it, let me just say that. One of my most frequently watched these days. It's very heavy on the monster action and Hedorah is easily one of the coolest kaiju ever created.

A psychedelic monster movie masterpiece.

[miguelnuva]

Bigaction Bill made the best comparison with this film that will stick with me. Gojira, Shin Godzilla and this film all set out to do the same thing as being a warring to mankind based on real world tragedy. Two of these films are remembered as masterpieces and one is mixed at best in the fandom.

[Legion1979]

Well "mixed at vest" certainly doesn't describe Godzilla vs Hedorah. The film is a fucking masterpiece.

[Gigantis]

I do like this movie, but I need to be in a specific mood to really give a watch. As in, "I really wanna watch an acid trip today" kind of mood.

I wouldn't really call it a favorite of mine, not even favorite of the Showa era, but there's definitely nothing godawful about it like some would say.

[miguelnuva]

Well "mixed at vest" certainly doesn't describe Godzilla vs Hedorah. The film is a fucking masterpiece.

We like Hedorah yes, the last I checked the fans base was still calling it a trippy and all the other negatives the film gets.

[Legion1979]

Nah, masterpiece. Some people just haven't realized it yet.