Your 6 favorite Godzilla flicks

[GodzillaDude]

1.) Gojira (1954)
2.) Godzilla vs Gigan (1972)
3.) Godzilla vs Biollante (1989)
4.) Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
5.) Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 2 (1993)
6.) Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

I'm not really questioning it, as much as I am asking for elaboration on it. It's a somewhat unique choice for such a high spot, what about it makes it that high on the list for you?

I don't necessarilly think time increases or decreases the quality of any particular film. While standards in genre change over time (especially in horror), the films themselves are products of their era and shouldn't be expected to be "up to code" so to speak with what the genre offers 70 yeara later. Context should always be practiced, because the Wolf Man isn't and should never be compared to the blood soaked gore fests of today, because it's era created a haunting and sad tale for its own audience. And it's a great movie.

Nosferatu though...that's good old fashioned nightmare fuel.

I haven't agreed with anyone on here as much as right now in a long time. I fully agree with this statement!

[Kaiser]

1. Godzilla (1954)
2. Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
3. Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
4. Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
5. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
6. Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

[jackzilla]

I haven't seen every Godzilla movie, about 15 which if half, here are my 6 favorites.

1. Godzilla 2000
2. Godzilla Final Wars
3. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghildora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack
4. Godzilla vs King Ghildorah
5. Godzilla vs Desotrayh
6. Godzilla 1985

Why six? Kinda of a ramdom number

[three]

I haven't seen every Godzilla movie, about 15 which if half, here are my 6 favorites.

1. Godzilla 2000
2. Godzilla Final Wars
3. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghildora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack
4. Godzilla vs King Ghildorah
5. Godzilla vs Desotrayh
6. Godzilla 1985

Why six? Kinda of a ramdom number

because top 5 is cliche and top 7 (i don't count Godzilla 1998 as a Godzilla film in and of itself) would be 1/4 of all the movies in the franchise which would have been too many i thought. so i chose 6.

[Megalon7]

1. Godzilla vs Gigan: I love almost everything about this movie. The music is great (I know it's music from other Toho movies, but it feels like a "best of Ifukube"). The human characters are fun and some of the most likable in the franchise, IMO. The whole plot is silly but entertaining. I also like the monster fights, despite the obvious stock footage.

2. Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974): Pretty much the same reasons why I like Godzilla vs Gigan. The whole movie is just really fun to watch.

3. Son of Godzilla: I really didn't know what to expect when I first watched this movie. I ended up really enjoying it. The scenes with Godzilla and Minya are good, and Masaru Sato provides a great score which goes well with the island theme. I like the human scenes, too.

4. Godzilla vs Monster Zero & Mothra vs Godzilla (tie): I have a really hard time deciding which film I like better. Both have great music, both have good human scenes, both have entertaining monster scenes.

5. Godzilla vs Biollante: I saw this one earlier this year. It's a very entertaining movie. I personally think it's best of the Heisei series. I can't really think of anything in this move that I don't like.

6. I can't think of a 6th. Too many nominees (like DAM, GMK, GvKG, and GvH).

I also want to point out that I have not seen RoG or the Japanese version of KKvG.

And my list will probably change from time to time.

[ebirahsmeg1]

1. Ghidrah the 3-Headed Monster
2. Godzilla vs Monster Zero
3. Godzilla Final Wars
4. Mothra vs Godzilla
5. Godzilla vs Gigan and Godzilla vs the Sea Monster
6. Destroy All Monsters

Honorable mention: Terror of MechaGozilla and Son of Godzilla

[Gojira1963]

In no particular order

Godzilla, King of the Monsters
Mothra vs Godzilla (Godzilla vs the Thing)
Godzilla 2000
Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghildora: Giant Monsters All Out Attack
Godzilla: Final Wars
Invasion of the Astro-Monster (Godzilla vs Monster Zero)

[Dillyziller]

Why is this in heisei?

[three]

Why is this in heisei?

as a mistake on my part. i did it early in the morning half asleep and didn't realize there was a general toho thread. i posted a disclaimer on the first page about it being in the wrong place but just in case i'll do it again here:

for those of you posting in the future: the thread should be in general toho. it was placed here as a mistake. my apologies. if you'd kindly post your 6 favorite films and leave it at that, eventually a mod will move it (so we hope). till then, i apologize for cluttering the forum.

[Black Lion]

1954
1985
vs Biollante
vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
vs Hedorah
vs King Kong

I like the serious interpretation of Godzilla the best, but I need the campy and funny flicks too. Just like with Batman.

[Dillyziller]

Why is this in heisei?

as a mistake on my part. i did it early in the morning half asleep and didn't realize there was a general toho thread. i posted a disclaimer on the first page about it being in the wrong place but just in case i'll do it again here:

for those of you posting in the future: the thread should be in general toho. it was placed here as a mistake. my apologies. if you'd kindly post your 6 favorite films and leave it at that, eventually a mod will move it (so we hope). till then, i apologize for cluttering the forum.

Oh ok. I wonder why a mod didnt move it yet...

[Rodan]

1. Godzilla (1954)

Everything else is subject to change, but at any one time my next five probably look something like this:

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974), Mothra vs Godzilla (1964), King Kong vs Godzilla (1962), Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Like others in this thread, I think the concept has major legs as a serious metaphor. Unfortunately, only the first entry in the series really capitalizes on that, so the rest of my favorites are ones I feel best encompass the genre's sense of fun. Mothra vs. Godzilla also blends in elements of satire and balances its humor and seriousness well enough that it gets my pick for second best critically as well.

Honorable mention goes to Son of Godzilla (1967).

[three]

1. Godzilla (1954)

Everything else is subject to change, but at any one time my next five probably look something like this:

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974), Mothra vs Godzilla (1964), King Kong vs Godzilla (1962), Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Like others in this thread, I think the concept has major legs as a serious metaphor. Unfortunately, only the first entry in the series really capitalizes on that, so the rest of my favorites are ones I feel best encompass the genre's sense of fun. Mothra vs. Godzilla also blends in elements of satire and balances its humor and seriousness well enough that it gets my pick for the second best entry critically as well.

Honorable mention for Son of Godzilla (1967).

one thing i'd like to mention about Godzilla vs Mothra (the thing) is the unique entrance Godzilla has into the movie. one of the coolest IMO, as well as odd.

[Rodan]

one thing i'd like to mention about Godzilla vs Mothra (the thing) is the unique entrance Godzilla has into the movie. one of the coolest IMO, as well as odd.

Shaking himself off at the beach?

Yeah, man, I love it.

"Cool as well as odd" is actually a pretty good description for the film as a whole, and all the better Showa films for that matter.

[three]

one thing i'd like to mention about Godzilla vs Mothra (the thing) is the unique entrance Godzilla has into the movie. one of the coolest IMO, as well as odd.

Shaking himself off at the beach?

Yeah, man, I love it.

"Cool as well as odd" is actually a pretty good description for the film as a whole, and all the better Showa films for that matter.

yup haha "why's this dirt pit radioactive?"

"because...wait what?" *Godzilla appears* "HOLY (*%^!"


i agree most showa films worth watching are odd, but cool.

[Black Lion]

I think one of the reasons that the original Gojira seems to be only one that really uses the nuclear devastation angle is because there's no way to add on to that.

The first movie said everything that needed to be said. It showed the carelessness of science, the horrible effects it had on the natural world, how they came back to bite us in the ass, mankind's capacity for remorse and the resolve to right his mistakes, and a warning for the future.

What more can you possibly do with that metaphor? Trying to use it again would just end up being a remake / retread. I think Banno was on the right track with "vs Hedorah" in that Godzilla can be used to represent other man-made problems like pollution. Even though it's one of my favorites, I really think he needed someone to reel his ideas back onto ground sometimes.

[thatsoundman]

the japanese versions of:

1954 Gojira
1955 Godzilla Raids Again
1962 Godzilla vs King Kong
1964 Godzilla vs Mothra
1964 Godzilla vs Ghidorah
1974 Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla

The reasons are these films are longer, story is expounded enough to make better sense, etc.

[Rodan]

I think one of the reasons that the original Gojira seems to be only one that really uses the nuclear devastation angle is because there's no way to add on to that.

While that's true, it's something that you can at least revisit once every few decades. Nuclear weapons haven't left us, even if how we view them has changed.

And giant monsters destroying populous landmarks for the sake of entertainment is a pretty weighty idea in and of itself. Godzilla and other giant monsters have become such icons in the last fifty years that a smart meta-fictional take is also now viable (and, actually, it would seem almost irresponsible to attempt a smart Godzilla movie that didn't touch on this in some way).

So while the original movie have been the perfect post-war metaphor for nuclear devastation, I don't think we've exhausted avenues for intellectually stimulating Godzilla films. It's just that the entries since either haven't bothered, or, if they did, did so embarrassingly heavy-handedly (Hedorah, GMK).

[Black Lion]

I think one of the reasons that the original Gojira seems to be only one that really uses the nuclear devastation angle is because there's no way to add on to that.

While that's true, it's something that you can at least revisit once every few decades. Nuclear weapons haven't left us, even if how we view them has changed.

And giant monsters destroying populous landmarks for the sake of entertainment is also a pretty weighty idea in and of itself. Godzilla and other giant monsters have become such icons in the last fifty years that a smart meta-fictional take is also now viable (and, actually, it would seem almost irresponsible to attempt a smart Godzilla movie that didn't touch on this in some way).

So while the original movie have been the perfect post-war metaphor for nuclear devastation, I don't think we've exhausted avenues for intellectually stimulating Godzilla films. It's just that the entries since either haven't bothered, or, if they did, did so embarrassingly heavy-handedly (Hedorah, GMK).

That's exactly what I'm trying to say. Godzilla would be amazing again in the hands of a more subtle writer.

And I really like your observation of the popularity of seeing monsters destroy our cities and defeat our militaries. I'll point out one example I believe gets overlooked too often: Notice in Godzilla 1985 (American version), while Godzilla is on a rampage across the world killing thousands and toppling cities, Steve Martin's grandson is playing with a toy dinosaur smashing up other toys for fun.

For Godzilla to be a potent symbol again, the next screenplay needs to depict him as what he really is: A power fantasy and a projection of our own desires to be irresistible and become what a nuclear weapon truly is, which is something obscenely powerful that we both fear to face and secretly want to become. We want Godzilla's irresistible strength, but we don't want to see it used against us and for that reason we must all keep each other's personal Godzillas in check. This is the concept behind nuclear deterrence and I think would be the next logical step in a serious narrative. RoG touched on this but only briefly.

There is a way to fully explore the concept without bashing you over the head with it.

[Rodan]

Notice in Godzilla 1985 (American version), while Godzilla is on a rampage across the world killing thousands and toppling cities, Steve Martin's grandson is playing with a toy dinosaur smashing up other toys for fun.

F*ck. It's almost painful how smart that could have seemed in any other movie.

Then again, skirting just inches away from the edge of greatness is a long-running theme in Godzilla movies and vintage Toho sci-fi in general. It's almost like the world's most frustrating tradition at this point.