| After 50 years and more than two dozen films, Godzilla is set to retire this year, following the Japanese release of one last giant-monster-filled blowout entitled Godzilla: Final Wars in December. It’s been a long and rubble-strewn journey, filled with snarling monsters, ruined cities, ineffectual tanks, UFOs and the occasional annoying kid in shorts. Here’s the big guy’s cinematic history in brief:
Showa era (1954 - 1975) – It all started with the ground-shaking release of Gojira (1954) that, at the time, was the most expensive movie ever produced in Japan. The film broke box office records, and was re-edited into an American version, Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956), with the addition of English dubbing and American star Raymond Burr. The rampaging lizard didn’t survive his first movie, but an identical beast surfaced to carry on the city-stomping tradition in a sequel entitled Godzilla’s Counterattack (1955). This sequel was retitled Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959) when it reached North America, because the distributors neglected to secure the rights to the Godzilla name. These days, you can find it on video, retitled once again, as Godzilla Raids Again.
A seven-year hiatus followed, before King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) kicked the franchise off to a fresh start. Toho studios subsequently made a new Godzilla movie every year, and each time Godzilla got to fight another giant monster, such as Mothra, MechaGodzilla, or King Ghidrah. The films from this period (known as the Showa era) got a bit juvenile over time, as the city-stomper became increasingly kid-friendly and silly. After Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975), the Showa era came to an end, but radioactive monsters have a strange habit of rising again….
Heisei era (1985 - 1995) – Godzilla 1985 (1985) restarted the franchise by ignoring the events of all the previous movies except for the first one. They even got Raymond Burr to reprise his role in the American version. Six cool sequels followed, although they went direct-to-video in North America and were never shown in theatres. Once again, Godzilla gradually became a good guy, and protected Tokyo from other monsters. The Heisei era came to a seemingly definitive (and emotional) close in Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995), in which the steaming, glowing Godzilla undergoes a complete nuclear meltdown.
Shinsei era (1999 - 2004) – Responding to critical scorn for Tristar’s 1998 Godzilla, Toho studios agreed to make a "real Godzilla movie" and came up with Godzilla 2000 (1999), which is an absolute treat. Toho has made more sequels at a rate of one per year since then, leading up to the much-anticipated swan song, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) which is in production. The four films between these two entries are finally becoming available on DVD in North America, with only Godzilla x Mothra x MechaGodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) still waiting in the wings. Happy 50th Godzilla – let’s hope your retirement is as short-lived as usual.
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