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Godzilla (film Series)

 
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is a series of giant monster films starring Godzilla
Godzilla

is a kaiju from the Godzilla series of science fiction films. He was first seen in the 1954 in film film Godzilla and has appeared in 28 films to date, all of which were produced by Toho As one of the most iconic characters in film history, Godzilla has also appeared in numerous Godzilla , Godzilla video games, novels and Godzilla in popula...
, a Japanese creation usually portrayed by a man in a rubber suit. Starting in 1954, the Godzilla series has become one of the longest running film series in movie history.

The first film, Godzilla
Godzilla (1954 film)

is a successful landmark 1954 in film Japanese science fiction film directed and co-written by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, produced and distributed by Toho....
, was first released in the United States in 1955 in Japanese-American
Japanese American

are Americans of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity....
 communities only. In 1956, it was adapted by an American company into Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 United States black-and-white science fiction film adapted from the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla , which had previously been shown Subtitle d in the United States in Japanese community theaters only, and was not known in Europe....
, edited and with added principal scenes featuring Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr

Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canada Emmy-winning actor, primarily known for his roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside ....
, and this version became an international success.

The original Godzilla was greatly inspired by the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)

King Kong is a landmark black-and-white monster film about a gigantic gorilla named "King Kong" and how he is captured from a remote lost prehistoric island and brought to civilization against his will....
, and the 1953 success of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eug?ne Louri? and stars Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen....
.






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is a series of giant monster films starring Godzilla
Godzilla

is a kaiju from the Godzilla series of science fiction films. He was first seen in the 1954 in film film Godzilla and has appeared in 28 films to date, all of which were produced by Toho As one of the most iconic characters in film history, Godzilla has also appeared in numerous Godzilla , Godzilla video games, novels and Godzilla in popula...
, a Japanese creation usually portrayed by a man in a rubber suit. Starting in 1954, the Godzilla series has become one of the longest running film series in movie history.

The first film, Godzilla
Godzilla (1954 film)

is a successful landmark 1954 in film Japanese science fiction film directed and co-written by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, produced and distributed by Toho....
, was first released in the United States in 1955 in Japanese-American
Japanese American

are Americans of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity....
 communities only. In 1956, it was adapted by an American company into Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 United States black-and-white science fiction film adapted from the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla , which had previously been shown Subtitle d in the United States in Japanese community theaters only, and was not known in Europe....
, edited and with added principal scenes featuring Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr

Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canada Emmy-winning actor, primarily known for his roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside ....
, and this version became an international success.

The original Godzilla was greatly inspired by the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)

King Kong is a landmark black-and-white monster film about a gigantic gorilla named "King Kong" and how he is captured from a remote lost prehistoric island and brought to civilization against his will....
, and the 1953 success of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eug?ne Louri? and stars Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen....
. Godzilla would go on to inspire Gorgo, Gamera
Gamera

Gamera is a giant, flying turtle-like creature from a popular series of Kaiju eiga monster movies produced by Kadokawa Pictures in Japan. Created in 1965 to rival the success of Toho Studios' Godzilla during the kaiju boom of the mid-to-late 1960s, Gamera has gained fame and notoriety as a Japanese icon in his own right....
, Cloverfield
Cloverfield

Cloverfield is a 2008 in film monster movie directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.Before the film's release Paramount Pictures carried out a viral marketing campaign to promote the film....
, and many others.

The name "Godzilla" is a romanization, by the film production company Toho Company Ltd.
Toho

is a large Japanese independent film studio. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group....
, of the original Japanese name "Gojira" — which is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira 'gorilla' and kujira (?, ???) 'whale'. The word alludes to the size, power and aquatic origin of Godzilla. "Gojira" was allegedly the nickname of a large employee of Toho, but in the 50+ years since the film's original release, no one claiming to be the employee ever stepped forward and no photographs have ever surfaced.

Filmography

Since 1954, there have been 28 Godzilla films produced by Toho Studios in Japan, with the US film bringing the total to 29. (Please note that the titles listed below are Toho's preferred English titles)

!width="250"|Official Toho title !Year !width="120"|Director !width="120"|SFX director !width="250"|Alternate English titles |- |1. Godzilla
Godzilla (1954 film)

is a successful landmark 1954 in film Japanese science fiction film directed and co-written by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, produced and distributed by Toho....
 |1954
1954 in film

The year 1954 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 |Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is a 1956 United States black-and-white science fiction film adapted from the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla , which had previously been shown Subtitle d in the United States in Japanese community theaters only, and was not known in Europe....
 |- |2. Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla Raids Again

, also known in the United States as Gigantis, the Fire Monster, is a 1955, black and white, Japanese cinema tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, Shigeaki Hidaka and Takeo Murata and produced by Toho....
 |1955
1955 in film

The year 1955 in film involved some significant events....
 |Motoyoshi Oda
Motoyoshi Oda

Motoyoshi Oda , was a Japanese film director.An English major who graduated from Waseda University, one of Japan's most prestigious, in 1935, Motoyoshi Oda was promptly accepted into the directors' program at Tokyo's P.C.L....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 |Gigantis, the Fire Monster |- |3. King Kong vs. Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla

is a 1962 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda with visual effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It was the third installment in the Japanese series of monster films featuring the mutant dinosaur Godzilla....
 |1962 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 | |- |4. Mothra vs. Godzilla
Mothra vs. Godzilla

is a tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda. It was the fourth film to be released in the Godzilla , produced by Toho...
 |1964
1964 in film

The year 1964 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 |Godzilla vs. the Thing, Godzilla vs. Mothra |- |5. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, released in Japan as and originally released in the US as Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster, is a 1964 tokusatsu kaiju film, and is the 5th film in Toho's Godzilla series....
 |1964
1964 in film

The year 1964 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 |Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster |- |6. Invasion of Astro-Monster
Invasion of Astro-Monster

Invasion of Astro-Monster; known in Japan as ; Monster Zero and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero in the United States; and Invasion of the Astro-Monsters in the United Kingdom is a Toho kaiju film released in 1965 and direct sequel to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster....
 |1965
1965 in film

The year 1965 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 |Monster Zero, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero |- |7. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep |1966
1966 in film

The year 1966 in film involved some significant events....
 |Jun Fukuda
Jun Fukuda

, was a Japanese director. He was born in Manchuria. He has directed dozens of films, perhaps best known for his contributions to the Godzilla in the 1970s....
 |Eiji Tsuburaya
Eiji Tsuburaya

was the Japanese special effects director responsible for many Japanese science-fiction movies, including the Godzilla series....
 |Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster |- |8. Son of Godzilla
Son of Godzilla

Son of Godzilla, released in Japan as , is a 1967 in film film. The eighth part of the Toho studio's Godzilla series, it was directed by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa....
 |1967
1967 in film

The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered as one of the most ground-breaking years in film....
 |Jun Fukuda
Jun Fukuda

, was a Japanese director. He was born in Manchuria. He has directed dozens of films, perhaps best known for his contributions to the Godzilla in the 1970s....
 |Sadamasa Arikawa | |- |9. Destroy All Monsters
Destroy All Monsters

Destroy All Monsters, released in Japan as , is a 1968 in film Kaiju eiga . The ninth in Toho' Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa....
 |1968
1968 in film

The year 1968 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Sadamasa Arikawa | |- |10. All Monsters Attack
All Monsters Attack

All Monsters Attack, released in Japan as , is a 1969 tokusatsu film, also known as Godzilla's Revenge. The 10th film in Toho Studio's Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda, who also directed the special effects, assisted by Teruyoshi Nakano....
 |1969
1969 in film

The year 1969 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Godzilla's Revenge |- |11. Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Godzilla vs. Hedorah

, also known as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, is a 1971 film. The eleventh film in Toho Co. Ltd.'s Godzilla series, it was directed by Yoshimitsu Banno with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano....
 |1971
1971 in film

The year 1971 in film involved some significant events....
 |Yoshimitsu Banno
Yoshimitsu Banno

is a Japanese people Film director, perhaps best known for the cult-classic Godzilla vs. Hedorah, which he directed and co-wrote. Banno was a special guest at G-Fest in 2005....
 |Teruyoshi Nakano
Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano , is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....
 |Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster |- |12. Godzilla vs. Gigan
Godzilla vs. Gigan

Godzilla vs. Gigan, released in Japan as and also known as Godzilla on Monster Island when first released to U.S. theaters, is a 1972 tokusatsu film....
 |1972
1972 in film

The year 1972 in film involved some significant events....
 |Jun Fukuda
Jun Fukuda

, was a Japanese director. He was born in Manchuria. He has directed dozens of films, perhaps best known for his contributions to the Godzilla in the 1970s....
 |Teruyoshi Nakano
Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano , is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....
 |Godzilla on Monster Island |- |13. Godzilla vs. Megalon
Godzilla vs. Megalon

is a 1973 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed and co-written by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. It was the thirteenth film to be released in the Godzilla franchise....
 |1973
1973 in film

The year 1973 in film involved some significant events....
 |Jun Fukuda
Jun Fukuda

, was a Japanese director. He was born in Manchuria. He has directed dozens of films, perhaps best known for his contributions to the Godzilla in the 1970s....
 |Teruyoshi Nakano
Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano , is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....
 | |- |14. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

, originally known in the United States as Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster and subsequently Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster, is a 1974 tokusatsu kaiju film....
 |1974
1974 in film

The year 1974 in film involved some significant events....
 |Jun Fukuda
Jun Fukuda

, was a Japanese director. He was born in Manchuria. He has directed dozens of films, perhaps best known for his contributions to the Godzilla in the 1970s....
 |Teruyoshi Nakano
Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano , is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....
 |Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster |- |15. Terror of Mechagodzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Terror of Mechagodzilla, released in Japan as , is a 1975 tokusatsu kaiju film. The film was titled The Terror of Godzilla in its original United States of America theatrical release....
 |1975
1975 in film

The year 1975 in film involved some significant events....
 |Ishiro Honda
Ishiro Honda

Ishiro Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese people film director. His early film career included working as an assistant under the famed director, Akira Kurosawa....
 |Teruyoshi Nakano
Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano , is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....
 |The Terror of Godzilla |- |16. The Return of Godzilla
The Return of Godzilla

The Return of Godzilla, released as in Japan and edited into Godzilla 1985 in America, is a 1984 in film Kaiju film. The sixteenth film in Toho's Godzilla series, it was produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and directed by Koji Hashimoto with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano....
 |1984
1984 in film

Events* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.*TriStar Entertainment, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
 |Koji Hashimoto
Koji Hashimoto (director)

Koji Hashimoto , was a Japanese film assistant director and director, most noted for his work on the Godzilla movies and other monster series. He died of coronary disease at age 64 while mountain climbing....
 |Teruyoshi Nakano
Teruyoshi Nakano

Teruyoshi Nakano , is a Japanese special effects director, most notable for his contributions to the Godzilla and other tokusatsu movies. Nakano was a special guest at G-Fest, where he was the recipient of the Mangled Skyscraper Award....
 |Godzilla 1985 |- |17. Godzilla vs. Biollante
Godzilla vs. Biollante

is a 1989 Kaiju film written and directed by Kazuki Omori. It was the seventeenth film to be released in the Godzilla franchise and the second in terms of the franchise's Heisei period....
 |1989
1989 in film

Events* "Batman " is released on June 23rd, and went on to become the biggest blockbuster of the year; Grossing over $250 million at the box office....
 |Kazuki Omori
Kazuki Omori

is a Japanese people film director and screenwriter. He has written and/or directed several dozen films, including contributions to the popular Godzilla ....
 |Koichi Kawakita
Koichi Kawakita

is a special effects artist....
 | |- |18. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

is the 18th installment in the Godzilla series of films. The movie was released theatrically in Japan on December 14, 1991. It was directed by Kazuki Omori and produced by Shogo Tomiyama with special effects provided by Koichi Kawakita....
 |1991
1991 in film

The year 1991 in film involved some significant events....
 |Kazuki Omori
Kazuki Omori

is a Japanese people film director and screenwriter. He has written and/or directed several dozen films, including contributions to the popular Godzilla ....
 |Koichi Kawakita
Koichi Kawakita

is a special effects artist....
 |Godzilla vs. King Ghidora |- |19. Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla vs. Mothra

, released as Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth in the U.S., is the 19th installment in the Godzilla series of films. The movie was released theatrically in Japan on December 12, 1992....
 |1992
1992 in film

The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. ...
 |Takao Okawara
Takao Okawara

Takao Okawara is a Japanese people film director, writer and Film producer....
 |Koichi Kawakita
Koichi Kawakita

is a special effects artist....
 |Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth |- |20. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, released in Japan as , is a 1993 film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Wataru Mimura. It was the twentieth film in Toho's Godzilla series....
 |1993
1993 in film

The year 1993 in film involved many significant films. ...
 |Takao Okawara
Takao Okawara

Takao Okawara is a Japanese people film director, writer and Film producer....
 |Koichi Kawakita
Koichi Kawakita

is a special effects artist....
 | |- |21. Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

is a 1994 kaiju film directed by Kensho Yamashita and written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara. It was the twenty-first film released in the Godzilla series as the film....
 |1994
1994 in film

The year 1994 in film involved some significant events....
 |Kensho Yamashita |Koichi Kawakita
Koichi Kawakita

is a special effects artist....
 | |- |22. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

, also known as Godzilla vs. Destroyer, is a 1995 film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Kazuki Omori. The film's story focuses on Godzilla fighting Destoroyah, a monster that was created by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that killed the original Godzilla in the Godzilla ....
 |1995
1995 in film

The year 1995 in film involved some significant events....
 |Takao Okawara
Takao Okawara

Takao Okawara is a Japanese people film director, writer and Film producer....
 |Koichi Kawakita
Koichi Kawakita

is a special effects artist....
 |- |23. Godzilla 2000: Millennium |1999
1999 in film

The year 1999 in film involved some significant events and was arguably the most successful year for films released in the 1990s. Several new feature films, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Sixth Sense, new sequel Toy Story 2, first of The Matrix, Disney's animated Tarzan , The Mummy , and the hig...
 |Takao Okawara
Takao Okawara

Takao Okawara is a Japanese people film director, writer and Film producer....
 |Kenji Suzuki
Kenji Suzuki

is a former television announcer for the NHK in Japan. He retired in 1988. He is the younger brother of film director Seijun Suzuki....
 |Godzilla 2000 |- |24. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, originally released in Japan as is a 2000 kaiju film directed by Masaaki Tezuka and written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura....
 |2000
2000 in film

The year 2000 in film involved some significant events....
 |Masaaki Tezuka |Kenji Suzuki
Kenji Suzuki

is a former television announcer for the NHK in Japan. He retired in 1988. He is the younger brother of film director Seijun Suzuki....
 | |- |25. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

is a 2001 Kaiju film directed and co-written by Shusuke Kaneko. It was the twenty-fifth film to be released in the Godzilla film series. It is part of the Millennium series and is a direct sequel to the original Godzilla ....
 |2001
2001 in film

The year 2001 in film involved some significant events. ...
 |Shusuke Kaneko
Shusuke Kaneko

is a Japanese film director and writer....
 |Makoto Kamiya | |- |26. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, released in Japan as , is a 2002 Cinema of Japan directed by Masaaki Tezuka and written by Wataru Mimura. It is the 26th installment in the Godzilla series of films....
 |2002
2002 in film

The year '2002 in film' involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Stuart Litt...
 |Masaaki Tezuka |Yûichi Kikuchi | |- |27. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., released in Japan as , is a 2003 tokusatsu film directed by Masaaki Tezuka. It is the sequel to 2002's Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla....
 |2003
2003 in film

The year '2003 in film' involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like 2 Fast 2 Furious, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Freddy vs Jason, X2: X-Men Uni...
 |Masaaki Tezuka |Eiichi Asada | |- |28. Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla: Final Wars

is the fiftieth anniversary film and the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla .It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. As a 50th anniversary celebratory film, a large group of actors from previous Godzilla films, both classic and new, made appearances as main characters or cameo appearances....
 |2004
2004 in film

The year '2004 in film' involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ,The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Shrek 2, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs....
 |Ryuhei Kitamura
Ryuhei Kitamura

is a Japanese people filmmaker growing in popularity in Japan and in the international Japanese film community. Kitamura is represented by John Campisi at Creative Artists Agency, managed by Adam Krentzman at Anonymous Content....
 |Eiichi Asada | |-

Series History

The Godzilla series is generally broken into three eras, reflecting the broader division of daikaiju eiga into the Showa era
Showa era (daikaiju eiga)

In the terminology of Kaiju eiga the Showa Era refers not to the actual reign of the Showa period emperor but to all daikaiju eiga made between 1954 in film and 1980 in film ....
, Heisei era
Heisei era (daikaiju eiga)

In the context of Japanese monster cinema the Heisei Era refers not to the Heisei in Japan but to all daikaiju eiga made between 1984 in film and 1999 in film ....
, and Millennium era
Mireniamu era (daikaiju eiga)

In the terminology of kaiju eiga the Millennium Era refers not to the third millennium but to all daikaiju eiga made since 1999 in film, beginning with Toho's Godzilla 2000, which was jumpstarted in response to the America Godzilla film....
.

Showa series (1954–1975)

The initial series of movies is named for the Showa period
Showa period

The , or Showa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Showa , from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989. In his coronation message which was read to the people and to the army, the newly enthroned emperor referenced this Japanese era name or nengo: "I have visited the battlefields of the Great War in...
 in Japan (as all of these films were produced before Emperor Hirohito
Hirohito

, also known as , was the 124th Emperor of Japan of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989....
's death in 1989). This Showa timeline spanned from 1954, with Godzilla, to 1975, with Terror of Mechagodzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Terror of Mechagodzilla, released in Japan as , is a 1975 tokusatsu kaiju film. The film was titled The Terror of Godzilla in its original United States of America theatrical release....
. With the exception of the serious Godzilla
Godzilla (1954 film)

is a successful landmark 1954 in film Japanese science fiction film directed and co-written by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, produced and distributed by Toho....
 and the semi-serious sequels Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla Raids Again

, also known in the United States as Gigantis, the Fire Monster, is a 1955, black and white, Japanese cinema tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Motoyoshi Oda, Shigeaki Hidaka and Takeo Murata and produced by Toho....
, King Kong vs. Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla

is a 1962 tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda with visual effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. It was the third installment in the Japanese series of monster films featuring the mutant dinosaur Godzilla....
, and Mothra vs. Godzilla
Mothra vs. Godzilla

is a tokusatsu kaiju film directed by Ishiro Honda. It was the fourth film to be released in the Godzilla , produced by Toho...
, much of this series is relatively light-hearted. Starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, released in Japan as and originally released in the US as Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster, is a 1964 tokusatsu kaiju film, and is the 5th film in Toho's Godzilla series....
, Godzilla began evolving into a more human and playful antihero (this transition was complete by Son of Godzilla, where he is shown as a good character), and as years went by, he evolved into an anthropomorphic superhero
Superhero

A superhero is a Character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to act of derring-do in the public interest". Since the debut of the prototype superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes?ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas?have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other mass...
. The films Son of Godzilla
Son of Godzilla

Son of Godzilla, released in Japan as , is a 1967 in film film. The eighth part of the Toho studio's Godzilla series, it was directed by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa....
 and All Monsters Attack
All Monsters Attack

All Monsters Attack, released in Japan as , is a 1969 tokusatsu film, also known as Godzilla's Revenge. The 10th film in Toho Studio's Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda, who also directed the special effects, assisted by Teruyoshi Nakano....
 were aimed at youthful audiences, featuring the appearance of Godzilla's son, Minilla
Minilla

is a Kaiju from the Godzilla series of films and is the first of several young Godzillas. He first appeared in the Showa film Son of Godzilla and also appeared in Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack and the Millennium film Godzilla: Final Wars....
. The Showa period saw the addition of many monsters into the Godzilla continuity, two of which (Mothra
Mothra

is a kaiju, a type of fictional monster who first appeared in the novel The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Takehiko Fukunaga. Since her film d?but in the 1961 film Mothra , she has appeared in several Toho tokusatsu films....
 and Rodan
Rodan

is a kaiju, introduced in Rodan , a 1956 release from Toho, the company responsible for the Godzilla series. Like Godzilla and Anguirus, it is designed after a type of prehistoric reptile ....
) had their own solo movies. This period featured a well documented continuity, although the chronology becomes confusing after Destroy All Monsters
Destroy All Monsters

Destroy All Monsters, released in Japan as , is a 1968 in film Kaiju eiga . The ninth in Toho' Godzilla series, it was directed by Ishiro Honda with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and Sadamasa Arikawa....
. This film, set in the year 1999 transports all the monsters to Monster Island. The following film appears to be in the Japan when it was made, but Monster Island still features. Subsequent films Godzilla vs. Gigan
Godzilla vs. Gigan

Godzilla vs. Gigan, released in Japan as and also known as Godzilla on Monster Island when first released to U.S. theaters, is a 1972 tokusatsu film....
 and Godzilla vs. Megalon
Godzilla vs. Megalon

is a 1973 Japanese tokusatsu kaiju film directed and co-written by Jun Fukuda with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. It was the thirteenth film to be released in the Godzilla franchise....
 return to the 70s and late 60's onwards but still on an island called Monster Island. Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Godzilla vs. Hedorah

, also known as Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, is a 1971 film. The eleventh film in Toho Co. Ltd.'s Godzilla series, it was directed by Yoshimitsu Banno with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano....
, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

, originally known in the United States as Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster and subsequently Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster, is a 1974 tokusatsu kaiju film....
 and Terror of Mechagodzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Terror of Mechagodzilla, released in Japan as , is a 1975 tokusatsu kaiju film. The film was titled The Terror of Godzilla in its original United States of America theatrical release....
 set him as a free roaming wild monster again or just don't show Monster Island at all but it still exists.

Heisei series (1984–1995)

The timeline was revamped in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla
The Return of Godzilla

The Return of Godzilla, released as in Japan and edited into Godzilla 1985 in America, is a 1984 in film Kaiju film. The sixteenth film in Toho's Godzilla series, it was produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and directed by Koji Hashimoto with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano....
; this movie was created as a direct sequel to the 1954 film, and ignores the continuity of the Showa series. Known as the VS Series, (unofficially known to American fans as the "Heisei Series
Heisei era (daikaiju eiga)

In the context of Japanese monster cinema the Heisei Era refers not to the Heisei in Japan but to all daikaiju eiga made between 1984 in film and 1999 in film ....
", for the ruling emperor of the time), the continuity ended in 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

, also known as Godzilla vs. Destroyer, is a 1995 film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Kazuki Omori. The film's story focuses on Godzilla fighting Destoroyah, a monster that was created by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that killed the original Godzilla in the Godzilla ....
 after a run of seven films. The reason for the continuity shift was based on a realization that the marketing of the movies had removed the reason it was so loved. When it was discovered that Godzilla was becoming more popular with children and less so with the original adult audience(Godzilla's apperaence also changed to much: in Godzilla raids again, he looked like an altered T.Réx, but by terror of mechagodzilla 20 years later, he looked like a human with a lizard head, a tail and a skin disease), less complex themes were removed and Godzilla was made out to be a good guy instead of an indestructible, abhorrent mistake of men. However, the further Godzilla was taken away from his origins, the less long-term popularity his films held. Hence, The Return of Godzilla
The Return of Godzilla

The Return of Godzilla, released as in Japan and edited into Godzilla 1985 in America, is a 1984 in film Kaiju film. The sixteenth film in Toho's Godzilla series, it was produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka and directed by Koji Hashimoto with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano....
 brought the series back to form with a grittier, more serious feel.

The "new" Godzilla was portrayed as much more of an animal than the latter Showa films, or as a destructive force as he began. The biological nature and science behind Godzilla became a much more discussed issue in the films, showing the increased focus of the moral focus on genetics. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

is the 18th installment in the Godzilla series of films. The movie was released theatrically in Japan on December 14, 1991. It was directed by Kazuki Omori and produced by Shogo Tomiyama with special effects provided by Koichi Kawakita....
 gave the first concrete birth story for Godzilla, featuring a Godzillasaurus that got mutated by radiation into Godzilla.

Millennium series (1999–2004)

The Millennium Series
Mireniamu era (daikaiju eiga)

In the terminology of kaiju eiga the Millennium Era refers not to the third millennium but to all daikaiju eiga made since 1999 in film, beginning with Toho's Godzilla 2000, which was jumpstarted in response to the America Godzilla film....
 is the official term for the series of Godzilla movies, unofficially called the "Shinsei Series" (or even the "Alternate Reality Series") by American fans, made after the VS Series ended with Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

, also known as Godzilla vs. Destroyer, is a 1995 film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Kazuki Omori. The film's story focuses on Godzilla fighting Destoroyah, a monster that was created by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that killed the original Godzilla in the Godzilla ....
. The common theme to this era is that all movies use Godzilla (1954) as the jumping-off point. After the American Godzilla, Toho decided to show people who the "real" Godzilla was again (previously, plans for revitalizing the series were scheduled for 2004), while at the same time reinventing him.

Since the films are different, the sizes are different in some cases. Godzilla's most prominent size in this series is 55 meters (180 feet). In Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack

is a 2001 Kaiju film directed and co-written by Shusuke Kaneko. It was the twenty-fifth film to be released in the Godzilla film series. It is part of the Millennium series and is a direct sequel to the original Godzilla ....
 he was 60 meters (about 196 feet), and in Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla: Final Wars

is the fiftieth anniversary film and the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla .It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. As a 50th anniversary celebratory film, a large group of actors from previous Godzilla films, both classic and new, made appearances as main characters or cameo appearances....
 he was 100 meters tall (about 328 feet). Godzilla was originally supposed to be 50 meters (about 164 feet) in Final Wars, but budgetary cutbacks in miniature sets forced this size change.

Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla: Final Wars

is the fiftieth anniversary film and the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla .It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. As a 50th anniversary celebratory film, a large group of actors from previous Godzilla films, both classic and new, made appearances as main characters or cameo appearances....
 is the last Godzilla film as of 2004; Toho has decided to retire the franchise for a period of 5-10 years to renew interest in the future and will be returning with a new film in 2014 for Godzilla's 60th anniversary.

Daiei approached Toho about co-producing GODZILLA VS. GAMERA, but Toho rejected the offer so the project was scrapped.

American film


Godzilla (1998)
In October 1992, Toho
Toho

is a large Japanese independent film studio. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group....
 allowed Sony Pictures to make a trilogy of English-language Godzilla films, with the first film to be released in 1994. In May 1993 Ted Elliott
Ted Elliott

Ted Elliott is an American screenwriter. Along with his writing partner Terry Rossio, Elliott has written some of the most successful American films of the past 15 years, including Aladdin , Shrek and Pirates of the Caribbean ....
 and Terry Rossio
Terry Rossio

Terry Rossio is a screenwriter from Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating from Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, California, he went on to study at California State University, Fullerton where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with an emphasis in radio, television and film....
 were brought on to write a script, and in July 1994 Jan De Bont
Jan de Bont

Jan de Bont is a Netherlands cinematographer, film producer, and film director....
 signed on to direct. DeBont quit due to budget disputes, and director Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich is a Germany film director, screenwriter and film producer, known for his disaster film and action films....
 and producer Dean Devlin
Dean Devlin

Dean Devlin is an United Statesn screenwriter, Film producer, television director, and former actor. He is the founder of the production company Electric Entertainment....
 signed on before the release of the highly successful Independence Day
Independence Day (film)

Independence Day is a 1996 in film science fiction film about a hostile alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they coincidentally converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance retaliation effort on July 4....
. They rejected the previous script and Patrick Tatopoulos
Patrick Tatopoulos

'Patrick Tatopoulos' is a renowned French people-Greek people production designer, who lives and works in the United States. His designs have appeared in numerous box office hit motion pictures, including Underworld , I, Robot , The Chronicles of Riddick, Independence Day , Bram Stoker's Dracula, Stargate , Godzilla...
 radically redesigned the titular monster. The film was finally scheduled for release on May 19 1998.

Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)

Godzilla is a 1998 in film Cinema of the United States action film based on the Godzilla franchise. It was co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich and stars Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Michael Lerner and Kevin Dunn....
 was met with poor reviews and negative reaction from the fan base. Having grossed $375 million worldwide though, the studio moved ahead with a spin-off
Spin-off

A spin-off is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one, such as a television series based on a pre-existing one, or a new company formed from a university research group or business incubator....
 animated series
Godzilla: The Series

Godzilla is an co-production between Japanese/United States animated television series which originally aired on TV Tokyo in Japan and Fox Kids in the United States....
 and a sequel. Tab Murphy wrote a treatment, but Emmerich and Devlin left the production in March 1999 due to budget disputes. The original deal was to make a sequel within five years of release of a film, but after sitting on their property, considering a reboot
Reboot (continuity)

Reboot, in serial fiction, means a discarding of much or even all previous Continuity in the series, to start anew. Effectively, all previously-known fictive history is declared by the writer to be null and void, or at least irrelevant to the current storyline, and the series starts over....
, Sony's rights to make a Godzilla 2 expired in May 2003.

Culture

Godzilla was originally an allegory
Allegory

Allegory is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric, but an allegory does not have to be expressed in language: it may be addressed to the eye, and is often found in realistic painting, sculpture or some other form of Mimesis, or representative art....
 for the effects of the hydrogen bomb
Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
, and the consequences that such weapons might have on Earth. The radioactive contamination of the Japanese fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru
Daigo Fukuryu Maru

was a Japanese tuna fishing boat, which was exposed to and contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear device test on Bikini Atoll, on March 1, 1954....
 through the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
' Castle Bravo
Castle Bravo

Castle Bravo was the code name given to the first U.S. test of a so-called dry fuel Nuclear fusion hydrogen bomb device, detonated on March 1, 1954, at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, by the United States, as the first test of Operation Castle ....
 thermonuclear device test on Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
, on March 1, 1954 lead to much press coverage in Japan preceding the release of the first movie in 1954. The Versus
Heisei era (daikaiju eiga)

In the context of Japanese monster cinema the Heisei Era refers not to the Heisei in Japan but to all daikaiju eiga made between 1984 in film and 1999 in film ....
 and Millennium
Mireniamu era (daikaiju eiga)

In the terminology of kaiju eiga the Millennium Era refers not to the third millennium but to all daikaiju eiga made since 1999 in film, beginning with Toho's Godzilla 2000, which was jumpstarted in response to the America Godzilla film....
 Series have largely continued this concept. Some have pointed out the parallels, conscious or unconscious, between Godzilla's relationship to Japan and that of the United States; first a terrible enemy who causes enormous destruction to the cities of Japan such as Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
 (Godzilla, The Return of Godzilla), Osaka
Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
 (Godzilla Raids Again, Godzilla vs. Biollante), and Yokohama
Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kanto region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area....
 (Godzilla vs. Mothra, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack) in different films, but then becoming a good friend and defender in times of peril.

Films have been made over the last five decades, each reflecting the social and political climate in Japan. All but one of the 29 films were produced by Toho: a version was made in 1998 by TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures, Inc. is a Film subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures....
 and set in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 by the directors of Independence Day
Independence Day (film)

Independence Day is a 1996 in film science fiction film about a hostile alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they coincidentally converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance retaliation effort on July 4....
 (ID4) and is somewhat despised by most Godzilla fans due to the lack of similarities between its titular monster and the traditional Godzilla. Toho immediately followed it with 1999's Godzilla 2000: Millennium, which began the current series of films, known informally as the Mireniamu
Mireniamu era (daikaiju eiga)

In the terminology of kaiju eiga the Millennium Era refers not to the third millennium but to all daikaiju eiga made since 1999 in film, beginning with Toho's Godzilla 2000, which was jumpstarted in response to the America Godzilla film....
 or Millennium series. Then, in 2004, Toho officially made the creature of the 1998 film (named "Zilla
Zilla

is Toho Studios's official name for the title character of the 1998 TriStar Pictures film Godzilla .Created from a French nuclear test, Zilla is a mutated marine iguana....
") one of their own kaiju
Kaiju

File:Gojira 1954 poster 3.jpgFile:Jujin Yuki Otoko poster.jpg is a Japanese language word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English language as "monster." Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment....
, and gave it an official appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla: Final Wars

is the fiftieth anniversary film and the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla .It was directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. As a 50th anniversary celebratory film, a large group of actors from previous Godzilla films, both classic and new, made appearances as main characters or cameo appearances....
, in which it attacks Sydney
Sydney

Sydney is the List of cities in Australia by population in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million . It is the List of Australian capital cities of New South Wales, and was the site of the first British Empire colony in Australia....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and is quickly defeated by the true Godzilla.

Much of Godzilla's popularity in the United States can be credited with TV
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 broadcasts of the Toho Studios monster movies during the 1960s and 1970s. The American company UPA
United Productions of America

United Productions of America, better known as UPA, was an United States animation studio of the 1940s through present day, beginning with industrial films and World War II training films....
 contracted with Toho to distribute its monster movies of the time, and UPA continues to hold the license today for the Godzilla films of the 1960s and 1970s. Sony currently holds some of those rights, as well as the rights to every Godzilla film produced from 1991 onward. The Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult

Blue ?yster Cult is an American rock music band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2009. The group is especially well known for songs including " The Reaper", "Godzilla", and "Burnin' for You"....
 song "Godzilla" also contributed to the popularity of the movies. The creature also made an appearance in a Nike commercial
Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley

Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley is a 1992 Nike, Inc. television commercial in which a giant-sized version of NBA star Charles Barkley challenges Godzilla to a game of basketball in the streets of downtown Tokyo....
, in which Godzilla went one-on-one with NBA star Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley

Charles Wade Barkley is an American retired professional basketball player and aspiring politician. Nicknamed "Sir Charles" for his aggressive and outspoken demeanor, and "The Round Mound of Rebound," for his unusual build and talent as a player, Barkley established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's most dom...
. And made an appearance in the Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey Nut Cheerios

Honey Nut Cheerios is a variation of Cheerios breakfast cereal, introduced in 1978 by General Mills. As the first variation from Cheerios, it is sweeter than the original, with a honey and almond flavor....
 commercial (1990). Recent commercials for Subway restaurants feature a Godzilla-like monster promoting their 5-dollar-footlong sandwiches.

In 1996, after his then-final appearance in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

, also known as Godzilla vs. Destroyer, is a 1995 film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Kazuki Omori. The film's story focuses on Godzilla fighting Destoroyah, a monster that was created by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that killed the original Godzilla in the Godzilla ....
, Godzilla received an award for Lifetime Achievement at the MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards

The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances....
. Creator and producer Shogo Tomiyama
Shogo Tomiyama

Shogo Tomiyama is a Japanese people film producer. He is best known for producing all of the Godzilla movies from the 1990s onward....
 accepted on his behalf via satellite but was joined by "Godzilla" himself.

Awards

  • At the 1996 MTV Movie Awards, Godzilla won the life time achievement award.
  • On November 29, 2004, Godzilla received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
    Hollywood Walk of Fame

    The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment hall of fame....
    , located at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. and near Drew Barrymore
    Drew Barrymore

    Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actor and film producer. She is the youngest member of the Barrymore family of American actors. She began acting when she was eleven months old....
     .


Paleontology

At least two prehistoric creatures from the fossil record have been named after Godzilla:
  • Gojirasaurus
    Gojirasaurus

    Gojirasaurus is a genus of dinosaur named after Gojira . It was discovered in Revuelto Creek, Quay County, New Mexico, New Mexico. The type specimen is a partial skeleton of a subadult, about 5.5 m long, which can be extrapolated to a weight of approximately 150?200 kg ....
     quayi     is a theropod dinosaur
    Dinosaur

    Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of Landform ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic Period until the end of the Cretaceous Period , when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous?Tertiary extinction event....
     that lived in the Triassic Period; a partial skeleton was unearthed in Quay County, New Mexico
    Quay County, New Mexico

    Quay County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the United States Census 2000, the population was 10,155. Its county seat is Tucumcari, New Mexico....
    .
  • Dakosaurus andiniensis, a crocodile
    Crocodile

    A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e....
     from the Jurassic Period, was nicknamed "Godzilla" before being scientifically classified
    Scientific classification

    Biological classification or scientific classification in biology, is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms....
    .


Other media


Literature


Godzilla also had his own series of books
Godzilla (Marc Cerasini series)

Godzilla is a novel series written by author Marc Cerasini based on the film characters. Each novel has its own unique plot and storyline, with Toho's monsters featured as the stars....
 published by Random House
Random House

Random House, Inc. is the world's largest English-language general trade book publisher. It has been owned since 1998 by the large German Privately held company media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing....
 during the late 1990s. The company created different series for different age groups, the Scott Ciencin series
Godzilla (Scott Ciencin series)

Godzilla series of novels by Scott Ciencin for children about Godzilla.The first being based on the original film. The second Godzilla Invades America features Godzilla fighting a giant scorpion, Kamacuras and Kumonga....
 being aimed at children.

Music


Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult

Blue ?yster Cult is an American rock music band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2009. The group is especially well known for songs including " The Reaper", "Godzilla", and "Burnin' for You"....
 released the song "Godzilla" in 1977. The introduction to the live version (1982) directly references the first Godzilla movie "...lurking for millions of years, encased in a block of ice, evil incarnate, waiting to be melted down and to rise again."

The song "Simon Says" by Pharoahe Monch is a hip-hop remix of Godzilla's March theme music. The instrumental version of this song was notably used in the 2000 film "Charlie's Angels".

British band Lostprophets
Lostprophets

Lostprophets is a Wales Rock music band formed in Pontypridd, Wales, United Kingdom in 1997 by guitarist Mike Lewis and vocalist Ian Watkins ....
 released a song called We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan on their second studio album Start Something
Start Something

Start Something is the second studio album by the Welsh hard rock band Lostprophets, released on February 2, 2004 through Visible Noise in the United Kingdom and South Korea, the album was released international on February 5, 2004....
. It is track 12, and is 4.05 minutes long, or 3.30 for the radio edit.

The theme music used by TNA superstar Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe

Nuufolau Joel Seanoa is an United States Professional wrestling, better known by his ring name, Samoa Joe. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
 starts off with a tune very similar to the original Godzilla march.

The American punk band, Groovie Ghoulies released a song called 'Hats Off To You (Godzilla)' as a tribute to Godzilla. It is featured on the EP 'Freaks on Parade' released in 2002.

Label Shifty issued compilation Destroysall with 15 songs from 15 bands, ranging from hardcore punk to doom-laden death metal. Not all songs are dedicated to Godzilla, but all do appear connected to monsters from Toho studios. Fittingly, the disc was released on August 1, 2003, the 35th anniversary of the Japanese release of DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.

Television

Putting the Godzilla films' suits and effects crew to further use were several Japanese television shows; Ultraman and some shows inspired by it used the suits occasionally for cameos but Godzilla Island primarily followed the further adventures of the kaiju featured in the films.
  • Ultraman
    Ultraman

    is a fictional character featured in tokusatsu, or "special effects" television programs in Japan. Ultraman made his debut in the tokusatsu science fiction/kaiju/superhero TV series, Ultra Q: Ultraman: Special Effects Fantasy Series, a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q....
  • Ultra Q
    Ultra Q

    is a tokusatsu science fiction/kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films.Produced in black and white by Tokyo Broadcasting System/Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System from January 2 to July 3, 1966 , with a total of...
  • Zone Fighter
    Zone Fighter

    Zone Fighter, known in Japan as , is a tokusatsu science fiction/superhero TV series. Produced by Toho, the show aired on Nippon Television from April 2 to September 24, 1973, with a total of 26 episodes....
  • Godzilla Island
    Godzilla Island

    was a television show spinoff of the Godzilla franchise. It premiered on October 6, 1997, and ran for a total of 256 three-minute episodes, finishing on September 30, 1998....
  • Monster Planet Of Godzilla
    Monster Planet Of Godzilla

    Monster Planet of Godzilla is a theme park attraction at Sanrio Puroland. It is a 3-D motion simulator featuring specially filmed sequences of Godzilla battling the monsters Mothra and Rodan....


The success of the Godzilla franchise has also spawned two U.S. Saturday morning cartoons, both featuring an investigative scientific team who call upon Godzilla as an ally. The series make several homages to the Showa films and several antagonist monsters have been inspired by extant Toho creations.
  • The Godzilla Power Hour
    The Godzilla Power Hour

    Godzilla was a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series co-produced between Hanna-Barbera and Toho in 1978 in television and aired on NBC in the US and TV Tokyo in Japan....
  • Godzilla: The Series
    Godzilla: The Series

    Godzilla is an co-production between Japanese/United States animated television series which originally aired on TV Tokyo in Japan and Fox Kids in the United States....


Comics



Several manga
Manga

, , are comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century. In their modern form, manga date from shortly after World War II, but they have a long, complex pre-history in earlier Japanese art....
 have been derived from specific Godzilla films, and both Marvel
Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics is an American comic book and related media company owned by Marvel Publishing, Inc., a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Marvel counts among as its List of Marvel Comics characters such well-known properties as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk , Iron Man, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and many others....
 and Dark Horse
Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent United States comic book publishers, behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics....
 have published Godzilla comic book series (1977–1979 and 1987–1999, respectively).

Video games



Godzilla and his fellow monsters have appeared in several video games, including:
  • Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
    Godzilla: Monster of Monsters

    Godzilla: Monster of Monsters is a Nintendo Entertainment System video game released in the US in 1989 by Toho....
  • Godzilla 2: War of the monsters
    Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters

    Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The player controls military forces trying to prevent Godzilla and other giant monsters from destroying cities....
  • Super Godzilla
    Super Godzilla

    Super Godzilla is a video game for the Super Nintendo released in 1993 by Toho.Unlike other games of the era, Super Godzilla is not a straight action game....
  • Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee
    Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

    Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee is a fighting game video game that was released on October 8, . It was developed by Pipeworks Software for the Nintendo GameCube and released later for the Xbox in North America....
  • Godzilla: Domination!
  • Godzilla: Save the Earth
    Godzilla: Save the Earth

    Godzilla: Save the Earth is a fighting game released on November 2, 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles based on characters and situations from the Godzilla film series....
  • Godzilla: Unleashed
    Godzilla: Unleashed

    Godzilla: Unleashed, abbreviated as G3 or GU, is a 3D computer graphics fighting game video game based on the Godzilla film franchise for the Wii and PlayStation 2, developed by Pipeworks Software and published by Atari....
  • Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash
    Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash

    Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash is a video game based on the Godzilla franchise. This is the Nintendo DS version of Godzilla: Unleashed....
  • In the Sega Genesis Games, The Revenge of Shinobi
    The Revenge of Shinobi

    The Revenge of Shinobi, published in Japan as is a video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for Sega Genesis....
    , and it's sequel: Shinobi 3, the player encounters creatures very similar to Godzilla and Mecha Godzilla, respectively.
  • In the first game of the SimCity
    SimCity

    SimCity is a city-building game Construction and management simulation games personal computer game, first released in 1989 and designed by Will Wright ....
     series, the creature sent to lay waste to the player's city during the "Monster Attack" disaster seems to bear a strong resemblance to Godzilla. The 1961 Tokyo Monster Attack scenario also seems to have been inspired by the first film.
  • The original Godzilla (and his upcoming 50th anniversary) was mentioned in the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.


Further reading

  • Galbraith, Stuart. Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films : A Critical Analysis of 103 Features Released in the United States, 1950-1992. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. 1994.


External links

Official sites


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