A brief history of Godzilla films
It's the return of the monsters: Godzilla is back on a path of destruction in the latest film, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." Revisit a few milestones of the record-breaking franchise.
'Godzilla: King of the Monsters'
Godzilla is a pop culture icon that just won't die. Released worldwide at the end of May, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is the latest title in a series of popular films. The movie franchise holds the record for the one with the longest continuous run. Originally conceived in Japan, where 32 films dedicated to the film monster were produced, this installment is a Hollywood blockbuster.
The original Godzilla from 1954
The producers and the director of the very first Godzilla film from 1954 certainly had no idea that the Japanese monster figure would one day be "seized" by US studios. After all, Godzilla was created nine years after the end of World War II, against the backdrop of American nuclear testing at the time and the atomic bombs that had been dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Godzilla vs. King Kong (1962)
But cinema writes its own story. In the third Godzilla film, "Godzilla vs. King Kong" (original title: Kingu Kongu tai Gojira), which was released in 1962, Japanese film studios borrowed the prime monster figure from the US, King Kong.
The second Godzilla wave in the 1980s
In 1984, the fictional monster celebrated a comeback in Japanese cinema with "The Return of Godzilla," heralding the second phase of Godzilla films. After Godzilla had turned into a "good" monster in the previous works by protecting Japan from enemies, the fiend was once again an all-destructive beast.
A German reawakens Godzilla for the US market
It was a German of all people who reanimated the Japanese monster for the US (and thus the global) market. Roland Emmerich, who was celebrated in Hollywood for his cinematic orgies of catastrophe, set the digital cinema machinery in motion for his 1998 version of Godzilla. Never before had the orgies of destruction been so perfectly staged, but the film remained rather soulless.
Japanese Godzilla for the new century
Yet the production of Godzilla films also resumed in the motherland of the monster. Producers brought "Godzilla 2000: Millennium" to the cinemas, which induced a third wave of Godzilla films. It was a great success in Japan, but in most other countries, the new Godzilla films were only released on video cassette and DVD.
For true fans: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
In Japan, producers remained diligent, but the tricks of the new films, such as here in a scene from "Godzilla vs. Megaguirus" (2000), appeared old-fashioned in light of the digital revolution. Still, Japanese viewers appreciated the ancient-looking aesthetics. The films continued to be successful on the island.
Ever new opponents: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
The Japanese Godzilla films integrated cinematic legends again and again and were full of allusions to various historical events. Compared to the great Hollywood films, this bag of tricks seemed simplistic from a Western point of view. What also composed the Godzilla myth in Japan: the so-called "suitmation technique," in which actors slipped into large, heavy costumes, or "creature suits."
Preliminary end: Final Wars
As the last movie of the three Japanese Godzilla movies for the time being, "Godzilla: Final Wars" was made in 2004 — on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the popular movie character. A central theme of the movie was environmental pollution. But just as in the other Japanese Godzilla movies, the viewers' delight was the top priority as the fans loved the naive style of the monster movies.
Godzilla rises again
In 2014, Hollywood revived the Godzilla myth on a grand scale, employing the latest digital technology. "Godzilla" was an American-Japanese co-production, but it had little in common with the naive-looking Japanese Godzilla films. "Godzilla" is disaster cinema at its purest and was so successful among viewers that it prompted the creation of the Godzilla sequel that's now opening in cinemas.