December 16: Kazuki Ōmori’s Godzilla vs. Biollante came out in its native Japan 25 years ago today.
It was the 17th installment in Toho’s Godzilla series and is often considered one of the best. The film was released on video in the U.S. in 1992.
2016 revival is 1st since 2004’s Godzilla Final Wars, 2014’s Hollywood filmTHIS BETTER NOT BE FAKE, BECAUSE I’M ALREADY CRYING.
CGI is great and all but give me the rubber suit.
- Animal Icons: It Came From Japan - An Animal Planet special produced in the runup to Godzilla’s fiftieth anniversary in 2004.
- Bringing Godzilla Down to Size - A documentary on the genre’s origins and legacy, originally included on the Rodan / The War of the Gargantuas Classic Media DVD set.
- Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga - A documentary that explores Godzilla’s nuclear origin, and the influence of the nuclear scare on the genre.
- Godzilla 1954: The DVD Shelf Movie Reviews - A fairly run-of-the-mill YouTube documentary on the making of the original Godzilla.
- Godzilla 60th Anniversary: The Amazing World of Japanese Special Effects - A 2014 NHK documentary looking at the sixty year legacy of Godzilla and the history of tokusatsu.
- Godzilla and Other Movie Monsters - A documentary feature that explores the history of monsters in storytelling, from the earliest dragon legends to Japanese monster movies.
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters - A documentary produced by the BBC in 1998 during the runup to the first American Godzilla film.
- Hail to the King: 60 Years of Destruction - An independent, crowd-funded documentary by über-fan Kyle Yount (kaijucast) that celebrates the sixty-year legacy of the world’s greatest monster, Godzilla.
- Kaijunited: Japanese Monsters & Us - A fan-made documentary focusing on kaiju fandom in the US, Japan, and France.
- Kaiju Gaiden - A crowd-funded feature that tells the stories of previously-unknown independent kaiju films, and the people who made them.
- SciFi Japan TV - A continuing online documentary series from the folks at SciFi Japan. The focus shifts per episode.
If anyone can think of or knows of any more, please give me a shout!
- Animal Icons: It Came From Japan - An Animal Planet special produced in the runup to Godzilla’s fiftieth anniversary in 2004.
- Bringing Godzilla Down to Size - A documentary on the genre’s origins and legacy, originally included on the Rodan / The War of the Gargantuas Classic Media DVD set.
- Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of the Kaiju Eiga - A documentary that explores Godzilla’s nuclear origin, and the influence of the nuclear scare on the genre.
- Godzilla 1954: The DVD Shelf Movie Reviews - A fairly run-of-the-mill YouTube documentary on the making of the original Godzilla.
- Godzilla and Other Movie Monsters - A documentary feature that explores the history of monsters in storytelling, from the earliest dragon legends to Japanese monster movies.
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters - A documentary produced by the BBC in 1998 during the runup to the first American Godzilla film.
- Hail to the King: 60 Years of Destruction - An independent, crowd-funded documentary by über-fan Kyle Yount (kaijucast) that celebrates the sixty-year legacy of the world’s greatest monster, Godzilla.
- Kaijunited: Japanese Monsters & Us - A fan-made documentary focusing on kaiju fandom in the US, Japan, and France.
- Kaiju Gaiden - A crowd-funded feature that tells the stories of previously-unknown independent kaiju films, and the people who made them.
- SciFi Japan TV - A continuing online documentary series from the folks at SciFi Japan. The focus shifts per episode.
If anyone can think of or knows of any more, please give me a shout!
Concept art of Godzilla going against Megaguirus and her Meganula swarms, for Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000).
