Sixty years of Godzilla

Celebrate Godzilla’s 60th birthday with the wonderful Godzilla Collection from Classic Media. Featuring gorgeous packaging, this set includes seven remastered and individually packaged Godzilla films in both their American and original Japanese-language versions. Invasion of the Astro-Monster (1965) is an early film that depicts the King of Monsters as a hero. Aliens from Planet X offer advanced scientific knowledge in exchange for monster assistance. Unfortunately, they turn our own monsters against us! Featuring Nick Adams and Kumi Mizuno as the space lady Miss Namikawa.

Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) marks the return of director Ishiro Honda. After the psychedelic films from Yoshimitsu Banno and Jun Fukuda, Terror of MechaGodzilla attempted a return to the series’ somber beginnings. It remains a fitting end to the Showa era of Godzilla films.

— Miguel Rodriguez, Host, Monster Island Resort Podcast and director, Horrible Imaginings Film Festival

One of my favorite moments each term when I teach the original 1954 Godzilla in my Japanese cinema class is when students realize the mythic and allegorical scope of this story and how its specific historical commentary is intertwined with a greater universal message about humanity’s place in the natural order of things. A decade later, Mothra vs. Godzilla has battles between the titular opponents that are among the most imaginatively staged and technically sophisticated ever filmed, consistently crafting shot after visually-engaging shot of Godzilla fighting creatures that do little more than flap their wings and/or crawl and shoot webs.

As a fascinating reflection of late 20th-century geopolitics, Godzilla vs. King Ghidrah (1991) returns the series to its roots by delivering pointed social commentary on Japan’s position in the world economy and by literally showing us the origin of our favorite movie monster who’s celebrating his 60th birthday this year!

— Ramie Tateishi, Assistant professor of English and Film Studies, National University

Criterion’s Gojira. Why? Because it’s the one that started this whole thing and it’s never looked better. You get the original 1954 Japanese release, the remastered 1956 Godzilla, King of the Monsters, and a ton of informative extras. If you’ve never seen the original, now is the time to do it… it’s way more than a monster movie. Sixty years old, and it’s still one powerful film.

Destroy All Monsters is my personal favorite of the older (Showa) films. Godzilla and a huge cast of Toho’s beasts break free of alien control to take on the mighty King Ghidorah. The dubbing and video quality of this particular release have received some criticism, but this movie in any format is worth having in your collection. It’s one of the crowning achievements of Japanese special effects (tokusatsu) films and arguably one of the greatest in the Godzilla series.

— Chris Mowry, Writer, IDW’sGodzilla: Rulers of Earth