I've seen the Mathew Broderick one in theaters , kind of a newbie in this genre. Which is the one where Godzilla fights the three headed monster that flies? I remember watching that one dubbed. I haven't seen the original, maybe I should start with that one first.
Do you want Godzilla movies, or giant monster movies. I cannot help you if you want only godzilla movies. If you want the giant monster genre look at the following movies: Cloverfield Monsters Trollhunter (a bit less giant monster movie than the other two, but a very fun movie).
Hey man, I'll be happy to give you my recommendations. I've seen 'em all. Showa Series: '54-'75. I'd watch them all in order they were released, except 'Destroy All Monsters', which takes place in 1999 so I'd watch that one last. Starts off with Godzilla as a nuclear menace than slowly develops into Earth's guardian and loveable dinosaur. Heisei Series: '84-'95. Series reboot, with only the '54 movie being canon. Heavy on 90s SFX, big ass suits, and flashy beams. Actually had some nice human characters and interactions. The most famous Godzilla suits are used here. Watching in chronological order is a must here. Millennium Series: '99-'04. Four out of six movies here are stand-alones; you can jump right in and not miss a beat. Whatever you need to know, they'll fill you in in the intro. Only ones connected are Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Tokyo S.O.S. Best effects I'd say; have to judge each film on its own. No interconnected theme. Must-Watch Classics! (*****) Spoiler - Godzilla (1954): The original '54 classic; if you want to start a Godzilla film, start with this one. Its clearly aged but I think the allegory behind it is very important to understanding the purpose of Godzilla. The fear the Japanese had of nuclear weaponry can be felt here. That's what Godzilla is; a representation of the strength and terror of nuclear warfare. - Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964): One of my personal favorites. Introduces one of the more popular Kaiju in Mothra. Great monster action, great characters. Love it. - Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965): Has Godzilla and Rodan...IN SPACE. Also; King Ghidorah, the gold three headed dragon. American Actor as a main character. USA! USA! USA! Some goofiness. - Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995): The climax of the Heisei series; Godzilla is going into meltdown and you have arguably the most sinister evil monster the series has had and the perfect foil to Godzilla. Also: Godzilla Jr. actually looks like a juvenile Godzilla and not ass. - GMK: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (2001): Brought back Godzilla to being an allegory to WWII and back to his evil roots (no, really, he's a dick in this one). Great monster action and effects. Guy who directed the acclaimed 90s Gamera trilogy did this one. Great! Highly Recommended (****) Spoiler - Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966): I'm pretty sure this was meant for Kong. Anyway, a nice change of pace with the island setting, music, and human plot filled with adventure and intrigue. I liked the underwater fights with the giant shrimp/crab/lobster thing. - Son of Godzilla (1967): If you can get over the deformed son of Godzilla and the cookie monster Godzilla suit, a really light-hearted take on the big guy. The interactions between father and son are cute. Monster action, actors, and atmosphere are all great. - Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971): The epitome of the 70s. All about saving the environment, maaan. Has a memorable scene which made me feel like I was on acid. Light on characters, heavy on monster action, effects, and everything else. The monster design of Hedorah is fantastic, and I like the slight dark tone they took here compared with a lot of the others. - Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974): Godzilla's first bout against his robot rival. Acting/plot is weak, but man, the monster fights, designs, and explosions and more explosions are awesome. Definitely one of my favorites. - Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989): Probably has one of the better story lines of the Godzilla films. It's nice to see the Japanese actually put up a fight. Biollante is just awesome. Effects are fantastic. And the fight scenes are intense. - Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002): Great, great film. Mechagodzilla is creatively redone, the plot and actors do a good job, and the effects are more up to date. The fight scenes are one of the best in the series, and they did a great job making Mechagodzilla badass. Love the music. Good Stuff. (***) Spoiler - Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964): Godzilla's first foray into being a 'good guy'. Introduces Rodan and King Ghidorah, Godzilla's ultimate rival, and has the first multi-monster brawl. Heavy on that 60s campiness and fun brawling, light on everything else. - Destroy All Monsters (1968): Takes place in '99, so story-wise it takes place at the end of the Showa Series. This is pretty much the monster brawl to end all monster brawls. Showcases a whole lotta monsters, destruction, and fighting. Other stuff is lacking, but considering the action, it can be forgiven. 11 monsters! - Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975): The final Showa era film made, it has a surprisingly dark tone considering the past few movies. Godzilla takes on Mechagodzilla and another opponent in a handicap slobberknocker. Really love the score here. Special effects are well-done here, and I love the monster action. (Godzilla's intro scene is pretty cool.) Nice send-off to end this series. - The Return of Godzilla (1984): The first film of the Heisei series, and a reboot of the series as a whole. I enjoy the plot a lot in this one, with the fear of nuclear weaponry hanging overhead via the Cold War. Like the message a lot. Special effects and score are great; feels a lot like the first movie in a lot of aspects. Lack of monster battle spoils it for me. - Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003): One of my personal favorites, and a direct sequel to Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla. Mothra is thrown into the mix, so the monster action and effects are really great. Everything else is solid to meager. - Godzilla: Final Wars (2004): The last Godzilla film made by Toho, and celebrates his 50th anniversary. Basically, the movie is Godzilla kicking everyone's ass, so there's plenty of monster fighting and explosions. Also, gotta love the stereotypical badass American captain. A nice way to send Godzilla off into hibernation; though I'd of like a little more meat in the plot and characters rather than a bunch of flippy mutants. They Look Ok. (**) Spoiler - Godzilla Raids Again (1955): Introduces Anguirus, Godzilla first opponent and eventually BFF. Otherwise, disappointing and forgettable. - King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962): Well-known due to the fact its Kong vs Godzilla, USA vs. Japan. It's a pretty humorous film, I think, but its pretty mediocre everywhere else. - Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972): Pretty memorable, considering Gigan is a giant space chicken cycloptic-cyborg with hook-hands. Stay for the long tag-team battle of monsters, try to forget everything else about it. - Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991): If you can get past the mind-**** of a time travel plot, you can appreciate the monster action, the musical score, and the best Ghidorah suit in the series. - Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992): The story and score are good, but really, everything about the flick is fairly forgettable and feels like you've seen it before. Financially, most successful; I guess Mothra sells. - Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II (1993): Lot of people like this one, but I think its overrrated. The monster fights are very interesting, as is the score, but everything else is pretty blah. Great example of how the 90s film relied very much on monsters shooting beams at each other rather than actual close-up fighting. Brings back a loveable looking baby Godzilla. Consider it, but skippable. (*) Spoiler All Monsters Attack (1969): Pretty crappy. Home Alone featuring monsters. Made up of a good 50% of stock footage from previous films. IMO the worst of them all. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973): Pretty terrible. Unless you like smiling kung-fu robots or want to see Godzilla doing a drop-kick. Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994): Year I was born, so I would think it would have been better. Widely disliked, for a reason. The storyline is just 'WTF?', you don't care about the characters, and they turned Little Godzilla into this cutesy turd. Spacegodzilla is a cool villain, but that's it. Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999): It does the job of washing away the bitter taste of that 1998 trainwreck of a Godzilla film, but otherwise it's just bland. Nothing really stands out in the film (my favorite Godzilla design, though). Not necessarily bad, but just a disappointment considering it was supposed to be redeem the Godzilla franchise. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000): You'll either love it or hate it. It's pretty mediocre, and its like they tried to blend seriousness and silliness and its just awful. Favorite Godzilla design, though. The end-fight is cool, but that's it. Black-holes and giant bugs...yeah. After finishing this, I realize I nerded out pretty hard-core. Its probably way more than what you were asking for, but hope it gives you an idea of which would be good to spend some time watching. I leave you with this piece, an example of the amazing score in some of these films. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/o6qAIaqK3_Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Firebomb525 knows his Godzilla movies! Keep in mind that these flicks are not CGI. I'm crossing my fingers that the giant monster movie hype train will last and give my beloved Monsterpocalypse game some new life. The company that makes it sold the film rights to Dreamworks a few years ago. Spoiler
Which one of the films of the 90s or 2ks used footage from the original '54 movie? The tone of the film was a little bit nostalgic.
Thank you guys, awesome recommendation! So I'm guessing Godzilla vs The Smog Monster on VHS on dub from Orion not a good flick?
I haven't seen Godzilla '84 in a LONG time, but I believe they mention it there. Godzilla 2000 does as well. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus redoes the scene with the suit they used. The 2 Milllenium MechaG movies definitely reference it, as its central to to the plot. Final Wars may of had a montage with the original in there. @Xerobull: Appreciate it. Some people have comics or animes, I have giant monsters and dinosaurs.
Being the geek that I am, I prefer watching it in japanese with subs. Gives you a better feel for the acting, characters, and plot. Stuff gets lost in translation a lot. You can probably find the Hedorah film on DVD for cheap; Tristar came out with one a decade ago for the 50th anniversary. (Sorry for the double post)
These films are kinda hard to find since third market stores are selling these films three times the price. Not sure if some of them are on Netflix, anyone?
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http://www.tohokingdom.com/dvds.htm Try there, it's a good guide as to what DVDs are out. As far as I know, Return of Godzilla is not out on DVD in the US. Which is a shame. Netflix should have a few; they do have Godzilla: the series which is a sequel of sorts to the '98 film but isn't garbage. It's actually pretty good.
