These are the movies that show why Godzilla has been a household name in the film industry for 65 years.



The wait for Godzilla: King of the Monsters is nearly over. It’s been a long five years since Warner Bros.’ MonsterVerse stomped its way into theaters and established a new cinematic franchise for Kaiju, but that timespan is just a tiny portion of Godzilla’s storied 65-year history. Fans have seen many different sides to Godzilla through more than six decades, where he’s been a villain, a hero, and everything in between. Sometimes he goes to battle against other giant monsters to defend the earth in campy, raucous affairs; other times, he’s the scourge of civilization, serving as a nightmarish force of nature meant to symbolize man-made catastrophes.

Which of Godzilla’s 34 feature films best embody his eclectic nature? That’s what we’re deciding today here at The Geekiverse. We’ve compiled the ten movies that we feel show off the many layers to the world’s most famous monster, who has proven to be cinema’s most versatile character. For those fans just starting to get in on all of the giant monster fun, these are the movies you want to watch to understand why Godzilla has entertained audiences for 65 years.

It’s only appropriate that getting to know the MonsterVerse should start with the first film in the series. This big-budget Hollywood production righted all of the wrongs in Tristar’s 1998 blockbuster, ushering in a new era of Kaiju films where Godzilla and his monstrous cohorts were nigh-unstoppable behemoths who humanity could never contend with. Godzilla’s relatively scarce screentime is a fair gripe, but his limited appearances were awe inspiring. Director Gareth Edwards successfully captured the devastating ramifications of the monsters’ rampages on civilization, which came to life through cutting edge special effects the likes of which Godzilla had rarely known. It also might own Godzilla’s greatest killshot ever. In creating a world where colossal creatures held dominion over the planet, Godzilla commenced a cinematic universe that is bringing the Kaiju genre into a new age.

Godzilla (2014) is available on Prime Video, Blu-Ray, DVD and 3-D from Amazon

No amount of time’s passing will dull this masterpiece’s edge. Even though some of the practical special effects will come off as cheesy to modern audiences, Godzilla’s destruction is as harrowing to watch today as it was when it first hit theaters in 1954. Such scenes like Godzilla breaking through a barrier of electrical towers, effortlessly thwarting military resistance, or razing Tokyo to the ground―all draped in the shadows of black and white filmmaking―are unforgettable sequences that cemented Godzilla as a living, breathing natural disaster utterly superior to human civilization. His debut film is a sobering reflection on the horrors of atomic weapons, made with an eerily personal touch by the only country in history to experience that deadly technology. 65 years later, Godzilla’s impact is still being felt, both on the film industry, and on society.

Godzilla (1954) is available on Amazon Prime Video

For a more amusing viewing, you can’t do much better than Ebirah, Horror of the Deep. This dandy is one of the most unique Godzilla films, in large part because the story almost entirely takes place outside of Japan, and any real-life country, for that matter. The action is all set on the fictional Letchi Island, ranging from the waters along the shorelines through the dense, tropical jungles, to the rocky pinnacles of mountains. There’s so much going on in this pulpy, charming adventure as the human heroes fend off the villainous Red Bamboo military organization, while also seeking to escape the island with the enslaved people who the Red Bamboo use for labor. The humans and Godzilla regularly cooperate to come out on top throughout the movie, which is loaded with action as both encounter the forces behind the Red Bamboo, as well as different monsters like Ebirah, the giant lobster, and a huge (albeit ridiculous looking) condor. There’s even an appearance from the adult Mothra to add to all the fun!

Ebirah, Horror of the Deep is available from Amazon in Multi-Format Blu-Ray and DVD

Long before Avengers: Endgame was praised as the greatest cinematic crossover of all time, Destroy All Monsters was successfully putting a monstrous mashup onto the big screen. For the first time ever, 11 of Toho Studios’ most iconic Kaiju came together into one movie for a giant monster brouhaha. Although the Kaiju didn’t end up getting quite as much screentime as they probably deserved, any of the sequences where they wreak havoc is a raucous good time. While under control of the nefarious aliens known as the Kilaaks, Godzilla, Anguiras, Rodan, and co. imperil civilization across all continents. Sequences where several of the Kaiju are on screen at once, including the combined attack on Tokyo, or the climactic melee with King Ghidorah at the base of Mt. Fuji, are among the most memorable in the Godzilla series.

Destroy All Monsters is available on Amazon Prime Video, DVD, and Blu-Ray at Amazon

Not surprisingly, one of the most polarizing Godzilla films is also one of the most unique. Sporting an environmentalist, anti-pollution theme, and releasing at the dawn of the 70s, Godzilla vs. Hedorah inexplicably balances sheer whackiness with some truly frightening imagery. Godzilla’s nemesis here, Hedorah, is a horrific mutation born out of pollution, a gargantuan mass of sentient smog and sludge who evolves through multiple forms throughout the movie. This is a film where you can see surreal hallucination sequences, complete with whorls of gaudy colors and fish-headed humans, as well as humans literally being skeletonized by Hedorah’s corrosive vapors. Japan―maybe the entire world―is threatened to be consumed by gruesome pollution, but Godzilla also uses his atomic breath as a means of propulsion to fly through the air. To experience how a Godzilla film can touch just every about every length of the tonal spectrum, Godzilla vs. Hedorah must be seen (maybe to be believed).

Godzilla vs. Hedorah is available on DVD and Multi-format Blu-Ray from Amazon

Proving that the Big G can tackle all manner of themes, Godzilla vs. Biollante introduces a story where multiple parties vie for possession of a coveted scientific resource―in this case, samples of Godzilla’s cells. Domestic and foreign organizations alike take extreme measures to gain control of the cells, while a conflicted scientist with a bleak past, Dr. Genshiro Shiragami, attempts to preserve his deceased daughter by combining her cells and Godzilla’s into a rose. These questionable decisions in the handling of scientific power, explored on both an institutional and personal level, make this a compelling movie even when the Kaiju action isn’t always too exciting. Still, Godzilla feels as unstoppable as ever, bulldozing through all military resistance that attempts to halt his advance. His monstrous counterpart, Biollante, is one of the most imaginative Kaiju of them all―a titanic, plant-like monstrosity given form by the cells of Dr. Genshiro’s daughter and Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Biollante is available on DVD and Multi-format Blu-Ray from Amazon

The last of Toho Studios’ Godzilla films released between the 80s and mid-90s (a period known as the Heisei Era), Godzilla vs. Destroyah was heavily promoted as being the film where audiences would see Godzilla die. The Big G’s nuclear heart is going into meltdown when this 1995 entry begins, his body literally ablaze with atomic energy and sending him into a maddened rampage. Godzilla’s inevitable demise will be an enormous explosion that reduces Earth’s surface to ash, leaving Japan’s scientists and military scrambling to somehow prevent such a catastrophe. All the while, another threat emerges in the form of Destoroyah―an ancient life form reawakened and mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer (the weapon used to kill the original Godzilla from the 1954 film). Godzilla’s clashes with Destoroyah are among the most violent in the franchise, and his eventual death earned a lot of misty eyes from fans. But even after Godzilla goes out in a blaze of glory, this movie closes the show with a truly spine-tingling final shot.

Godzilla vs. Destroyah is available on Amazon Prime Video or on this multiple movie set Blu-Ray from Amazon

Traditionally, Godzilla movies have had their premises rooted in themes of science and technology, but this 2001 entry brought a very unique wrinkle to the King of the Monsters. Helmed by Shusuke Kaneko, who directed the acclaimed 90s Gamera trilogy, this is the rare outing where Godzilla and co. find their origins in mythology rather than science. A mystical element is prevalent in GMK (as the movie’s mouthful of a title is abbreviated), with the Kaiju being ancient entities whose fated purpose is either to protect, or destroy Japan. Godzilla is not an amoral creature here, but a titan powered by the souls of WWII-era people who are angered that modern day Japan has forgotten about the atrocities committed by the country in those years. It’s one of his most terrifying incarnations, and any sequence with him includes chilling devastation. Opposing Godzilla are the Guardian Monsters Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah―the latter seeing a heroic twist after serving as the antagonist in oh so many Toho Studios’ Kaiju films prior.

Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is available on this two-movie set Multi-Format Blu-Ray from Amazon

The premise feels like a classic mecha anime come to life in a live action movie. To combat the current Godzilla, the Japanese Self-Defense Force procures the skeleton of the original Godzilla killed in 1954 and uses it as the foundation for a giant robot. Mechagodzilla has always been an iconic foe for the Big G, but this one, called Kiryu, might just be the coolest of them all. Kiryu is intrinsically linked to the biological Godzilla due to its origins, which leads to it sometimes having a mind of its own. This particular Mechagodzilla is like a character in itself, which pilot Lieutenant Akane Yashiro slowly comes to understand throughout the course of the movie. The lengthy, back-and-forth finale between Godzilla and Kiryu is one of the very best clashes in any Kaiju movie, with both combatants pulling out a sheer arsenal of offense against one another.

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is available on Amazon Prime Video or on this two-movie set Multi-format Blu-Ray

Toho Studios’ first Godzilla film after a 12-year hiatus (and the first to primarily use CGI rather than actors in suits) is a fantastic modern take on the Kaiju genre. Despite not having the same cutting edge special effects that Western filmmaking possesses, Toho proved with Shin Godzilla that Japanese studios could still make impressive, engrossing blockbusters. The titular monster is absolutely nightmarish, a mountain of scarred flesh capable of unleashing calamitous powers the likes of which no other Godzilla incarnation has ever demonstrated. As Godzilla evolves through different states, each new form deadlier than the last, he is representative of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, which caused the catastrophic tsunami to wash over Japan, which then caused the Fukushima Daichii nuclear meltdown. Shin Godzilla acts as a venomous condemnation of bureaucratic inaction, the aimless government seen in the movie seemingly mirroring the much-criticized government response to the 2011 natural disasters, while also bearing what many interpret as a nationalistic message for modern-day Japan to become more autonomous. Whether it was all the way back in 1954, or just a couple of short years ago, Godzilla is always a masterful harbinger of thought-provoking social commentary.

Shin Godzilla is available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Amazon Prime Video

All images provided by Wikizilla.org

Are you ready for Godzilla: King of the Monsters? What movies will you be watching in the lead up to its release? What did you think of our suggestions? Let us know in the comments below, and Long Live The King!

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