Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

You know a franchise is popular when you get two films in the same year. This is the first film that decides to go when no monster franchise has ever gone before and put space into the story. The film sees Godzilla having to join forces with Mothra and Rodan to take on King Ghidorah. King Ghidorah is quite quickly built up to be the biggest threat Earth has faced and only by coming together can Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan defeat King Ghidorah.

The human stuff I didn't really find very interesting. It is perhaps the weakest that the human side of the story has been and because it wasn't as good it meant that it felt way too long before the film really got going and Godzilla got to do him thing. It isn't until the final 20 minutes or so that we get the big fight and I thought that this was a rare of example of having a longer. 

I did like the fact that Godzilla was unwilling to work with Rodan and Mothra. What does slightly undermine it is that the humans just become commentators about what is happening between the three of them. It's helpful for the viewer but it's just not done with any creativity. Thankfully as the fight progresses then it covers up the human stuff and it worked out quite well in the end.  

From a technical standpoint, the film is a bit mixed. The fact that the film had to be rushed into production does show because the Godzilla costume looks a bit more flimsy when it's moving but at least looks like Godzilla should. I thought that when Rodan was in the air he sounded like one of the Thunderbirds. The sound was very similar and it wouldn't surprise me if it was the same. In the air, Rodan looks really good, then the camera is close up on the creature and it has to fight then it doesn't look quite as good. I thought that King Ghidorah was a good puppet, it moved in a way which make it look more than just a puppet and it was nice to have something that was a proper threat which is the first time that has happened since the first Godzilla film. The main issue is an issue of the time, the fight sequences don't look particularly good. I know they were limited by what they could do in 1964 but its still an issue.

It's at this stage of the franchise that it occurs to me that if this were real then people would have stopped building houses and offices because it would be like 'whats the point?'. Whenever you see Tokyo you see no sign of the destruction that Godzilla and others have caused and yes its possible they tidied it up but by the fifth film, the residents of Tokyo (and most places) would question the logic of rebuilding.

Despite some issues with the film, I thought it was another improvement on the low that was King Kong vs. Godzilla. I thought that there were one too many elements which didn't work and reduced Godzilla further so he is only one quarter of the main characters. It is definitely worth watching just for Ghirdorah but if you a wanting to see lots of Godzilla then this isn't the film for you.

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

After being very disappointed with the clash of two monster heavyweights, it was always going to be interested with what Toho could come up with. We are three films into this franchise and have had three very different types of films and they have varied in terms of quality. I thought that the film looked like it was going to continue getting worse then the story starts off with a giant blue and white coloured egg appearing in the middle of the sea.Within about half a second the humans are deciding how to make money out of it with even a showbiz agent saying it is his. Pretty quickly two very small twins appear pleading for the egg's return. 

Despite the fantastical aspect of the script (we are well past the seriousness of the first film), I thought that the film was much better pitched than the previous film. They seem to have accepted that the fantastical part of the story is part of their reality now. The special effects used to match up the twins with the regular sized people is done rather well for 1964.

Despite this being a Godzilla film, it's 33 minutes (in a 88 minute film before he appears).  We do get a good fight between the two which is something that the previous film was lacking. Mothra looks like a credible threat to Godzilla and the humans. Yes some of the effects looked a bit dodgy but overall I thought it was a good encounter between them. There is something deeply satisfying about watching Godzilla and Mothra destroy the model sets they are on. There is one slightly unfortunate scene where the larvae's emerge from the egg and start spraying Godzilla in something that could be taken as slightly inappropriate.

The biggest take from this film is that it is a huge improvement on King Kong vs. Godzilla. It's not perfect by any means but neither does it feel as terrible like the previous film. The story feels like it is taking things a bit more seriously despite the obviously silly vibe of the story. The humans story was interesting enough although their part in the story wasn't anything spectacular, the fights worked well and the effects were good for 1964. I think that this film shows the perfect balance for these type of films. It has just the right amount of silliness to show that it is not taking itself too seriously but not too silly that it comes across as though it's aimed at children. 

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

It was perhaps inevitable that the biggest monster in Japanese cinema would meet the biggest monster in Hollywood. Not sure what the expectation would have been in 1962 but when they were coming together in 2021 I was really looking forward to it. There wasn't any real build up but there was none in 1962 so it's not a big problem. The human aspect of the story sees a Pharmaceutical company trying to claw back ratings on a TV show by going to capture King Kong just as Godzilla re-emerges from being snowed in.

This is the first film in the series that abandons the terror that the first one managed so well and replaces it with goofy nonsense that could only have worked in 1962. I wasn't expecting the series to maintain a serious tone forever but three films in and we have already given up. They have a big marquee fight and yet it doesn't feel like there is any narrative plan for them. They spend way too long getting Kong in the story and less time with Godzilla.

There are many things wrong with this film. There is the curious case of 'blackface' when they arrive on Kong's Island. Even Kong fighting a giant octopus looks poor. If you can just about suspend your disbelief that there is someone in Godzilla's costume then there is no chance of managing that with Kong. It is clearly someone trying to do monkey movements with Kong's arms and it is ill advised. Also there is one moment where we see Kong’s face and there is no articulation in the mouth or the eyes. If only they had put some effort into that then that would have help enough to make Kong seem like an effective monster.

It's an hour into a 97 minute movie before Kong and Godzilla meet. That would be ok in a two hour movie but when it's just over an hour and a half that means that there is very little versus between the two creations. I am more of a Godzilla fan and so find that he is the better monster and more interesting monster. The fact that they share the screen hurts Godzilla because the films work better when Godzilla is up against a less famous monster

It would be 51 years before we got a good Kong vs Godzilla movie (and at time of writing two more) so it's hard to be too harsh on this film but let's not pretend that it's good. In fact it's quite disappointing at how little effort they seemed in the costumes and keeping Godzilla and Kong separate for so long. If you were trying to get the younger audience then this would be the best way to go about it but if you wanted something akin to the first one then you're going to be disappointed.

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

After the success of the first Godzilla film, it was inevitable that there would be another and this one came out twelve months after the first which is a crazy turn around time. This time the humans aren't just battling with Godzilla but a new monster supposedly from his past and called an Anguirus. 

Kobayashi and Tusikoka are the two main characters as pilots that end up trying to kill Godzilla. I think that they work better than Ogata and Serizawa in the last film. They get around the fact that Godzilla was defeated in the last film saying that (for some reason) the information is gone. A lot seems to have happened in the short time since the first film. They seem to be able to monitor his movements a lot better and even have air raid shelters ready for when he does appear.

It might seem strange to bring another monster into things but from an entertainment point of view it makes sense because all the humans can really do is stand there and do narrative commentary of what is happening. There needs to be something for Godzilla to be up against and another monster is just the answer. Now the 'fighting' might not be the best because at times it is comically sped up so some Benny Hill music wouldn't look out of place but at least they would get better.

Anguirus is the first monster that Godzilla fights in these films and it's not the greatest to be honest. Aside from the comedic pace the fights are the best. I suppose it's quite harsh to compare this to today's standards but I just think that it was limited from what we would get in future films. 

The plan is another simple one, this time they are going to bury it under mountain rocks and they end up doing it before the film ends. I would be lying if I said that this was a good Godzilla film. It doesn't quite have the same impact as the first one because the first one is about something. This just felt like a standard monster movie of the period where people spend lots of time talking and then there are a few brief moments of action.