Japanese Monster Movies

Japanese monster movies have been a fan favorite for more than 50 years. Godzilla, Gamera, Mothra, and all the rest have been reaking havoc on downtown Tokyo for more than half a century. The first film, "Godzilla", was first released in the United States in 1955 in Japanese-American communities only. In 1956, it was adapted by an American company into "Godzilla: King of the Monsters!", edited and with added principal scenes featuring Raymond Burr, and this version became an international success.

The original Godzilla was greatly inspired by the popularity of the 1952 re-release of King Kong, and the 1953 success of "The beast from 20,000 fathoms". "Godzilla" would go on to inspire "Gorgo", "Gamera", "Coverfield", and many others.

The name "Godzilla" is a romanization by the film production company Toho Company Limited, of the original Japanese name "Gojira" — which is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira - 'gorilla' and kujira - 'whale'. The word alludes to the size, power and aquatic origin of Godzilla. "Gojira" was allegedly the nickname of a large employee of Toho, but in the 50 years since the film's original release, no one claiming to be the employee ever stepped forward and no photographs have ever surfaced.

Some of my fondest movie watching memories as a kid was sitting in front of the tube every Saturday afternoon. Channel 11 showed three movies in a row. The first was a Charlie Chan movie, the second was aways a Tarzan movie, and then came my favorite, the monster movie!

Every Saturday afternoon, some guy in a rubber suit would stomp on Tokyo for two glorious hours. I don't know how many times I have seen these movies, but it doesn't matter. I will keep watching them forever! No matter how many times I see them, they still make me laugh. My kids seem to get just as big a kick out of them as I do.

I will try to bring you a decent selection of these old classics. Some are hard to find these days, but I will do my best. I hope you enjoy these as much as I still do.