by Jorzilla » Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:26 pm
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, especially after showing Megalon and Gigan to a group of friends at my house. Why do we group Showa films together so tightly? For example: Godzilla vs. Hedorah is completely different than the original Godzilla movie, but they are still in the same "series." I actually think it could be argued that there are four (going on five) groups of Godzilla movies instead of three going on four. They are as follows:
Golden Age Godzilla Films: Gojira (1954) - Destroy All Monsters (1968): 14 years, 9 films.
Hero Godzilla Films: Godzilla's Revenge (1969) - Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975): 6 years, 6 films.
Heisei: No difference. 11 years, 7 films.
Millennium: No difference. 5 years, 6 films.
Godzilla's Revenge is the splitter between the series, it was the movie that signaled: This franchise is now kid-centric. Godzilla's motivations and personality completely change after this moment, even in Destroy All Monsters he was fighting the Japanese Military.
So, what are the benefits of the split?
- No continuity issues. It's always confusing to whether or not Gigan takes place prior to, or before Destroy all Monsters (at least it's not clear). If you consider Destroy All Monsters to be the crowning cap of the first series, problem solved (expect for how the heck Godzilla found himself stuck inside of an island).
- Complete distinction between the different main filmmakers involved (except for Honda and Fukuda).
- Distinction between the tones of the series. Godzilla's Revenge herald in the pure Kids Movie, Hero Era.
- Each series 'feels' distinct between each Showa series, Heisei and Millennium.
I know that this wont be adopted by the larger community because the Showa, Heisei, Millennium series has become so ingrained. Showa film's are still grouped together due to their close proximity in release dates. However, when discussing Godzilla films going forward I will probably use this distinction in non-online, fan-centric discussion. For example, when watching these films with friends.