KT Presents - Godzilla Movie Rankings!

[Hybrid Gojira]

Hey peeps!

I know we have several "rank the Godzilla films" threads lurking about, but I wanted to try something a little new.

Byrd (aka MouthfForWar) and I are attempting to compile a "Godzilla Movie Ranking" list from multiple forums and groups throughout the Godzilla fandom, one that we would discuss during a future Kaiju Transmissions Podcast episode. I would of course post the final results here. To participate, you only have to follow follow a few simple steps:

1) Follow this , which basically asks you to choose between "movie A and movie B" until you've ranked all of the Godzilla films, then post your results in this thread. For the sake of this exercise, we are including GINO, Legendary Godzilla, and Shin Godzilla. Lastly, because some of the Godzilla films have been Americanized, just pick the version you prefer and base your ranking solely on that version. For instance, if you prefer Gojira 1954 over Godzilla, King of the Monsters, then complete your rankings with Gojira 1954 in mind.

2) Evaluate the films based on which you "prefer." Meaning, I tend to rank films not necessarily based on which movie is technically better made or produced, but a combination of my overall enjoyment and how well the movie made. Thus, I'd rank MZ higher on my personal list than Gojira, though I think Gojira is the best Godzilla film. For me, this takes into account my "favorite" films as well as the "best" films and feels like a happy medium way to evaluate my rankings.

3) Please list your age, assuming you are comfortable doing so. It's not a deal breaker if you choose not to reveal this info. The common consensus has always been older fans prefer Showa, newer fans prefer Heisei and Millennium. I'm curious if this pans out. PS - I'm 31.

I will take all the responses, create a spreadsheet, and then post the results based on each Forum/Group individually as well as the fandom collectively.

******************

My Rankings:

Monster Zero (1965)

Godzilla (1954)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

Return of Godzilla (1984)

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Godzilla (1998)


Cheers!

[Benjamin Haines]

Great idea! I look forward to the results of this experiment!

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla (2014)
The Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla vs. Destroyer (1995)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla (1998)

For the record, I genuinely don't think of GINO'98 as a Godzilla movie because I honestly don't regard that monster as Godzilla, so I put it last. I do like that movie as a nostalgia-fueled adventure with a giant lizard but ranking it on this list of Godzilla movies feels about as out of place to me as trying to include some Gamera entries or other kaiju films.

Also, I'll be 28 next month, for what that's worth.

[lhb412]

Age: 28

Gah, every other matchup was damn difficult. I spent a while just gawking at the screen when confronted with "Godzilla's Revenge" vs. "Terror of Mechagodzilla" or "Son of Godzilla" vs. "Shin Godzilla." Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with the list I ended up with:

Godzilla (1954)

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Monster Zero (1965)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Godzilla (2014)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Return of Godzilla (1984)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Godzilla (1998)


As I expected, my list leans Showa, with Biollante, Shin, and GMK being the newer (i.e. made in my lifetime) films to crack my top ten. I will always contend that this is not due nostalgic preference (I saw most of the Heisei films when I was ten and followed the Millennium releases with great relish as a young teen) but rather the quality of the films. If Toho and Legendary continue to produced new films of similar quality to Shin and Godzilla '14 my list'll become a more thorough mixture between old and new(er).

[H-Man]

Age: 25

Results:

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Monster Zero (1965)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
The Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla (1998)

[canofhumdingers]

Well that was an interesting exercise. I've always shyed away from doing a whole list of Godzilla films favorite to least. Partly because it seems very tedious (so just clicking my way through this was far less so) and largely because i have strong enough feelings to be able to clearly list my top few favorites and my bottom few most disliked, but there's this huge swath of films in the middle that I love all pretty equally and it often just depends on my mood and the day as to which I would prefer. And that got quite challenging when it would present me two choices that I like quite equally and trying to decide which I like more for whatever reason. But oddly, looking over the final list, it seems eerily accurate to how I really feel about the series. Yeah you could swap a few in the middle around here or there, but I think the system actually worked better than I expected.

Results, starting from highest preferred:

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla (1998)

I'm 34 (crap I'm the oldest one on here so far!)

[Psycho Soldier]

Age is 25.

The rankings:

[Benjamin Haines]

What's interesting about including all 29 Toho films and the two American adaptations is that we each end up with a top 15, bottom 15, and one movie that's right in the middle. My "median favorite" Godzilla movie is G'14, Hybrid Gojira's is Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, lhb412's is Destroy All Monsters, H-Man's is GMK, canofhumdingers' is Godzilla vs. Destroyer, and Bruticus' is Final Wars. In my case that's quite fitting because I think of G'14 as a thoroughly enjoyable, middle-of-the-road Godzilla movie. What do the rest of you think of the "median favorites" in your lists?

[Psycho Soldier]

For me, Final Wars is entertaining and overall decent, despite being hindered by certain creative decisions and visuals. I suppose that's my opinion of the average Godzilla film, in broad strokes. So the movie is a suitable median.

[lhb412]

[klen7]

34

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla (1954)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla (1998)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

I agree with where my top 10 and bottom 10 turned out, so I guess this worked pretty well. I have always felt like an outlier in the fandom growing up on Showa but still loving the millennium (and post) films, with Heisei being the least enjoyed. It seems that a lot of fans that grew up on Showa had some sort of cut off where they stopped liking the movies (around 98 maybe?).

[Gentleman]

This was fascinating. It's interesting to see your own preferences spelled out in black and white. I think I'm going to do this twice, just to see if what I prefer is really what I prefer. Here's what I got this time:

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla (1998)

I'm 44.

[Gwangi]

Well, I don’t know what type of weed you guys have been smoking, but here is the one true Preference Revealer list!

(Actually, is is not that much different from what some of you have listed, and it seems that Godzilla (1954), Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster & Monster Zero are in the top five, while Spacegodzilla and Godzilla 98 seem to be in the lower echelon).


Results, starting from highest preferred:

Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Monster Zero (1965)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Godzilla (1954)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla (2014)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla (1998)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

[Mexigojira]

All, right here are my results (i'm 35 until july):

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Monster Zero (1965)

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Return of Godzilla (1984)

Godzilla (1954)

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Godzilla (2014)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

Godzilla (1998)

[Hybrid Gojira]

Keep em coming! I'm hoping to close the thread in a few weeks (unless we continue getting lots of responses) so I can tally the results.

[canofhumdingers]

[jellydonut25]

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Godzilla (1954)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Monster Zero (1965)

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

Return of Godzilla (1984)

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Godzilla (1998)



I'm 18,000 years old but I currently reside in the husk of a 31 year old.

[lhb412]

Kinda wish I could do this with every other kaiju movie.

... of course, then you get into mushy territory of what is and isn't a kaiju movie and what's counted (so many small, independent movies; and how many of us have even seen Whale God and Daigoro vs. Goliath?).

[Hybrid Gojira]

I mean, as long as you set specific parameters (meaning, all movies from Japan or Asia or contained a giant monster, etc..) you could do it. That list would be HUGE! And then, you'd have to consider stuff like show crossovers (i.e. Ultraman) and shorts like Negadon.

So yeah...I get your point!

[lhb412]

Are both versions of Yokai Daisenso kaiju movies because there is one giant monster amid the hundreds of human-sized monsters!?

[Hybrid Gojira]

We will be recording our episode soon - get your ranking in if you haven't already done so.

[Dai]

This was a lot of fun, and threw up some surprisingly tough match-ups. My list of preferences ended up being very different from how I would rank the movies on their technical and artistic quality. The Kiryu movies ranked high because they're so easy to watch, short and fast-paced, whereas Ghidrah TTHM, despite how much I love certain parts of it, really bogs down and becomes tedious when it focuses on the prophet wandering around.

Age: 37

I excluded Shin Godzilla because I haven't had the opportunity to see it yet.

Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla (1998)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

[tbeasley]

Age - 24

Godzilla (1954)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla (1998)

Seems about right more or less. These are always tricky, I could do this again and get slightly different results.

[DannyBeane]

Preference Revealer

Results, starting from highest preferred:


Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Godzilla 2000 (1999)

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

Monster Zero (1965)

Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)

Godzilla (1954)

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Shin Godzilla (2016)

Son of Godzilla (1967)

Return of Godzilla (1984)

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)

Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)

Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)

Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Godzilla (1998)

[Hybrid Gojira]

Thank you for all the responses - we will be closing the results now and prepping for the episode. Look for it sometime in the next month or so!

[MouthForWar]

Since Matt's being a damned bum, I wanted to let everyone know that our episode with the ranking poll results went up recently. (It is the second to last episode uploaded).

Of course, you an listen and subscribe through any of these fine services/links.

-TalksShoe: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/ta ... 678&cmd=tc

-iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/kai ... 09095?mt=2

-Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/p ... ewnxir5jhq

-RSS Feed: http://recordings.talkshoe.com/rss141678.xml