Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

What Godzilla movie do you think most fits the mold of a standard Godzilla film? If you were going to show a film to someone that is completely devoid of all kaiju knowledge, what film would best encompass all the tropes of the genre? Make no mistake this question isn't asking which Godzilla film is the best film. For example, Gojira would not be the most Godzilla film since he doesn't fight other monsters, aliens, have elements of cheese or fantasy etc despite the fact that is one of the most critically regarded of films.

Difficult question, if I had to pin it down to ONE, I might go with Godzilla vs. Biollante.

You've got:
-Monster battle
-Metamorphosis
-Out-there science fiction
-Fantasy/mystical elements
-A portion of the film has a more-or-less solo-Godzilla outing feel
-A mech (kinda)
-Godzilla being depicted as a malevolent force but also a hint of sympathy/empathy
-Stock footage

Just about the only thing you don't really get are the more wrestling-style battles with the over-the-top moves like the tail-slam and tail-slide and such.

You'd almost have to give a few choices.

Showa:
Astro-Monster incorporates solid human element with some of more fantastical alien stuff. It has a little but of everything from the Showa era without the tail sliding.

Heisei: Biollante is a good choice, but I'd lean GvsD. References to the original Oxygen Detroyer, crazy science, and fantastical weapons.

The Millenium series is a mixed bag. G2K is fairly Showa like and Tezuka's films all borrow ideas from other places.

I think I'd go with Mothra vs. Godzilla as the most fundumental example of a "basic" Godzilla movie. It doesn't incorporate all the elements (most notably the lack of anything alien), but it has the most central/iconic ones, including:

Godzilla rampaging through a city
Godzilla fighting another monster
Clearly defined "good" and "bad" monsters
Strong elements of the fantastic (thanks to Mothra and the Shobijin)
A central trio of characters consisting of two men - one a scientist - and one woman
A "one world, learn to work together in harmony" theme
Eeeevil captialists (more a classic Mothra theme, admittedly, but basically a classic kaiju eiga theme)

I know I'm probably going to get stoned for this , but I choose Godzilla Final Wars:

- Baddass Godzilla beating the crap out of all the monsters
- Godzilla depicted as an unstoppable and total baddass force that nothing can possibly defeat
- Tons of monsters fighting other monsters
- Crazy mutants fighting monsters
- Crazy humans fighting mutants
- Crazy humans fighting aliens
- Spaceships fighting spaceships fighting monsters
- Non stop crazy and insane monster and martial arts action
- Crazy science/logic thats makes no sense but is cool
- Fantastic weapons, spaceships and aliens
- Over the top acting and bad dialog that's totally awesome

HAHAHAHAHA! And the list goes on and on and on. This is what I call a Godzilla movie!

There are more reasons GFW is not a normal Godzilla film than anything else. Oh plus the movie sucks.

I'd have to go with Mothra vs. Godzilla, classic Godzilla and a classic foe.
It's all of the staples (more or less) working incredibly well.

I'd also go with Mothra vs. Godzilla, which is almost a cross between the serious engine of destruction Godzilla of the original and the more lighthearted fantasy/monster action standard set by King Kong vs. Godzilla. Ghidorah, Astro-Monster and DAM would be honorable mentions. I just think any Honda/Tsuburaya movie would be a go-to G-flick honestly.

Monster Zero gets my vote.

Monster Zero is a good choice, I keep coming back to it when thinking about this question. It has:

Aliens

King Ghidorah

Rodan

Spaceships

Mind Control

Anti-Hero Godzilla

Goofiness

Future Tech

Human oriented story

Good effects (for the time)

My money is on Ghidrah. You have aliens (martian princess) bad godzilla/good godzilla. Mothra, Ghidorah, Rodan. Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (74') is also a contender as well.

Ghidorah is more Twilight Zone than Space Opera/Pulp Sci-Fi. It also lacks the future tech that Monster Zero has.

I guess if I had 5 movies to show people what Godzilla was about, I'd probably go:

Godzilla: Captures the original spirit of Godzilla.
Monster Zero: Highlights the Golden Era and shows how Godzilla evolved as a character.
Godzilla vs. Gigan: An example of a cult film with a reduced budget, a hero Godzilla and a Jun Fukuda movie.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah: This is the template for the rest of the Heisei series, and demonstrates how they revamped previous characters.
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS: This is Tezuka's best movie, and he directed 3 out of 6 for the Millennium movies.