Ranking the Showa Films

[Goji 84]

Personal favorites list:

1- Mothra vs. Godzilla
2- Godzilla vs. Hedorah
3- Monster Zero
4- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
5- Gojira
6- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
7- Ghidrah, the Three Headed Monster
8- King Kong vs. Godzilla
9- Terror of Mecahgodzilla
10-Destroy All Monsters
11-Son of Godzilla
12- Godzilla vs. Megalon
13-Godzilla vs. Gigan
14-Godzilla Raids Again
15-Godzilla's Revenge

[StevenScrivello]

[Dr Kain]

Man, I have been an idiot these last 10 years. Doing my review series and just finishing the Showa era today has made me realize how much went into those movies I never realized before. There are the movies I despise, but when the movies are good, they are REALLY good.

Anyway, my rankings would go:

Godzilla 54
Mothra vs Godzilla
Ghidorah TTHM
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla
Terror of MechaGodzilla
King Kong vs Godzilla
Destroy All Monsters
Godzilla vs Gigan
Son of Godzilla
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla vs Hedorah
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Godzilla vs Megalon
All Monsters Attack

[MekaGojira3k]

I'm updating my list, seeing as though that's been 6 years ago.

1. Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1954)
2. Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
3. Monster Zero (1965)
4. Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
5. Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)
6. King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
7. Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
8. Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966)
9. Son of Godzilla (1967)
10. Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
11. Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
12. Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975)
13. Destroy All Monsters (1968)
14. All Monsters Attack (1969)
15. Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

I think 9-12 are interchangeable to be honest.

[Jared]

1. Godzilla
2. Mothra vs. Godzilla
3. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
4. Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster
5. Invasion of Astro-Monster
6. Son of Godzilla
7. Destroy All Monsters
8. King Kong vs. Godzilla
9. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
10. Terror of Mechagodzilla
11. Godzilla vs. Gigan
12. Godzilla vs. Hedorah
13. Godzilla vs. Megalon
14. All Monsters Attack
15. Godzilla Raids Again

I enjoy them all, though, even the bottom three.

[UltramanGoji]

1.) Godzilla (1954) - What hasn't been said about it? A stone-cold classic with a grim, artistic look, heavy atmosphere, fantastic story and creative special effects.
2.) Godzilla vs. Monster Zero - Some of the most charismatic characters in the history of the franchise, a great science fiction story and fun monster sequences.
3.) Big Duel in the South Seas - Another fantastic round of characters featuring a unique setting, fun battles, and great music.
4.) Mothra vs. Godzilla - Often regarded as the best aside from G54, I personally find it to be great but with less interesting characters than Monster Zero or Big Duel.
5.) Terror of Mechagodzilla - Another great all-around cast, some fantastic and explosive effects sequences, and one of Ifukube's most iconic scores.
6.) Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster - Good cast, solid effects sequences, interesting story. Only reason its not higher is because every other option supersedes it.
7.) King Kong vs. Godzilla - Honestly on equal footing with Ghidorah for the same reasons with the addition of some great humor.
8.) Son of Godzilla - A solid "island adventure" film that doesn't quite reach the heights of Big Duel but still enjoyable enough.
9.) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - A good film with some mediocre characters but a great adversary and character in Mechagodzilla.
10.) Destroy All Monsters - A decent action/popcorn film. Notable mostly for its lavish miniature and effects sequences than anything else.
11.) Godzilla vs. Gigan - A solid human cast but a rather sloppy monster section. The alien invaders aren't as good as the Xians or Simeons and the excessive stock footage grows old fast.
12.) Godzilla vs. Megalon - A terrible human story but some of the most expressive monster sequences in the franchise. Fun to watch but can be a chore at times.
13.) All Monsters Attack - A good, if flawed, human story with decent but mostly forgettable effects sequences.
14.) Godzilla vs. Hedorah - Interesting, if nothing else. Clashing tones and styles, uninteresting characters, and middling effects sequences harm it. Hedorah is a fantastic creation, though.
15.) Godzilla Raids Again - Quite boring at times, a very mediocre cast and terrible effects sequences just garner this one the spot for worst Showa film.