Monster Zero x SciFi Japan - Archive Only

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Godzilla vs The Smog Monster is probably one of the most misunderstood and controversial films in the series. He indirectly is responsible for getting the Legendary Monsterverse off the ground. I had the good fortune to meet him over a decade ago at G-fest.

He was the last living Showa director, too.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah is just iconic. As a kid I probably though more about Hedorah and how he worked than any other Godzilla opponent. As you mentioned, it was Banno's enthusiasm that ended up making the Monsterverse happen, and I think it's quite appropriate that the resulting movie ended up bending more towards the hero Godzilla than anything since the '70s.

"Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster" is one of my favorite (certainly in my top 10) G-films. Different, bizarre and just fun to watch.

Hopefully, Legendary will take note and put "In memory of" during the "Godzilla 2" closing credits.

Banno's drive to turn a new 3D Godzilla movie into reality lasted for more than a decade, but he made it happen. We'll never know if Legendary, Warner Bros., or any other Hollywood studio would have taken an interest in reviving Godzilla in the modern era if Banno hadn't been pitching his 3D project, but that's what he did and the existence of 2014's Godzilla is the end result of all those years of determination. From that movie, this entire Monsterverse in the making was spawned. If it's true that Tomoyuki Tanaka did ban Banno from ever working on another Godzilla project, then Banno certainly succeeded in overcoming that restriction and making another significant contribution to Godzilla series history.

As for his first contribution to the series, Godzilla vs. Hedorah is one of my longtime favorites. It's such a fun and unique product of its time: an anti-pollution film with a superhero Godzilla and a groovy '70s aesthetic. It's one-of-a-kind and there will never be another Godzilla movie like it. I'm going to watch it again tonight.

R.I.P. Yoshimitsu Banno

"Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" was the very first Godzilla movie I saw. I got to meet him on G-TOUR in 2004 and thank him for making me a fan.

Sayonara, Banno-sama, no arigato.

Sad to hear of his passing. I met him at my first trip to G-fest in 2005. We watched a 35mm print of Smog Monster with him in attendance, which was my first ever Showa film on the big screen.

r.i.p.