Having watched a few films over the past few months, I believe it's necessary to do a revised list. What the hell, why not, right?
The Mysterians
Mothra (1961)
Matango
Atragon
Rodan
Frankenstein Conquers The World
War of the Gargantuas
The H-Man
Battle In Outer Space
Dogora
King Kong Escapes
The Secret of the Telegian
Gorath
Yog The Monster From Space
Latitude Zero
Varan The Unbelievable
The War in Space
Truthfully, I like them all. Some are better than others, but they all have their good points.
EDIT: Just watched
Mothra again. The U.S. version, for two reasons. First, I grew up on it. I've seen this movie tons of times over the years. Secondly, the only thing that's really bad about the new Sony disc is that the subtitles for the Japanese version are ATROCIOUS. The same goes for the other two discs. I know that they basically copied the scripts from the American versions, but come on!
Anyway, let me get to the point. Honestly, I think that
Mothra may be the best film that Ishiro Honda ever directed. Not only that, I think it's probably the best sci-fi/fantasy/monster movie that Toho ever made. Even better than the original
Godzilla. Now, I know that's a very heavy-handed statement to make around here, and I owe an explanation. However, I'm just going to lay back for a minute, and see if there is anyone out there that may possibly agree with me, or atleast understand why I would think such a thing.
...(crickets chirping)....
"EVERYONE FORGET YOUR TROUBLES! ENJOY YOURSELVES!THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" - Gigantis The Fire Monster
"It was HUGE...It was...IT WAS LIKE A MONSTER!!! Suddenly the rocks rose...ALIVE!" - Godzilla 1985