In his Foreword, director John Carpenter, who describes himself as “one of the original, hardcore fans of…Godzilla,” says Godzilla: The First 70 Years: The Official Illustrated History of the Japanese Productions is “a comprehensive history of Japan’s King of the Monsters.” It’s hard to disagree with his assessment of this massive tome, which runs over 432 pages at dimensions of 10.45 x 1.45 x 12.35 inches, when it includes a mention of the classic film, Marv Newland’s Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969).
Buy Godzilla: The First 70 YearsIn their Introduction, authors/Godzilla aficionados Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski explain the book “is a narrative and visual history focusing specifically on the feature films and anime produced in Japan, from the original Godzilla in 1954 to the Oscars triumph on Godzilla Minus One in 2024,” paying “tribute to Godzilla’s creators and costars—the filmmakers, special effects wizards, cast members, and stunt actors inside the monster suits.”
The chapters focus on the eras: Showa (1954 to 1975), Heisei (1984 to 1995), and Millennium (1999 to 2004). The final chapters focus on Anime (2017 to 2021) and Mutations (2016 to 2024), the two films of the latter take a serious approach to the material. Readers hear from insiders throughout the long-running franchise, such as special effects directors Eiji Tsuburaya, Teruyoshi Nakano, and Eiichi Asada, who speak about their approaches and, in the case of the last two, about how the past work affected them.
After a deep dive into Godzilla, there’s a brief look how it became Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), which was “the only version of the first Godzilla film officially available in the US and other Western territories until 2004, when the original Japanese cut of Godzilla was commercially released for the first time.” While the American version is watered down to a simple monster movie with the themes of war and nuclear weapons removed, it is still credited with “the opening of Japanese entertainment to the West.”
As the series progressed, it was geared towards children, even seeing a latchkey kid befriend Godzilla’s son Minilla in All Monsters Attack (1969) then returning to serious fare in Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971), also known as the Smog Monster. After a brief hiatus, Godzilla returned with The Return of Godzilla (1984), “a direct sequel to the original,” and like the original, it too got an American edit. Godzilla 1985 starred Raymond Burr returning to the role of reporter Steve Martin. Monsters Mothra and Ghidorah as well as the mechanical Mechagodzilla returned during the following eras.
In addition to the the wonderful set photos, in black and white and in color, and the conceptual-art drawings, the book offers great trivia, such as the unused ending in early drafts of King Kong vs. Godzilla; how Ebrirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) initially began as a Kong vehicle; and how the name “Minilla” was “chosen by kids through a public submission campaign.” There’s also a “visual history trac[ing] the evolution of Toho’s Godzilla designs,” with detailed information and a two-page spread of headshots that would make a great poster.
The authors state “Godzilla may have toiled away on the fringes of cinema for decades, but—paradoxically, perhaps—no other fictional entertainment icon has occupied the world’s attention in such a far-reaching and enduring way.” Fans, of what our own General Jabbo calls “one of the great movie monsters of all time” in his review of the Criterion Collection release, know what pleasures the Godzilla franchise offers, and this authoritative overview does a great job extolling its virtues. Highly recommended but put this monster of a book on a bottom shelf of your library.
