Happy Godzilla Day
November 3: Happy Godzilla Day!
– David Eugene Perry
Ahoy! Ever since I was a young boy watching snippets of Godzilla films on tiny projectors with my cousins at our family’s farm in Virginia, I’ve been a HUGE fan of “The King of the Monsters.”
He’s not bad. He’s just clumsy, eventually saving Tokyo from nastier alien monsters but trashing the city in the process. Visiting the famous “Godzilla Bar” in Tokyo was one of life’s high points. And I CAN’T WAIT for the latest Godzilla epic opening this week!
Today marks 72 years since Godzilla first stomped onto movie screens, with the November 3, 1954, Japanese premiere of Gojira, the film that launched one of cinema’s most enduring legends.
But Godzilla wasn’t originally the lovable, city-stomping antihero I grew up cheering for. Born in the shadow of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Cold War nuclear testing, the original Godzilla was a terrifying metaphor for humanity’s capacity for self-destruction. Directed by Ishirō Honda, the film transformed Japan’s postwar anxieties into a giant, radioactive monster rising from the sea.
Over the decades, Godzilla evolved from destroyer to defender, battling a wonderfully bizarre assortment of adversaries, including King Ghidorah, Gigan, Mechagodzilla and, of course, the magnificent Mothra. Along the way, he became an international cultural icon, starring in dozens of films and inspiring generations of filmmakers and fans.
And now, 72 years later, the big guy is still going strong!
The extraordinary 2023 film Godzilla Minus One returned the character to his terrifying postwar roots, earning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects — the first Godzilla film ever to win an Oscar.
This week brings Godzilla Minus Zero, from Oscar-winning director Takashi Yamazaki, opening in Japan TODAY, November 3, and across North America on Friday, November 6, with special IMAX screenings tonight.
From a tiny projector on a Virginia farm to the biggest IMAX screens in the world, Godzilla has been a lifelong companion.
Long live the King of the Monsters!
And remember: He’s not bad. He just has REALLY big feet.
