Toho Kingdom

So I changed my thoughts on the 70's films after watching them again.

And they were pretty damn enjoyable.

Hedorah was quirky in a good way.
Gigan was tons of fun.
Megalon was also tons of fun.
And vs Mechagodzilla was awesome.

So basically, I take back ALOT of what I said about these films.
Anybody else have a change in thoughts?

Cool.
I didn't care much for Godzilla vs Hedorah when I was younger (in fact it scared me when I first saw it, I think I was six). Now I love it.
Gigan and Megalon were favorites of mine as a kid, but I went through a phase around middle school where I didn't like them due to the stock footage. Now that I'm older I consider them to be some of my favorites again.
I've always thought of Mechagodzilla as a good Godzilla film, but it has definitely moved up on my list.
I also like ToMG more than I did before, probably because I finally got around to watching the Japanese version.

Anyways, I'm glad you are able to enjoy them now (and sorry if I ever lashed out at you for criticizing them, I think I did once maybe. There's nothing wrong with disliking them)

When I was growing up, the '70s Godzilla films were always my least favorite ones to watch. I despised Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla, thought Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon were really stupid movies and was impartial to Terror Of MechaGodzilla. But as I grew older and started to gain a deeper appreciation of cinema, I eventually revisited all of the '70s Godzilla films and realized that there were just as many reasons to like these films as much as there were for any other Godzilla film.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah is a one-of-a-kind movie in terms of it's style, tone and approach to telling it's story. The acting is well done, the writing is solid, the effects match with the tone and feel of the film when it comes to dealing with Hedorah and the fight scenes are on par with many of the '60s Godzilla films.

Godzilla vs. Gigan is an interesting experiment of a movie. It sometimes comes off like Fukuda was trying to make a film as quickly as possible and seeing how the results turn out. While the story meanders at times and has far too much going on for its own sake and the effects are sloppy to say the least, it's still a fun film to watch if only for the incredibly long final battle between the monsters.

Godzilla vs. Megalon, in my eyes, is the only Godzilla film that falls into the category of "so bad, it's good." From a technical standpoint, this film is terrible. But it's the kind of terrible that you can't help but laugh at it and, as a result, you end up enjoying the movie ironically. From Jet Jaguar's Jack Nicholson face and ability to change size at will, to the Seatopian's plan to conquer the world (through interpretive dance?), this film is just so hilariously bad.

Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla is an interesting take on the spy genre (which was popular at the time) while also having incredibly well made and fun monster segments, accompanied by an effective and kick-ass score. The film does tend to drag at a couple points, especially during the cave exploration scenes and the three minute scene of waking up King Ceasar, but other than that, it's enjoyable.

I absolutely adore Terror Of MechaGodzilla. It took what began in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla and amplified it by making the aliens more menacing, showing just how destructive and powerful MechaGodzilla is, and having Godzilla fight MechaGodzilla on his own. You really feel like Godzilla is outmatched and helpless in this case. Not to mention, this film has probably the most well written characters in the entire Godzilla franchise with Dr. Mafune and Katsura. Their character journey is both understanding, tragic and interesting that it's hard not to like these characters. I think the Japanese version sealed the deal for me, especially the ending and how they ended Katsura's character arch in that version. In all, it's a success in just about every regard. Writing, acting, directing, music, effects, battles, atmosphere, tone and pacing. Easily one of my favorite Godzilla films and the best of the '70s Godzilla movies.

Overall, I would say that the '70s Godzilla films are just as entertaining and enjoyable as the '60s Godzilla films. They may not be as well-made as the '60s movies, but they make up for that with their creativity and heart. Films like Godzilla vs. Hedorah and Terror Of MechaGodzilla are actually just as good as most of the better Godzilla films, and I'd actually take ToMG over almost any other Godzilla movie. I really don't get the people that still say the '70s movies were the "Dark Age" of the Godzilla franchise, when most of these films were still more well put together than the majority of the movies from the '90s and 2000s. While most of these films were very much a product of their time and feel very much like '70s movies, the stories and characters still hold up for the most part and are enjoyable for more than just the action or effects.

I always enjoyed the first three. Always. However, my opinion on the two Mechagodzilla movies changed recently. I used to love the hell out of GvMG and not really care for ToMG. Now, ToMG is one of my Showa favorites and I find GvMG a little hard to sit through without my mind drifting somewhere else.

Hedorah terrified me as a kid. I wanted nothing to do with the movie.
I always enjoyed Gigan and Megalon, though. I wanted to see monsters fight, and these movies delivered!
Mechagodzilla was enjoyable too, but sometimes the human/alien violence was a little too intense for me (figure that one out - I can watch monsters beating each other to a pulp but human violence scared me).
Terror of Mechagodzilla got me excited when I discovered it, since it was not only a Godzilla film I hadn't seen before but a direct sequel to one I knew well. I don't think I knew what to make of it, though. It was a much more somber, human oriented film than I was used to.

Today I enjoy all of the films. Hedorah has ironically become one of my favorite Godzilla films, and the middle three make for great popcorn entertainment. I need to be in the right mood to appreciate Terror, though.

Nope. Not really.

From my childhood to today, I've always loved these movies.

When I was younger, I tended to think of Hedorah as a "so-bad-it's-good" movie, whereas these days I consider it so-fucking-good-it-borders-on-genius.

Gigan has held a pretty consistent place in my affections.

My opinion on Megalon has never really shifted.

I definitely liked Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla more when I was younger than I do now. The cool mosnter action went a lot further for me at 14 than it does now - these days the somewhat obnoxious human scenes (and particularly the massive narrative misstep of focusing the whole plot on Seesar's awakening and then allowing him to be basically useless in the final battle) result in my ranking this movie pretty low.

My fondness for Terror of Mechagodzilla, which I found to be a lesser entry once upon a time, increased exponentially in my mid-to-late teens, especially when I got to see a subbed 35mm print on the big screen (having previously seen only the butchered, panned and scanned home video version).

At about age 14, I probably would have ranked the 70s flicks:

vs. Mechagodzilla
vs. Gigan
vs. Hedorah
Terror of Mechagodzilla
vs. Megalon

These days, I think I'd rank them:

vs. Hedorah
Terror of Mechagodzilla
vs. Gigan
vs. Mechagodzilla
vs. Megalon

No, not yet, and I doubt it.

Legion1979 wrote:

JGAR4Entertainment wrote:No, not yet, and I doubt it.

You could elaborate, but I'm afraid of what you'd say.

And I'm afraid of what I will be responded.

Nope. I loved them as a kid and I still love them today.

Godzilla vs Megalon of course is my favorite film. Campy and Fun.

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla is a movie that never gets old IMO. It is the second Godzilla film next to Megalon that I watched frequently as a kid.

Terror of Mechagodzilla is a Godzilla movie that easily makes the top five in my Critical list. Great characters and story.

Godzilla vs Gigan is a guilty pleasure of mine. The characters are a lot of fun and I definitely like Gigan.

Godzilla vs Hedorah is another movie I frequently watched as a kid. I enjoy the soundtrack and Hedorah.

godzilla98rules wrote:Godzilla vs Megalon of course is my favorite film. Campy and Fun.

Kitschy, sure. I've never seen any evidence that Megalon was designed to achieve that effect, though, which is a requirement of camp.

eabaker wrote:

godzilla98rules wrote:Godzilla vs Megalon of course is my favorite film. Campy and Fun.

Kitchy, sure. I've never seen any evidence that Megalon was designed to achieve that effect, though, which is a requirement of camp.

Well, they did let a kid design JJ. Make of that what you will.

Legionmaster wrote:

eabaker wrote:

godzilla98rules wrote:Godzilla vs Megalon of course is my favorite film. Campy and Fun.

Kitchy, sure. I've never seen any evidence that Megalon was designed to achieve that effect, though, which is a requirement of camp.

Well, they did let a kid design JJ. Make of that what you will.

I take that as an honest attempt to drum up interest among children. Oh, and thanks for not calling me out on my misspelling of "kitschy."

eabaker wrote: Kitchy, sure. I've never seen any evidence that Megalon was designed to achieve that effect, though, which is a requirement of camp.

Yeah. The camp is just a matter of opinion. I think it really falls under the "so bad it's good" category.

eabaker wrote:Oh, and thanks for not calling me out on my misspelling of "kitschy."

It's ok. You were just spelling it the kitschy way.

Legionmaster wrote:

eabaker wrote:Oh, and thanks for not calling me out on my misspelling of "kitschy."

It's ok. You were just spelling it the kitschy way.

But if I do so again, with conscious intent, I'll be spelling it the campy way, and it'll be faaabulooouuus!

Haven't watched Godzilla vs. Gigan in a long time actually, the excessive blood & the talking monsters really freaked me out as a kid lol. The same used to go for Godzilla vs. Hedorah. The film used to scare the crap out of me as a kid, but after rewatching it years later, I found it to be a very fun & enjoyable movie.

So I guess my favoite 70's films (from greatest to least favorite) goes something like:

1. Terror of Mechagodzilla
2. Godzilla vs. Hedorah
3. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
4. Godzilla vs. Megalon
5. Godzilla vs. Gigan

I never disliked them (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla has always been one of my favorites), although I have grown to appreciate Hedorah and Gigan more with time. Still not particularly fond of either Megalon or Terror of Mechagodzilla, though...Megalon is too weird, and ToMG just bores me.

heh, ive come to LOOOOVE TOMG and G vs hedorah is just a childhood favorite of mine. maybe cuz of the long fight.

I've always been a fan of TOMG. There were always meh and still are, to me.