Directed by Yoshimitsu Banno • 1971 • Japan
Starring Akira Yamauchi, Toshie Kimura, Hiroyuki Kawase
Intended to address the crisis levels of pollution in postwar Japan, GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH finds the King of the Monsters fighting an alien life form that arrives on Earth and steadily grows by feeding on industrial waste. Director Yoshimitsu Banno infuses the film with equal parts ecological horror, humorous monster antics, and sixties psychedelia straight out of San Francisco, making for a truly unique—and divisive—entry in the series.
Up Next in Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975
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Godzilla vs. Gigan
Directed by Jun Fukuda • 1972 • Japan
Starring Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru TakashimaAn alien invasion prompts a tag-team battle between Godzilla and Anguirus, the planet protectors, and King Ghidorah and the new monster Gigan, a cyborg with scythe-like claws, an abdominal buzz saw,...
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Godzilla vs. Megalon
Directed by Jun Fukuda • 1973 • Japan
Nuclear testing unleashes mayhem on the undersea kingdom of Seatopia, causing a series of environmental disasters that nearly wipes out Rokuro, the schoolboy protagonist at the center of this film. To exact revenge, Seatopia unleashes Megalon, a gigantic bee...
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Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Directed by Jun Fukuda • 1974 • Japan
Godzilla’s evil twin Mechagodzilla first reared its head in this Jun Fukuda–directed film. A robot designed by aliens to conquer Earth, the enduringly popular villain has since been resurrected by Toho Studios several times. With the help of earnest directio...
