Godzilla
Related: Japanese cinema - Japanese exploitation - exploitation film - monster - film
Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964) - Ishirô Honda
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Godzilla (Gojira) is a giant, amphibious, dinosaur-like fictional creature first seen in the Japanese-produced 1954 tokusatsu (kaiju specifically) film Gojira produced by Toho Film Company Ltd.. In total, 28 films have been made by the Toho Film Company and a further two made unofficially (not related to the Toho Film company). The most notable unofficial movie is the 1998 film Godzilla, directed by Roland Emmerich. Despite being the highest grossing film of the year factoring in overseas profits, the film has been widely panned by cult followers of the Godzilla franchise, critics on both sides of the Pacific, and movie-goers in general and has since been dubbed GINO (Godzilla In Name Only). Ironically, the Americanized Godzilla featured in Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) was killed by the "true" Godzilla from a hit to the tail, and its radioactive breath. In this film, the American Godzilla appeared simply as "Zilla". Godzilla has three primary abilities: regeneration, amphibious mobility, and an atomic fire beam. Godzilla is also extremely durable and can resist almost all physical assaults. The atomic fire beam is Godzilla's trademark skill. Although much of Godzilla's significance as an anti-war symbol has been lost in the transition to pop culture, the nuclear breath remains as a visual vestige of the creature's early Cold War politics. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla [Nov 2005]
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