After nuclear weaponry was created people began to fear the consequences of entering into the atomic age. As a result, Hollywood, and just about everyone who owned a camera at the time, decided it was best to capitalize on those fears by ushering in a bizarre era of movie history where classic monsters were out, while giant insects and radioactive beasts from the deep were in. These movies didn't have the same heart and soul that the classic monsters had and most knew it would be nothing more than a fad hanging around until the collective sighs of disapproval shooed it all away like some pesky lice. However, there was one monster that arose during this time period who would have a lasting influence on cinema; a colossal lizard by the name of Godzilla.
Created by our friendly neighbors over in Japan, the very same people who had the misfortune of experiencing the strength of the atom first hand, Godzilla was a being born from nuclear carelessness. A massive creature of destruction, Godzilla would find himself reappearing in Japanese theater houses over and over again as he rampaged across Tokyo, or whatever Japanese city would have him, and did battle with other equally absurd goons.
I'm not going to lie and say that Godzilla is first rate entertainment, but there is something mysteriously appealing about its premise. We have a creature born from the destructive tendencies of man who has now come back to punish us. He's enormous, almost indestructible, and can breath a gamma ray. Sadly, because we didn't have the fancy computers back then like we do today, the only real way to realize a creature like Godzilla was to put a guy in a large foam rubber suit. The result was pretty hilarious although intriguing none the less.
On a side note, the most interesting thing about Godzilla movies for me is how much fun they would be to make. You have a crew of artists build a model city and then have a man in a lizard costume destroy that very model city and put it all to film. To me that is a dream job that probably can only be acquired via nepotism, meaning unless I find myself in the position to make bed fellows with a Japanese movie producer, I'll never have this sort of luxury.
Godzilla may not be the scariest thing around, but his movies are loads of fun. There's a certain primal satisfaction to it all which is why I believe he went on to become such a recognizable household name. Godzilla ranks up there with even the best Universal monsters and he is definitely deserving of our love and respect.
GO GO GODZILLA!
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