Kaiju eiga (giant monster movies)

List creator: kobayashimaru Created on: October 30, 2003 - 6:33 PM PST Description: The best in the (primarily Japanese) kaiju eiga genre.

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	movie title	related list	average rating	MPAA rating	watch	rent	buy
	Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956)
The one that started it all. Unfortunately the original version is unavailable in the US, as with most of the titles on this list.
	Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999)			Not Rated
The culmination of Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera trilogy is the 2nd-best film in the genre. Impressive effects, camerawork, and screenplay by Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell). This disc is the original Japanese version with subtitles (or a poor English dub).
	Godzilla vs. Destroyah/Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1995)			Not Rated
Ignore Gvs.SpaceGodzilla; Destroyah is the good film on this disc. The last film in the second sequence of Godzilla films, ending with Godzilla's death.
	Gamera 1: Guardian of the Universe (1995)			Not Rated
The first installment in Shusuke Kaneko and Kazunori Ito's brilliant Gamera trilogy is the least impressive, but important for understanding its sequels. This DVD contains the original language track and subtitles.
	Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)			Not Rated
A step up from the first, but pales in comparison to the above-mentioned Gamera 3. This DVD contains the original language track and subtitles.
	Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah/Godzilla vs. Mothra (1991)			Not Rated
Despite its wildly complicated time-travel plot, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is one of the best in the series. (The 90s Godzilla vs. Mothra is much less impressive, though it's always nice to see Mothra on screen.)
	Godzilla vs. Mothra (1964)
Mothra's second appearance. Unfortunately, the original Mothra is not available on DVD, and all legally available video copies are the dubbed American version.
	Destroy All Monsters (1968)
A fun outing featuring most of the monsters from Toho's growing list of kaiju films, this is perhaps the quintessential 60s Godzilla movie.
	Rodan (1956)
The first color kaiju film.
	Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Ishiro Honda's final film in the Godzilla series.
	Rebirth of Mothra/Mothra II: The Undersea Battle (1996/1997)			Not Rated
The 90s Mothra series is aimed at a younger audience, and is reminiscent of fantasy films like Labyrinth and the Neverending Story.
	Gorgo (1961)