This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

just watch it!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This film tends to be exceedingly rare on DVD and VHS, and I really wish it wasn't that way. This film was made more or less to prove a point, that pollution was beginning to become a major problem for much of Japan. With unique music and scenes, and a monster who obviously doesn't fit in with Godzilla's other enemies, it's a one of a kind film. It's a pretty awesome one, I've seen it again and again. It has a few scenes that seem a bit unnecessary though, groovy hippy like music and scenes of flashing colors don't really bring a lot to the plot or feel of the film. The monster though, is totally massive, nearly twice Godzilla's size when it's full grown. It's one of the best in my opinion, I really like it. I would say this is one of the must sees of the Godzilla franchise.

Following the child-focused "All Monsters Attack" (1969), Godzilla returns as an ally of man in the battle against pollution, as personified (kaijufied?) by Hedorah (the Smog Monster)*. There are a number of stylistic changes from previous movies in the franchise, including James Bond-like opening credits, surreal psychedelic interludes (the fish-headed people at the 'go-go' club are memorable) and a number of odd animated inserts reminiscent of early 70's public service cartoons. The musical score, much of which sounds like background music for slapstick comedy or uplifting marches similar to the grating (but catchy) Gamera theme, is horrible. The franchise is still targeting younger audiences, so the central human character is a little kid (Ken Yano, played by Hiroyuki Kawase) who, among other things, comes up with the name for the new monster (Hedorah) as well as a method to destroy it. He also seems to have a psychic bond with Godzilla, and the last scenes of the film are straight out of "Shane" (1953, except that Shane is now a giant mutated dinosaur). Despite being a child-oriented film, "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" is much grimmer than any of the previous sequels, with human body counts after the monsters clash, on-camera 'deaths' of individuals (such as the gamblers or the driver of the truck crushed by Hedorah), and most jarringly, the 'melting' of people exposed to Hedorah's noxious exhalent (Ken encounters the gruesome partially-dissolved bodies of a number of these victims). Hedorah itself is so improbable looking that it might as well be accepted as a metaphor rather than a monster, but the titular fights are pretty good. The anthropomorphisation of Godzilla, who now constantly uses human-like gestures (almost rolling his eyes at mankind's ineffectual attempts to stop Hedorah), continues (although one delirious surprise in the film is the revelation that Godzilla can fly (!), a ridiculous-looking skill that would have come in handy in previous outings). All in all, "Godzilla vs. Hedorah" (the eleventh film in the franchise) while not a great kaiju film, is eccentric, imaginative and entertaining: a deviation from the downward slide that leads to the next two entries in the series (the woeful "G. vs Gigan" and "G. vs Megalon"). (*these comments pertain to an English subtitled version of the film).

One of the weirdest kaiju flicks ever created, this drug-fulled surrealist epic mixes in some very bizarre GODZILLA action with a plot that recalls the original '54 GODZILLA and experimental scenes to give it a very daft look. While not an easy movie to watch by any means, this unfortunately tends up being rubbishy rather than a work of genius, although it does have its moments and its never boring. The film's annoying theme tune is about saving the earth (yep, more unwanted environmentalist messages - nearly as bad as in Seagal's ON DEADLY GROUND) and resembles a Bond intro more than anything else.Things start off on a high note, as we witness the pollution of Japan's seas and the problems it causes. The "heroes" of the film are a very typical nuclear family rather than the investigating police force or intrepid reporters as in most of these films. Basically there are no other main cast members, just this family of four (five?). The scientist father discover that tadpoles taken from the sea now have the ability to merge together to create a bigger beast, and immediately decides that this is what has happened with the monster he calls "Hedora". After doing a bit of deep-sea diving to investigate, half of his face is burnt off by acid! Eventually Hedorah emerges from the ocean to wreak havoc as per usual, although he's rather more fond of murdering people than smashing buildings. As well as the acid rain he emits, he also spits huge globs of sludge, one of which goes on to attack people in a crowded nightclub in an unexpected homage to THE BLOB! It's not long before Godzilla arrives (here he has his very own theme tune) and engages the pollution-spawned fiend in a number of battles.Although Godzilla here looks like rather a tatty and disappointing monster, Hedorah more than makes up for his weakness. Hedorah is basically an animated pile of rubbish, complete with glowing red eyes. He's one of the more inventive monsters from the series and has to be seen to be believed. Unlike most kaiju films, there's a high death toll and we get to watch loads of people flashing and dissolving into skeletons as a result of Hedorah's carnage. Along with the slimy and disgusting Hedorah, this gives the movie a darker, more adult subject matter than before - but it's all so silly and obviously aimed at kids that you can't take it seriously anyway.The action scenes are adequate, but most of them are poorly-lit (perhaps to hide Godzilla's ratty appearance?) and there's nothing classic here as there was in previous multiple-monster bashes. The cast is instantly disposable, with the unfortunate exception of the annoyingly cute Japanese boy (in braces!) who leads it...it's a shame the acid sludge never gets him. What is most amusing in this film are the various experiments that director Yoshimitsu Banno tries out through it's running time. We have an unexplained black and white segment (complete with folk song!), weird animated interludes that make no sense, and the repetitive "save the earth" theme song that plays at various inappropriate moments. These bits certainly add to the "what the hell am I watching?" factor and make this a one-off kaiju feature. Although never boring, GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH is a hard film to watch and should be seen only by those who have very bizarre tastes. The final result is of some bizarre, cheese-fuelled nightmare.

One of the better entries in this never-ending series, GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER (which I first saw on a double bill with WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS when I was a kid) is most definitely a product of its time (not to mention its environment). Like THE BLOB (the ever-lovin' original), GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER boasts a way out, groovy theme song, some of the best kaiju slugfests ever, and an environmental message worthy of the very first GOJIRA. Crapitalism has taken its toll on Japan, so Mother Nature strikes back and the mighty Smog Monster rises from the pollution-choked planet to dispense some giant Japanese monster justice, kaiju style. (The scene with the poor little kitty drenched with oil I could've lived without... but that one shot DOES get the point across, and far more effectively than anything else in the movie: just recall the oil-covered pelicans gulping oily water in an effort to slake their thirst in the handful of scenes we were allowed to see of the Gulf oil spill...) This movie also inspired my own black and white comic book story, MUCKER, about an alien creature that lands in an offshore oil spill and feeds off of the oil until it consumes most of the life on this planet. The company responsible for said oil spill I called Texon. While the Oilygarchy that runs these United $tate$ will never get what it so richly deserves, movies like GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER give some of us reason to hope...