Godzilla vs. Hedorah...New Found Respect??

[Jet Jaguar]

Looking over some online reviews, and now I wish I had favorited them.
I do remember that Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster/Hedorah actually getting some major props, and not JUST the ribbing it kinda deserves (at times)

What are YOUR thoughts on this Showa entry?

[chillening]

I like how they tried to break the formula by hiring a new director, but the guy they got obviously wasn't much of a kaiju director. Toho made the same mistake with GFW. There are a couple of good scenes in the film but it's wildly uneven, mixing in kid-oriented camp with gruesome horror. It's a hard film to judge.

[Bagoth]

It's a pretty intense little film, really not sure why they allow children to view it. I mean there's some pretty gruesome stuff in that film; and weird crap too. All of the random shots of dead stuff and seventies dances that your really not sure why it was included.

But then again, I'm sure it's awesome on acid.

[Orga777]

One of the worst pieces of film-making in the history of science fiction. There are only three Godzilla movies worse than this stupid waste of time. The pseudoscience in this movie is probably the worst ever conceived in Godzilla history, the tone was all over the place, the characters were idiotic and annoying, and do I even need to mention the absolute worst moment in the series history (not counting Minya talking in Revenge) with Godzilla freaking flying with his breath weapon. What the hell is THAT? Only Godzilla's Revenge, Godzilla vs. Megalon, and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla are worse than Smog Monster. It was a giant acid trip that should never have happened... which can be literal too since the Hippies were dropping acid in the movie... So... yeah... I hate it. XD

[Zardac the Great]

I don't know. I'm not sure Megalon is quite this bad.


But anyway... yeah. Drug Induced.

Don't like it. Dislike pretty much everything about it.

[Jet Jaguar]

I dunno....the animation was fun.

[Movie-Brat]

Let me put it to you this way. This is another Godzilla film I'd want the NC to trash. If not, give it to Film Brain for Bad Movie Beatdown.

[Shinoda]

Silliest kaiju flick ever? Perhaps, but it does have a couple things that the competition doesn't:
Trippy dance club sequences that make you feel higher than something really high!
Horrifying images of people scarred by Hedorah's waste products!
Images of pollution so graphic that it could influence anyone to join Greenpeace!
And, of course:
Godzilla, formerly a terrifying image of the horrors of the atomic bomb, pulling a Gamera (Showa) by flying to save the day!

Normally, I would give such a film a 2/10, but given the circumstances, I would probably give it a 4/10, if only for the sheer silliness of it all.

[RadoGoji]

Maybe it's just my enjoyment in watching bad movies, but this one is a lot of fun to watch. I dunno, maybe it's easier for me to turn my brain off than anyone else nowadays.

Plus, as I've said many times before, Hedorah was the forerunner in monsters that gave me nightmares. He still freaks me out at times.

[Goji Son]

I've always applauded Godzilla vs. Hedorah for it's experimental nature. When somethings worked, they worked well for me but there is no denying the gaping flaws to the film. With that said, I would put it over any 70s Godzilla film besides Terror of MechaGodzilla.

[KingKaiju]

Godzilla flies...nuff said.

Hedorah's a cool creation, but the movie itself...eh, didn't like it. They try to throw too many things in at once. Godzilla's a giant monster, let's keep him that way...not a "hey kids, littering is for losers!!! I'm godzilla, sending you a message to throw your garbage in a trash bin...or i'll smash your house. This has been a public service announcement" kinda deal...

[DinoGeekProductions]

Umm, should I mention Smog Monster is Roger Ebert's favorite Godzilla movie?

[Egg-Zilla]

Originally Posted by Shinoda

Godzilla, formerly a terrifying image of the horrors of the atomic bomb, pulling a Gamera (Showa) by flying to save the day!

Godzilla vs. Hedorah is very similar to the Showa Gamera films in a number of respects. Indeed, Godzilla flies, for the first and last time in the series.
But then there are other connections:
The over-the-top violence and gore that made so many Daei productions infamous.
The focus on a slightly annoying (yes, only slightly- there are far worse) little kid who is obsessed with the title monster.
Humans and monster joining forces to combat the greater evil; granted, the same occurs in other Godzilla movies, but here we actually have the monster using one of the army's weapons himself.
The silly music that plays when Godzilla proceeds to rip-out Hedorah's innerds.

Plus a few others. While I do consider it one of the worst Godzilla films every made, I would be lieing to say I don't like it. Hedorah is one of the creepiest yet facinating monsters ever designed, and he really does fit into the movie perfectly. The cartoons, the dancers, the music, and little kitten, everything that makes it all so freakish and strange is just where Hedorah should be, in a mass of polluted chaos. Despite being surreal beyond all human description, the film actually does have a straight-forward and understandable message- less could be said for the majority of Godzilla movies. So yeah, Godzilla vs. Hedorah is pretty terrible, but it is also truly scary and interesting. It's a breath of fresh air in the Godzilla series.

[Saruman]

People have to remember that this is a film written at a point in time where things were in rapid change/flux containing specific messages so it's much harder for people that weren't around when it was made to fully grasp.

If you didn't grow-up during the hippie movement, then it's not going to make as much sense or have the impact that it would have had on the people that did. It's not something that the film should be knocked for, it's just the way it is. There are probably some Japanese people that were around when the bombs were dropped on Japan during WWII, that don't enjoy the original Gojira simply because of the subject matter, it's too personal.

As for the extremes in scenes of this movie, I think that was intentional. When you see the hippie club scenes you forget whats going on and it takes you to a different place. That allows the impact of the more gruesome scenes of Hedorah's destruction to be much more shocking and intense. The director knew exactly what he was doing, don't be fooled into thinking he didn't, he went for shocking impact in many scenes and I think he hit his mark with it, maybe a little to well.

This film isn't nearly as bad as people believe it to be. I think if you really sit down and watch the film and remember the time the film was intended for, you will have a better understanding and appreciation for it. It's not the best Godzilla film, but it isn't close to the worst either.

Also the message the movie was sending seems to be of importance currently, unless you have been living in a cave in the wilds of Canada for the past 2 months and don't know what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico currently.