Directed by Koji Hashimoto
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Shuichi Nagahara
Based on "The Resurrection of Godzilla" by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Starring: Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki, Keiju Kobayashi, Kenpachiro Satsuma
Music by Reijiro Koroku
Cinematography: Kautami Hara
Edited by Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Release date: December 15, 1984
Running time: 103 minutes
Budget: $6.25 million
Box office: $11 million
Directed by: Steven S. DeKnight
Directed by: Steven S. DeKnight
Produced by: John Boyega, Cale Boyter, Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Femi Oguns, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull
Screenplay by: Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin
Story by: Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin
Based on Characters by Travis Beacham
Starring: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona, Zhang Jin, Charlie Day
Music by: Lorne Balfe
Cinematography: Dan Mindel
Edited by: Dylan Highsmith, Zach Staenberg
Release date: March 15, 2018 (Vue West End), March 23, 2018 (United States)
Running time: 111 minutes
We return with a special episode with the great Midnight Tease!
Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Produced by Masaichi Nagata
Written by Kon Ichikawa, Shinya Hidaka, Mitsutoshi Ishigami, Ryûzô Kikushima
Based on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Ayako Wakao, Kyōko Kishida, Kiichi Nakai
Music by Kensaku Tanikawa
Cinematography Setsuo Kobayashi
Edited by Chizuko Osada
Release date September 14, 1987 (US), September 26, 1987 (Japan)
Running time 121 minutes
Look who drove all the way to Utah to talk Godzilla? Ladies and gentlement, put your hands together for Jason Poor!
Here's his theory, for your enjoyment:
This is a long and ludicrous theory. It takes a lot of liberties, but I love the idea of all of his characters being the same man, so I decided to put something together. I did some research in Godzilla wikis and rewatched some of the movies to get a storyline together. I also thought about this way too much. Enjoy! I’d be curious to hear anyone else’s thoughts. It should be noted that I did not include non-Godzilla movies, as I haven’t seen most of them and can’t make a definite determination of where they would fit in.
A brilliant young oceanographer with an interest in paleontology, Dr. Sarizawa was in his early twenties when he discovered the existence of a marine dinosaur. He had recently returned from World War 2 with a devastating eye injury, and found himself bitter at humanity for the devastation man could cause. He hoped that the discovery of Titanosaurus would catapult him back into academic circles and bring him some clarity, but when he suggested he could control the creature the other scientists only laughed and ridiculed him.
Feeling betrayed, Dr. Sarizawa moved to Tokyo, where he met and befriended fellow paleontologist Dr. Yamane. He even became engaged to Yamane’s daughter, Emiko. But his true passion remained learning the secrets to controlling Titanosaurus. When he was approached by the terrorist group Red Bamboo to assist with the building of their base on Lechti Island, he knew he would be able to continue his studies in earnest.
In the meantime, his experiments led him to the accidental creation of a superweapon, the Oxygen Destroyer. At first the device scared him, but after Godzilla appeared and attacked Tokyo he knew he had his chance. He phoned Red Bamboo and told them to be ready. Under the guise of a noble underwater sacrifice, Sarizawa set off the Oxygen Destroyer and in the ensuing chaos boarded a Red Bamboo submarine and made his escape.
Red Bamboo gave him the name Ryuui and brought him to Lechti Island. There he found room to work on both his pet projects and solve problems for his new employers. Immediately upon arriving on the island he set to work a plan to keep Ebirah at bay from incoming Red Bamboo ships. With the organization able to move freely again in the pacific, he was sent many times on intelligence gathering missions to mainland Japan, usually as the scientist Kashiwagi. This put him in position to weigh in when Rodan, Mothra, King Kong, Varan appeared. When the identity became too high-profile, he retired it to take the role of a Police Chief in order to report to Red Bamboo on Japan’s security. This post put him right in the path of Ghidorah’s destructive debut. In order to play these roles, Sarizawa received plastic surgery at the hands of Red Bamboo scientists and was fitted with a glass eye.
The years of Kaiju attacks took its toll on Sarizawa. Eventually he returned to Lechti Island. Being “home” allowed him to remove the troublesome glass eye, but Red Bamboo had a different vision for the tortured scientist. They pressed him into their security service as a Guard Captain.
Here’s where things get weird. Well, weirder. If all of Hirata’s characters are the same person then he has to have a daughter during this time. Due to the influx of Infant Islanders on Lechti Island, I submit that Sarizawa met one of these and began a forbidden romance. She became pregnant, whereupon he secured her release, or smuggled her to Japan. There she gave birth to a daughter and named her Katsura. I also think that it’s highly convenient that Godzilla appears asleep on Lechti Island waiting for reanimation. This is my second theory: because Godzilla had provided a way out for Sarizawa in the past, he thought he could use the monster as an escape plan from the Red Bamboo. Because the compound of the yellow berries was similar to the red ones from Pharo Island, and because he was familiar with that case, Sarizawa concocted a serum that he somehow managed to administer to Godzilla and render him unconscious. From there, he would be able to use a radio-controlled Titanosaurus to deliver the sleeping Godzilla to a cave on Lechti Island, where Sarizawa could awaken him at will.
Unfortunately for him, when the Yahlen sank of the coast of the island, the survivors awakened Godzilla ahead of schedule, leading to the destruction of the Red Bamboo base. Sarizawa made to escape with the leaders of his organization, but the Ebirah-repellant had been replaced with a non-functioning serum and the giant lobster destroyed their ship.
A Red Bamboo submarine operating in the area picked them up and delivered the survivors to the mainland. Though a few survived, the organization had been destroyed and the remnants disbanded. By now Sarizawa was well-practiced in assuming identities and took the name Fujisaki, a scientist.
He settled into his new life and, after his wife passed, began to raise his daughter on his own. However, when the UN created a team of oceanographers and meteorologists to study pacific weather patterns, he jumped at the chance to be close to Titanosaurus again. The group set up their experiment on Sollgel Island. Sarizawa volunteers to operate the radios, secretly searching for any sign of his dinosaur.
In a story now as old as, I imagine, this theory, Godzilla soon intervened in the experiment and the ensuing chaos destroyed the research station. The survivors found themselves on a raft in the ocean with a submarine bearing down on them. Sarizawa recognized the conn tower as his compatriots in Red Bamboo, but when he got on board he found instead a cadre of Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens.
The Aliens killed the others, but recognizing Sarizawa as the most brilliant and with the most experience with Godzilla, they spared him and provided him with a new life in Japan. As Dr. Miyajima. Sarizawa was supposed to be in their employ, but he found the methods of his new masters distasteful and purposely sabotaged their operations. Soon Godzilla destroyed Mechagodzilla, the Black Hole Planet 3 aliens were defeated, and Sarizawa sought to disappear into anonymity.
He took his final identity, Dr. Shinzo Mafune. His full life had made him tired and distrusting. He stopped going into public and his resentment of the scientific community grew. He blamed them for the tumultuous events of his past. Unbeknownst to him, the Black Hole Planet 3 Aliens had returned and were monitoring him. When a tragic accident during one of his Titanosaurus experiments claimed the life of his daughter Katsura, the aliens saw their chance and swept in to save her life with advanced cybernetics. Indebted to them, Sarizawa now saw no alternative but to go along with their plans. Soon he began to warm to the idea of taking revenge on the scientific community. His plans however soon attracted the eye of INTERPOL agents. Saraizawa was fatally wounded in a firefight between the agents and the aliens, and died alongside his beloved daughter.
Just for you, our impressions of the new Godzilla Anime, Planet of the Monsters!
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Don Sharp
Screenplay by Ted Sherdeman
Starring Joseph Cotten, Cesar Romero, Richard Jaeckel, Patricia Medina, Akira Takarada, Linda Haynes
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Taiichi Kankura
Edited by Ume Takeda
Release date July 26, 1969 (Japan), December 1970 (United States)
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Kenichiro Tsunoda
Screenplay by Ishirō Honda, Takeshi Kimura
Starring Russ Tamblyn, Kumi Mizuno, Kenji Sahara, Jun Tazaki
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Hajime Koizumi
Edited by Ryohei Fujii
Release date July 31, 1966 (Japan), July 29, 1970 (United States)
Directed by: Ishirō Honda
Produced by: Yasuyoshi Tajitsu, Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by: Jojiro Okami (story), Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring: Yosuke Natsuki, Yōko Fujiyama, Hiroshi Koizumi, Nobuo Nakamura, Robert Dunham, Akiko Wakabayashi, Jun Tazaki, Susumu Fujita, Seizaburô Kawazu, Hideyo Amamoto
Music by: Akira Ifukube
Cinematography: Hajime Koizumi
Edited by: Ryohei Fujii
Release date: August 11, 1964 (Japan)
Running time: 83 minutes
Episode 24: DEFEAT THE NEEDLE SHOOTING TERROR-BEAST NEEDLAR
Japanese Title: Harifuki Kyoujuu Niidoraa-wo Taose
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday September 10th 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Kichio Tabuchi
Writer: Yuji Amamiya
Episode 25: CARNAGE! ZONE & GODZILLA VS. THE ALLIED TERROR-BEAST FORCES
Japanese Title: Seizetsu! Zoon Gojira tai Kyoujuu Rengougun
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday September 17th 1973
Director: Kengo Furusawa
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Yoshihisa Araki
Episode 26: PULVERIZE! THE GAROGA GAMMA-X STRATEGY
Japanese Title: Funsai! Garoga Ganmaa X Sakusen
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday September 24th 1973
Director: Kohei Oguri
Director of Special FX: Shinichi Kanzawa
Writer: Satoshi Kurumi
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Jojiro Okami (story), Takeshi Kimura
Starring Ryō Ikebe, Yumi Shirakawa, Takashi Shimura, Akira Kubo, Kumi Mizuno, Ken Uehara
Music by Kan Ishii
Cinematography Hajime Koizumi
Edited by Reiko Kaneko
Release date March 21, 1962 (Japan)
Running time 89 minutes
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Takeshi Kimura
Story by Jojiro Okami
Based on An adaptation by Shigeru Kayama
Starring Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Takashi Shimura
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Hajime Koizumi
Edited by Hiroichi Iwashita
Release date 28 December 1957 (Japan)
Running time 89 minutes
Box office $975,000
Episode 20: FIERCE FIGHT! CAN YOU HEAR FIGHTER’S SONG?
Japanese Title: Gekitou! Faitaa-no Uta-ga Kikoeru
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday August 13th 1973
Director: Masao Minowa
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Shiro Ishimori
Episode 21: INVINCIBLE! GODZILLA RAGES
Japanese Title: Muteki! Gojira Ooabare
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday August 20th 1973
Director: Kohei Oguri
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Shinichi Kanzawa
Episode 22: COUNTERATTACK! DEFEAT SUPER JIKIRO
Japanese Title: Gyakushuu! Suupaajikiro-wo Taose
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday August 27th 1973
Director: Masao Minowa
Director of Special FX: Shinichi Kanzawa
Writer: Masaru Takesue
Episode 23: SECRET OF THE GREAT TERROR-BEAST BAKUGON
Japanese Title: Dai Kyoujuu Bakugon-no Himitsu
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday September 3rd 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Kichio Tabuchi
Writer: Masaru Takesue
Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki
Produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto, Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Toshio Yasumi, Ryuzo Kikushima
Based on Kojiki and Nihon Shoki
Starring Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa, Koji Tsuruta
Cinematography Kazuo Yamada
Release date 1 November 1959 (Japan)
Running time 182 minutes
Thank you Patreon Donors!
Zone Fighter Episodes 16-19
Episode 16: TERRIFYING ATTACK! THE GAROGA ROBOT
Japanese Title: Kyoufu-no Shuugeki! Garoga Robotto
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday July 16th 1973
Director: Akiyasu Kikuchi
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Susumu Takeuchi
Episode 17: GO! FIGHTER, SCRAMBLE
Japanese Title: GO! Faitaa Kinkyuuhasshin
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday July 23rd 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Satoshi Kurumi
Episode 18: COMMAND: “DESTROY THE JAPANESE ISLANDS”
Japanese Title: Shirei “Nihon Rettou Bakuhase-yo”
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday July 30th 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Kichio Tabuchi
Writer: Yuji Amamiya
Episode 19: ORDER: “DESTROY THE EARTH WITH COMET K”
Japanese Title: Meirei “K Suisei-de Chikyuu-wo Kowase”
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday August 6th 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Kichio Tabuchi
Writer: Yuji Amamiya
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Zone Fighter Episodes 11-15
Episode 11: IN A HAIR’S BREADTH: THE ROAR OF GODZILLA!
Japanese Title: Kanippatsu Gojira-no Sakebi!
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday June 11th 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Kazuhisa Hattori
Episode 12: THE TERROR-BEAST BASE: INVADE THE EARTH!
Japanese Title: Kyoujuu Kichi Chikyuu-e Shinnyuu!
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday June 18th 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Kichio Tabuchi
Writer: Norio Komata
Episode 13: HAIR-RAISING! THE BIRTHDAY OF TERROR
Japanese Title: Senritsu! Tanjoubi-no Kyoufu
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday June 25th 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Kichio Tabuchi
Writer: Jun Fukuda
Episode 14: RAMPAGE! THE GAROGA BOYS ATTACK FORCE
Japanese Title: Takerikuruuzo! Garoga Shounen Kougekitai
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday July 2nd 1973
Director: Akiyasu Kikuchi
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Masaru Takesue
Episode 15: IT’S SINKING! GODZILLA, SAVE TOKYO
Japanese Title: Chinbotsu! Gojira-yo Tokyo-wo Sukue
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday July 9th 1973
Director: Kengo Furusawa
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Kohei Oguri & Norio Komata
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Zone Fighter Episodes 6-10
Episode 06: KING GHIDORAH’S COUNTERATTACK!
Japanese Title: Kingugidora-no Gyakushuu!
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday May 7th 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Juro Shimamoto & Akira Ishikari
Episode 07: ZONE FAMILY’S CRITICAL MOMENT!
Japanese Title: Zoonfamirii Kikiippatsu!
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday May 14th 1973
Director: Kengo Furusawa
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Satoshi Kurumi
Episode 08: DEFEAT THE INVADER OF FEAR!
Japanese Title: Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday May 21st 1973
Director: Akiyasu Kikuchi
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Satoshi Kurumi
Episode 09: FIND THE SECRET OF THE RED SPIDER!
Japanese Title: Oe! Reddosupaidaa-no Himitsu
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday May 28th 1973
Director: Kengo Furusawa
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Juro Shimamoto
Episode 10: ZONE FIGHTER, DESTROYED!
Japanese Title: Zettaizetsumei! Zoonfaitaa
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday June 4th 1973
Director: Akiyasu Kikuchi
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Motoo Nagai
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Zone Fighter Episodes 1-5
Episode 01: DESTROY THE TERROR-BEAST MISSILE!
Japanese Title: Kyoujuu Misairu Bakuhase-yo!
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday April 2nd 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Jun Fukuda
Episode 02: ATTACK! DESTRO-KING
Japanese Title: Yattsukero! Desutorokingu
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday April 9th 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Jun Fukuda
Episode 03: STRIKE! GAROGA’S UNDERGROUND BASE
Japanese Title: Tatake! Garoga-no Chitei-kichi
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday April 16th 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Masaru Takesue
Episode 04: INVASION! GAROGA’S GRAND ARMY: GODZILLA APPEARS
Japanese Title: Raishuu! Garoga Dai Gundan – Gojira Toujou –
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday April 23rd 1973
Director: Ishiro Honda
Director of Special FX: Koichi Kawakita
Writer: Shozo Uehara
Episode 05: ATTACK KING GHIDORAH!
Japanese Title: Kingugidora-wo Mukaeutsu!
Original Airdate: 7:00pm (JST) Monday April 30th 1973
Director: Jun Fukuda
Director of Special FX: Teruyoshi Nakano
Writer: Juro Shimamoto & Akira Ishikari
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Yukiko Takayama
Starring Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoko Ai, Akihiko Hirata, Katsumasa Uchida, Gorō Mutsumi, Tadao Nakamaru, Toru Kawai as Godzilla
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Sokei Tomioka
Edited by Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Release date March 15, 1975
Running time 83 minutes
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Hiroyasu Yamamura, Jun Fukuda
Story by Shinichi Sekizawa, Masami Fukushima
Starring Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Akihiko Hirata, Hiroshi Koizumi
Music by Masaru Sato
Cinematography Yuzuru Aizawa
Release date March 21, 1974 (Japan)
Running time 84 minutes
Drew and Joe scratch their heads as they talk about one of the weirdest Kaiju films ever.
Directed by Nacho Vigalondo
Produced by Nicolas Chartier, Zev Foreman, Dominic Rustam, Nahikari Ipiña, Shawn Williamson
Written by Nacho Vigalondo
Starring Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson
Music by Bear McCreary
Cinematography Eric Kress
Edited by Ben Baudhuin, Luke Doolan
Release date September 9, 2016 (TIFF), April 7, 2017
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Takeshi Kimura,Shinichi Sekizawa, Jun Fukuda
Starring Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi, Robert Dunham, Kotaro Tomita, Ulf Ootsuki, Gentaro Nakajima
Music by Riichiro Manabe
Cinematography Yuzuru Aizawa
Release date March 17, 1973
Running time 81 minutes
Budget $760,000
Directed by Jun Fukuda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Written by Takeshi Kimura, Shinichi Sekizawa
Starring Hiroshi Ishikawa, Tomoko Umeda, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima, Zan Fujita, Toshiaki Nishizawa, Kunio Murai
Music by Akira Ifukube, Kunio Miyauchi
Cinematography Kiyoshi Hasegawa
Release date March 12, 1972
Running time 89 minutes