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Godzilla vs Megalon
1973 81mins Japan (12) Kaiju
Directed by Jun Fukuda Starring Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi, Robert Dunham, Kôtarô Tomita

Nuclear testing unleashes mayhem on the undersea kingdom of Seatopia, causing a series of environmental disasters that nearly wipes out Rokuro, the schoolboy protagonist at the center of this film. To exact revenge, Seatopia unleashes Megalon, a gigantic beetle with the ability to fire ray beams and napalm bombs. Meanwhile, Rokuro’s brother creates Jet Jaguar, a flying robot with a built-in moral compass. The inevitable matchup of Godzilla and Jet Jaguar versus Megalon and Gigan decides the world’s fate.

Showing from original Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Godzilla vs Hedorah
1971 85mins Japan (PG) Kaiju
Directed by Ishirô Honda|Yoshimitsu Banno Starring Akira Yamanouchi, Toshi, Toshie Kimura, Hiroyuki Kawase, Toshio Shiba, Keiko Mari

Intended to address the crisis levels of pollution in postwar Japan, Godzilla vs. Hedorah finds the King of the Monsters fighting an alien life form that arrives on Earth and steadily grows by feeding on industrial waste. Director Yoshimitsu Banno infuses the film with equal parts ecological horror, humorous monster antics, and sixties psychedelia straight out of San Francisco, making for a truly unique—and divisive—entry in the series.

Showing from original Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla
1974 84mins Japan (PG) Kaiju
Directed by Jun Fukuda Starring Hiroshi Koizumi, Masaaki Daimon, Akihiko Hirata, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima, Hiromi Matsushita

Godzilla’s evil twin Mechagodzilla first reared its head in this Jun Fukuda–directed film. A robot designed by aliens to conquer Earth, the enduringly popular villain has since been resurrected by Toho Studios several times. With the help of earnest direction, spectacular pyrotechnics, and guest appearances by veteran genre actors, this film recaptures the feel of the sixties Godzilla movies.

Showing from original Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Godzilla vs Gigan
1972 89mins Japan (PG) Kaiju
Directed by Jun Fukuda Starring Hiroshi Ishikawa, Toshi, Yuriko Hishimi, Minoru Takashima, Tomoko Umeda, Toshiaki Nishizawa

Manga artist Gengo Odaka lands a job with the World Children's Land amusement park only to become suspicious of the organization when a garbled message is discovered on tapes. As Gengo and his team investigate, Godzilla and Anguirus quickly decipher the message and begin their own plan of action.

Showing from original Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Terror of Mechagodzilla
1975 83mins Japan (12) Kaiju
Directed by Ishirô Honda Starring Katsuhiko Sasaki, Akihiko Hirata, Tomoko Ai, Katsumasa Uchida, Gorô Mutsumi, Tadao Nakamaru

In Godzilla’s last gasp of the Showa era, aliens retrieve Mechagodzilla’s remains and rebuild it with the aid of an unhinged biologist (a scenery-chewing Akihiko Hirata), in hopes of defeating Godzilla for possession of planet Earth. This film marked the return of director Ishiro Honda, who had retired years earlier, disheartened by the increasingly kid-friendly approach of the series. For this final entry, Honda steers the King of the Monsters back into grim territory, interweaving an alien-invasion plot with a tale of tragic romance.

Showing from original Japanese Language with English Subtitles

Godzilla [Gojira]
1954 96mins Japan (PG) Kaiju
Directed by Ishirô Honda Starring Takashi Shimura, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata

Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning almost thirty sequels.