Godzilla contre Hedora

Highly controversial Godzilla movie which is loved or hated by fans.

In the late 60s/early 70s Japan had a very serious pollution problem that was killing people all over the place. I had no knowledge of this event until first viewing the flick (in 2022) so this Godzilla film was also a history lesson.

Some old Godzilla films are too talky but this one is more concerned with the creatures and less concerned with the humans - GOOD.

Enter Smog Monster! He might be my favourite Godzilla enemy? Enter young Japanese people taking drugs and perhaps reliving 60s "Woodstock". Enter Godzilla flying in the air for the first time. Enter the strangest Godzilla film score ever! Where do I stop?

This is a wonderful movie on so many levels and, as stated above, a great history lesson about Japan. Not for all tastes but I love it.

"Godzilla vs. Hedorah" is probably my favorite Godzilla from the 1970s (the others being the one with Gigan in them, he RULES TOO!). There sure is alot going on in this crazy movie.

There are:

ACID TRIPS! Strange anime sequences! Really upbeat soundtrack and theme song (KAAAAAAAAISEN!)! Kids in hot pants! Ecology made fun! Haiku! Nightclubs! Hippies galore! Godzilla flying! Hedorah, the strange looking beast of Smog!

This film has everything a B-movie enthuaist wants!

Even though a lot of people hated Hedorah, but I don't. He is one of the most interesting looking and powerful foes in Godzilla's old days. He pretty much hacks up on Godzilla a lot, changes shape at will, plus, it FARTS out acid!

Anyways, watch "Godzilla vs. Hedorah"! You'll have a B-movie blast!

This is a surreal experience and the strangest Godzilla film I've seen... I laughed so hard at this film out of pure enjoyment rather than mockery.

It serves as a warning to children (and, of course, everyone who watches it) of the dangers of long-term pollution. There are amazing scenes highlighting environmental problems that are served in a variety of creative ways.

Godzilla is hilarious in this film.

Do not make the same mistake I did and watch the film with the brightness on half, I actually watched it the first time thinking you weren't supposed to see anything in the night time scenes... turned the brightness up and realised!

Godzilla vs Hedora (AKA The Smog Monster) is less slick than many of the later productions. It is also somewhat less serious, and features a Godzilla who is more mythic than consistent with his earlier and later portrayals. The Godzilla in this film is a force of nature in more than just a figurative sense. She is also highly intelligent and a defender of the earth and, to some extent, its people.

Even from the title, its easy enough to figure out what this film is about. Tadpoles mutate because of the mutagenic properties of pollution in Tokyo Bay (interestingly, this somewhat silly idea is far less absurd than most of the latter pseudoscience used in Godzilla scripts - almost as bad as Star Trek Voyager sometimes was). The mutant tadpoles fuse at the cellular level and grow into a giant tadpole which then mutates three or four times, spewing out its own toxic pollutants, first as terrestrial and eventually as air pollution. The visuals are good, but the special effects are admittedly below even Toho's usual standards.

Created in the early 1970s, this film is metaphorical and symbolic, although it is still, at heart, a Godzilla film. Hedora is an unsubtle metaphor for the ecological state of the world, and is, in that sense, a monster of our own making. Godzilla is an embodiment of nature, and is to be viewed as a positive force for all life on earth. These symbols are particularly apparent in the use of cartoons as transitional devices from one plot point to another.

Godzilla Vs Hedora walks a very thin line between giant-monster violence and a kid-oriented film. As somebody who has since his early teens, been interested in the environment and as somebody who always liked Japanese Monster films, I developed a sentimental attachment to this film very early on. In fact, this is my all-time favorite Godzilla film, and more than any other film, it is the reason why I consider myself a fan of the big green lizard. This is the film which establishes Godzilla as an environmentalist and a friend to young people - his two best roles.

This psychedelic Goji entry features a very formidable opponent in Hedorah and some very memorable trippy imagery. It has an environmental message and is truly unlike any Goji film.

Hedorah has a certain special aura about it, very memorable moments and a great soundtrack that makes this one of the Showa era's finest.

8 Smog Clouds out of 10!