Neglected gems: why Ishirō Honda’s non-‘Godzilla’ monster movies need more attention
Even though Warner Bros and Legendary’s franchise is called the MonsterVerse, it would be a great deal more accurate to call it the Godzilla and King Kong Universe. That’s because the two skyscraper-sized behemoths have pushed every other creature so far into the background that they don’t even matter.
When the entire saga so far is comprised of Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it’s clear where the studio’s priorities lie. The streaming series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters did admittedly share some of the focus, but the show’s main draw was Kurt and Wyatt Russell playing the same character decades apart, not the beasties.
That’s a problem that has affected not only the overarching Godzilla saga at large but also co-writer and director Ishirō Honda’s career. As one of the masterminds behind the 1954 original, he’ll forever be remembered as one of the architects behind the entirety of kaiju cinema, but the atomic fire-breathing monster will never be dislodged as his definitive contribution to the medium.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that when the character is arguably more popular than ever thanks to the aforementioned MonsterVerse and the Academy Award-winning Godzilla Minus One, but Honda’s legacy deserves to be about much more than just his most famous protagonist. Of course, he directed plenty of films featuring the monster in one way or another, but his importance to the disaster movie at large should never be overlooked.
Through their use of ingenious practical effects, Hollywood sat up and took notice of the citywide destruction on offer. It’s entirely fair to say America’s obsession with countless creature features throughout the 1950s and 1960s, not to mention the disaster boom of the 1970s that birthed The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and many more, wouldn’t have happened without the trail blazed by Honda.
Some of Godzilla’s many acquaintances and most iconic foes debuted in movies directed by Honda, whether it was 1956’s Rodan, 1961’s Mothra, or 1964’s Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. All three have become staple parts of the Godzilla mythos, and they’ve each factored into the blockbuster MonsterVerse, but only as background players used to get a reaction out of kaiju devotees.
Beyond his signature monster’s many accomplices and enemies, Honda beat Hollywood to the punch by decades with 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla and made the preposterous crossover a lucrative offshoot through even more smackdowns like Frankenstein vs. Baragon, King Kong Escapes, All Monsters Attack, Mothra vs. Godzilla, and Terror of Mechagodzilla. If it wasn’t for him, then spectacular showdowns between iconic adversaries would be nowhere near as prevalent as they are today.
There are currently 38 films that involve Godzilla in some capacity, and 13 boasting King Kong. Instead of constantly returning to the well with those two, why not show a little love to Honda’s other classics instead? Sure, Mothra made a very recent and triumphant return in The New Empire, but it was little more than fan-baiting window dressing in the grand scheme of things.
Perhaps studios are wary of hedging their bets on a giant moth, a pteranodon, or a tri-headed lizard taking centre stage and winning over audiences to the same extent, but it’s worth a shot. After all, Honda’s back catalogue has made it abundantly clear there are innumerably thrilling ways to toss at least a couple of hulking behemoths together and watch them cause untold collateral damage. Still, the Godzilla and Kong blinders appear to be permanently fixed in their current positions.
John Carpenter is one of just many who adore The War of the Gargantuas, which also inspired Brad Pitt to become an actor and weighed heavily on Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. It’s ripe for a big budget and effects-heavy remake, while the same can be said of Space Amoeba, Dogora, Matango, and Atragon in their own way. Each of them was rooted in very real societal concerns that were reflective of the period they were made, and who wouldn’t want to see giant mushrooms and hulking jellyfish absolutely tearing shit up and reducing a bustling urban mecca to rubble?
There’s no harm and even less shame in being known first and foremost as ‘the Godzilla guy‘, but Honda’s deeper cuts deserve just as much love from the discerning kaiju aficionado.
