This was MY Godzilla.
The 80’s Godzilla reboot that ignored 30 years of continuity and acted as a direct sequel to the dark and serious 1954 original
Godzilla 1985 was totally MY Godzilla.
I grew up on the syndicated ‘Zilla movie packages that aired on local TV in the early 80s, of course it was the sillier entries from the 60s and 70s, but I loved that googly-eyed lizard.
The Hanna-Barbera cartoon and Marvel comic only served to legitimize him in my world. When I saw this reboot (and direct sequel to the 1954 original) staring back at me from the video store new release shelf back in ‘85, I was fascinated by the prospect of a serious modern giant monster movie – and I wasn’t disappointed.
This was jaw-dropping stuff at the time, and it remained my favourite Kaiju movie for over a decade.
Or maybe it was just the idea of it.
I later learned of things like US edits and shoehorned Raymond Burr inserts – but it never detracted from my love of this film. It gave me the Godzilla I didn’t know I wanted. Sure, I’ve since seen all the original Toho Gojiras, the spin-offs and rip-offs, I even consider myself an armchair Godzilla connoisseur, but I’m still partial to this beautifully bastardized version – it holds a special place in my nostalgia-addled heart.
-Pop