Press room

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first Godzilla film, Barbican Cinema looks back to a selection of the finest Japanese monster movies, featuring Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Gamera and even a toxic smog monster called Hedorah; alongside ScreenTalks with authors, experts and kaiju enthusiasts introducing the films plus a live music performance.

In 1954, the first ever Godzilla, a dark, thrilling monster movie masterpiece, was released in Japan. It was a box office phenomenon and launched a franchise that has continued to this day. While these films featuring gigantic kaiju (literally ‘strange beasts’) have long been beloved in Japan, until recently the reception in the West has been inconsistent, with crude dubbing and savage edits to meet running times, often making the story-lines incoherent, which has led to mockery. 

In recent years, as restored versions of the Japanese originals with English subtitles have become easier to access, these films have been met with greater appreciation, culminating this year when Godzilla Minus One became the first kaiju film to win an Academy Award. To mark Godzilla’s anniversary, the Barbican, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, is screening a selection of the wildest, more interesting Japanese monster movies across seven decades, with introductions from experts.   

Alex Davidson, the season Curator says: 
“I’ve longed to show kaiju movies in the cinema for years, but rights issues have made it near-impossible. While Godzilla films have been a mighty cultural force in Japan for decades, in the West, kaiju movies have had to fight hard for critical respect, despite the invention, imagination and sheer unbridled fun on display. I couldn’t be happier that superstars such as Godzilla, Mothra and Gamera will battle it out once again on our biggest cinema screen.”

The kaiju celebration kicks off with Mothra Vs. Godzilla (1964, dir Ishirō Honda), one of the best films of the genre, a battle royale between two of the most beloved giant beasts – a rampaging Godzilla against monster-God Mothra. This was the last of the early kaiju films to depict Godzilla as a villain rather than a hero and is both fun and fearsome. This screening will be introduced by Jasper Sharp, a writer and curator specialising in Japanese cinema. 

In Destroy All Monsters (1968 dir Ishirō Honda), over ten monsters battle it out in an excitement-packed extravaganza, featuring King Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus and, of course, Godzilla. The epic final battle is a blast, while the scenes of kaiju wrecking the world’s cities show off the fine model work so key to the early Toho monster films. This will be introduced by Kazuko Hohki, founder member of the pop/punk performance group Frank Chickens and the Japanese American Toy Theatre of London. 

The season continues with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, Shusuke Kaneko’s 1995 blockbuster which trades the campy, kid-friendly surrealism of the earlier films for a darker, more realistic tone. The return of Gamera is packed with fun, action and great special effects, with several show-stopping set pieces. Steven Sloss, a fan and scholar of kaiju cinema introduces this film. 

In 2016 Godzilla returned to the screen after an absence of over a decade in Shin Godzilla (dir Hideaki Anno). This ignores the previous films in the franchise, depicting the giant creature as a new monster, and takes a risk by reflecting on the government response to the 2011 tsunami. The film was a huge critical and commercial success in Japan, winning seven Japan Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The author Helen McCarthy introduces this screening.

The cult film Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (1971, dir Yoshimitsu Banno) shows the Japanese monster movie genre at its most inventive, blending kaiju carnage, psychedelics and an eco-friendly message. Screening as part of Barbican’s Outdoor Cinema this summer, the eleventh Godzilla movie is one of the most exhilarating in the franchise and is rarely screened in UK cinemas, so this is a chance to see Toho’s most iconic kaiju stomping through urban Japan in the Barbican’s Sculpture Court, in the heart of the City of London!

The season closes with Mothra (1961, dir Ishirō Honda) with a live performance from Frank Chickens; this vibrant, day-glow monster movie introduces one of the most beloved kaiju to the world. The divine Mothra is an unusual beast, a rare female kaiju, whose city rampages are provoked not by malevolence, but in her desperate search for the Shobijin ­– her two kidnapped guardians – ­memorably played by Yumi Ito and Emi Ito.

Mothra has moments of humour, satirically swiping at the imperialist land of Rolisica, a thinly veiled parody of the US and the Soviet Union. But the exciting scenes of Mothra’s destruction of Tokyo landmarks and a city clearly based on New York, are played straight, and remain classic moments of kaiju fury. 

Frank Chickens is a Japanese punk pop performance group with a cult following in the UK; they had an independent hit with We Are Ninja and won the Foster Comedy God Award in 2010. Their song Mothra is directly inspired by the 1961 film.

Programme:

Mothra Vs. Godzilla(12A) + introduction by Jasper Sharp
Japan 1964, dir Ishirō Honda, 89 min, in Japanese with English subtitles 

Wed 07 Aug, 6.30pm, Cinema 1 

When construction on a housing development rouses a dormant Godzilla, leading to the destruction of the cities of Yokkaichi and Nagoya, humankind must call on the aid of benevolent monster-deity Mothra, the first female kaiju. Mothra is ageing and may not be up to the task, but she is humanity’s only hope against the mighty foe.

Mothra Vs. Godzilla was the last of the early kaiju films to depict Godzilla as a villain rather than a hero, and features some of the best special effects work by the incomparable Eiji Tsuburaya and a rousing score from Akira Ifukube. Fun, fearsome and surprisingly moving, this is a delight from beginning to end.
 

Destroy All Monsters(12A) + introduction by Kazuko Hohki Kaiju assemble 

Japan 1968, dir Ishirō Honda, 89 min, in Japanese with English subtitles 

Wed 14 Aug, 6.30pm, Cinema 1 

It’s the end of the 20th century and all of the world’s kaiju have been confined and monitored on Monster Island. Peace is short-lived, however, when evil aliens invade and take control of the monsters and send them to attack the world’s cities. Worse still, the aliens have a secret kaiju weapon up their sleeves. Is Earth doomed?

Despite their nefarious rampages in previous movies, here all the monsters, with one exception, are the good guys, battling to save Earth from invasion. The epic final battle, packed with monster mayhem, is a blast, while the scenes of kaiju wrecking the world’s cities show off the fine model work so key to the early Toho monster films.

Kazuko Hohki moved to London from Tokyo in 1978. She is a founder member of the pop/punk performance group Frank Chickens and Japanese American Toy Theatre of London. 
 

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (PG) + introduction by Steven Sloss

Japan 1995 dir Shusuke Kaneko, 95 min, in Japanese with English subtitles 

Sun 18 Aug, 5.45pm, Cinema 1 

Gamera, a gigantic turtle previously nicknamed ‘the friend of all children,’ was usually seen as playing second fiddle to some of the more famous kaiju, until this mighty reboot roared into cinemas. This is the first of a trilogy of 1990s Gamera films, still regarded today as among the best – and by some, the best – kaiju movies ever made.

Gamera is compelled to rouse from his hibernation when Gyaos, a rival monster resembling a grotesque pterodactyl, threatens the future of humanity. The film also boasts a strong performance from Ayako Fujitani (Steven Seagal’s daughter) as a girl who has a connection with Gamera. Released two years after Jurassic Park, with which it shares some similarities, the return of Gamera is packed with fun, action and great special effects, with a number of show-stopping set pieces.

Steven Sloss is a fan and scholar of kaiju cinema, and has written on the subject for Arrow Films, FrightFest, Glasgow Film Festival, and others. 

Shin Godzilla + introduction by Helen McCarthy

Japan 2016, dir Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, 120 min, in Japanese with English subtitles 

Tue 20 Aug, 6.15pm, Cinema 1 

When a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and tears through Tokyo, the government scrambles to save its citizens. A rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster’s weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side—the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.

Shin Godzilla ignores the previous films in the franchise, depicting the giant creature as a new monster, and takes a huge risk by reflecting on the government response to the 2011 tsunami. The film was a huge critical and commercial success in Japan, winning seven Japan Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Helen McCarthy is a British author and editor of animé reference books including Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga and Leiji Matsumoto: Essays on the Manga and Anime Legend. She talks about anime at venues all over the UK and US and is currently writing another book on Hayao Miyazaki.

Outdoor Cinema: Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (PG)

Japan 1971, dir Yoshimitsu Banno, 85 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Sun 25 Aug, 8.30pm, Sculpture Court 

The eleventh Godzilla movie is one of the most exhilarating and imaginative in the whole franchise. Here, everyone’s favourite monster battles Hedorah, an alien life form that arrives on Earth and steadily grows by feeding on industrial waste. The film was intended to address the crisis levels of pollution in post-war Japan but despite its serious message, the film is never preachy, instead delivering an hour and a half of monster mayhem, ecological horror and psychedelia.

Mothra (PG) + live performance from Frank Chickens
Japan 1961 dir Ishirō Honda, 101 min, in Japanese with English subtitles 

Wed 28 Aug, 6.15pm, Cinema 1 

Mothra makes an unforgettable debut in Ishirō Honda’s vibrant, day-glo monster movie, introducing one of the most beloved kaiju to the world. The divine Mothra is an unusual beast, a rare female kaiju, who appears in three different forms over the course of her debut film – first as an egg, then a larva, before emerging from a chrysalis, built against the then new Tokyo Tower, as a giant moth. 

Mothra has many moments of humour, casting comedian Frankie Sakai in the lead role and satirically swiping at the imperialist land of Rolisica, a thinly veiled parody of the US and the Soviet Union. But the exciting scenes of Mothra’s destruction of Tokyo landmarks and a city clearly based on New York, are played straight, and remain classic moments of kaiju fury.