In Theaters 55 Years Ago, Godzilla’s Weirdest Movie Ever Was an Acid Trip With a Literal Garbage Kaiju

It has been 55 years since the weirdest Godzilla movie ever made was released and presented the most unconventional monster battle in franchise history. By 1971, Godzilla had appeared in 10 movies. Gojira was the film that started it all in 1954, introducing the rampaging kaiju Godzilla to the world as an allegory concerning the fears of nuclear warfare in a Japan that was slowly recovering from the two atomic bombs that devastated the country. By the second movie, Godzilla Raids Again, the kaiju was fighting other monsters, and by the time 1971 arrived, Godzilla fought King Kong, Mothra, Ghidorah, Rodan, and more.

On July 24, 1971, Toho released the movie Godzilla vs. Hedorah, and what that movie showed was the giant kaiju battling what amounts to a literal monster made out of pollution and trash. What resulted was a bizarre monster movie that had a very powerful environmental message.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah Features a Giant Trash Monster

Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, who had produced the Godzilla movies to date, hired director Yoshimitsu Banno to direct the new Godzilla movie, but then Tanaka grew ill and was hospitalized throughout the filming of the movie. This gave Banno a chance to do something different, and without Tanaka looking over his shoulder, the director purposefully decided to add things to the movie that were unconventional and subversive. What resulted was the weirdest Godzilla movie ever made, and one that made Tanaka angry when he saw what Banno did to his franchise.

Banno had one goal in mind when it came to his directorial debut. He had a lot to say about environmental issues and the problem with pollution in Japan at the time. Banno came up with the storyline when he saw cities like Yokkaichi covered in black smog and the ocean starting to fill up with foam from dumped detergent. Pollution was also the cause of several diseases that plagued Japan at the time, including the methylmercury poisoning that caused Minamata disease and the smog that caused a rise in Yokkaichi asthma. As a result, Banno had the idea to create a monster that formed out of the pollution and trash in Japan.

While Godzilla represented Japan’s concern over nuclear testing and weapons, Hedorah was an embodiment of Japan’s widespread smog and urban pollution. Banno wanted something more than a giant lobster for Godzilla to fight. Instead, he wanted Godzilla to fight a monster that represented what he considered Japan’s greatest danger at the time. Hedorah was a monster that could produce sulfuric acid, and when its toxic existence was revealed to the public, people prayed Godzilla would save them from this environmental disaster.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah had several moments that were unlike anything seen in a Godzilla movie. This was the only film where Godzilla used his atomic breath to fly, which was one of the things that angered Tanaka the most. Despite all this, the film was a moderate box office success and was released in America with the title Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster. The film was supposed to be a warning against pollution, but in the end, it really slammed that message over viewers’ heads. Despite that, it became a cult sensation.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah Has Become a Cult Favorite

Godzilla vs. Hedorah was not well received when it was released. Tanaka hated the movie so much that he refused to ever let Banno direct another Godzilla movie. In fact, Banno had pitched several Godzilla movies over the years, and he was rejected over and over again. It wasn’t until the American reboot in 2014 that he finally got back into the franchise and received executive producer credit for it. Banno was still talking about a sequel up until his death in 2017. There was even a book in 1978 titled The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (And How They Got That Way) by Harry Medved with Randy Dreyfuss that listed Godzilla vs. Hedorah among the films.

However, time has been kind, and the movie has become a massive cult favorite, mostly because of how weird and unusual it is. The film has a 67% Rotten Tomatoes score, mostly thanks to reappraisals in later years. Critics praised several things about the movie, including a lack of reliance on stock footage (something many Godzilla movies overuse) and the animated segments. Roger Ebert actually said that Godzilla vs. Hedorah was his favorite Godzilla movie when he was panning Godzilla 1985 in his review of that film.

Even Adam Wingard, who directed Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, called Godzilla vs. Hedorah one of his favorite movies in the franchise, telling Uproxx, “Godzilla versus Hedorah, that’s probably my favorite of that era because of how just over the top … like psychedelic, colorful…”

Nicolas Cage told the same website that this was also his favorite, commenting, “I don’t know how many times I’ve put on an Ishiro Honda Godzilla movie from the ’60s… The best one in my view, I don’t believe it was a Ishiro Honda-directed one, but was the one with Hedorah, the Smog Monster. I dig it because it’s really ’60s pop art. And they use a lot of split screen and weird music and lava lamps, and I think it’s a trippy movie and it’s worth a watch.”

With a cult following and one of the weirdest Godzilla battles in any movie, Godzilla vs. Hedorah remains a monster movie that all fans need to check out, and there is no better time than its 55th anniversary.

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