4/25/11

Godzilla Movie Poster Collection (part two)

Time now for part 2 of my gallery of original American Godzilla movie posters!


















Pardon the string bass, but here is the stunning artwork for what I daily refer to as my favorite film of all time, 1968's monster slug-fest, DESTROY ALL MONSTERS. Where else can you see eleven, count them, ELEVEN of Toho's finest in one place? One interesting thing about this poster is how some of the monsters are spot-on, and some are sort of improvised--namely Godzilla and Minya! Squint, and you will notice blood dripping from Angilas' claws!













I always knew this film as GODZILLA vs. GIGAN (1972), but here in the U.S. it was released as GODZILLA ON MONSTER ISLAND, which is actually now the rarer title card. I like the comic-book-paradigm of making one character huge and grabbing others, but as the movie features an amusement park with a giant observation tower in the shape of Godzilla, this art works both ways!



















And here we have the much-maligned GODZILLA vs. MEGALON from 1973. Here each monster is perched atop one of the Twin Towers, which is a complete misleading of anyone heading into the movie theater. Helicopters swarm around the foes like flies, and the air is filled with explosions. I am not ashamed to say it, I love this film, and I love this poster.
Yes, there are better Godzilla films, but it's fun! And that's what's missing from many of the later films.




















Skipping all the way up to GODZILLA 2000, we find the last Godzilla film to play in American theaters, and the first poster in my collection that is double-sided (with a reverse image on the other side, since posters are intended to be displayed in light boxes.)

Next time around, we'll look at some various lobby cards from all over the place.

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