“Godzilla’ has been a staple of the monster film genre since his inception in the 1950s. First conceived as a metaphor for nuclear conflict from the only nation to have experienced it. (Hopefully, it stays that way.) Godzilla now makes too much money for any movie company to simply utilize the character as some antiquated political prop ever again.
Speaking of props, before the CGI revolution that we now live in, studios made these big monster mash movies by having two actors in rubber suits go at it over a miniaturized set. If you have a family member with a really large train set collection, (there is always one.) then grab your two best looking Halloween costumes, a camera, and just have a ball beating the crap out of each other. With a little expert editing, you can make it look pretty good.
Still, you can’t outdo the professionals. The boys at Toho have been doing this since before your grandpa was even born. They even made this short film to demonstrate how the old way can still work and look damn good to boot.
Godzilla faces off against the smog monster Hedorah in this short film by Toho. Hedorah is a metaphor for pollution in the way that Godzilla is a metaphor for nuclear war. The two destroy the city in their grand battle. The thematic implications being that nuclear war and pollution will destroy mankind. That, and two monsters brawling over a city will always be awesome to watch. Give it a look and you’ll see that I’m not wrong.
