Kaiju is a Japanese word that literally translates to "strange creature". However, the word kaiju has been translated and defined in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment. Kaiju films usually showcase monsters of any form attacking a major Japanese city or engaging another (or multiple) monsters in battle.
The most famous kaiju is
Godzilla. Directed by Ishiro Honda and released in 1954, the first Godzilla film 'Gojira' was a big hit in Japan and many sequels would follow. In the film it isn't clearly explained how Godzilla came to be, is it a mutated reptile created by radiation from atomic bomb tests or a prehistoric monster awakened by atomic testing in the Pacific? Attempts to provide an origin would appear in future films.
Gojira was re-edited, dubbed in English and released in the USA in 1956 with added scenes featuring Raymond Burr as American reporter Steve Martin, the monster was renamed 'Godzilla' and this version was titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters.
28 Godzilla films were made by Toho studios between 1954 and 2004. Other notable kaiju include Gamera, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla.
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| Gojira (1954) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla King of the Monsters (1956 re-release) Italian poster |
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| Godzilla King of the Monsters (1956 re-release) |
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| Godzilla Raids Again (1955) aka Gigantis the Fire Monster |
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| Rodan (1956) German poster |
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| Rodan (1956) Japanese poster |
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| Mothra (1961) Japanese poster |
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| Mothra (1961) |
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| King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) |
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| King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) Japanese poster |
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| Varan the Unbelievable (1962) |
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| Matango (1963) Italian poster |
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| Dogora (1964) Japanese poster |
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| Ghidrah The Three-Headed Monster (1964) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs The Thing (1964) |
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| Godzilla vs The Thing (1964) Japanese poster |
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| Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) Japanese poster |
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| Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) |
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| Gamera (1965) Japanese poster |
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| Monster Zero (1965) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs the Sea Monster (1966) Japanese poster |
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| War of the Gargantuas (1966) Japanese poster |
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| Gappa The Triphibian Monster (1967) Italian poster |
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| The X from Outer Space (1967) French poster |
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| Son of Godzilla (1967) Japanese poster |
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| Destroy All Monsters (1968) |
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| Destroy All Monsters (1968) Japanese poster |
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| Gamera vs Viras (1968) Japanese poster |
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| King Kong Escapes! (1968) |
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| King Kong Escapes! (1968) Japanese poster |
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| Gamera vs Guiron (1969) Japanese poster |
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| Yog - Monster from Space (1970) |
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| Godzilla vs The Smog Monster (1971) |
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| Godzilla vs The Smog Monster (1971) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs Gigan (1972) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs Gigan (1972) Polish poster |
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| Godzilla vs Megalon (1973) |
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| Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster (1974) Japanese poster |
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| Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) UK poster |
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| Godzilla 1985 (1984) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs Biollante (1989) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs Mothra (1992) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (1993) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla (1994) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla vs Destoroyah (1995) Japanese poster |
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| Gamera - Guardian of the Universe (1995) |
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| Gamera 2 Attack of Legion (1996) Japanese poster |
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| Gamera 3 Revenge of Iris (1999) |
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| Godzilla 2000 (1999) |
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| Godzilla vs Megaguiras (2000) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla, Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002) |
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| Godzilla - Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla - Final Wars (2004) Japanese poster |
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| Godzilla - Final Wars (2004) Japanese poster |
Godzilla on the Screen
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