Godzilla

Godzilla (Gojira) (ゴジラ) is a giant, amphibious, dinosaur-like fictional creature first seen in the Japanese-produced 1954 Tokusatsu Kaiju film Gojira produced by Toho Film Company Ltd.. In total, 28 films have been made by the Toho Film Company and a further two made unofficially (not related to the Toho Film company). For a list of these films, see below. The most notable unofficial movie is the 1998 film Godzilla, directed by Roland Emmerich. This has been widely panned by cult followers of the Godzilla franchise, critics on both sides of the Pacific, and movie-goers in general and has since been dubbed GINO (Godzilla In Name Only). Ironically, the Americanized Godzilla featured in (2004) was killed by the "true" Godzilla from a hit to the tail, and its radioactive breath. In this film, the American Godzilla appeared simply as "Zilla". Godzilla has three primary abilities: regeneration, amphibious mobility, and an atomic fire beam. Godzilla is also extremely durable and can resist almost all physical assaults. The atomic fire beam is Godzilla's trademark skill. Although much of Godzilla's significance as an anti-war symbol has been lost in the transition to pop culture, the nuclear breath remains as a visual vestige of the creature's early cold war politics.

Unofficial Filmography

Though numerous attempts have been made at producing a Godzilla film outside of Toho Studios, the only one completed is the 1998 film from Sony Pictures. Yoshimitsu Banno, director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah, has acquired permission to make a 40 minute film for IMAX theatres, but has yet to raise the neccessary funding.

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