by John Petty

Created on: October 26, 2008   Last Updated: December 24, 2011

Although many people dismiss the "Daikaiju," or "Giant Monster," movies made in Japan as cheaply-made, shoddy productions suitable only for children, a simple examination of the best that the genre has to offer quickly dispels this notion. Many of these films were elaborate, expensive productions that have left a lasting mark on our popular culture landscape. Here's a look at just a few (Japanese titles are given first, followed by English translations in parentheses):

1. "Gojira" ("Godzilla," 1954): This has to be the top film on any list of this type, as "Gojira," created as an allegory for the devastation Japan suffered under the atomic bomb, was the first, and best, picture in the genre. Directed by Ishiro Honda, and with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, this film was a dark nuclear nightmare about mankind unleashing forces it could never hope to control. A sombre and serious film, any viewer interested in this genre should seek out the original Japanese version of the movie, as the American release was heavily edited. Thankfully, that original cut is now widely available on DVD from Classic Media.

2. "Gojira no gyakushu" ("Godzilla's Counterattack"/"Gozilla Raids Again," 1955): Often dismissed by even the most ardent Godzilla fan, this is the film that suffered the most from American editing. Originally seen as an important follow-up to "Gojira," this is the story of a people forced to rebuild and go on after a horrendous tragedy. Just as the Japanese people had to pick up the pieces and move on after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so, too, do the characters in this film pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and move on after Godzilla's latest raid. Consequently, the focus is, for the first time, on the human characters and not on the monsters. Again, the film was virtually destroyed when reedited for American audiences, but the original version is now widely available on DVD. This is a deeply moving and intense picture.

3. "Daimajin" ("Daimajin," 1966): Of all the giant monster imitators that followed in Godzilla's wake, this movie, and its sequels - "Daimajin Ikaru" ("Wrath of Daimajin," 1966) and "Daimajin gyakushu" ("Daimajin's counterattack"/"Return of Daimajin," 1966) - are some of the best. Daimajin is a giant stone statue that comes to life to protect the weak and helpless from injustice and tyranny in the days of feudal Japan. Greatly influenced by mythology, and effectively utilizing a period milieu made popular in the ever-present

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