List Of Films Featuring Giant Monsters
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This is an alphabetical list of films featuring giant monsters, including the ''
kaiju is a Japanese term that is commonly associated with media involving giant monsters. Its widespread contemporary use is credited to ''tokusatsu'' (special effects) director Eiji Tsuburaya and filmmaker Ishirō Honda, who popularized the ''kaiju'' ...
'' subgenre.


Overview

One of the first films involving giant monsters was the 1933 classic ''
King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...
'', as developments in cinema and animation enabled the creation of realistic giant creatures. The film influenced many giant-monster films in its wake, including many produced in Japan. Two of the earliest of these were '' The Great Buddha Arrival'' from 1934 and 1938's '' The King Kong That Appeared in Edo'', both of which are now presumed to be
lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...
s. The visual effects in ''King Kong'', created by
Willis O'Brien Willis Harold O'Brien (March 2, 1886 – November 8, 1962), known as Obie O'Brien, was an American motion picture special effects and stop-motion animation pioneer, who according to ASIFA-Hollywood "was responsible for some of the best-known im ...
, inspired future monster film effects artists such as
Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...
and
Dennis Muren Dennis Muren, A.S.C (born November 1, 1946) is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Bes ...
. Early giant-monster films often had themes of adventure and exploration of unknown regions, and incorporated fights with giant monsters as a climactic element. The development of atomic weaponry in the 1940s gave rise to its involvement in popular themes. The 1953 American film ''
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' is a 1953 American independent monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It is partly based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story of the same name, which was later ...
'' featured a giant dinosaur that awakens due to nuclear tests in the Arctic. The 1954 film ''
Them! ''Them!'' is a 1954 black-and-white science fiction giant monster film starring James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, and James Arness. Produced by David Weisbart, the film was directed by Gordon Douglas, based on an original story by ...
'' involved giant irradiated ants. Later in 1954, the Japanese film ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'' was released, followed by ''
Rodan is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's 1956 film of the same name, produced and distributed by Toho. Following its debut standalone appearance, Rodan went on to be featured in numer ...
'' in 1956. This was at a time when giant creatures created by nuclear radiation became popular. Japan continued with a giant moth in ''
Mothra is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', which first appeared as the title character in Ishirō Honda's '' 1961 film of the same name'', produced and distributed by Toho. Mothra has appeared in several Toho ''tokusatsu'' films, often as a recur ...
'', a turtle in ''
Gamera is a fictional giant monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the Gamera, the Giant Monster, eponymous 1965 Japanese film. The character and the first film were intended to compete with the success of Toho's Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' ...
'', and many more that followed. Other countries have their own giant monster movies such as the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
with '' Gorgo'' and ''
Reptilicus ''Reptilicus'' is the mutual title of two monster films about a giant, prehistoric reptile. A pair of Danish-American co-productions produced by Cinemagic and Saga Studio, the Danish-language ''Reptilicus'' was directed by Poul Bang and release ...
'', both released in 1961. Films featuring Godzilla and Gamera were made into the 1970s, and a ''King Kong'' remake was released in 1976. Awareness of toxic waste and the growth of the environmental movement in the 1970s inspired the release of various horror films, and the giant monster subgenre saw the release of 1971's ''
Godzilla vs. Hedorah is a 1971 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed and co-written by Yoshimitsu Banno, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. Produced and distributed by Toho, Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 11th film in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise and ...
'', in which the themes of pollution and environmentalism were incorporated into the series. Following a second series of films in the 1980s and 1990s, ''Godzilla'' received a 1998 remake by
TriStar Pictures TriStar Pictures, Inc. (spelled as Tri-Star until 1991) is an American film studio and production company that is part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The compan ...
, while ''King Kong'' received a 2005 remake by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
. 2008 saw the release of the successful ''
Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American Found footage (film technique), found footage monster movie, monster horror film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller (in his film debut), Mic ...
'', which some critics have claimed took inspiration from the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. ''
Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...
'', a film featuring giant
mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...
battling with ''kaiju'', was released in 2013, and the following year Legendary reinterpreted ''
Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...
'' for a new generation of audiences in the series' 30th film. The first Japanese film in the ''Godzilla'' series after a ten year long hiatus, ''
Shin Godzilla is a 2016 Japanese ''kaiju'' film directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, with a screenplay by Anno and visual effects by Higuchi. Produced by Toho, Toho Pictures and Cine Bazar and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the 31st film in the ...
'', premiered in Japan in July 2016. A reboot of ''King Kong'' known as '' Kong: Skull Island'' was released in March 2017. Two other ''Godzilla'' films were released subsequently, with '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' releasing in 2019 and '' Godzilla vs. Kong'' releasing in 2021. The latest ''Godzilla'' film, ''
Godzilla Minus One is a 2023 Japanese Epic film, epic ''kaiju'' film written, directed, and with visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki. It is the 37th film in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise, Toho's 33rd ''Godzilla'' film, and the fifth installme ...
'', was premiered in Japan in 2023.


List of films


See also

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List of films featuring dinosaurs This is a list of films that feature non-avian dinosaurs and other prehistoric (mainly Mesozoic) archosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. For depictions of avian dinosaurs see :Films about birds. Live-acti ...
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List of monster movies This is a list of monster movies, about such creatures as Extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial aliens, Megafauna, giant animals, Kaiju (the Japanese counterpart of giant animals, but they can also be machines and plants), Mutant (fiction ...
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List of dragons in film and television This is a list of dragons in film and television. The dragons are organized by either film or television and further by whether the media is animation or live-action. They are sorted alphabetically by name or if there is none, by the name of th ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Films featuring giant monsters Giant monster films Kaiju