Thursday, September 27, 2012

GIANT MONSTER Movie Archives 1960-1969



It's BACK! 
It's TERRIFYING! 
It's HORRIFIC!
IT CAN'T BE STOPPED! 
It's the... GIANT MONSTER MOVIE ARCHIVES SECOND EDITION....
This time kiddies... get ready for the Psychedelic Sixties! 


The 1950s are considered the GOLDEN AGE for science fiction monster movies, and it's no wonder considering the sheer number of films produced. More than a dozen titles were released in 1957 alone. But during the decade of the 1960s Japan really picked up the pace of production during their "Kaiju Eiga Boom". Japan's fantasy/monster films and television programming from this period had a great influence outside of the island. Although mostly designed for the local market, they were exported, dubbed (and sometimes re-edited) and soon became popular in North America and Europe. This helped to create a foreign demand for Japanese pop culture overseas (that later expanded to include anime, Sanrio products, J-pop, etc.) which continues to this day.

There's plenty of reviews of these films elsewhere online. As with any genre, they vary greatly in quality (the films and the reviews). This is intended only as a simple at-a-glance chronological list of the films released during the decade which (at least loosely) fit into the GIANT MONSTER category. It's merely a launching point to start your journey. Should you be so bold.

In this decade it became more common to shoot feature films in Glorious... Terrifying... Monstrous... COLOR!  And I dare say... the movies started to get even more bizarre. Godzilla returned less as a rampaging destroyer and more as a folk hero, protector and yes, even father. And some studio head in Japan approved half a dozen films about a giant jet-powered flying... (wait for it)... turtle. With tusks. And he kept his job.


Okay, let the model stomping begin!
Cue the tiny airplanes hanging on wires!
Lock Ray Harryhausen in a room for six months with a camera and his stop-motion puppets!
Annnnd... All Monsters Attack!!


The 1960s
the time machine 1960
The Time Machine (1960)
dinosaurs 1960
Dinosaurs! (1960)
the little shop of horrors 1960
The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
the lost world 1960
The Lost World (1960)
goliath and the dragon 1960
Goliath and the Dragon (1960)
valley of the dragons 1961
Valley of the Dragons (1961)
konga 1961
Konga (1961)
gorgo 1961
Gorgo (1961)
mothra 1961
Mothra (1961)
reptilicus 1961
Reptilicus (1961)
creature from the haunted sea 1961
Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961)
the curse of the werewolf 1961
The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
voyage to the bottom of the sea 1961
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961)
mysterious island 1961
Mysterious Island (1961)
gorath 1962
Gorath (1962)
the wonderful world of the brothers grimm 1962
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)
the day of the triffids 1962
The Day of the Triffids (1962)
the magic sword 1962
The Magic Sword (1962)
jack the giant killer 1962
Jack the Giant Killer (1962)
the slime people 1962
The Slime People (1962)
eegah! 1962
Eegah! (1962)
king kong versus godzilla 1962
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
battle beyond the sun 1962
Battle Beyond the Sun (1962)
atragon 1963
Atragon (1962)
matango attack of the mushroom people 1963
Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People (1963)
jason and the argonauts 1963
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
mothra versus godzilla 1964
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
7 faces of doctor lao 1964
7 Faces of Doctor Lao (1964)
dogora the space monster 1964
Dogora, the Space Monster (1964)
ghidorah the three headed monster 1964
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
frankenstein conquers the world 1965
Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
gamera the giant monster 1965
Gamera (Gammera the Invincible) (1965)
invasion of the astro monster 1965
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
daimajin 1966
Daimajin (1966)
return of daimajin 1966
Return of Daimajin (1966)
wrath of daimajin 1966
Wrath of Daimajin (1966)
godzilla versus the sea monster 1966
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966)
it! Curse of the Golem 1966
It! (Curse of the Golem) (1966)
gamera versus barugon 1966
Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
one millions years b.c. 1966
One Million Years B.C. (1966)
the magic serpent 1966
The Magic Serpent (1966)
war of teh gargantuas 1966
War of the Gargantuas (1966)
king kong escapes 1967
King Kong Escapes (1966)
gamerea versus gyaos 1967
Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
son of godzilla 19967
Son of Godzilla (1967)
gappa the colossal beast 1967
Gappa, the Colossal Beast (1967)
yongary 1967
Yongary (1967)
the x from outer space 1967
The X From Outer Space (1967)
space monster wangmagwi 1967
Space Monster, Wangmagwi (1967)
gamera versus bairus 1968
Gamera vs. Bairus (1968)
destroy all monsters 1968
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
kong island 1968
Kong Island (1968)
voyage to the planet of prehistoric women 1968
Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968)
all monsters attack 1969
All Monsters Attack (1969)
gamera versus guiron 1969
Gamera vs. Guiron (1969)
the valley of gwangi 1969
The Valley of Gwangi (1969)
latitude zero 1969
Latitude Zero (1969)
bambi meets godzilla 1969
Bambi Meets Godzilla (short, 1969)



Oh, I nearly forgot about the red-eyed giant lunar caterpillars crawling through the caves of the moon. Yep, I just typed that. Compliments of H.G. Wells and the master of Dynamation himself, Ray Harryhausen.
First Men in the Moon (1964)

ஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜஜ

Although more spooky and not really giant, the monsters in the Yokai trilogy are quite creatively designed. (1968-1969)

The popularity and influence of television was increasing rapidly in the 1960s and exported Japanese series such as Ultraman and Giant Robot (released in the U.S. as Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot) helped spread the popularity of the genre during the height of the "giant movie monster boom".

Ultraman battles Bemular (the original series, 1966)
Giant Robot does battle with the Giant Eye (1967)
Although the 1960s finally came to a end, monster movie makers hadn't exhausted all their monsterific ideas just yet. They would continue their fantastic adventures throughout the next decade and beyond. Return to this blog for that chapter... coming soon.