List of giant-monster films

This is a list of giant-monster films according to their year of release. One of the first films involving giant monsters was the 1925 film The Lost World, as developments in cinema and animation enabled the creation of realistic giant creatures. This was followed by the 1933 classic King Kong. These early films 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 American 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, featured a giant dinosaur that awakened due nuclear tests that took place in the Arctic[1][2] and 1954's Them!, which involved giant irradiated ants. Another film: Tarantula had a spider rather than insects.[1] Japanese cinema began its foray into giant monster films with the 1933 film Wasei Kingu Kongu (an adaptation of the American film King Kong). Later in 1954 the film Godzilla was released. This was followed by an ongoing trend of giant reptiles created by nuclear radiation.[1] Japan continued with a giant moth in Mothra, a turtle in Gamera, and after these followed many more. Other countries have their own giant monster movies such as the United Kingdom with Gorgo in 1961.

Dinosaur-themed films experienced a revival in the 1960s with a 1960 remake of The Lost World, 1966's One Million Years B.C., and 1969's The Valley of Gwangi.[3] Movies featuring Godzilla and Gamera were made into the 1970s, and 1976 saw a high-profile remake of King Kong. Awareness of toxic waste in the 1970s may have inspired 1979's Prophecy, which featured a giant mutant bear in the woods in Maine.[1]

Godzilla was remade in 1998, and King Kong in 2005. 2008 saw the release of the successful Cloverfield, which some critics have claimed inspiration from the September 11 attacks.[4][5][6] Pacific Rim, a film featuring giant mecha battling with kaiju, was released in 2013, and the following year Legendary reinterpreted Godzilla for a new generation of audiences in its 30th film.

List of films

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
Name Year Description Ref.
20 Million Miles to Earth 1957 extraterrestrial [7]
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman 1958 human [8]:18
Bambi Meets Godzilla 1969 dakaiju
Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, TheThe Beast From 20,000 Fathoms 1953 lizard-like [9]:28–37
Beast of Hollow Mountain, TheThe Beast of Hollow Mountain 1956 Allosaurus [9]:37–42
Cloverfield 2008 Clover [8]
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion 1996 dakaiju [7]
Godzilla 1954 dakaiju [10]:Chapter 3
Godzilla 1998 dakaiju
Godzilla 2014 dakaiju
Godzilla Raids Again 1955 dakaiju
Godzilla, King of the Monsters 1956 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster 1966 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Hedorah 1971 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Gigan 1972 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Megalon 1973 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 1974 dakaiju
Terror of Mechagodzilla 1975 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Biollante 1989 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah 1991 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Mothra 1992 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II 1993 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla 1994 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah 1995 dakaiju
Godzilla 2000: Millennium 1999 dakaiju
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus 2000 dakaiju
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack 2001 dakaiju [7]
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla 2002 dakaiju
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. 2003 dakaiju
Godzilla: Final Wars 2004 dakaiju
Gorgo 1961 sea monster [8]
Grabbers 2012 tentacled [7]
The Host 2006 amphibious [7]
King Kong 1933 King Kong [8]
King Kong vs Godzilla 1962 King Kong and dakaiju
Lost World, TheThe Lost World 1925 dinosaurs [8]
Mighty Joe Young 1949 gorilla [11]
Mighty Joe Young 1998 gorilla [12]
Monsters 2010 extraterrestrial [7]
Mothra vs. Godzilla 1964 dakaiju
Pacific Rim 2013 dakaiju [7]
Return of Godzilla, TheThe Return of Godzilla 1984 dakaiju
Son of Godzilla 1967 dakaiju
Space Amoeba 1970 dakaiju [13]:75–76
Them! 1954 ants [7]
Tremors 1990 Graboid [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Newitz, Annalee (Apr 28, 2008). "Do Giant Disasters Provide Inspiration for Giant Monster Movies?". io9. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  2. ↑ Stephen Jones (1995). The Illustrated Dinosaur Movie Guide. Titan Books. p. 42.
  3. ↑ Searles, Baird (1988). "Dinosaurs and Others". Films of Science Fiction and Fantasy. New York: AFI Press. pp. 104–115. ISBN 0-8109-0922-7.
  4. ↑ Roger Ebert (January 17, 2008). "Review: Cloverfield". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  5. ↑ Stephanie Zacharek (January 17, 2008). "Cloverfield: Do we really need the horror of 9/11 to be repackaged and presented to us as an amusement-park ride?". Salon.com. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  6. ↑ Newitz, Annalee (Jan 18, 2008). "Nevermind the Monster — Cloverfield Is All About 9/11". io9. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Timpone, Tony (May 15, 2014). "13 Best Giant Monster Movies". Chiller (NBCUniversal). Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Landis 2011, p. 18
  9. 1 2 Berry 2005
  10. ↑ Kalat, David (2007). A critical history and filmography of Toho's Godzilla® series (reprint ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers. ISBN 9780786430994.
  11. ↑ Cady, Brian. "Mighty Joe Young (1949)". Leonard Maltin classic movie guide. Turner Classic Movies by arrangement with Penguin Group. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  12. ↑ Ebert, Roger. "Mighty Joe Young". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Barr, Jason (2016). The Kaiju Film: A Critical Study of Cinema's Biggest Monsters. ISBN 9780786499632.

Further reading

  • Bellotto, Adam (July 24, 2015). "A new renaissance for giant monster movies is almost upon us". News. Film school rejects. Retrieved 14 April 2016. 
  • Berry, Mark F. (2005). The dinosaur filmography. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN 9780786424535. 
  • Farlow, James O.; Brett-Surman, M.K. (2000). "Dinosaurs and the media". In Farlow, James O.; Brett-Surman, M.K. The complete dinosaur. Bloomington, Ind. [u.a.]: Indiana Univ. Press. pp. 675–706. ISBN 9780253213136. 
  • Landis, John (2011). Monsters in the movies. Penguin. ISBN 9780756688462. 
  • Marrero, Robert (1994). Giant monster movies : an illustrated survey (1st American ed.). Key West, Fla.: Fantasma Books. ISBN 9780963498229. 

External links

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.
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