John Carpenter Loves This Iconic Monster Movie

John Carpenter Godzilla
John Carpenter, on the set of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, 1986. TM and Copyright © 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. Courtesy: Everett Collection.

Kaiju cinema has been back at the forefront of the public consciousness since the release of Godzilla Minus One. And that got me thinking, of all things, about an interview John Carpenter did with the Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB). Throughout that conversation, Carpenter briefly spoke about Kaiju cinema and his favorite cinematic effort from the beloved subgenre.

When the outlet asked him to name his favorite Godzilla movie, Carpenter’s reply was, “The first, [1954’s] Gojira. But there are others that I like for different reasons.”

Carpenter isn’t known to be overly wordy, so it isn’t surprising that he didn’t elaborate much on why the flick holds a special place in his heart. But then again, this picture doesn’t really require much introduction. Gojira is the godfather of Kaiju cinema, which makes it a logical choice.

Also Read: The New Godzilla TV Series Is Stomping all Over the Streaming Charts: “It’s perfection”

The film is directed by Ishirô Honda and written by Honda, along with Takeo Murata.

The trailblazing effort stars Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, and Fuyuki Murakami.

In Godzilla:

Underwater hydrogen bomb testing awakens a fire-breathing monster from its centuries-long sleep, and it soon starts to terrorize Japan.

In case you missed our review of the critically lauded Godzilla Minus One, be sure to check out Joshua Meyer’s rave report. In his four-star critique, Meyer says the flick “peels back another intimate layer, bringing the audience down to the human level where the survivors are.”

Stay tuned to the site for more recommendations from the masters as we learn them. And make sure to find us on Twitter to keep up with all the latest from the genre space.

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