Godzilla is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. Which is a lot of candles to blow out, even for someone with atomic breath.
The scaly, iconic and now septuagenarian movie monster got a fresh lease of life thanks to 2023’s immense and Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, and that movie – along with several other classic Toho cuts – will be getting a birthday screening as part of a season at London’s Japan House.
Japan’s cultural centre in Kensington will be welcoming Londoners into its inner sanctum for a free mini-season of Godzilla movies from September to December.
On the slate is run of the most iconic kaiju movies ever made – including the original 1956 Godzilla – as well as a screening of Godzilla Minus One. Producer Yamada Kenji will be taking behind the scenes of that unexpected triumph in a post-screening talk.
The programme in full:
Godzilla (1956) – Sep 15 and 18
Mothra vs Godzilla (1964) – Oct 20 and 23
Destroy All Monsters (1968) – Nov 10 and 20
Godzilla Minus One (2023) talk by producer Yamada Kenji – Nov 27
Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971) – Dec 8 and 18
Tickets will be available from the official Japan House website three weeks or so weeks ahead of each screening. Keep an eye out online.
And if you fancy grabbing some grammable Gojira content, a two-metre tall statue of the scaly behemoth has just been unveiled in the Japan House shop.
Find out where Godzilla ranks among the 66 greatest movie monsters of all time.
Where did Godzilla Minus One feature among the best movies of last year?