^ You ordered the BFI DVD of
Godzilla (1954). I have a copy of that one too and it's a really good disc. It was released in 2006 and only includes the uncut Japanese version of the movie. It also has several nice bonus features unique to this release, the most notable of which is a short documentary from 1954 called
The Japanese Fishermen which examines one of the key incidents that inspired the creation of Godzilla. A Japanese fishing trawler called the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon No. 5) in the Pacific was exposed to radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, resulting in the death of one of the crew members and a large quantity of contaminated tuna spreading through Japanese markets.
As a companion to that DVD, I recommend you also go for
Criterion's region 1, two-disc DVD. In addition to the Japanese version of the film, it also includes the 1956 edited American cut featuring Raymond Burr, known as
Godzilla: King of the Monsters. While not as allegorical or historically resonant as the Japanese original, it's a very well done edit that stands strong on its own and manages to work Burr's excellent performance into the story very creatively. Criterion's release features digitally restored picture from 35mm elements for both versions of the film and also includes a slew of bonus content not found elsewhere. Highly recommended along with that BFI DVD.
Your list of all of the Godzilla movies is mostly correct. You've got all of the films included in the correct chronological order, but
Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007) isn't a Godzilla movie. Set in the 1950s, the Always films are dramas based on a manga and the second movie opens with a fantasy sequence in which Godzilla rampages through the titular Third Street. The scene only lasts a few minutes and is eventually revealed as a story being written by one of the film's main characters. That's literally the extent to which Godzilla is featured in the movie. You can watch that opening scene here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGOX_FdEcccWhen it comes to recommending particular Godzilla films, I could talk at length about which Godzilla movies I think are better or worse than others for a myriad of reasons but it would be an exercise in futility. The fact is that everyone's tastes differ and a particular Godzilla film that I don't care for might be one that you end up really digging, and vice versa. Like you said, you have to see them anyway if you want to judge for yourself and you'll still be standing in the end either way.
Tracking down every single Godzilla movie can be confusing at first because many of them have been released with different titles over the years. In can be difficult trying to find a specific movie when different people might call the same movie by different titles. For reference, here's a complete list of all 28 Japanese Godzilla movies in chronological order. I've included their numerical order in the series, Toho's official English title for the film, the year when it was released in Japan, along with any notable alternate titles, including the English translations of the original Japanese titles in cases where they differ from the official English titles.
[/i] (1954)
a.k.a.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956 U.S. title)
02.
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
a.k.a.
Gigantis the Fire Monster (1959 U.S. title)
03.
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
04.
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. The Thing (1964 U.S. title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. Mothra (U.S. home video title, 1989-1998)
05.
Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
a.k.a.
Three Giant Monsters: Greatest Battle on Earth (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1965 U.S. title)
06.
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
a.k.a.
The Great Monster War (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Monster Zero (1970 U.S. title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (U.S. home video title, 1988-1998)
07.
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
a.k.a.
Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1968 U.S. title)
08.
Son of Godzilla (1967)
a.k.a.
Monster Island's Decisive Battle: Godzilla's Son (original Japanese title)
09.
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
a.k.a.
Charge of the Monsters (original Japanese title)
10.
All Monsters Attack (1969)
a.k.a.
Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters Attack (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla's Revenge (1971 U.S. title)
11.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster (1972 U.S. title)
12.
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
a.k.a.
Earth Destruction Directive: Godzilla vs. Gigan (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla on Monster Island (1977 U.S. title)
13.
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
14.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. Bionic Monster (1977 U.S. title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster (1977 revised U.S. title)
15.
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
a.k.a.
Mechagodzilla Raids Again (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Monsters From an Unknown Planet (1975 U.K. title)
a.k.a.
The Terror of Godzilla (1978 U.S. title)
16.
The Return of Godzilla (1984)
a.k.a.
Godzilla (original Japanese title)
a.k.a.
Godzilla 1985 (U.S. title)
17.
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
18.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
19.
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
a.k.a.
Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth (1998 U.S. home video title)
20.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (original Japanese title)
21.
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
22.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
a.k.a.
Godzilla vs. Destroyer (original Japanese title)
23.
Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999)
a.k.a.
Godzilla 2000 (U.S. title)
24.
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
a.k.a.
Godzilla x Megaguirus: G-Extermination Strategy (original Japanese title)
25.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
26.
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
a.k.a.
Godzilla x Mechagodzilla (original Japanese title)
27.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
a.k.a.
Godzilla x Mothra x Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (original Japanese title)
28.
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)[/ul]
Finally, one of the other more confusing aspects about the Godzilla series for newcomers is the question of continuity. Not all 28 Godzilla movies take place in the same cinematic universe. They are broken down into three series.
[/u]
Godzilla through
Terror of Mechagodzilla (15 movies)[/b]
The original Godzilla series spanned more than 20 years and reflected a period of significant development in Japan's history. In addition to Godzilla, the '50s and '60s saw Toho producing a slew of original monster movies, such as
Rodan and
Mothra, and many of these colossal characters eventually crossed over in matchups with Godzilla, not unlike what Marvel has been doing with its Avengers films today. Spearheaded by genius monster-maker and special effects guru Eiji Tsuburaya, this series captures an era when intricate craftsmanship and dynamic creativity took precedence over realism in effects work. From somber historical allegories to kid-friendly matinee fare, from exuberant island adventure to far-out '70s wackiness, the Showa Series ran the gamut of everything you could hope to find in Japanese monster movies.
Heisei Series: 1984-1995
The Return of Godzilla through Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (7 movies)After a nine-year hiatus, Toho brought Godzilla back in 1984 and decided to start things fresh.
The Return of Godzilla was made as a direct sequel to
Godzilla (1954), acting as though entries 2 through 15 of the Showa Series never happened. This allowed the filmmakers to return Godzilla to his status as a menace to humanity and present a contemporary take on the real-world sociopolitical themes that influenced the original film. The following six films introduced new monsters as well as updated takes on several classic monsters. The Heisei Series was more continuity-focused than its predecessor, with several characters appearing in multiple films and Godzilla's appearance remaining more-or-less consistent through the seven movies.
Millennium Series: 1999-2004
Godzilla 2000 through Godzilla: Final Wars (6 movies)After the 1998 Hollywood take on Godzilla from Sony Pictures floundered with audiences, critics, and fans alike, Sony declined to move forward with a sequel and so Toho decided to resume making Godzilla movies themselves. Unlike the previous two series, however, the entries in the Millennium Series were made as standalone films. Although each one of them maintains the tradition of using the original
Godzilla (1954) as a basis, none of them connect to each other and each one basically starts things fresh. The one exception is
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003) which was made as a sequel to the previous year's
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.[/ul]
Hope this helps!
