Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971) Review- By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster
Year: 1971
Director: Yoshimitsu Banno
County: Japan
Language: Japanese

Also known as Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Director Yoshitmitsu Banno came up with the idea for this flick while standing on deadly ground in Yokkaichi and staring at some polluted waters. In the early seventies the environmental moment was at its peak and Banno thought there were things more dangerous for Godzilla to fight besides aliens, rogue villains bent on enslaving humanity and the giant ape known as King Kong.  

 From Earth's pollution a new monster is spawned. Hedorah, the smog monster, destroys Japan and fights Godzilla while spewing his poisonous gas to further the damage. 

By the early 1970s, most of the men responsible for making the Godzilla films of the ‘50s and ‘60s had left the studio. Toho started cutting the budgets. Monster suits that used to be made new for each picture were now being recycled from film to film and started to look pretty ratty. The sets became less detailed and instead of making new special effects they just recycled older, better Godzilla pictures. It's suffice to say that Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster isn't the most technically sound film. 

In earlier movies Godzilla was an anti-hero, sometimes even the villain, but in this one he's in pure superhero mode to combat man’s foolish exploitation of nature (which is weird because isn't Godzilla a product of man's foolish exploitation of nature too?) Its message isn't very subtle and well, to be frank, this isn't the most engaging monster on monster fight we've seen from Toho.

Godzilla vs. Smog Monster has a very uneven tone; some scenes are outright comedy and others rely on sheer horror, but neither mix well together. There’s plenty of drug imagery and gratuitous violence to confuse the audience. Some say this was the final nail in the coffin for the Godzilla series, others say it was a refreshing change from the usual. I say the film is enjoyable for what it is, but I wouldn't watch it again.