70 Years of Japanese monster movies at the Barbican

This summer, the Barbican Arts Centre will show a series of Japanese monster movies to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first Godzilla film.

Featuring Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Gamera and even a toxic smog monster called Hedorah, the film screenings will be accompanied by introductions from authors, experts and kaiju enthusiasts introducing the films plus a live music performance.

In 1954, the first-ever Godzilla, a dark, thrilling monster movie masterpiece, was released in Japan. It was a box office phenomenon, and it launched a franchise that continues to this day. While these films featuring gigantic kaiju (literally ‘strange beasts’) have long been beloved in Japan, until recently, the reception in the West has been inconsistent, with crude dubbing and savage edits to meet running times, often making the story-lines incoherent, which has led to mockery.

In recent years, as restored versions of the Japanese originals with English subtitles have become easier to access, these films have been met with greater appreciation, culminating this year when Godzilla Minus One became the first kaiju film to win an Academy Award.

To mark Godzilla’s anniversary, the Barbican, in collaboration with the Japan Foundation, is screening a selection of the wildest, more interesting Japanese monster movies across seven decades, with introductions from experts.

The kaiju celebration kicks off with Mothra Vs. Godzilla (1964, dir Ishiro Honda), one of the best films of the genre, a battle royale between two of the most beloved giant beasts – a rampaging Godzilla against monster-God Mothra. This was the last of the early kaiju films to depict Godzilla as a villain rather than a hero and is both fun and fearsome. Jasper Sharp, a writer and curator specialising in Japanese cinema, will introduce this screening.

Full Programme:

Mothra Vs. Godzilla (12A) + introduction by Jasper Sharp

Japan 1964, dir Ishiro Honda, 89 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Wed 7th Aug, 6.30pm, Cinema 1

Details here

Destroy All Monsters (12A) + introduction by Kazuko Hohki Kaiju assemble

Japan 1968, dir Ishiro Honda, 89 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Wed 14th Aug, 6.30pm, Cinema 1

Details here

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (PG) + introduction by Steven Sloss

Japan 1995 dir Shusuke Kaneko, 95 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Sun 18th Aug, 5.45pm, Cinema 1

Details here

Shin Godzilla + introduction by Helen McCarthy

Japan 2016, dir Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, 120 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Tue 20th Aug, 6.15pm, Cinema 1

Details here

Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (PG)

Japan 1971, dir Yoshimitsu Banno, 85 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Sun 25 Aug, 8.30pm, Outdoor Cinema

Details here

Mothra (PG) + live performance from Frank Chickens

Japan 1961 dir Ishiro Honda, 101 min, in Japanese with English subtitles

Wed 28th Aug, 6.15pm, Cinema 1

Details here