Ishirô Honda

One of Honda's most serious films. The camp is almost entirely absent, which is a curse as well as a blessing. The plot is still pretty cheesy, but the execution is very straight-faced. Overall it's moodier and more atmospheric compared to his other work, but the radioactive mushroom stuff is just too goofy to be taken seriously. Quite fun though.

I'm not sure whether spectacular is the right word, with so much obvious model work involved, but Battle in Outer Space is of Honda's bigger undertakings. There are lots of space scenes and the film has a strong focus on action, sci-fi and adventure, keeping the drama and conversations to a minimum.

Feels like a classic Godzilla best-of film. All the monsters are here, there's a bunch of weird sci-fi stuff and some random extraterrestrial interference. Some Godzilla entries can be a little slow and tepid in between the fighting, there's simply so much happening here that they didn't have the time or money to waste film on any serious conversation. Good fun, but very, very cheesy.

This was pretty fun. You get a kaiju film and a space exploration film rolled into one. It's all very cheesy and cardboard-like of course, but there's hardly a dull moment and some there are some truly stand-out scenes. Apart from the original Godzilla film, this is one of the best Honda films I've seen so far.

A lesser known Honda film. Gorath isn't the name of a giant monster, but of a star that is on a collision course with Earth. Don't worry though, it's a vintage Honda film that has everything you'd expect to see in his films. Yes, even a giant monster (no matter how random his appearance may be).

Godzilla is by far Honda's most popular property, but Mothra may very well have an even bigger cult following. I've seen the creature before in several Godzilla films, but never managed to catch the original one. While it fits very well within Honda's oeuvre, Mothra has a slightly different focus that may suprised seasoned Godzilla fans.

Honda's final film is another decent entry in the Godzilla franchise, without bringing anything too special or out of the ordinary. There's a lot of sci-fi cheese to brighten things up and the battles between Godzilla, Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus are plentiful, but there's not enough to make it stand out from the many other entries in the franchise.

An Ishiro Honda film with a more international setup, but that doesn't really change a whole lot. I'm watching his films for the cheese and the cute model work, and both are available in spades here. It's a pretty decent adventure too, with a tad more happening than is usually the case.

Feels slightly more serious than most entries in the Godzilla franchise, at the same time also a little less entertaining. It's a decent film that is going to please fans of Honda, but the Frankenstein creatures aren't as enigmatic as Godzilla and even though the film is short, it does drag a little in places. Not bad, but not a stand-out Honda either.

A typical Honda film, with a couple of huge monsters battling it out after a relatively lengthy intro and a drawn-out middle part. Of course the atom bomb has its role to play in the setup of the story, but ultimately these films are all about campy fun and elaborate destruction. It's decent filler, but I don't think I'll ever become a big fan of Honda's work.

Ghidorah may be one of the most appealing monsters within the Godzilla universe, his introduction to the series is rather plain. Mothra and Rodan are present for the battle, but all they really do is flick stones at each other, in a rural landscape. The result is a pretty plain and uneventful entry in the Godzilla franchise.

A very simple Godzilla knock-off by Honda, the Kaiju master himself. If you like giant lizards with spiky backsides and grueling howls, destroying Japanese villages (small and large), this film has everything you need. The monster is somewhat pointless though and the film is extremely predictable, but it's fun enough while it lasts.

Not too long after releasing the original Godzilla movie, Honda came with Rodan. It's a pretty classic Kaiju film that neatly sticks to genre conventions. Then again, Honda is the one who created half of these conventions, so that probably shouldn't come as a big surprise. The result is a little basic, but good fun nonetheless.

A nonsensical Godzilla film that slaps two unrelated plot lines together and still manages to get some additional Godzilla action in there. There's a lot of different monsters present, but they only appear in a kid's dream, and they're just battling it out on their own territory. It feels pretty cheap, but at least it's short and the scenes on Monster Island are decent.

One of Honda's lesser-known kaiju films. It's not that different from his other work, apart from some minor details. Too much time is spent on human squabbles, and not enough attention goes to the kaiju. The effects are cheesy but fun, but seeing how they only feature in a small part of the film, the cheese doesn't quite work.

A pretty disappointing Honda. I even had to double-check whether I got the right film, as it starts as a plain police/crime thriller. Not really what I expected from a Honda film, later on minor horror elements are added and his signature style starts to shine through a little, but overall it remained quite boring.

A pre-Godzilla, and so pre-Kaiju film from Honda. Honda's main draw has always been his miniature work, which still comes in handy when doing a war flick. Without the Kaiju cheese though, it's not really the same thing. Eagle of the Pacific is a more serious take on the Pearl Harbor attack.