Once, while being interviewed about his then current film, Rodan (1956), Ishiro Honda commented: "Monsters are born too tall, too strong, too heavy, that is their tragedy." With this sentence the great director and creator of the Godzilla franchise expressed one of the brilliant pleasures of his Kaiju ("strange beast") movies: His "monsters" weren’t monsters at all. They were simply giant creatures, born of nuclear of toxic accident, grown too big for our tiny, brittle world. They had souls – personalities-- and stomped our cities to ruble out of sheer terror or frustration. His creatures, from Godzilla (1956) to Mechagodzilla (1975), become unique characters.

This may be the chief joy of these Kaiju films, but the pleasures of this director, and the franchise he spawned, are many. But I get ahead of myself. The original Japanese title of this film translates something like Godzilla’s Electric Battle Masterpiece, and they didn’t call it that for nothing. From the outset it was designed as a dream team of monsters from every corner of the Godzilla universe; a veritable Texas Death Match of marquee names. It was, and is, a Kaiju fan’s orgy of delight.

The plot (another of the unearthly pleasures) is ridiculous, inspired, and typical of Honda’s somehow- childlike brilliance: The film takes place in the future, 1999 (the film was released in 1968). The United Nations Science Committee has confined all of Earth’s monsters on Monster Island, a small island in the Ogasawara Island chain off Japan. When communications suddenly shuts down between the mainland and Monster Island, Captain Katsuo Yamabe (Akira Kubo), who is stationed with the crew of the SY-3 Rocket Ship on the moon, is urgently commanded to return to Earth and investigate. They discover that the scientists as well as the monsters of Monster Island have been mind-controlled by a race of female aliens, hailing from the planet Kilaak.

The Kilaak Queen (Kyoko Ai) sends the monsters flying, crawling, and swimming over the face of the globe: Godzilla attacks New York City, Rodan smashes up Moscow, Mothra gets Beijing, Gorosaurus crushes Paris’ Arc de Triomphe; and last but not least, Manda (always my favorite after, of course, Godzilla) slithers through London. Held in reserve for later scenes are the monsters Anguirus, Minilla (Baby Godzilla, who never seems to age), Baragon, Varan, and Kumonga. Eventually the stalwart Captain and crew manage to bring the Kallekians nearly to their knees when the Queen unleashes a final tag team of alien monsters: The double headed, winged monster King Ghidorah and the horrible Fire Dragon (who is a clear and chilling stand in for a final, nuclear solution): All to set up one last titanic battle between these alien devils and all of Earth’s monsters (who have shaken off the control of the Kilaak Queen and now fight for Earth)!

If you are a fan of this franchise, you have most definitly seen this classic. If you are new to the king of monsters, or to the genre of Kaiju, there are a couple of things about this gem that warrant purchase and repeat viewings. First Thing: Special Effects God, Eiji Tsuburaya: Tsuburaya is the special effects wizard that worked with Honda throughout his career, and between the two men every major city on the planet has been smashed to matchsticks and burned to cinders. Simply put, no one has ever, or ever will, make magic with miniatures the way Tsuburaya did. He made things look huge and heavy, and when Godzilla put his paw through a Tokyo tower, you felt it down to your spine. Screw weightless, cartoon- stupid CGI. Give me the grand carnage of Tsuburaya, who could put nuclear holocaust on a tabletop and backlight it with a real-looking sunset.

Second Thing: Set Design and Art Direction: This entire movie pops off the screen in vibrant, primary colors like some shiny piece of mid-century-modern candy. Think Pee-Wee’s Playhouse with cool ray guns, spaceships, and horrible dubbing (and, yes, the dubbing is absolutely horrible in the only presently available edition of this title). The sets are extremely detailed and achieve a certain depth of detail that is breathtaking. Credit here goes again to Tsuburaya and Art Directors Akira Watanabe and Yasuyuki Inoue. The interiors of the Kilaak stronghold are particularly beautiful – very spacious and plush. This movie is truly a feast. And yes, Virginia, the Monsters have soul. In one of the final scenes, at the height of the final conflict with the Fire Dragon, Godzilla and his posse begin fighting for Earth. Watching on a monitor, Captain Yamabe grins. "They know their enemy by natural instinct. Now the Kilaaks must pay!" Yes, indeed they do. The Captain beams, as we do, as Godzilla raises his arms and roars at the heavens.