Year 50: Godzilla vs. Hedorah Divides for the Best

There are some films even critics don’t fully settle on. Thoughts can quite easily flip flop on a piece of cinema that has divided the masses, but how many have bewildered fans and audiences for 50 years? I hope the late Yoshimitsu Banno would find the half century of contemplation amusing—After all, what better compliment can a 50 year old film receive?

I came to know Godzilla vs. Hedorah by its drive-in friendly title, Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, courtesy of American International Pictures. Though I can barely remember that version’s English dub, the film itself stuck with me. At a young age it hit as a high stakes adventure pitting Godzilla against an impossibly strong foe. As the years climbed my opinion of the film really went nowhere. I’ve been astounded at reactions claiming it’s the worst film in the series, but can’t quite get onboard that it’s an all time high. It has joined the pantheon of films I’ve felt merely, “is”.

Critiquing movies comes with the responsibility of critical thinking. Any audience can spot if characters, acting and writing are working, but to examine a film’s themes and how well they’re implemented—Well, let’s just say I don’t think many critics have it in them these days. It’s also why I wish rating systems a quick death. Instead of trying to understand whether or not we think a film is good, perhaps it’s merely enough that it make us think.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah had me stumped for the majority of my life. Like many of the Rotten Tomatoes mandated critics, I struggled for years to decide if the movie was rotten or fresh. It’s also a film that helped me do my job better and realize that film art transcends “option 1” and “option 2”. During my tenure for local papers and Cinescape Magazine I made a conscious decision to stop rating movies and focus on things most reviews ignored.

Indeed, Banno’s film was anything but void of dense material. While many have found the environmental themes hamfisted, the possibility of its consequences feel nuanced. Dare anyone in 2021 look at the animated interlude of mask wearing pedestrians and keep from wincing. And the younger generation’s fate, after throwing an end-of-the-world party on Mt. Fuji, while the older generation figures out how to defeat a walking pollutant seems controversial in any time period.

The crux of the film was culturally inspired. A symptom of Japan’s post-war transition into the capitalistic world included a lack of regulation for mines and plants. [1] Air pollution and industrial waste caused by Japanese corporations contributed to three new diseases within 15 years. These diseases caused outbreaks into the thousands, resulting in more serious waste regulation. [2] The reports of bodies piling up in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, with wrung out skeletons stuck to corroded concrete, can feel like a gratuitous detail without context. But Banno paints the air pollution problem like Honda did with post-war, atomic anxiety in the original Godzilla—There is no subtext, just belligerent pounding over a country in crisis.

As if these ideas weren’t enough, Banno sprinkles his variation of avant-garde film making in the form of previously mentioned animation pieces, freeze frames, psychosis, ala, fish-people, and a child ESPer (Ken Yano played by Hiroyuki Kawase) with the unexplained ability to sense Godzilla. It almost gives credence to film theories that speculate the older, tired men hiding outside the Mt. Fuji celebration are ghosts passing judgment. My favorite theory is that Ken is merely imagining the monsters’ existence to cope with Japan’s very real battle against pollution.

None of this is a particularly deep dive into Banno’s movie, but it does incite the possibility for one—Or many. It also begs the question, are themes and ideas enough to carry a movie? Banno’s direction was certainly unique, and thematically abrasive, but some of his characters lacked motive, (why bring Ken to Mt. Fuji?) while others aren’t very engaging. Akira Yamauchi gets top billing for playing Dr. Toru Yano, a character largely confined to bed rest for the film’s runtime. It’s possible the characters operate in the Kubrik-ian ideology of withholding detail to speak of larger ideas. It’s also easy to read them as flat misfires. Perhaps it’s one thing on Monday and another on Tuesday. I’ll check back on Wednesday.

When Godzilla vs. Hedorah works the narrative drives conversation and contemplation. When it doesn’t… it still inspires conversation and contemplation. Sometimes the most interesting dogmatic opinion is to be on the fence. I hope Banno’s pleased with himself.

Happy 50th, Hedorah.
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[1] Country Studies - Japan - Pollution
[2] Overcoming Pollution in Japan and the Lessons Learned