The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga

The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga

See alternate titles

Directed by

Jonathan Bellés

Producer

Jonathan Bellés

Written by

Jonathan Bellés

Music by

Damián Sánchez

Running time

50 minutes

Aspect ratio

16:9

The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga is a 2019 documentary on the origins of Godzilla. It features interviews with a number of key figures in Toho's tokusatsu and kaiju films.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Directed by Jonathan Bellés
Written by Jonathan Bellés
Produced by Jonathan Bellés
Music by Damián Sánchez
Cinematography by Jonathan Bellés
Edited by Jonathan Bellés, José Luis Romeu

Interviewees

Akira Takarada, actor
Shinji Higuchi, director
Haruo Nakajima, suit actor
Akira Kubo, actor
Shusuke Kaneko, director
Teruyoshi Nakano, special effects director
Masaaki Tezuka, director
Kazuki Omori, director
Yukiko Kobayashi, actress
Kenpachiro Satsuma, suit actor
Hiroshi Koizumi, actor
Koichi Kawakita, special effects director
Yoshikazu Ishii, director
Tomoo Haraguchi, director
Eiichi Asada, special effects director

Production

Initially researching kaiju films in 2012, Bellés grew more ambitious throughout his research, interviewing actors, directors, and special effects directors for his Ph.D.^[1]

Alternate titles

Godzilla & Hiroshima: The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga (early English title)

Theatrical releases

Japan - April 2, 2019 (Tokyo)^[1]
Brazil - April 16, 2019 (Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival)

Videos

Official trailer

Akira Takarada clip

Haruo Nakajima clip

Kenpachiro Satsuma clip

Shusuke Kaneko clip

Teruyoshi Nakano clip

Koichi Kawakita clip

Eiichi Asada clip

Yoshikazu Ishii clip

"Making the Trailer Music"

External links

Official Facebook page

References

This is a list of references for The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Godzilla Documentary THE DAWN OF KAIJU EIGA Hits Amazon Prime in U.S.

Films

Godzilla films

Showa era

Godzilla (1954) • Godzilla Raids Again (1955) • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) • Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) • Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) • Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) • Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) • Son of Godzilla (1967) • Destroy All Monsters (1968) • All Monsters Attack (1969) • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) • Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) • Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) • Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Heisei era

The Return of Godzilla (1984) • Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) • Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) • Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) • Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) • Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) • Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Millennium era

Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) • Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) • Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) • Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) • Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) • Godzilla Final Wars (2004)

Reiwa era

Live action	Shin Godzilla (2016) • Godzilla Minus One (2023) • Godzilla Minus Zero (2026)

Animated	GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters (2017) • GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle (2018) • GODZILLA: The Planet Eater (2018)

American films

GODZILLA (1998) • Godzilla (2014) • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) • Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027)

Short films

Dream Challenge: Godzilla Appears in Sukagawa (2019) • Godzilla Appears at Godzilla Fest (2020) • Godzilla vs. Hedorah (2021) • Godzilla vs. the Tigers (2022) • Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex (2022) • Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan Attacks (2022) • Godzilla vs. Megalon (2023) • Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar (2023) • Fest Godzilla 5: All Monsters Showdown (2024) • 70 Years of Godzilla: A New Roar in Southeast Asia (2025) • Fest Godzilla II: Shinjuku Burning (2025) • Is Your Godzilla Collection Stop-Motion Ready? (2026)

Marketing	"Godzilla vs. Charles Barkley" (1992) • "The Faceless Star" (2019) • "The Impact of a Blue Day" (2021) • "GO YOUR WAY" (2023) • "Yours Ever" (2024)

Attractions	Do Your Best! Godzilla (1967) • Monster Planet of Godzilla (1994) • Godzilla: The Real 4-D (2017) • CANAL CITY HAKATA GODZILLA The Destroy Mapping Show (2018) • Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D (2019) • Godzilla Interception Operation Awaji attraction video (2020) • Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle (2021) • Godzilla vs. Nijigen no Mori: Great Duel on Awaji Island (2022) • Godzilla: Attack on Tokyo (2024) • TOKYO GODZILLAs (2024) • Godzilla the Ride: Great Clash (2025) • Kong x Godzilla: The Ride (2025) • GODZILLA AR Godzilla vs. Tokyo Dome (2025)

Gamera films

Shōwa period	Gamera the Giant Monster (1965) • Gamera vs. Barugon (1966) • Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967) • Gamera vs. Viras (1968) • Gamera vs. Guiron (1969) • Gamera vs. Jiger (1970) • Gamera vs. Zigra (1971) • Gamera Super Monster (1980)

Heisei period	Gamera the Guardian of the Universe (1995) • Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996) • Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999) • Gamera the Brave (2006)

Short films	Gamera vs. Garasharp (1991) • GAMERA (2015)

King Kong films

Live action	King Kong (1933) • Son of Kong (1933) • King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) • King Kong Escapes (1967) • King Kong (1976) • King Kong Lives (1986) • King Kong (2005) • Kong: Skull Island (2017) • Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) • Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027)

Animated	The Mighty Kong (1998) • Kong: King of Atlantis (2005) • Kong: Return to the Jungle (2006)

Other Toho films

Shōwa period	Ramayana (1940s) • Invisible Man (1954) • Half Human (1955) • Rodan (1956) • The Mysterians (1957) • The H-Man (1958) • Varan (1958) • The Three Treasures (1959) • Battle in Outer Space (1959) • The Secret of the Telegian (1960) • The Human Vapor (1960) • Mothra (1961) • The Last War (1961) • Gorath (1962) • Matango (1963) • Atragon (1963) • Dogora (1964) • Frankenstein vs. Baragon (1965) • The War of the Gargantuas (1966) • The Killing Bottle (1967) • Latitude Zero (1969) • Konto 55: The Great Outer Space Adventure (1969) • Space Amoeba (1970) • Daigoro vs. Goliath (1972) • Submersion of Japan (1973) • Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974) • ESPY (1974) • The War in Space (1977) • Tokyo Earthquake Magnitude 8.1 (1980) • Magnitude 7.9 (1980) • Bye-Bye Jupiter (1984) • Nineteen (1987) • Princess from the Moon (1987)

Heisei period	Cyber Cop (1989) • Gunhed (1989) • Mikadoroid (1991) • Reiko, Psyche Resurrected (1991) • Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon (1994) • Super Atragon (1995) • Super Atragon: Part II (1996) • Rebirth of Mothra (1996) • Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997) • Rebirth of Mothra 3 (1998) • Pyrokinesis (2000) • The Yin-Yang Master (2001) • Returner (2002) • The Yin-Yang Master II (2003) • Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean (2005) • Super Fleet Sazer-X the Movie (2005) • Sinking of Japan (2006) • Monkey Magic (2007) • Go! Godman (2008) • Paco and the Magical Book (2008) • Space Battleship Yamato (2010) • Gantz (2011) • Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011) • "FORESTER: The Attack" (2014) • As the Gods Will (2014) • Parasyte: Part 1 (2014) • Parasyte: Part 2 (2015) • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 1 (2015) • Attack on Titan the Movie: Part 2 (2015) • I Am a Hero (2016)

Reiwa period	Monster Hunter (2020) • The Great Yokai War: Guardians (2021) • Shin Ultraman (2022) • yokaipedia (2022) • Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon (2025)

Other Daiei films

First company

Kyoto Studio	The Invisible Man Appears (1949) • Iron Nail (1951) • The Invisible Tengu (1960) • The Ogre of Oeyama (1960) • The Priest and the Beauty (1960) • Daimajin (1966) • Return of Daimajin (1966) • Wrath of Daimajin (1966) • Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1967) • Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare (1968) • Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969) • The Invisible Swordsman (1970)

Tokyo Studio	Warning from Space (1956) • The Invisible Man vs. The Human Fly (1957) • The Whale God (1962) • Wind Velocity 75 Meters (1963) • The Silent Gun (1967) • The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch (1968)

Second company

Tokyo Blackout (1987) • Cutie Knight (1995) • Cutie Knight 2 (1996) • Nostradamus's Prediction: The New Century of a Gene (1999)

Other Japanese films

Shōwa period	Japanese King Kong (1933) • The Great Buddha Arrival (1934) • The King Kong that Appeared in Edo (1938) • Magic Serpent (1966) • The X from Outer Space (1967) • Gappa (1967) • The Last Dinosaur (1977) • Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977) • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) • Orochi: Strikes Again (1985)

Heisei period	The Cat (1991) • Getting Any? (1995) • Sakuya (2000) • Wanigon vs. Gamaron (2000) • Kibakichi (2004) • Zebraman (2004) • Kibakichi 2 (2004) • The Great Yokai War (2005) • Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005) • The World Sinks Except Japan (2006) • Fuhito (2006) • Golden Sachi Monster King Rampus (2006) • Big Man Japan (2007) • Reigo: King of the Sea Monsters (2008) • Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit (2008) • Assault Girls (2009) • Geharha: The Dark and Long Haired Monster‎ (2009) • Demeking, the Sea Monster (2009) • G (2009) • Raiga: God of the Monsters (2009) • Revenge of the Zebra Miniskirt Police (2010) • Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (2010) • Planzet (2010) • Death Kappa (2010) • The God of Clay (2011) • Henge (2012) • A Giant Warrior Descends on Tokyo (2012) • Jellyfish Eyes (2013) • Earth Defense Widow (2014) • Day of the Kaiju (2014) • Love & Peace (2015) • Kaiju Mono (2016) • Tetsudon: The Kaiju Dream Match (2017) • The Great Buddha Arrival (2018) • Koujin (2018) • Kaiju Ward Gallas (2019)

Reiwa period	God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters (2019) • Attack of the Giant Teacher (2019) • The Great Actress Reiko Inui (2019) • Howl from Beyond the Fog (2019) • Monster Seafood Wars (2020) • The 12 Day Tale of the Monster that Died in 8 (2020) • Nezura 1964 (2021) • Yatsuashi (2021) • Gankiryu (2021) • What to Do with the Dead Kaiju? (2022) • Giant Monster Bugon (2022) • Yuzo the Biggest Battle in Tokyo (2022) • Kaiju Girl (2022) • Ivara the Case of Extra (2022) • AKARI (2022) • War of the Ninja Monsters: Jaron vs. Goura (2023) • Hoshi 35 (2023) • Brush of the God (2024) • "Foodlosslla: What Should Humanity Do!?" (2024) • Showdown! Cosmic Trailblaze Saga of Heroes (2024) • Ayura (2025) • Kaiju Heaven (2026) • Kaiju: Island of Fire (2026)

Miscellaneous

Films	The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915) • The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918) • The Lost World (1925) • Mighty Joe Young (1949) • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) • Ilya Muromets (1956) • The Black Scorpion (1957) • The Giant Behemoth (1959) • Konga (1961) • Gorgo (1961) • Bulgasari (1962) • Gogola (1966) • Mad Monster Party? (1967) • Space Monster Wangmagwi (1967) • Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) • Feng Shen Bang (1969) • A Valiant Villain (1969) • APE (1976) • The Snake Prince (1976) • Queen Kong (1976) • Costinha, King of the Jungle (1976) • The Mighty Peking Man (1977) • Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century (1977) • Costinha and the King Mong (1977) • The Phoenix (1978) • Pulgasari (1985) • Galgameth (1996) • Mighty Joe Young (1998) • Reptilian (1999) • Cloverfield (2008) • Monsters (2010) • Monsters: Dark Continent (2014) • 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) • Colossal (2016) • The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) • Rampage (2018) • Notzilla (2019) • Snow Monster (2019) • untitled Cloverfield sequel (TBA)

Documentaries	Toho Unused Special Effects Complete Collection (1986) • Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1998) • GAMERA1999 (1999) • Bringing Godzilla Down to Size (2008) • The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga (2019) • Yonggary Chronicle Project (2019) • Godzilla's Leading Ladies (2020)

Fan films	Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) • Gamera 4: Truth (2003) • Waiting for Gorgo (2009) • G vs. G (2019) • Godziban (2019) • Heritage (2020) • Coming Out (2020) • Wolfman vs. Godzilla (TBA)

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