So, why did Tanaka hate the film? (Spoilers)

I agree, none of those are bad enough to say the film ruined the series. I actually love this entry.


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Tanaka is crazy. Banno improved the series 1000 percent over Godzilla's Revenge. Moreso, Hedorah's pace is much better than Destroy All Monsters, which I recently rewatched after a few years. I must say, the best things about DAM are Goro Maki and seeing Gorosaurus and Kumonga interact with Godzilla and Anguirus. Take those two factors out, you have a boring, slow-moving film. And damnit, I actually feel bad for Ghidorah. senseless violence like I have never seen before in a Godzilla movie. Tanaka is a fool.

Hedorah is one of my favorite movies, because it is actually entertaining, and holds my attention, unlike the classics (Ghidorah and DAM) from the series.

Was it because they portrayed polution as an even worse threat than nuclear radiation?

Only Tanaka can answer that. Looking at the world though, the last 37 years has seen a much more dangerous threat from pollution than from nuclear radiation.

Was it because of the trippy animation and cinematography?

Tanaka was not a fan of Save the Earth? lol

Was it because Godzilla was portrayed as sort of a green Superman?

Godzilla had already switched to good guy long before '71

Was it because Godzilla was a dwarfed by the monster?

I don't know, Ghidorah was taller than Godzilla. Even Mothra was huge compared to Godzilla in '64 and again in '66

Was it because Godzilla was constantly on his back or against the ropes?

Maybe. Tanaka figured G was too powerful to be taken advantage of like he was with Hedorah.

Was it because of the infamous "flying backwards" scene?

Maybe. However flying backwards comes off better than G's tail-kick in Megalon.


I guess it does come down to the pollution factor. Oh well, it's Toho's loss. There are many G-fans who love the film, and some G-fans that would rather watch Hedorah than DAM :)

I can see why Tanaka might not like it. It's fairly bizzare with a lot of odd things that seem to go unexplained. I actually really enjoy it but I can see why others might have been less than thrilled with it.

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"Was it because they portrayed polution as an even worse threat than nuclear radiation?
Was it because of the trippy animation and cinematography?
Was it because Godzilla was portrayed as sort of a green Superman?
Was it because Godzilla was a dwarfed by the monster?
Was it because Godzilla was constantly on his back or against the ropes?
Was it because of the infamous "flying backwards" scene?"

None of those are it. Tanaka was hospitalized during the entirety of the shooting of this movie, so he had no clue what sort of movie was being made. When he saw Banno's finished product was the first time he knew anything detailed about the movie.

But the pollution thing is why Tanaka hired Banno. He thought it was an interesting angle to come from. He did however, have an adverse reaction to the flying sequence... which actually was put into the movie because the film was running a little short.

And Tanaka actually did turn to Banno several times later (particularly in the late 70s when he was trying unsuccessfully to continue the series). Banno co-wrote and was 1st Assistant Director of "Prophecies of Nostradamus (Catastrophe 1999)" and Banno was originally hired as director for "Terror of Mechagodzilla". However, his ideas proved to be too much so he didn't get to work on another Godzilla movie.

By the bye, Godzilla's not green. He's charcoal grey (except for in "vs. Biollante", 2000, and "vs. Megaguirus")

You've got a discotheque with a girl singing in a flesh colored body suit and a guy hallucinating he's seeing everyone with fish heads; a bonfire with a folk guitar that turns into an electric rave to change the world; animated sequences throughout; bodies pile up; dark rather than light - it was a generation gap issue I believe.

And that's why it made an opposite, positive and powerful impression on me when young. : )