It’s not just the inaugural AAPI issue. We’re also trying something new in Calendar to cover film in North Texas. Fort Worth doesn’t just show movies. It shows up in them. From local shoots and films made in (and about) Texas to screenings at Alamo, Coyote Drive-In, Texas Theater, and all our other favorite spots, if it’s got roots here, it’s … Worth your time. This new column will take a closer look at films made in, set in, or shaped by the people and places of North Texas and let you know where to see them in Fort Worth or in our cinematic sister cities. Welcome to Reel Worth.
For our first go-round, Weekly contributor Danny Gallagher is reviewing the next film in the TohoScope series at Alamo Drafthouse, featuring films from the legendary Yoshimitsu Banno of Toho Studios, the Japanese company that helped define monster movies as we know them today. Each Toho screening features a custom menu packed with themed entrees and cocktails, from Blue Fire and Godzilla Punch to Monster Fries and the all-powerful Boneless King Wings. And now, I’ve told you all that I know. Danny will take it from here. — Elaine Wilder
Reel Worth: Godzilla vs. Hedorah
You can’t call yourself a Godzilla fan if you haven’t seen this iconic tale of two towering monsters. If you’re trying to point a future Godzilla fan toward the franchise, there are several you can recommend. If you want to be boring and unoriginal, you could recommend the original 1954 release by Ishiro Honda. If you want your friend to truly understand the beauty and purpose of the Godzilla films, then Godzilla vs. Hedorah should be first on your recommendation list.
The 11th film in the iconic Godzilla franchise will be part of the Alamo Drafthouse’s upcoming TohoScope series, featuring some of the best and rarest films in Toho Studios’ storied kaiju movie franchise.
The name “Hedorah” may not be as synonymous or recognizable as Godzilla villains like Mothra or Rodan, but it should be recognized by all fans of the genre for the way the film plays with the Godzilla formula like no other title in the series. In fact, some of the iconic staples of Godzilla films and the giant-monster movie genre come from this classic 1971 entry in the series.
This time, Tokyo’s favorite city-crushing monster has to contend with the very forces of nature in the form of a giant mutant tadpole. The American title of the film refers to Hedorah as “The Smog Monster” because it’s born of polluted waterways created by humans. Once again, man muddles in forces it cannot possibly control, and society pays a deep price for its mistake.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah is more than just an excuse to watch two actors in ridiculous rubber suits pound the snot out of each other. Just as the original Godzilla is a cautionary satire about the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the sulfur-spitting Hedorah is a warning about the dangers of unchecked and untreated pollution.
Still, the movie doesn’t waste time getting to the showdown that the title promised you on the poster. You get the kind of no-holds-barred battle royale between the titular monsters from the start. Hedorah isn’t a Jaws-like creature that the audience doesn’t see until the final third of the movie. He’s propped up as the flick’s main threat in the first five minutes, even if all you can see of him at first are his glowing red eyes peering out of the surface of the water.
The action is interspersed with beautiful animations that hint at Hedorah’s existence and a soundtrack of late ’60s-inspired rock that furthers the film’s cautionary narrative.
Just like the original Godzilla, it’s more than just a monster movie. It’s not just about watching two beasts fighting in the cities that birthed them. It’s a deep allegory about something far more destructive to the Earth and its inhabitants than a giant monster.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah screens at noon at Alamo Los Colinas (320 W Las Colinas Blvd, 214-252-7550) and at 4pm at Alamo Denton (3220 Town Center Tr, 940-441-4233). Tickets are $10.49 at Drafthouse.com. — Danny Gallagher
