Destroy All Fridays

Yeah, it's another Godzilla post and yes, this one (like all others) carries no great meaning with it, except that it's represented by two of my favorite movie posters of all time, even forty-some years after its release.

I suppose the question which arises is why? Is Destroy All Monsters that good of a film? No, it's not, but the concept is classic, as are the posters. I have my own tales to tell, perhaps, but in this case, I think it best to let (none other than) my brother do the talking (paraphrased for the sake of brevity and needless digression):

"The thing about Destroy All Monsters is partially due to context. The film was released in 1969 (in the United States) which, on the one hand, doesn't negate its flaws (of which there are many), but on the other, really tells you something. By that, I mean the major film franchises many people have grown up with -Indiana Jones, Star Wars, the Star Trek films, and to a lesser extent, Robocop, Terminator, etc.- didn't exist back then, and the notion of all these spectacular monsters duking it out really appealed to kids. I clearly remember the initial Creature Features broadcast of Destroy All Monsters and thinking to myself, Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, Ghidorah, and other monsters in a battle to the finish? This is going to be (FUCKING) AWESOME! and, sure, the film itself is somewhat lacking in the free-for-all department, but even so, the climactic battle in which Ghidorah takes on virtually all of the classic Toho monsters -at the foot of Mt. Fuji, no less- was a sight to behold. Ultimately, people take this sort of thing for granted nowadays and..."

At this point, my brother's accolades of Destroy All Monsters transform into a rant about the fickleness of audiences today and, well, you know, I feel the need to truncate his soliloquy, but nevertheless, I agree with his statement regarding the sheer awe of a child preparing themselves for the onslaught of monster mayhem depicted in Destroy All Monsters because I too felt such anticipation just prior to the first time I saw the film. Even now, though the film's appeal has been somewhat lost to me, the posters evoke feelings of wonderment. Call me sentimental, and all that.

P.S. A synopsis of the film can be viewed here.