19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Godzilla Fest 2025
The Balboa Theatre's annual Godzilla Fest returns with 20 kaiju (giant monster) films, from the 1954 original to 2023's astounding Oscar-winning 'Godzilla Minus One,' over three days beginning Friday, July 18.
What started as an allegory for the atomic age in the fest's first film, 'Gojira' (4 p.m. Friday), released in the United States in a re-edited dubbed version called 'Godzilla' in 1956, has gone on to address monstrous issues. Among the weighty topics Godzilla has taken on: The Cold War and the desire for world peace in 1965's 'Invasion of the Astro-Monster' (7 p.m. Friday), environmentalism (1971's 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah,' 2:30 p.m. Saturday), genetic tampering and junk science (1989's 'Godzilla vs. Biollante,' 4 p.m. Sunday), postwar and pact-traumatic stress ('Godzilla Minus One,' 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday). But occasionally, there's no message at all, just monsters going at it (1973's 'Godzilla vs. Megalon,' noon Saturday).
Want the most bang for your buck? Try 1968's 'Destroy All Monsters' (noon Sunday), which features no less than 11 kaijus, including Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah.
Sometimes Godzilla is the villain, sometimes he's the hero. Some of the films are campy, others are darkly serious. But they contain rage, arrogance, tenderness, destruction, reinvention, treachery, family, ingenuity and a desire for the greater good. In other words, the monsters are ourselves.
— G. Allen Johnson
