Getting accurate information and history for giant monster films is difficult. There are a lot of voices out there and many of those voices are spouting the same five facts reported on ages ago and of those 5 facts one of them is always King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) has two endings, which is a lie. There is only one ending to King Kong vs. Godzilla both in Japan and in America. As such, this article will be about books to read up on if you’re looking for accurate information upon the creation of this genre we all love. (We will be opting out of referencing or recommending Essay books. They are by no means bad books as they are ripe with new ways to interpret the movies but they deserve an article all their own as they offer a different experience.)
If you are just getting into the genre then first of all WELCOME, second of all here are a few books that will really help you to flesh out your fandom.
John Lemay is a great resource as his books are really easy to read and filled with information. In both volumes of his Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies series he gives an exhaustive list of movies that fall under the purview of the Daikaiju genre. He gives entertaining reviews of all the films within his book, however this is not just a mere review compilation. He gives a very entertaining array of trivia tidbits for each film, many of which are sourced directly from Japanese publications. These tidbits are not intensely in-depth, however they are very useful for verifying info as there have been many times I’ve been able to use it as a secondary source. Lemay is a very easy to read author and I found myself enjoying his insights even for films that I had read up on and seen hundreds of times.
While on the subject of Lemay, his work progresses from general overviews to incredibly in-depth nerdery. For example, he has an entire book solely focused on the screenwriting process for Kaiju movies. Writing Japanese Monsters: From the Files of the Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies takes a very specific and direct approach at one part of the filmmaking process. Lately, Lemay has been focusing on making a name for himself by exploring the world of unmade movies; detailing unmade scripts and unmade treatments. It is fascinating to look into the world of possibilities for what could have been. He has done books on unmade Kaiju movies, unmade tokusatsu movies, unmade King Kong movies, and, most recently, unmade Jaws movies. These are outstanding reads and really give some insight into some truly insane ideas pitched for Godzilla movies throughout the years. Recently the Kaijusaurus podcast created a project called Godzilla Unmade where they wrote, edited, and produced some of these unmade scripts. It is a must-listen as it is tremendously entertaining.
John Lemay is a more contemporary writer with contemporary works. The next few books we will be discussing were all released within the time frame of the 1997 to 1998 hype train for Godzilla’s first American outing. First and foremost, let me detail my personal holy grail: Guy Tucker’s Age of the Gods (1996). This film is very out of print and very hard to track down. His work has been referenced in many of the other books we’ll talk about today and one day I will track it down. For now, however, it remains a blindspot.
If you were a DVD collector in the early 2000’s, the following names will be familiar to you as they did the majority of the commentaries on the Classic Media releases of many of the older Toho films released in that time. In fact, their special feature work and their commentaries make those old DVDs essential owning for Kaiju fans. If the label says ‘Classic Media’, hold onto that disc. First and foremost let’s talk about the Kings of Showa Godzilla, Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski. Together they would write the essential biography on director Ishiro Honda called Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Before releasing that groundbreaking wor,k Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski released two books of their own about the big G. Steve Ryle’s Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of “The Big G” and Godziszewski’s The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla. Unfortunately, Godziszewski’s book is nigh impossible to track down but you can find copies of Ryfle’s long out of print book. Ryfle has a load of information in his book and does not mince words about movies in the franchise he feels aren’t up to snuff.
Next up we have David Kalat who wrote the fantastic A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series. It may at first appear to just be a series of reviews but I assure you the book is so much more. There are two editions of Kalat’s book and it is an entertaining but thorough read. Thankfully Kalat’s Godzilla book is easy to track down being easily available physically and digitally. A later book by Kalat on J-Horror is of special interest to fans of this website as well.
Last but certainly not least from this batch of Classic Media commentators/authors is Stuart Galbraith IV and his outstanding book Monsters Are Attacking Tokyo. This book is long out of print but it has been digitized and is available as an eBook directly from the publisher’s website and it is definitely worth reading. The book is mainly filled with interviews and it does not shy away from diving into Tokusatsu films outside of the Godzilla franchise. Galbraith dives deep talking to a lot of people that have no other interviews in the English language. It is a delight to read and is an essential resource for G-fans. This is an absolute must-read book and not enough people have tracked it down due to the digital versions being seemingly unknown by most fans.
And finally we have the book by legendary Kaiju scholar August Ragone. In 2007, he released the absolutely beautiful Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters. It is a giant coffee table book that is chock full of outstanding information and has beautiful photos to boot. Recently Toho has been releasing small booklets full of photos and behind the scenes information on various Toho creations. I mention them only to showcase that Ragone’s book does everything they do but better, at least in terms of work related to Tsuburaya. This is another book that is unfortunately out of print but is definitely worth tracking down if you can. The information contained within gives you a great appreciation for effects work that is oft-maligned stateside. There is so much to love about what Tsuburaya and his team achieved and there’s no better celebration of his life. This book pairs well with the Ishiro Honda biography as they both serve to give you a deeper appreciation for the creative forces at work behind the camera.
That is just a brief overview of a few books you really should check out. If I opted not to put a book on here or did not discuss it that is not an insult to the author in question, it is more than likely a case that I have not had a chance to read the books themselves. This is particularly true with Peter H. Brothers bibliography and William Tsutsui’s books. I intend to dive into their work, but as of now I have not.
Master List:
The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies Vol. 1 and 2 by John Lemay
Writing Japanese Monsters: From the Files of the Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies by John Lemay
The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films by John Lemay
Kong Unmade: The Lost Films of Skull Island by John Lemay
Terror of the Lost Tokusatsu Films by John Lemay
Age of the Gods by Guy Mariner Tucker
Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski
Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of “The Big G” by Steve Ryfle
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla by Ed Godziszewski
A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series by David Kalat
J-Horror: The Definitive Guide to The Ring, The Grudge and Beyond by David Kalat
Monsters are attacking Tokyo by Stuart Galbraith IV
Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters by August Ragone
