Everything You Always Wanted To Know About 'Godzilla'

Above, the Godzilla statue at Toho Studios. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

What is the longest-running movie franchise in cinema history?

Godzilla, of course!

The ctpost  (CT as in Connecticut) has an article on "Everything you always wanted to know about 'Godzilla'".

It starts with:

He’s the big guy with the radioactive breath who’s been the scourge of Tokyo and other Japanese cities for more than 60 years. 

“Godzilla,” aka “Gojira,” was the Japanese film industry’s attempt to create a giant monster to rival Hollywood’s King Kong. A smash hit in Japan in 1954, the movie made a very successful trip across the Pacific two years later, scaring and delighting American audiences. 

Godzilla would go on to star in 29 Japanese productions and two Hollywood versions — one a terrible flop and the other a global hit — becoming the longest running franchise in film history. (The beast arrived on screen eight years before James Bond.) 

Bridgeport horror movie blogger and film historian Brian Solomon has channeled his lifelong interest in the series into “Godzilla FAQ” (Applause Books), which covers each film and most of the major performers and artists who have worked on them. Whether you browse the book or read it cover to cover, you will see how the original 1954 hit became one of the most potent global pop-culture creations of the 20th century.

To read more, go here.