Godzilla: The First 70 Years: The Official Illustrated History, 1954-2024

An epic celebration of Godzilla’s 70th anniversary, exploring every aspect of the creation, design, and evolution of King of the Monsters in Toho Studios’ films and TV series from 1954 to the present

Godzilla: The First 70 Years is a narrative and visual history of Japan’s King of the Monsters, chronicling the triumphs, challenges, and meaning of seven decades of city-trashing, kaiju-smashing mayhem.

It’s also a tribute to Godzilla’s creators and costars--the filmmakers, special-effects wizards, cast members, even the stuntmen inside the monster suit--and an appreciation of the behind-the-scenes artistry involved in bringing Godzilla to cinematic life, then and now.

Extensive visuals detail the evolution of kaiju design, as well as profile the creative contribution and SFX developments across seven decades of exceptional filmmaking and innovation.

Exclusive behind-the-scenes photography, production materials, posters, and lobby cards showcase:

• The Showa Era films (1954-1975)
• The Heisei Era films (1984-1995)
• The Millennium Series (1999-2004)
• Animated works
• Shin Godzilla (Japan’s Picture of the Year, 2016)
• Academy Award-winning 2023 box-office phenomenon Godzilla Minus One

Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski are co-authors of Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film from Godzilla to Kurosawa (Wesleyan University Press, 2017), which the Times of London Literary Supplement called ＂a landmark work.＂ Both are leading authorities on Japanese science fiction and fantasy cinema, and together they have recorded numerous audio commentaries for films released on Bluray and DVD. They coproduced and cowrote the feature-length documentary film Bringing Godzilla Down to Size(2008), which the Hollywood Reporter praised for its ＂gritty details.＂