Customer Reviews

The Official Godzilla Compendium: A 40 Year Retrospective

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This official compendium of Godzilla adoration offers nothing that any serious or longtime fan of The Big G doesn't already know, but it DOES offer a huge amount of stills - something the superior unauthorized tomes do not. Although weakened by a lack of detail (not mentioned are the prickly facts of Toho's shrinking budgets, the overuse of stock footage, etc.) and glowing reviews of every single movie in the series without bothering to mention their individual shortcomings (although it is nice to read commentary on Godzilla versus Megalon that doesn't grind the doofy flick into the dirt) this book would be a welcome addition in any true fan's library, just based on the stills and artwork alone. Highly recommended.

If I could I would give it 6 stars ... It is a great source of data. If you want all the little deatials, get all the godzilla web sites and print them out. It has info about ALL monsters in godzilla films, not just Godzilla. It has info on movies, too. There are a few other things on Gozilla, too.

First off, this book is appreciating at a better clip than the stock market: I picked up my copy four years ago for what I thought was the catastrophic sum of $35.00. How many of your investments have more than doubled in value over the last four years?

But that is the WORST reason to buy this book! Buy it because it is possibly the very best source book on Godzilla. Buy it because it's well put together, well-made, well-written and lavishly illustrated. Buy it because, well, because it's about Godzilla.

Sure, if you're reading this you probably ought, by general opinion, to have outgrown any childish fascination or affection for a guy in a rubber suit stomping a cardboard Tokyo. You probably shouldn't speed on the highway, ride fast motorcycles or make rude gestures at the television news people either and stop eating raviolis out of the can, would 'ya???

It's not the inner child or any of that psycho-nonsense that motivates you to a) keep reading this even if you know it's nuts and b) keep faith with the Maximum Lizard, his films, books and exploits. It's the 'enduring' child: the continuing ability to be delighted, to wonder and, quite frankly, enjoy watching major urban areas get trashed by something wilder than your average daydream but not nearly as scary as reality.

Unless your investments have been paying off nicely or you've been selling oil to the government, you might want to put this on your wish list and make nice with firends and relatives. Godzilla approves of social harmony in a sort of offhand, one-more-thing-to-stomp way.

This fairly slim book certainly lives up to the description of what a compendium is supposed to be: `a brief, complete summary, or abstract'. Glossy stills, plot line summaries, brief reviews [favorable of course], color plates, and the great poster art for each film are presented in this Godzilla overview. With the recent release of some of the Heisei [second] series on DVD I've been indulging this guilty pleasure and started getting back into Gojira after having seen his films and being a fan through my childhood. It was such a pleasure to visit the Heisei series after the American version debacle. This books gave me a nice update on what to expect from the updated series. The guest essays appear to be filler, but they're humourous; Godzilla as a dinosaur, and parenting techniques via Godzilla [honey, you blow smoke rings, you'll get your tail stepped on]. Next up is the more in depth study, `Monsters are Attacking Tokyo', and the Best of Godzilla soundtracks. <grin> How many books can you read that bring a nostalgic smile to your face, remembering these films from your childhood, and allow you to look forward to seeing ones that still haven't been released on DVD or in the US originally. Recommended to new and old fans.

The compendium is absolutely THE reference book for fans in the U.S.! Although with the internet, many of us can access other books about Godzilla. But this one is one of the best out there on Godzilla! I must have for any fan of the series!

I thought that this was an AWESOME book, I mean it had everything. (well almost everyhing, it was mostly bent on the photos more than text, but whatever)I must admit that my collection is complete with this book. Check it out if you haven't read it. SOME adults will enjoy it if you are a DIE HARD Godzilla fan (Like me!!). But all in all it was a good book. I will have to recomend it to anyone who would like an extra Godzilla treat!!

This book is supposed to be a complete guide to the Toho Godzilla universe, but it hardly goes into enough depth to satisfy more serious fans. The writing style implicates that it was obviously written for younger fans. I myself got it as a present at a very young age (I think I was seven) and this book was my bible. The movie guides are somewhat indepth, each having a synopsis and some afterthoughts by the author. The afterthoughts cover the special effects and actors as well as short, always positive reviews. There are some other various features in the book, adn then in the back there is probably the greatest reason for one to buy this book: a complete guide to the monsters in each movie, with specific facts about their size and appearances with interesting illustrations. Pretty good eye candy, but the rest of the book is a little bland. Kids will love it.

This book is loaded with stuff: plot summaries, pictures and stills from the movie, original posters, info on the monsters, etc. This book is the best! I got it for my 7th birthday when I was in 1st grade. Me and my parents read it together and finished in three months. Even though it's not an action book like Godzilla Returns (Marc Cerasini), Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Scot Cieicen) and others, it rocks! A must-have for any Godzilla freak!

This "official" book has great color photos and reproductions of the original film posters, but the text is aimed at kids. The film reviews are glossy puff-pieces, and the film history is breezy & uncomplicated. Steve Ryfle "Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of 'The Big G'" is more complete, but wasn't approved by Toho or TriStar, so it's photo selection is terribly inadequate. Get both of these books, and you'll have it ALL on Godzilla.

I love this book, I carry it in my back pack every where, but my only complant is that it dosn't tell you the japanese plot summery for Gojira, but other then that go and buy it if you haven't read it!