Godzilla vs Hedorah : 2 of 5

My Godzilla watching habit has brought me to the 11th movie of the series made in 1971, Godzilla vs Hedorah (which I always knew as Godzilla vs the Smog Monster). This Godzilla movie is pretty unique for several reasons, including the huge anti-pollution message, spaced-out hippie teenage characters, off the wall animated segments, a groovy go-go nightclub music number, and an appalling lack of any character development! At least it has some great monster battles with Hedorah, probably the most disgusting Godzilla enemy of them all. Hedorah starts as a weird tadpole spawned by polluted waters, then evolves to a walking form. After he comes on land, he sucks on factory smokestacks like giant cigarettes, which gives him the power to transform into a flying manta ray, and eventually an even larger walking version, who can dissolve people down to their bones with his poisonous smog! By this point in the series Godzilla has become a full-time hero, and even appears for the first time with a new fanfare against a setting sun background. When the scientists discover that Hedorah can be "dried out" by a huge electric shock, Godzilla helps lure Hedorah into the right spot, then even powers the electrical device with his atomic breath! Unfortunately, he then uses his breath to levitate himself and fly, which has to be the dumbest Godzilla move ever. Thankfully, this DVD is another Sony release with the original Japanese soundtrack and good quality widescreen presentation, but of course there are no bonus features on the disc. It's hard to describe just how weird this movie is, since it doesn't feel anything like the previous Godzilla movies, but I enjoyed it anyway, and of course I'm ready to take on the next feature!