Home » The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters Book Review

The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters Book Review

When the Japanese film company Toho released their first Godzilla movie back in 1954, they couldn’t have anticipated the sheer phenomenon they’d created, with the giant monster not only going on to be loved by fans all over the globe but also becoming the centre of the world’s longest continuously running movie franchise.

Now, the popular kaiju’s back on the big screen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which is the subject of a stunning new hardback tome from Titan Books. Author Abbie Bernstein’s The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters takes us on a monstrously entertaining journey through the making of the blockbuster movie from Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.

There’s a mountain of jaw-dropping concept art and plenty of on-set photos throughout the book which is split into chapters brimming with details on the movie’s four main monsters Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah, as well as the central human characters played by actors such as Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring movies), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai), and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), and we also get info on the key locations where the action takes place.

Over the course of 190+ pages, Bernstein’s writing gives us intriguing behind-the-scenes insight into the film’s production process with information coming straight from the mouths of writer-director Michael Dougherty and his crew including production designer Scott Chambliss, set decorator Amanda Moss Serino, senior conceptual designer George Hull, and visual effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron. So, expect to learn the secrets behind the eye design on Mothra’s wings, why and how they made a huge King Ghidorah tooth to use on set, when actors provided motion-capture for the monsters in certain sequences, and why Millie Bobby Brown’s costume was fitted with a stealth cooling system!

Final Words: Absolutely gorgeous concept art and stacks of info on how these amazing monsters were brought to life on the big screen make this book a real joy for Godzilla fans.

Rating: 4.5 / 5      

Jan Gilbert

Jan Gilbert is the founder of Flicks And The City.

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