–Photo courtesy of the public domain

Here’s a new feature at Roads Lesser Traveled, the Retro Ad of the Week.

In honor of Godzilla: Minus One’s 8 awards at the Japanese Academy Awards including Best Picture, and last night’s Oscar take home for Best Special Effects, here’s a fun flashback to 1984. This is when Toho Studios dropped its 16th Godzilla film (out of 37 total before Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits later this month) of the Emperor Shōwa era which ceased in 1989.

Titled in Japan as The Return of Godzilla, this was, like Minus One, an intended return to the King of the Monsters’ horror roots after casting him as a silly kaiju hero in most of the films preceding it. For its time and for the technology available, this was a pretty rockin’ outing overall, especially with its gruesome opening segments. In America, this came out a year later, recut with added footage (in the same fashion as the original 1954 Gojira) to include Raymond Burr, reprising his transcontinental reporter’s role–titled over here as Godzilla 1985, heavy sigh.

If you seek this one out, go Toho.

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.