Memories from the Millennium

4.5.2021

It was 1999 and the world was gripped by the pending Y2K problem. As the build up to the new millennium had begun, Toho was also as it prepared to release its newest movie Godzilla Millennium (aka, Godzilla 2000, Godzilla 1999) after his death in the Heisei classic Godzilla vs Destoroyah (1995). The wait for a new Japanese Godzilla movie was nine years long as it was between the Showa Terror of MechaGodzilla (1975) and the opening of Heisei era with Godzilla (1884). The new release had been catalyzed by the American Godzilla released just a year before in 1998. That Godzilla was not so affectionately called “Zilla.” I believe that Toho wrestled back Godzilla to restore the damage done.

In 1999, the Internet was in its infancy. At that time, I was working as a graphic designer/web designer at the public relations and advertising agency Crawley Haskins & Rodgers in Philadelphia. With Y2K approaching, at work we were concerned about our data and we were taking the steps to protect our computers. I remember checking out godzilla.co.jp during my lunch breaks to keep up with the updates for the new movie. To promote the movie, Toho decided to broadcast a portion of the making of Godzilla Millennium online. In hindsight, this was a pioneering move in those days.

I planned to watch it live but that required staying up until early in the morning. And there was no guarantee I would see much of anything. In those days, there was no broadband like we have now. Websites were designed for 640×480-pixels low-resolution monitors that were just as big as the computers to which they were attached. We used dial-up modems and I’m sure I was using America Online (AOL) as my internet provider. These were the days of the browser wars between IE and Netscape. But I would have it another way. I’m glad to have lived through the birth and infancy of the Internet.

My room and computer set up back in 1998

Well, a couple days ago while searching files from my old backup drives, I came across an old .mov file of the live online broadcast of the making of Godzilla Millennium (1999年7月11日(日) ライブ 録映画, 場所: 東宝 砧撮影所) from Sunday, July 11, 1999 Live Filming at Toho Hikari Studio. What I remember at first was a dark screen that made me think something was wrong. Although it was a short live event, it was so cool for that time. Along with that video, I found a promotion video and movie trailer. Their resolutions are low and ratio small, but they are a blast from the past.

Videos and images of Godzilla and related characters are trademarks of Toho Co. Ltd. and are used solely for illustrative purposes.