Monsters Inc.

This June 20th marked the 39th anniversary of one of the most classic monster movies of all time. Based on an original novel by Peter Benchley, Jaws was a smash hit that briefly held the record of the world's highest-grossing film (Star Wars would claim the top spot just a few years later). With an Oscar-winning score, and one of the most famous film lines in Hollywood history ("You're gonna need a bigger boat"), this story of a great white shark terrorizing the tourists of Amity Island arguably invented the modern-day summer blockbuster.

But "Bruce" (the nickname given to the giant, animatronic shark used in shooting the film) was not the first great movie monster, and certainly not the last. Read on to see our top five picks of the film world's most famous -- and infamous -- movie monsters.


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5. The Alien

Killer aliens have been a dime a dozen in Hollywood for decades, showing up in everything from The Avengers to Independence Day. But for the ultimate in alien monsters, the title character of director Ridley Scott's Alien series is surely in the top spot.

These monsters have a complex -- and completely horrifying -- growth cycle, implanting their eggs inside human hosts only to have their baby "chestbursters" live up to their names in gruesome and bloody film spectacle. Luckily, Sigourney Weaver's tough-as-nails Ellen Ripley is exactly the heroine needed to keep these Aliens, and their Queen, at bay.

Still, even with Ripley on the side of humanity, this is one movie monster you wouldn't want to meet!

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4. Cujo

From artist Laz Marquez

He didn't start out a monster. Before being bitten by a rabid bat, Cujo was a sweet and good-natured St. Bernard, who wanted nothing more than to be a good dog and please his masters. Of course, it's precisely his gentle nature that makes Cujo's transformation from family friend to rabid beast so horrifying.

Both the film and the original Stephen King novel follow the story of Donna Trenton and her young son, Tad. Though Cujo is not the Trentons' dog, it is Donna and Tad who end up trapped in a stalled car, facing off against the now-monstrous Cujo. With no way out and no way to contact help, it becomes a race against time for Donna to get herself and her young son to safety. And if you think you know how the story ends, well ...

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3. Gizmo

This cuddly little stuffed animal doesn't look deserving of a place on a list of classic monsters. But that's the thing about gremlins: if you want to keep them cute and cuddly, there's three very specific rules to follow. Don't get them wet, don't expose them to bright lights -- and, whatever you do, no matter how much they beg, never feed them after midnight.

But, of course, nobody wants a monster movie where everything goes according to plan. When young Billy Peltzer fails to follow the rules about his new pet, hilarity -- and horror -- promptly ensue. While it's a bit of family-friendly fare for older kids, this movie is notable for helping to bring about the classification of a new movie rating: PG-13.

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2. King Kong

He's not completely monstrous -- maybe just a little misunderstood. Kong, a giant gorilla living a solitary life on a little-visited island, is captured by an ill-intentioned filmmaker who plans to bring Kong back to New York City and show him off as "the eighth wonder of the world."

This goes off about as well as can be expected, and the only thing which keeps Kong from bringing down the whole city is a squadron of fighter jets ... and Ann Darrow, the beautiful actress who Kong wants only to protect. The film ends with another line that lives on in movie history: "Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes ... it was Beauty killed the Beast."

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1. Godzilla

With 28 films made by the Japanese production company Toho Studios (and several more American adaptations), Godzilla is arguably the most famous movie monster of all time. Originally appearing on the silver screen less than a decade after the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla himself served as a metaphor for the horrors of nuclear power. Awakened and fueled by nuclear energy, Godzilla had catastrophic effects on the cities he attacked.

At least, at first. As time went on, and Godzilla became embedded in the public consciousness, the character saw a shift -- changing from mindless monster to unlikely hero. These days, a Godzilla movie is more likely to show this dinosaur-like creature fighting off other monstrous "enemies" and saving the humans around him -- as can be seen in the new blockbuster film released this summer.

(And no, we don't speak of the 1998 Matthew Broderick film. We just don't.)

-- Request the original 1954 film from the Catalog

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-- Request  "Godzilla: Final Wars" from the Catalog

Listen to the classic "Jaws" theme here

-- Post by Ms. B 

Staff Recommendation #21: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

To put it bluntly, I am not an adventurous person. I tend to stick to what I know and what I'm familiar with, although since meeting my husband I have opened up a bit to the idea of adventure. That is one of the reasons I identified so much with the author of this fascinating and, dare I say it, adventurous look at one man's search for a great lost city in the Amazon.

The author, David Grann, who readily admits to having trouble with directions and even forgetting where he is on the subway, sets out to find out what made Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett so obsessed with finding the lost city of Z. This book tells the story of Grann trying to understand Fawcett's obsession and learning about who Fawcett was and what happened to him after he disappeared into the Amazon in 1925, never to be heard from again.

Percy Fawcett was the last of the great English explorers. Born in 1867, Fawcett joined the British Army at the age of 19. The next twenty years of his life were spent in the service stationed mainly in Sri Lanka, where his love of exploration seems to have started. It is also where he met his future wife, Nina. Nina would turn out to be his most ardent and supportive fan, even though they would spend more of their married life apart than together.

In 1906, after studying to be a surveyor with the Royal Geographical Society, he was hired to to survey the disputed border of Bolivia, Peru and Brazil. This would begin a nearly 20 year connection to this untamed portion of South America and to his eventual disappearance, along with his son Jack and Jack's best friend Raleigh, in 1925.

Percy Fawcett

During this first trip, and many more that followed, Fawcett began hearing stories of "white" Indians and lost cities deep in the Amazon. Many stories referred to a place called El Dorado. With his fierce determination and love of exploring, Fawcett was convinced that he could find this lost city that he named "Z."

David Grann, on the other hand, always had a love of adventure stories, but was not the adventurous type. But when he stumbled upon mention of Fawcett while working on another story, he was hooked. This fascination with Fawcett would lead Grann to England, where he meets with Fawcett's granddaughter, and eventually to Brazil, where he attempts to find out what happened to Fawcett and maybe even find the Lost City of Z himself.

The story of Fawcett would have been interesting enough, but adding Grann's own story to the mix makes it a much more relatable tale. Grann leaves behind his wife and young child in much the same way that Fawcett left behind his family in search of something that may not even exist.

I found this to be a fascinating look at what drives humans to want to explore the unknown. While I'm not sure I understand it anymore than I did before, it was a great adventure to "tag" along with Grann and Fawcett on.

If you are looking for a little adventure, but want to experience it vicariously, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon is the book for you!


-- Post by Tracy