R. J. Kizer obit

R. J. Kizer, Director of the American Version of 'Godzilla 1985,' Passes Away at 73

 

He was not on the list.

According to Godzilla 1985 (1984) producer Tony Randel, Robert (R. J.) Kizer, director of the American inserts of Godzilla 1985, passed away a few days ago after a battle with cancer. He was 73.

I was fortunate to interview R. J. twice (first in 2007 and then in 2020) and then meet him in person twice (in 2024 and 2025). During our first in-person meeting in 2024, R. J. told me about working with Roger Corman at New World on Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and other such projects. I was genuinely surprised to learn just how mercurial Corman could be, as he always seemed so calm and level-headed in interviews. He also went into great detail about the making of the Roddy Piper vehicle Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988), the production of which was so bonkers I thought it'd make a great movie in its own right.

During our second visit, I gifted R. J. an unopened Blu-ray copy of Yojimbo (1961), which I no longer needed, as well as a VHS copy of Godzilla 1985 that I found at a thrift store. R. J. was very happy (though reluctant -- it took a bit of convincing on my part that I didn't need the disc anymore) to receive Yojimbo. He had a few Kurosawa movies in his collection, but Yojimbo wasn't one of them.

We talked more about Godzilla 1985 during our second meeting, and I was floored just how many more details he shared about the movie that weren't contained in either of our interviews. R. J. Kizer was a walking encyclopedia of film knowledge -- not just about his own movies -- and he was always willing to share his knowledge with me.

In particular, whenever I had a technical question about things related to cinematography or film editing for the interviews I was doing with Toho alumni, I could always ask R. J. for guidance, who wouldn't hesitate to pull out old books and give me the best answer he could. He would help me put those technical answers in ways that were accurate and made sense in English, and I'll always be grateful that the director of the last great Americanization of a Godzilla movie made time for me when I asked.

When we were returning to our cars in 2025, I asked R. J. what project was he most proud of. I thought I knew what he would say, but he surprisingly said none of them. I thought for sure he'd say Godzilla 1985, as it went on to make money and is still revered by fans to this day. I'm not sure I was able to convince him that he should be proud of his work on the film, but I wanted him to know that I certainly was proud of what he accomplished.

Frogtown Lives, good sir. Rest in peace.

 

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Producer

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Editorial Department

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Thanks

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the producers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of

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