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Godzilla - Das Original (1954)

Gojira (original title)
Not Rated | | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | 7 May 2004 (USA)
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Takarada ...
Momoko Kôchi ...
Akihiko Hirata ...
...
Fuyuki Murakami ...
Sachio Sakai ...
Toranosuke Ogawa ...
President of Company
Ren Yamamoto ...
Hiroshi Hayashi ...
Chairman of Diet Committee
Seijirô Onda ...
Tsuruko Mano ...
Takeo Oikawa ...
Chief of Emergency Headquarters
Toyoaki Suzuki ...
Kokuten Kôdô ...
The Old Fisherman (as Kuninori Kôdô)
Tadashi Okabe ...
Prof. Tanabe's Assistant
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Storyline

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships explode and are sunk. At first, the authorities think its either underwater mines or underwater volcanic activity. The authorities soon head to Odo Island, close to where several of the ships were sunk. One night, something comes onshore and destroys several houses and kills several people. A later expedition to the island led by paleontologist Professor Kyôhei Yamane, his daughter Emiko, and young navy frogman Hideto Ogata (who also happens to be Emiko's lover, even though she is betrothed to Dr. Daisuke Serizawa) soon discover something more devastating than imagined in the form of a 164-foot-tall (50-meter-tall) monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now, the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan but the rest of the world as well. Can the monster be destroyed before it is too late, and what role will the mysterious Serizawa play in the battle? Written by Brian Washington <Sargebri@att.net>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

spewing flames that scorch the earth! See more »


Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

7 May 2004 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Godzilla  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$38,030 (USA) (7 May 2004)

Gross:

$10,903 (USA) (18 April 2014)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Akira Takarada was originally cast as Dr. Serizawa and Akihiko Hirata was to play Ogata. It was reportedly director Ishirô Honda who felt that Hirata was more suited for the darker tragic hero of Serizawa. Honda had the actors switch roles. See more »

Goofs

As the monster lumbers through Tokyo, the emergency officials are shown evacuating their office just before the building is wrecked by Gojira. After the office has been destroyed, a shot shows the monster's tail outside the wrecked building, and the wires holding up the tail are plainly visible. See more »

Quotes

Chief of Emergency Headquarters: This is quite a problem, professor. If this keeps up, we'll have to suspend the international shipping routes. Have you found a way? Is there something we can do to defeat it?
Kyohei Yamane-hakase: So, that's it...
Chairman of Diet Committee: Professor Yamane, let's be honest. If there's a way to defeat Godzilla, we need to know.
Kyohei Yamane-hakase: It's impossible! Godzilla absorbed massive amounts of atomic radiation and yet it still survived! What do you think could kill it? Instead, we should focus on why it is still alive. That should be our top priority!
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Robot Chicken: Celebutard Mountain (2007) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Crushes its sequels like Godzilla crushes Tokyo!
8 March 2004 | by (Brooklyn, NY) – See all my reviews

The original, Japanese version of "Gojira" is the best giant monster film I've ever seen. Some fans get carried away and call it one of the best movies ever made; I wouldn't go quite that far, but it's damn good.

This film is quite different from the 20+ sequels that followed. Here, Godzilla is not so much a creature as he is a walking incarnation of the atomic bomb. His death ray, which became a rather amusing cartoon laser blast in later films, is here depicted as a sort of radioactive mist that sets its victims on fire. These "radioactive horror" images still resonate today - and imagine the impact they must've had on Japanese audiences fifty years ago.

From a production standpoint, the film holds up well. Godzilla's costume is much more convincing than the silly monkey suits that featured in the 60s and 70s Toho films, and due to the grayscale photography, the model cityscapes look convincing in most shots - or at least respectable. Ifkube's music score is stirring (you know it has to be good, as they kept recycling it in later movies), and director Honda makes great use of camera angles and imaginative special effects to give Godzilla a genuine aura of menace.

For once, the human characters don't let the side down. There's a compelling love triangle, and a dramatic sacrifice made at the end of the film that adds enormously to its emotional impact. The American version ("Godzilla: King of the Monsters") cut out much of the character development, and is thus clearly inferior; but never fear, Rialto is apparently releasing "Gojira," in all its original glory, sometime this year (2004).

In the later Godzilla films, the destruction he causes is almost incidental. Here, it's the whole point - he's a force of nature. Impressive.


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