Godzilla (1954)
"Gojira" (original title)

American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Ishirô Honda, Shigeru Kayama (story),

Stars:

Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Takarada	...	Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kôchi	...	Emiko Yamane
Akihiko Hirata	...	Daisuke Serizawa-hakase
Takashi Shimura	...	Kyohei Yamane-hakase
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Professor Tanabe
Sachio Sakai	...	Newspaper Reporter Hagiwara
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Nankai Shipping Company Manager
Ren Yamamoto	...	Masaji Sieji
Kan Hayashi	...	Chairman of Diet Committee
Takeo Oikawa	...	Chief of Emergency Headquarters
Seijirô Onda	...	Parliamentarian Oyama
Tsuruko Mano	...	Mrs. Sieji
Toyoaki Suzuki	...	Shinkichi Sieji
Kokuten Kôdô	...	The Old Fisherman
Kin Sugai	...	Ozawa-san

Storyline

A 164-foot-tall (50-meter-tall) monster reptile with radioactive breath is revived, thanks to nuclear testing. It goes on a mad rampage, destroying Tokyo - can it be stopped? Should it be killed?

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Plot Keywords:

monster | japan | gojira | nuclear weapon | death of title character | 

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Taglines:

Civilization crumbles as its death rays blast a city of 6 million from the face of the earth!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Classic Media [us] Rialto Pictures [us]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

7 May 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzilla

Filming Locations:

Toba, Mie, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

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

Gross:

$412,520 (USA) (17 December 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was a common misconception that the name "Godzilla" was Americanized by its US distributors from Gojira. The name Godzilla was actually the idea of Tôhô and its international sales division. "Godzilla" or "Go-dzi-la" is the proper pronunciation of "Gojira" in its native Japanese and Godzilla was described by Tôhô as "Godzilla" in their 1955 English language sales catalogue, a full year before finding an American distributor. The film even played briefly in Japanese-American owned theaters in Los Angeles and New York that year under the title of "Godzilla", before being picked up by Transworld and released in an Americanized version featuring Raymond Burr that following year as Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. Tôhô has since been the sole owners of the name Godzilla.

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Goofs

The buildings attacked by Godzilla in the model shots, from the way they "slide" on their bases and explode upwards in one whole piece, do not appear to have any foundations (or, indeed, to be fixed to the ground in any way at all).

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Quotes

Dr. Serizawa: If my device can serve a good purpose, i would announce it to everyone in the world! But in its current form, it's just a weapon of horrible destruction. Please understand, Ogata!
Hideto Ogata: I understand. But if we don't use your device against Godzilla, what are we going to do?
Dr. Serizawa: Ogata, if the oxygen destroyer is used even once, politicians from around the world will see it. Of course, they'll want to use it as a weapon. Bombs versus bombs, missiles versus missiles, and now a new superweapon to throw upon ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Magic Serpent (1966)

User Reviews

Crushes its sequels like Godzilla crushes Tokyo!

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.