Godzilla (1954) Gojira (original title)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Ishirô Honda
Shigeru Kayama (story)
(more)

Release Date:

7 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The legend begins....

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Japan | Nuclear Weapon | Gojira | Helicopter

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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
Tadashi Okabe	...	Reporter Killed on Tower
Ren Imaizumi	...	Radio Operator
Junpei Natsuki	...	Power Substation Engineer
Katsumi Tezuka	...	Gojira / Hagiwara's Editor
Haruo Nakajima	...	Gojira / Power Station Worker
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi
Jiro Suzuki
Saburô Iketani	...	News Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shizuko Azuma
Shizuko Higashi	...	Partygoer
Kiyoshi Kamata	...	Partygoer's Escort
Kenji Sahara	...	Young Lover on the sound
Keiji Sakakida	...	Mayor Inada
Tamae Sengo	...	Mother
Ryosaku Takasugi
Ishirô Honda	...	Power Station Worker (The Hand that Throws the Switch) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ishirô Honda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ishirô Honda
Shigeru Kayama		story
Takeo Murata

Produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	producer

Original Music by
Akira Ifukube

Cinematography by
Masao Tamai

Film Editing by
Kazuji Taira		(as Yasunobu Taira)

Production Design by
Satoru Chûko
Takeo Kita

Art Direction by
Satoru Chûko
Takeo Kita

Production Management
Teruo Maki	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kôji Kajita	....	chief assistant director
Susumu Takebayashi	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound recordist
Nobuyuki Tanaka	....	sound assistant
Norio Tone	....	sound assistant

Special Effects by
Sadamasa Arikawa	....	director of photography: special effects
Kuichirô Kishida	....	special effects lighting
Yoichi Manoda	....	assistant camera
Hiroshi Mukoyama	....	matte work
Fumio Nakadai	....	special effects wire work
Yasuaki Sakamoto	....	production manager
Sokei Tomioka	....	assistant camera
Teizo Toshimitsu	....	monster builder
Eiji Tsuburaya	....	special effects director
Hajime Tsuburaya	....	assistant camera
Akira Watanabe	....	art director
Taka Yuki	....	opticals
Fuminori Ôhashi	....	special effects technical advisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Haruo Nakajima	....	stunt choreographer

Camera and Electrical Department
Yuzuru Aizawa	....	assistant camera
Choshiro Ishii	....	lighting technician
Shinji Kojima	....	lighting assistant
Shoshichi Kojima	....	lighting assistant

Other crew
Sei Ikeno	....	assistant: Akira Ifukube
Fumio Nakadai	....	tail supervisor
Shôji Okawa	....	tail supervisor

Production Companies

• Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Distributors

• Toho Company (Japan)
• Vestron Video (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Zontarian Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Rialto Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2005) (UK) (all media)
• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Classic Media (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Wonder (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2008) (Japan) (TV)
• Classic Media (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2012) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Genius Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Genius Products (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kuk Dong (South Korea)
• Sandrew Film (1997) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Splendid Film (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• VIP Videocasette Diffusion (????) (France) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

"Gojira" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

96 min | West Germany:83 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (nf) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Toba, Mie, Japan

Company:

Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

The film received a Japanese Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, but lost to Seven Samurai (1954). However, the film did win the award for Best Visual Effects. It is the only Godzilla movie to receive a nomination for Best Picture.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the people are running down the alleyway, and Gojira walks by, you can see two people run out into the front, look at the camera, and really quickly lean up against the wall.

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 us all! As a scientist - no, as a human being - I can't allow that to happen! Am I right?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Time Traveller (2010)

The First and Definitely Best of the Series

Gojira (not Godzilla, King of the Monsters, with Raymond Burr), stands as one of the best monster movies...and one of Japan's finest and most allegory pieces of cinema. The original version of the movie has a lot of anti-nuclear sentiment that the US editors dropped from the Raymond Burr version. A woman on a subway noting that is seemed like she survived Nagaski only to die from Godzilla is an offhand but telling comment on Japan's unique view of the use of nuclear weapons.

The story itself is makes a bit more sense than the patchwork used with Raymond Burr (though that version is also quite good for the genre that it helps perpetuate). The effects are (I think) still great...the grainy, documentary feel of the movie makes it seem a lot more real.