Godzilla 1985 (1984)

Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.

Directors:

Koji Hashimoto, R.J. Kizer

Writers:

Hideichi Nagahara, Tomoyuki Tanaka (story "The Resurrection of Godzilla")

Stars:

Raymond Burr, Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Raymond Burr	...	Steve Martin
Ken Tanaka	...	Goro Maki
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Naoko Okumura
Yôsuke Natsuki	...	Dr. Hayashida
Shin Takuma	...	Hiroshi Okumura
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Prime Minister Mitamura
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Finance Minister Kanzaki
Taketoshi Naitô	...	Takegami, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Mizuho Suzuki	...	Foreign Minister Emori
Junkichi Orimoto	...	Director-General of the Defense Agency
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Geologist Minami
Kei Satô	...	Chief Editor Gondo
Takenori Emoto	...	Desk Editor Kitagawa
Sho Hashimoto	...	Captain of Super X
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Home Affairs Minister Isomura

Storyline

A reporter investigates the disappearance of a ship. He finds the ship and discovers that all the hands have been killed by a giant sea louse except for one. The lone survivor then tells the reporter that the ship was attacked by Godzilla (Gojira). Fearing a panic, the Japanese government then takes the survivor into custody to keep him from revealing that Godzilla has returned. However, a Soviet nuclear submarine is destroyed and the situation puts them and the United States on the brink of nuclear war, until the Japanese decide to come clean and admit that it was Godzilla. Soon the Japan and the rest of the world are on red alert as they wait for Godzilla to begin his rampage anew.

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Plot Keywords:

godzilla | japan | submarine | lone survivor | gojira | 

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Taglines:

The Legend Is Reborn.

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese Russian English

Release Date:

23 August 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzilla 1985

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company, Toho Eizo Co.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min (USA)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Japan theatrical release) Mono (US release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was based partly on a 1980 story treatment by Tomoyuki Tanaka and Akira Murao called "The Resurrection of Godzilla" ("Gojira no Fukkatsu"). Conceived as a direct sequel to Godzilla - Das Original (1954), a new Godzilla, identical to the one from 1954, was reawakened by illegal nuclear waste dumping by a freighter in the Pacific Ocean. The protagonists include Shinpei Muraki (the young director of the Information Science Center), Professor Inamura, his daughter Akikuko Inamura (Muraki's love interest), and American scientist Dr. Radner. The story was also the introduction of what is considered Toho's greatest "lost" monster, Bagan, which Godzilla fought in the story. Bagan, a guardian spirit, has four forms in this film: the Dragon Spirit Beast (Doragon Reijû), the Ape Spirit Beast (Enjin Reijû), the Water Spirit Beast (Sui Reijû), and ultimately, a totem-like amalgam of the three forms. Godzilla savagely fights and kills the monster after the middle of the film. Another adversary for the radioactive terror is a JSDF armored super-vehicle, the Super-Beetle (which was ultimately reworked into the Super-X). The film's climax has the protagonists attempting to destroy Godzilla on Beonase Atoll, with a trap containing Dr. Inamura's nuclear invention, Reiconium. When the device malfunctions, Dr. Radner makes a Serizawa-like sacrifice and reactivates the weapon, engulfing Godzilla in lethal radioactive blue flames, apparently killing the monster, and taking Radner's life in the process. The story ends with Godzilla's lifeless body washing ashore a beach on the West Coast of the United States, with a nuclear power plant nearby; a narration stated, "As long as nuclear energy exists, Godzilla will live," as Godzilla's eyes open and the monster stirs to life with a mighty roar. Although the script was never produced, many of its elements nonetheless remained in the film, including the Shokkiras (the radioactive sea louse), and Godzilla attacking a nuclear power plant (and absorbing energy from the core reactor).

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Goofs

In the American version, the American general and his peers keep talking about giving support to the Japanese, but the only real visible thing they "help" with is the stopping of the Russian nuclear missile.

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Quotes

Prime Minister Mitamura: [US version] Godzilla... I was hoping I would never hear that name again.

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Connections

Referenced in Seinfeld: The Smelly Car (1993)

User Reviews

An Underrated Classic

Godzilla 1984 stands out as one of the best and most politically imbued Godzilla films ever made and deserves more credit for what it accomplished. Godzilla

1984 single-handedly revitalized the Godzilla franchise into the machine it is today and ushered in a new concept for what the monster could be; gone are

the kiddie children and the super-robots, the monster melees and monster

dancing - here is a return to what Godzilla truly is: and unstoppable force of nature. The original Japanese version is far superior to the butchered American cut and their political agenda is far more subtle than the American's tactless editing of the Russian nuclear launch sequence. Fans would do well to view

the original as it retains the history and dignity of the first Godzilla film.