Godzilla (1998)

A giant, reptilian monster surfaces, leaving destruction in its wake. To stop the monster (and its babies), an earthworm scientist, his reporter ex-girlfriend, and other unlikely heroes team up to save their city.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers:

Dean Devlin (screenplay), Roland Emmerich (screenplay)

Stars:

Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo

10 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Broderick	...	Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
Jean Reno	...	Philippe Roaché
Maria Pitillo	...	Audrey Timmonds
Hank Azaria	...	Victor 'Animal' Palotti
Kevin Dunn	...	Colonel Hicks
Michael Lerner	...	Mayor Ebert
Harry Shearer	...	Charles Caiman
Arabella Field	...	Lucy Palotti
Vicki Lewis	...	Dr. Elsie Chapman
Doug Savant	...	Sergeant O'Neal
Malcolm Danare	...	Dr. Mendel Craven
Lorry Goldman	...	Gene - Mayor's Aide
Christian Aubert	...	Jean-Luc
Philippe Bergeron	...	Jean-Claude
Frank Bruynbroek	...	Jean-Pierre

Storyline

Following the French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, an unknown creature is spotted passing eastward through the Panama Canal. Scientist Niko Tatopolous is called in to investigate the matter, and he quickly arrives at the conclusion that a giant, irradiated lizard has been created by the explosions. Godzilla then makes its way north, landing at Manhattan to begin wreaking havoc in the big city. Even with the combined forces of the U.S. military to fight the monster, will it be enough to save the people of New York?

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Plot Keywords:

battle tank | bipedal monster | set up for unmade sequel | monster | scientist | 

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Taglines:

1998. The year of GODZILLA!

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi monster action/violence

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English French Japanese Russian Spanish

Release Date:

20 May 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Godzila

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$130,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$55,726,951, 25 May 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$136,314,294

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$242,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centropolis Film Productions, Fried Films, Independent Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Godzilla has only about 11 minutes of screentime.

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Goofs

(at around 47 mins) When Nick approaches the feasting Godzilla from behind, there is a group of soldiers running around a Humvee to the right who seemingly pop into existence between frames. They don't appear to have been properly rotoscoped, so Godzilla's animation overlaps them, even though the monster is supposed to be in the background. In fact, their reflections on the wet ground can be seen before they appear.

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Quotes

Philippe Roaché: I am Philippe Roaché, DGSE - Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure.
Dr. Niko Tatopoulus: It sounds big.
Philippe Roaché: French Secret Service.
Dr. Niko Tatopoulus: Oh.

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Crazy Credits

Various effects that appeared as green film scratches (but were not, in fact, scratches) showed up periodically over the credits.

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Connections

Featured in I Love the '90s: Part Deux: 1998 (2005)

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Soundtracks

Lose Control
Written by Hyde (as Hyde) & Ken Kitamura (as Ken)
Produced by L'Arc-en-Ciel and Hajime Okano
Performed by L'Arc-en-Ciel
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), Inc.

User Reviews

Does exactly what it says on the box ............ ENTERTAIN...

Who are these people comparing this to the older Godzilla movies.. ? There is absolutely no comparison....this film stands on it's own and is a fast action paced, highly entertaining movie with special effects that were the best at the time.

You have to smile at the people who take the Godzilla mythology far too seriously. I had to smile when I read some of the reviews from the die hard Godzilla fans.

Personally, I don't care. The movie, from day one was meant to be just a big effects laden action movie. It's about comic book character.

AN EXCELLENT ENTERTAINING POPCORN MOVIE........BRILLIANT