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Godzilla

  • 19981998
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 19m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
192K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,083
271
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Godzilla (1998)
Pre, "May 20"
Play trailer0:31
5 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Action
  • Sci-Fi
  • Thriller

French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that heads off to New York City. The American military must chase the monster across the city to stop it before it reproduces.French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that heads off to New York City. The American military must chase the monster across the city to stop it before it reproduces.French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that heads off to New York City. The American military must chase the monster across the city to stop it before it reproduces.

IMDb RATING
5.4/10
192K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,083
271
  • Director
    • Roland Emmerich
  • Writers
    • Dean Devlin(screenplay)
    • Roland Emmerich(screenplay)
    • Ted Elliott(story)
  • Stars
    • Matthew Broderick
    • Jean Reno
    • Maria Pitillo
Top credits
  • Director
    • Roland Emmerich
  • Writers
    • Dean Devlin(screenplay)
    • Roland Emmerich(screenplay)
    • Ted Elliott(story)
  • Stars
    • Matthew Broderick
    • Jean Reno
    • Maria Pitillo
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 915User reviews
    • 124Critic reviews
    • 32Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 10 wins & 13 nominations

    Videos5

    Godzilla (1998)
    Trailer 0:31
    Godzilla (1998)
    Godzilla Vs. the MonsterVerse
    Clip 3:22
    Godzilla Vs. the MonsterVerse
    How the 'Godzilla vs. Kong' Cast & Director Made Epic Battles Feel Real
    Clip 3:20
    How the 'Godzilla vs. Kong' Cast & Director Made Epic Battles Feel Real
    Team Godzilla or Team Kong? The Cast Chooses a Top Titan
    Clip 4:05
    Team Godzilla or Team Kong? The Cast Chooses a Top Titan
    Venom: Sequel, Reboot or Spin-Off?
    Video 3:14
    Venom: Sequel, Reboot or Spin-Off?

    Photos151

    Jean Reno and Michael Lerner in Godzilla (1998)
    Hank Azaria and Kurt Carley in Godzilla (1998)
    Matthew Broderick in Godzilla (1998)
    Kurt Carley in Godzilla (1998)
    Matthew Broderick in Godzilla (1998)
    Maria Pitillo in Godzilla (1998)
    Jean Reno and Michael Lerner in Godzilla (1998)
    Matthew Broderick stars as Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
    Niko, Philippe, Audrey & Victor
    Niko and Audrey
    Jean Reno co-stars as Philippe
    The Godzilla tracking crew

    Top cast

    Edit
    Matthew Broderick
    Matthew Broderick
    • Dr. Niko Tatopoulosas Dr. Niko Tatopoulos
    Jean Reno
    Jean Reno
    • Philippe Roachéas Philippe Roaché
    Maria Pitillo
    Maria Pitillo
    • Audrey Timmondsas Audrey Timmonds
    Hank Azaria
    Hank Azaria
    • Victor 'Animal' Palottias Victor 'Animal' Palotti
    Kevin Dunn
    Kevin Dunn
    • Colonel Hicksas Colonel Hicks
    Michael Lerner
    Michael Lerner
    • Mayor Ebertas Mayor Ebert
    Harry Shearer
    Harry Shearer
    • Charles Caimanas Charles Caiman
    Arabella Field
    Arabella Field
    • Lucy Palottias Lucy Palotti
    Vicki Lewis
    Vicki Lewis
    • Dr. Elsie Chapmanas Dr. Elsie Chapman
    Doug Savant
    Doug Savant
    • Sergeant O'Nealas Sergeant O'Neal
    Malcolm Danare
    Malcolm Danare
    • Dr. Mendel Cravenas Dr. Mendel Craven
    Lorry Goldman
    • Gene - Mayor's Aideas Gene - Mayor's Aide
    Christian Aubert
    • Jean-Lucas Jean-Luc
    Philippe Bergeron
    Philippe Bergeron
    • Jean-Claudeas Jean-Claude
    Frank Bruynbroek
    Frank Bruynbroek
    • Jean-Pierreas Jean-Pierre
    François Giroday
    • Jean-Philippeas Jean-Philippe
    Nicholas J. Giangiulio
    Nicholas J. Giangiulio
    • Edas Ed
    Robert Lesser
    Robert Lesser
    • Murrayas Murray
    • Director
      • Roland Emmerich
    • Writers
      • Dean Devlin(screenplay) (story)
      • Roland Emmerich(screenplay) (story)
      • Ted Elliott(story) (credit only)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    In the wake of extensive nuclear testing in the South Pacific Ocean, the low-profile scientist, Niko Tatopoulos, is summoned by the U.S. Army to shed light on the mysterious attack on a fishing ship, and the ominous sightings of a gargantuan sea-dragon. Before long, a mutated scaly nightmare in the shape of Godzilla--a massive and all-powerful radioactive sauroid--threatens to level the rain-soaked New York City, against the backdrop of a crippling bureaucracy and the military's futile attempts to stop the invincible beast from the ocean. Now, it's up to Niko; the cryptic insurance agent, Philippe; the determined reporter, Audrey, and her brave cameraman, Victor, to put an end to Godzilla's reign of terror before it's too late. Is there a reason why Godzilla has chosen Manhattan for its den? —Nick Riganas
    • giant monster
    • iguana
    • military
    • giant footprint
    • monster
    • 296 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • From the creators of Independence Day
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG-13 for sci-fi monster action/violence
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie features more Simpson voice actors than any other project besides The Simpsons (1989) itself: Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer and Nancy Cartwright. When the Simpsons later did a Godzilla parody called Homerzilla, they referenced that "Homerzilla" received a Hollywood remake that failed, a jab at this movie. The episode ends stating that Homerzilla will one day return just as soon as that "Zilla" film is forgotten.
    • Goofs
      Based on the width and depth of the Hudson River, it would be impossible for a Los Angeles Submarine to navigate submerged, let alone make high speed turns.
    • Quotes

      Apache Pilot: [after accidentally hitting the Chrysler Building with a missile, blowing the roof off of it] Aw, damn, uh... That is a negative impact. I repeat, that is a negative impact.

      Radio Technician #3: Negative impact, sir.

      Mayor Ebert: [shocked] Negative impact? That's the goddamned Chrysler Building we're talking about here.

    • Crazy credits
      Various effects that appeared as green film scratches (but were not, in fact, scratches) showed up periodically over the credits.
    • Connections
      Edited into Angels in America (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Heroes
      Written by David Bowie & Brian Eno

      Produced by Andrew Slater

      Performed by The Wallflowers

      Courtesy of Interscope Records

    User reviews915

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Drastically underrated
    After bizarre attacks on a Japanese freighter, first the French then the U.S. learn of the existence of an apparent modern "dinosaur". When it's suspected that radiation from nuclear weapons testing in French Polynesia may have instead produced the monster, biological radiation specialist Dr. Nick Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick) is called to the scene. While investigating the monster's path of destruction, a new sighting arrives--just off the coast of New York City!

    It's no secret that Godzilla has been much maligned. Even Fangoria editor Tony Timpone stated in an editorial that he thought it sucked, and he's usually willing to give movies the benefit of the doubt. The reasons why director Roland Emmerich's version of Godzilla is hated are as varied as people stating opinions. But I tend to think that there is also a strong bandwagon effect with this film that will be tempered by time. There are already signs of a number of people giving it a second look and lessening the severity of their criticism.

    The chief complaint seems to come from a very vocal but relatively small crowd of fanboy purists--they dislike that Godzilla is different here. In the Japanese films, made by the Toho production company, Godzilla is a guy in a rubber suit who stomps on models of buildings and such. He tends to lumber, as irrelevant military attacks on him provide pretty fireworks. Most Godzilla films feature him fighting some other monster, "professional wrestling" style, and Godzilla arbitrarily falls down and gets back up as he is attacked and attacks with various "death rays" from his mouth, eyes, etc. Now that might sound like I don't like the typical Godzilla film, but that's not true. I like them quite a bit, but a big part of the reason why is that most of them are very cheesy. I'm a fan of bizarre cheese/camp, and you get tons of that in Godzilla films.

    But I'm not a purist. To me, there's no good reason why Emmerich's Godzilla needs to be similar to the Toho incarnations, which in fact are often quite different from and inconsistent with each other, too. At this point, I see Godzilla more as a recurring character type--think of the various instantiations of Dracula or Frankenstein throughout the 20th Century. The Toho films can't really be seen as chapters in a single, long story. But whether their arguments are wrong or not, the fanboy purists are at least noisy and prolific, and too many people are followers.

    If Emmerich would have given us a guy in a rubber suit, acting just like the Toho Godzillas (not "Godzilla"), with the typical gobbledy-gook of a Toho script, this film would have bombed even worse (if we can call a 100 million dollar film that made a profit a "bomb") and the fanboys would have still found something to complain about. Even though I love the Toho Godzilla films, too, we can't deny that they do not tend to be bestsellers on video in the U.S., despite the fact that they're readily available for purchase.

    So what Emmerich gives us instead is an epic, expensive-looking film that spans a number of genres, features more coherent dialogue and subplots than a typical Toho Godzilla film, and showcases a redesigned, mostly cgi cast of monsters, where Godzilla looks and behaves much more like a "real" giant, mutant lizard. For those of us who are not purists, who do not care if our opinions match the majority, and who evaluate films on all or their technical and artistic levels, it's difficult to deny that Godzilla has many merits.

    For example, the cinematography in this film is gorgeous. The sound design is superb and the soundtrack (score and songs) works well with the film. All of the action sequences, and they comprise a large percentage of the film, are expertly staged--Emmerich doesn't resort to darkness, blur-cams and overly quick cuts like many other directors. It's always easy to follow the narrative during action scenes, it's always easy to see what's going on, and it's always coherent. That goes for the non-action scenes, too--the entire film is ingeniously designed in terms of the progression from one sequence to another. Also, the cgi is amazing--it's often difficult to tell where it stops and mechanicals/models begin.

    But the story is great, too. Broderick's Tatopoulos is an attractive anti-hero, a nerdish scientist who solve dilemmas with his professional knowledge. The other hero is Jean Reno as Philippe Roache, a humorously enigmatic French "insurance agent". The obligatory romantic subplot, involving Tatopoulos and Audrey Timmonds (Maria Pitillo) surprisingly avoids clichés, and Timmonds provides a launching pad for an all-too-honest satire of the media.

    Satire is high up on Emmerich's agenda. Godzilla not only satirizes the media, but the military, New York/New Yorkers, film critics, and even monster movies. While the film is simultaneously giving us a lot of genres--sci-fi, horror, adventure, war film, drama, etc. the most unexpected motif is the almost cartoonish, spoof-like humor. Godzilla is more frequently laugh-out-loud funny that anyone expected it to be. It's not just one-liners and overt jokes, although those are certainly present, but the amped up intentional absurdity of situations such as the final taxi cab "chase".

    Even if you think that Godzilla has some internal problems as an artwork (and I agree that there is a slight clunkiness in parts of the narrative flow--it caused me to subtract a point), there's no way it deserves the trashing it's received so far. This is at least a well-made film on a technical level, and if you have any taste for slightly campy sci-fi/monster flicks, you should find much to enjoy here.
    helpful•576
    230
    • BrandtSponseller
    • Mar 8, 2005

    FAQ5

    • How was this film received in Japan?
    • Does Godzilla use the Atomic Breath in this movie?
    • Could a creature as large as Godzilla actually exist?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 20, 1998 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Japan
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Japanese
      • Russian
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Quái Vật Godzilla
    • Filming locations
      • Kualoa Ranch - 49560 Kamehameha Highway, Ka'a'awa, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA
    • Production companies
      • Centropolis Film Productions
      • Fried Films
      • Independent Pictures (II)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $130,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $136,314,294
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $44,047,541
      • May 24, 1998
    • Gross worldwide
      • $379,014,294
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 19 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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