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IMDbPro

Godzilla: King of the Monsters!

  • 19561956
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
Home Video Trailer from Toho Film Company
Play trailer2:31
1 Video
94 Photos
ActionHorrorSci-Fi
A 400-foot (122-meter) dinosaur-like beast, awoken from undersea hibernation off the Japanese coast by atomic-bomb testing, attacks Tokyo.A 400-foot (122-meter) dinosaur-like beast, awoken from undersea hibernation off the Japanese coast by atomic-bomb testing, attacks Tokyo.A 400-foot (122-meter) dinosaur-like beast, awoken from undersea hibernation off the Japanese coast by atomic-bomb testing, attacks Tokyo.
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
    • Ishirô Honda
    • Terry O. Morse
  • Writers
    • Shigeru Kayama(novel)
    • Takeo Murata(screen play)
    • Ishirô Honda(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Raymond Burr
    • Takashi Shimura
    • Momoko Kôchi
    • Ishirô Honda
    • Terry O. Morse
  • Writers
    • Shigeru Kayama(novel)
    • Takeo Murata(screen play)
    • Ishirô Honda(screen play)
  • Stars
    • Raymond Burr
    • Takashi Shimura
    • Momoko Kôchi
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 124User reviews
    • 52Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

    Photos94

    Haruo Nakajima in Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Haruo Nakajima in Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    "Godzilla," c. 1956.
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)
    Style B, 3 sheet, 41 x 81
    Raymond Burr in Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Raymond Burr
    Raymond Burr
    • Steve Martin
    Takashi Shimura
    Takashi Shimura
    • Dr. Yamane
    Momoko Kôchi
    Momoko Kôchi
    • Emiko
    • (as Momoko Kochi)
    Akira Takarada
    Akira Takarada
    • Ogata
    Akihiko Hirata
    Akihiko Hirata
    • Dr. Serizawa
    Sachio Sakai
    • Hagiwara
    Fuyuki Murakami
    • Dr. Tabata
    Ren Yamamoto
    • Seiji
    Toyoaki Suzuki
    Toyoaki Suzuki
    • Shinkichi
    Tadashi Okabe
    • Dr. Tabata's Assistant
    Toranosuke Ogawa
    Toranosuke Ogawa
    • President of Company
    Frank Iwanaga
    • Tomo Iwanaga - Security Officer
    Mikel Conrad
    Mikel Conrad
    • George Lawrence
    • (uncredited)
    Paul Frees
    Paul Frees
    • Unidentified Character
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Fuji
    Fuji
    • Police Officer at Airport
    • (uncredited)
    Hiroshi Hayashi
      James Hong
      James Hong
      • Ogata
      • (voice)
      • (uncredited)
      • …
      Ren Imaizumi
      • Radio Operator
      • (uncredited)
        • Ishirô Honda
        • Terry O. Morse
      • Writers
        • Shigeru Kayama(novel)
        • Takeo Murata(screen play)
        • Ishirô Honda(screen play)
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Godzilla's roar was made by dragging a resin-coated leather glove up and down a contrabass and having the subsequent recording slowed down significantly.
      • Goofs
        During one scene where Godzilla breathes his radioactive fire, the nozzle that provides the spray can clearly be seen inside his mouth.
      • Quotes

        [first lines]

        Steve Martin: [in voice over] This is Tokyo. Once a city of six million people. What has happened here was caused by a force which up until a few days ago was entirely beyond the scope of Man's imagination. Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world. There were once many people here who could've told of what they saw... now there are only a few. My name is Steve Martin. I'm a foreign correspondent for United World News. I was headed for an assignment in Cairo, when I stopped off in Tokyo for a social call, but it turned out to be a visit to the living hell of another world.

      • Crazy credits
        Many prints and videos have absolutely no credits (including the so-called "uncut" version released on DVD by Simitar in 1998), beyond the title at the start (with a clearly video-generated copyright notice below it) and a "The End" graphic at the close. Classic Media's 2006 release of the film in the Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters on DVD has the restored English credits. The Criterion Collection Blu-Ray release contains all original logos and credits.
      • Alternate versions
        In the original American version of the film, end credits and the Transworld logo were present. The 1998 DVD release from Simitar restores the logo without the end credits, while the 2006 DVD release from Classic Media restores the credits without the logo. Both were reinstated in the 2012 DVD and Blu-ray releases from the Criterion Collection.
      • Connections
        Edited from Godzilla (1954)

      User reviews124

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      8/10
      The greatest and most realistic of the 50s creature features.
      Godzilla is truly a legendary icon who has really stood the test of time for more than fifty years. His first film back in 1954 was very serious compared to most monster movies at the time. Most agree that it's a typical story of a prehistoric creature mutated by radiation rising up to challenge the world with his newfound power, but it's a little more than that. How so? Everything seems to be taken seriously by both filmmakers and the characters in the story. In this U.S. version, dubbing is kept to a very minimum by the lead characters while everyone else is speaking Japanese, which brings a small sense of realism. Godzilla himself is taken seriously by the filmmakers because while the primitive effects are obvious, his actions are like how a real animal reacts to a certain situation like when he approaches the electrical barrier and pauses to look at it curiously or when he snarls at a ringing clock tower because he thinks it might be another animal. He doesn't "attack" Tokyo just for the hell of it, he's just lashing out at whatever attacked him. After Tokyo is destroyed, the scene where the people mourn for the dead and dying truly moved me because the "attack" was treated like an actual disaster. I truly respect that.

      Tomoyuki Tanaka really knew how to tell a war related story (war films in Japan were illegal at the time) and make his dinosaur the biggest star (literally) in the world. Steve Martin(Raymond Burr) and Dr. Serizawa are among the best known human characters in the entire series. I give this movie little more credit than before because of how it was made and the angle it was going for. Long live the King!
      helpful•19
      4
      • kevinxirau
      • Aug 31, 2011

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • April 27, 1956 (United States)
        • Japan
        • United States
        • English
        • Japanese
      • Also known as
      • Production companies
        • Toho Company
        • Jewell Enterprises Inc.
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • 1 hour 20 minutes
        • Black and White
        • Mono

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