Year: 

1954

Directed by: 

Ishirô Honda

Rated: 

Not Rated

Country: 

Japan

Runtime: 

1 hr. 38 min.

Production Company: 

Toho

Written by: 

Ishirô Honda

Shigeru Kayama

Takeo Murata

Starring: 

Akira Takarada

Akihiko Hirata

Momoko Kôchi

Takashi Shimura

Similar Films: 

Godzilla Raids Again

Godzilla (1984)

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

This review encompasses both the original Japanese release of Godzilla (referred to herein by its Japanese title, Gojira) as well as the American cut of the film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters!.

Gojira

When we hear the word "Godzilla" nowadays, we often think of campy giant monster battles, poor audio dubbing, and ridiculous subplots. Basically, we think of many of the Godzilla follow-ups spawned by the original film. It can be easy to forget the tone of the original Gojira, the one that started it all, especially if one's experience with the "original" film was a viewing of its American edit. Gojira is, despite the reputation given it by its successors, a very austere movie, lacking any of the humor found in the later installments, aiming not to entertain but solely to terrify. Only one or two later Godzilla films would attempt to recreate this feel. Gojira is a truly horrifying science fiction film and an essentially perfect metaphor for the destructive power of the subconscious.

Gojira is about a giant prehistoric monster whose species has been roaming the ocean floor for millions of years. Suddenly, the monster, Gojira (Godzilla, as it has come to be called in English), is among us, residing in shallower depths and surfacing on occasion to wreak havoc on the city of Tokyo. As it turns out, Godzilla was knocked from his habitat by H-bomb tests (the film never points the finger directly at America, though it is America that had performed the tests in real life) and altered into something even more horrible than he was to begin with. Trampling buildings, irradiating cities, and killing virtually everyone in his path, Godzilla is, in this film, one of the most vicious creatures ever to be portrayed on the silver screen.

The film unfolds like a nightmare. Throughout the whole thing, the lighting is kept exceedingly dark, even during the daytime, suffocating the viewer and reinforcing the sense of sadness and confusion. The lead monster surfaces as a mythical being, appearing only a handful of times, wreaking havoc just when we've recovered from the previous attack. At first we don't even get to see the monster attacking; we see horrible events with no explanation, such as the ocean erupting into fire and spraying sailors with radiation. Then we see the misery of it all: women and children lining up to find out if their loved ones are still alive. Later, a storm ushers the monster in, but instead of being allowed to see what happens, we are shown only the fleeing victims. Later we catch a glimpse of him. A few more sightings ensue, and it all leads up to a final, prolonged attack which lasts over ten minutes, during which time half of Tokyo is bathed in fiery radiation, and the other half is trampled to rubble, all to a slow, inexorable score that evokes a sense of approaching death.

Assisting with the effectiveness of the attacks is the tension built during the time between them. These moments are partially spent trying to understand what Godzilla is and where he came from. These periods in which we are free of the monster are by no means restful. It is during these times that we are forced to figure out what to do about the problem lurking days, hours, or minutes away. Not only do we get some insightful exposition during these times, but it is during Dr. Kyohei Yamane's (played by none other than the great Takashi Shimura) explanations that we learn the H-bomb-radiation origins of the beast and, thus, the fact that it is the folly of man that created it. We are then forced to ruminate on the horrors that await us. Often the anticipation of a terrible event can be just as bad as or worse than the event itself. This is a classic example of that (though in this case, it's not quite "worse than").