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One of my all-time favorite monster movies. Most people know this classic story, especially since the basic plot is very similar to several other 50's-era monster movies. Atomic testing in the south pacific resurrects a hibernating prehistoric dinosaur, mutating it into a horrific nuclear-powered engine of destruction who then rises from the depths to unleash his terrible vengeance on the nearest land mass: Japan. An eccentric scientist has created a device that might be capable of destroying the beast, but he fears his invention might be more deadly than the monster itself. Will he build the device and use it to stop Godzilla or will he destroy the blueprints? What would YOU do? And even if he builds the device... will it work?
There's a reason why GOJIRA is listed by Japanese film critics as one of the top five greatest motion pictures ever made in Japan. It's unashamed anti-nuclear message is laid bare to see if you're paying attention and resonates so much more powerfully when you consider that the country which made the film had just become the first peoples on earth to survive a direct nuclear attack less than a decode before. With that said it also manages to be a gripping, rousingly intense horror-adventure film as well. This film is POWERFUL and its raw, semi-documentary style really helps underscore the seriousness of its subject matter. The U.S. version is a little more watered down, but the visuals are still strong stuff. You rarely, if ever, saw the aftermath of creature attacks in US-made monster flicks. In those movies the Hero vanquishes the monster, wins The Girl, saves the day and then stands basking in glow of triumphant victory as the final credits roll. Here in stark contrast, the nation's capitol city has been burned to the ground. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, are either dead or dying, with untold more buried beneath the scorched rubble. Even for the survivors there is no clear-cut cause for celebration, since they themselves may soon succumb to a slow, torturous death from radiation poisoning due to being too close to Godzilla during his rampage. At this film's end, only the self-sacrifice of a tortured anti-hero has narrowly wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat, while the remaining members of the cast are left to mourn the noble scientist, some saluting, some crying their eyes out. Whew! That's pretty potent stuff for a "kiddie monster movie."
Somber-voiced Raymond Burr stars as determined United World News reporter Steve Martin, in one of his first heroic film roles. The infamously 'Americanized' version of the film removes 20 minutes of original footage, substituting newly-shot scenes which turn Burr into the de facto lead of the picture. It's quite cleverly done and holds up pretty well considering the rushed schedule and miniscule budget. American footage director Terry Morse cranked out a lot of product in his career and turned in another solid effort here, quickly getting all the needed shots, (allegedly filmed in anywhere from one day to a week, depending on who you ask), to blend Burr into the Japanese footage fairly seamlessly. Burr was the PERFECT choice for the part. His voice-over narration contains some of the most iconic lines ever put on film and is one of the reasons this version has gone on to become a bona fide classic of the genre. Prior to this Burr had predominantly played heavies in film, and it was his portrayal of the doggedly determined reporter that helped him transition into 'good guy' roles and, according to Burr himself, helped him land the role with which he is most famously associated: championing TV lawyer Perry Mason.
Those movie viewers accustomed to rapid-fire editing styles and hyper-realistic CGI effects may have a tough time sticking with the film's slow pacing and the long stretches where the title monster isn't stomping across the screen. They may also laugh at the primitive visual effects, but more's the pity for them. Personally I love this film. It's powerful, gripping, emotionally draining at times, and great (if extremely somber) entertainment, and of course it launched one of the longest-running franchises in movie history. Godzilla himself has gone on to become one of the most widely-recognized pop culture icons on Earth. That's a pretty impressive feat for a handful of guys, (producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, director Ishiro Honda, special effects creator Eiji Tsuburaya, and composer Akira Ifukube), who took on the task of creating a movie that was based on another movie (The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms), which was based on a short story (Ray Bradbury's "The Foghorn")! Film composer Akira Ifukube wrote the entire powerfully iconic score for the film in less than a week, without ever having seen a single frame of the film... just the shooting script and a few pieces of concept art(!). He also cleverly created Godzilla's one-of-a-kind, instantly-recognizable signature roar, rubbing a resin-coated leather glove across the loosened stings of a contra bass, with a microphone placed inside. The combined efforts of these gentlemen has gone on to become one of the cornerstone films in the history of science fiction / monster movies.
The special effects techniques utilized in this film were more or less made up as they went along. Tsuburaya wanted to create them using stop-motion animation, the same way the effects in his favorite film, KING KONG, had been achieved. But he knew that no one (including himself) was well-versed enough in the technique to do it in a convincing, esthetically pleasing manner, and certainly not in the allotted time they had to get the effect shots in the can in order to meet the film's targeted release date. Instead they constructed intricately-detail miniature landscape & cityscape sets, a technique Tsuburaya had honed in his movie-making years prior to World War II. Then he & his team fabricated a huge suit out of bamboo, wire mesh and layers of rubber. The thing reportedly weighed around 200lbs and only had a handful of pea-sized holes cut into the neck area for Haruo Nakajima, (the stuntman/actor who portrayed big G in his first dozen screen adventures), to see & breath out of. He reportedly lost 10lbs a day inside the stifling costume and had to have it opened every few minutes to allow fresh air in or he risked suffocation. He was cut by the raw edges of bamboo strips used to reinforce the suit and stabbed by internally-exposed sections of wire mesh used to give the rubber shape & mass, but toughed it out to give the world a truly monstrous performance. This man-in-a-suit style helped launch an entire sub-industry and F/X style (suitmation) all their own that is still used to this day.
As expected, Criterion treats this classic atomic age monster with the respect it so richly deserves. They report that their master was made from the best possible film elements but, to be brutally honest, it's still not much better-looking than the Sony double-disc release of Gojira/Godzilla from a few years ago. It's a shame that someone hasn't ponied up the dough needed to do a total frame-by-frame restoration, complete with elimination of all print defects/damage. It would be terrific to have the original Japanese version AND the equally iconic American adaption looking like they'd just been filmed yesterday. Perhaps when the next generation of home video media is created (4k?) this can be done. There are some excellent supplements included iwth the film, which features the original full length, unedited Japanese version, w/ subtitles and the Americanized 1956 adaption with Burr. GODZILLA is a 5 STAR film in either version and, all-in-all, this Criterion release is also a 5 STAR recommendation.
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Reviews with images
This Criterion is the Best copy of this movie I have ever seen
I have watched this ,movie many times as a kid, then picked up the subpar DVD version some 15-20 years ago. Finally Criterion released a Blu Ray version that is about the sharpest, clearest most detailed version I have seen to date. I am only giving the Blu ray itself 4 stars, why, well 3 stars for the horrible sub titled Japan version. Why put whit sub tittles into a Black and white movie, 30-40% of the time you can't make out some of the words as it blends into the Movies white portion. Give the option to run the subtitles in a color(Red, Breen, Blue, Yellow), anything but just the blend in white. I also happen to like the Raymond Burr version better just for the reason, no subpar titles to mess with. The Raymond Barr version is interesting cause now I can see the easy, tricks of the trade how the mixed in those newly edited shots. The "Shoot only back of heads" of the "So Called" main actors when pictured with Raymond burr. The trade shot angles to make it look like Burr was in the home with them. The extended Japan version, IMO, just added unnecessary to the story, back drop of a Japan reporter and the 3 way story of the 2 young men and young woman. The added scenes just made it a bit too slow for my taste.The extra's was good, the best was showing how they did all the matte shots. Really a lot for such a old movie at that time. Of all the Japan version's of Zilla movies they made, this is still the King. If you like classics and Zilla movies, this is the version to get. The cardboard case was cute and neat how they pictured and put it all together, but at same time a pain just to remove the Disc for viewing.
Top reviews from other countries
Simon Omnes
The Real Godzilla. Raw, violent, and terrifying.
Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2023
