The year was 1954. It was nearly a decade after the United States
had dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bringing an end to the Second
World War and because of this, the original ‘Godzilla’ (known as ‘Gojira’ in
Japan) is a product of its time, as it portrays the scenario of a giant kaiju
(the Japanese term for ‘strange monster’) that was created from nuclear
radiation in a very serious matter, obviously in the wake of the devastating
events that took place in August 1945 by many who had experienced that disaster
first-hand. And that’s one of the biggest reasons why the original ‘Godzilla’
is one of the greatest monster films of all time. After all, most monster films
are usually just ‘B-Movies’ and aren’t really films of the highest quality. However,
this is a case of a film that is technically a B-Movie, but manages to be an
excellent film even with that in mind. Because of this, the film successfully
established Godzilla as one of the most iconic giant monsters ever to be put on
film. And so, in honor of the upcoming release of the new ‘Godzilla’ film from
Legendary and Warner Bros Pictures, it’s time to take a look back at the
original 1954 film that started it all… along with its 1956 ‘Americanized’
edition.
There’s not that much to the plot of the original ‘Godzilla’.
Quite simply, it’s just Godzilla rampaging through Japan. It begins as a
fishing boat near the fictional Odo Island is suddenly attacked by a mysterious
force. More ships come to investigate, but they all end up meeting the same
fate as the first boat. The residents of Tokyo soon learn the true cause of
this attack; a 50-foot dinosaur-like creature named ‘Godzilla’, who had
apparently been a legend amongst the people of Odo Island for many years before
the events of this film. As Godzilla begins to ravage Tokyo, numerous people
begin to look for a way to defeat the creature. The American cut of the film
has the same story, but also includes a new subplot where reporter Steve Martin
(no, not the Steve Martin you’re thinking of; a character played by Raymond
Burr) visits Tokyo while on the way to an assignment in Cairo to meet with his
friend, Dr. Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata), one of the main characters from
the Japanese cut. While there, he soon gets caught up in the whole Godzilla
situation and serves as the narrator detailing the events that occur within the
film.
The thing that impresses me the most about the original
‘Godzilla’ is that it’s played very seriously. Keep in mind; we’re talking
about a film that is centered on a giant ‘dinosaur’, which was actually just a
guy in a rubber suit. But the whole film is played very seriously and there
really aren’t any moments in the film that feel ‘campy’. Sure, some scenes
might feel just a little silly by today’s standards, but that’s probably just a
case of the time period in which the film came out. There is very much a sense
of dread throughout the whole film as we anxiously wait for Godzilla to strike
and when he does, he causes a path of chaos and destruction wherever he goes.
It really unnerves you watching scenes of death and destruction and a scene
where a choir is singing a song following Godzilla’s attack on Tokyo is a very
somber moment. Heck, the film itself doesn’t even end on that much of a happy
note; sure, the day is saved… but at what cost? Obviously, the people making this
film must’ve witnessed the whole ‘atomic bomb’ situation and it really shows in
this film, as Godzilla serves as a perfect symbol of the dangers that could
come from testing nuclear weapons, having been created as a result of nuclear
radiation. The film even ends with one of the main characters Dr. Yamane
(Takashi Shimura) warning people that if mankind continues testing nuclear
weapons, this won’t be the last ‘Godzilla’ creature to ever appear.
Now, I’m not going to compare the two main ‘versions’ of
this film (the original 1954 Japanese cut and the 1956 American release) that
much but I will say that the original Japanese film is the superior version.
The American version (‘Godzilla, King of the Monsters!’) is still a pretty
effective monster movie that still maintains a fairly serious tone, but
something about it just seems off when compared to its Japanese counterpart. It
might be because of the addition of narration via the character of Steve
Martin. Raymond Burr does do a very good job in the film and to the credit of
the American filmmakers who worked on this cut of the film they do manage to
splice him into the original film pretty well even though it seems that he
doesn’t really contribute that much to the overall plot as a whole. There’s
just something about the narration that sort of ‘underplays’ the whole serious
nature of the events that are happening in this film. The original version of
the film had no narration and as a result, I do think that it comes off as much
more efficient in terms of really addressing the horrors of Godzilla and
nuclear war.
Still, I do recommend both the original ‘Gojira’ and its
Americanized cut, ‘Godzilla, King of the Monsters!’ as both are top-notch
monster films that manage to maintain a very serious tone and atmosphere, even
when we consider the fact that this is basically just a ‘B-Movie’ with a giant
creature that was actually a guy in a rubber monster suit. This is one of those
‘B-Movies’ that manage to overcome that status and be one of the best monster
films of all time. While I haven’t seen any of the other 27 films in Toho’s
official ‘Godzilla’ franchise, I think it’s safe to say that this one will
stand as one of the best in the series, if not the best. From what I can
gather, it certainly was one of the only films in the entire franchise to
maintain the serious ‘post-WWII’ atmosphere as later films in the series became
a bit more light-hearted. Some of them even portrayed Godzilla as a good guy
though the filmmakers did make him a villain again from time to time, establishing
the character as somewhat of an antihero. We’ll soon see if the upcoming ‘Godzilla’
will stay faithful to the original film that inspired it… unlike another
certain American take on the character (more on that next time).
Rating: 4.5/5
(Both Cuts)
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