Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Gojira (1954)/Godzilla (1956) review


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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