Directed by Ishiro Honda Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kocji, Akihiko Harata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Sachio Sakai, Toranosuke Ogawa, Ren Yamamoto. Review by Kevin Johnson
SYNOPSIS:
A giant creature, born from the results of nuclear testing, terrorizes and demolishes Tokyo; the military and a group of scientists race against time to stop him.
After visiting King Kong, it's only fitting that the next monster movie to tackle here is Godzilla, or Gojira, if one prefers the strict, original title. Let me be clear here; I'm reviewing the very first film here, the one created in 1954; not the most recent one, not the cartoon(s), not the infinitely-large catalogue of his "versus" compendium (which includes a battle with King Kong). No, dear readers, I shall focus on the primary version of this film.
I'm going to try something unique here; I will create two different reviews—one for the 1954 Japanese version and one for the 1956 American release. I think this a good method of comparison, to understand what kinds of noticeable differences between what is essentially two different cuts of the same film; what is it that two, separate, international audiences expect, and what are the choices made between the studio executives to make these understated changes work. We'll see how this work; it should be quite informative.
1954. Nine years after what was essentially the worse moment in Japanese history, one would be hard-pressed not to find someone who remembered the horrific dropping of atomic weapons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The nuclear fallout and emotional, physical, mental destruction that followed on the people, institutions and infrastructure of Japan were so catastrophic, one couldn't possibly put it into words.
And yet, after such a horrific incident, the American-Russian escalation through the Cold War was a huge, metaphoric slap in the face; to see such wanton destruction in a country, and yet still be willing to threaten each other with the same weapons that caused such a cataclysmic disaster was on some level between ignorant and insulting.
So it's not a long shot to catch the obvious political rhetoric espoused in Gorija. Nothing like seeing a city still reeling form a nuclear attack being… well, attacked. In fact, one of the things that struck me about this film is how direct and by-the-book it is. King Kong depicts a whole story of directors and navy men and love stories, tribesmen and dinosaurs and monsters and free-range destruction in New York. Here, it's something different: Godzilla is discovered. He attacks. The army tries to stop him. He attacks again. Repeat.
Not to say this is a bad thing; it's just something new and surprising to see, especially knowing how much rigmarole studios tend to force into their movies, like love stories and funny characters and quirky sidekicks. Sure, there's a couple of juicy drama bits here and there; the professor who discovers Godzilla laments at the idea of destroying it instead of studying it; a member of the coast Guard and a nurse harbor a forbidden love; a scientist discovers the device that can destroy Godzilla is also a weapon of mass destruction, and suffers over the choice he must make. But, for the most part, it's exactly what you expect, and while I definitely enjoyed it, I'll be honest—I can sort of see why studios tend to emphasize the pizazz sometimes.
But Gojira is a movie that doesn't need pizazz, especially when the beast causes the massive destruction that it does; excellently shot scenes of the city erupting in blazes from Godzilla's fire-breath fill the middle of the movie, putting the absolute seriousness in perspective. Moments where fleeing parents and children pray before their lives get snuffed out; a dedicated news team reporting to the very end, right before Godzilla destroys them; the constant attempts by the military to stop this beast (depth charges, giant electrical fences, tanks and mortar rounds) completely failing. There's a real frustration here, a real sense of a struggle, which leaves you rooting for Japan all the way through. And when the ending comes, it'll leave you heart-broken; presenting a true meaning of sacrifice and honor that normal is not presented in typical monster movie fare.
Gojira is a though-provoking film that goes beyond pointing out the dangers of nuclear testing, emphasizing out-of-control politics and weapon bolstering. There are serious stakes at the civil level that are oft ignored in government/military standoffs, and if we don't take care to take the civilian reaction to heart, we could become our own Godzilla monsters.
Stay tuned next week when I compare this one to the 1956 American version!
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GOJIRA, 1954
