Gojira(1954).A 164-foot-tall (50-meter-tall) monster reptile with radioactive breath is revived, thanks to nuclear testing. It goes on a mad rampage, destroying Tokyo - can it be stopped? Should it be killed? Written byMarty McKee <mmckee@wkio.com>... Synopsis Gojira(1954)
Movie Title: Gojira(1954)
Run Time: 96 min
Rating: 7.3 / 10
Genres: Drama |Horror |Sci-Fi |Thriller
Release Date: 7 May 2004 (USA)
Director: Ishirô Honda
Writer: Ishirô Honda,Shigeru Kayama , more credit ... and other credits
Actor: Takashi Shimura,Akihiko Hirata,Akira Takarada
Gojira (not Godzilla, King of the Monsters, with Raymond Burr), stands as one of the best monster movies...and one of Japan's finest and most allegory pieces of cinema. The original version of the movie has a lot of anti-nuclear sentiment that the US editors dropped from the Raymond Burr version. A woman on a subway noting that is seemed like she survived Nagaski only to die from Godzilla is an offhand but telling comment on Japan's unique view of the use of nuclear weapons.
The story itself is makes a bit more sense than the patchwork used with Raymond Burr (though that version is also quite good for the genre that it helps perpetuate). The effects are (I think) still great...the grainy, documentary feel of the movie makes it seem a lot more real.
