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Film: Godzilla (Gojira)
Year: 1954
Director: Ishirô Honda
Writer: Takeo Murata and Ishirô Honda
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata and Akira Takarada
Review:
I should start this off by saying that growing up, I loved the Godzilla series. I watched the films where he would battle other monsters and was a defender of Earth. It wasn’t until I got a little bit older and talked to my father who only likes this one and the newer ones, especially where Godzilla is a villain.
Synopsis: American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.
This doesn’t waste any time getting into it. We see a shipping vessel being destroyed in the middle of the ocean. A distress call was sent out and Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada) takes it. He apologizes to Emiko Yamane (Momoko Kôchi) as he must cancel plans with her. His ship is then destroyed as well. Others try to rescue the survivors, but any ship that goes meets a similar fate.
On a nearby island, they see a raft coming toward them. It is Ogata. There is a local legend of a sea creature called Godzilla. The elders think that the bad fishing is caused by it and that it will come ashore soon. That night a typhoon hit, but there seems to be something bigger within. A professor is called in, the father of Emiko. His name is Kyohei (Takashi Shimura). It is during the investigation they discover giant footprints that are radioactive. In one of them, they find a creature that was supposed to have been extinct for a long time. They also get a glimpse of the giant lizard as well.
Kyohei believes that the creature was in an underwater cave and that H-bomb testing released it. He also thinks that it has a natural defense to radiation. There is a scientist that a local reporter, Hagiwara (Sachio Sakai), wants to talk to as they think he might have a way to stop it. The scientist is Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) and he refuses to talk to the press. Hagiwara asks Emiko who was engaged to marry him if he can get him an interview. He refuses to talk to the reporter but shows something to Emiko. He swears her to secrecy though.
Things get worse when Godzilla comes on to the mainland and destroys cities. Everything they try to do fails and it just leaves a path of destruction. It crushes them underfoot, with its tail and fire-breath. The only reprieve is that it goes back into the ocean to rest. Is there a way to stop this monster before it destroys Tokyo and all of Japan?
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that the first time since college seeing this with a critical eye was at the Gateway Film Center for their Horror 101 series. The biggest takeaway from this film is how bleak it is. I've also now given this another watch at home with my DVD for my Foray through the Fours.
I want to start with this film isn’t too long after the two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, less than 10 years. There is a woman who says that she survived one of the attacks by fleeing before it happened. I think it’s an important point, because this country is still in a state of depression and shock. The film speaks out against the use of these types of weapons. It says we need to stop using them as the final line. Going with that, it frees Godzilla from its underwater cavern and has immunity to the radioactivity as well. It doesn’t shy away from being an anti-war and anti-bomb film even being anti-American since they feel these are two things that are associated with the country. I can't fault them for those sentiments. There is even a reluctance to use the weapon that could destroy Godzilla, because the scientist doesn’t trust humanity to not pursue using it against their fellow man. This gives it a feeling of the scientists who developed the atomic bomb and their reluctance toward not only the creation but use.
To get into more of the realism here, I do think that there’s a possibility that there could be underwater caves in the ocean that house creatures like this. There is so much not explored under the water that I could see them living down there since it goes so deep that we haven’t gotten that far to give a proper probe. Do I think the creature could do the things that Godzilla can? Not necessarily, but could there be a creature this size? There potentially could be. I think the abilities go back to making Godzilla an almost unstoppable monster and make it to where we don’t think he can be stopped.
Where I want to go then would be acting. This is something that I found to be good across the board. Takarada is good as our hero. What is interesting about him is that he works for a salvage company. He is a good guy, but he does get a bit rude to the man he wants to be his father-in-law. Takarada wants to destroy Godzilla where Kyohei wants to study it. I do like Shimura and can see where he comes from for his role. This is a monster that hasn’t been seen for millions of years and we could learn a lot from it. The problem though is that it is odd, because I don’t know how he proposes to do that. I like this is anti-war, pro-science and animal film though. Kôchi was solid in her role and I like Hirata as well. The rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. The effects are interesting. They did a great job of using models and toys to bring these things to life. When this was done, everything had to be done practically or in-camera. There are times you can see that they aren’t real, but I don't mind it. I have a soft spot there. It looks better than things done with CGI in my opinion. I love seeing Godzilla destroy the city and the military equipment. Even though I know it is a guy in a suit, I think there is more realism to it thanks to forced perspective. I thought the look of the monster was also solid. The cinematography should also be credited here as well, that and the framing.
The last thing to touch on before wrapping this up is the score and sound design. I do think they go a bit heavy handed with the thudding of Godzilla walking and there are even times when he’s in the water that it wouldn’t be heard like it is. I do let that slide because it gives a feeling of foreboding each time. The roar of the monster is great. I believe that's how it would sound. I do think there are good musical selections that enhance the scenes as well, contributing at times to that bleak feel of the film for sure. This is a great soundtrack.
In conclusion, this is a classic kaiju film and it goes beyond that. I don’t think it is perfect, but it does so many things right and the underlying message is one that is still relevant today. What helps here is that this is well-made. There are times that we might see the seams of the suit or the models used, but this wasn't expected to be seen in high definition. Even if you can, I still think there is charm there by doing this practical. The forced perspective, framing and cinematography are good. We got a great soundtrack and design as well. This is just an excellent film and would recommend it, even if you think kaiju films are cheesy. This is more. There is an American version that could be more palatable. I did watch this subtitled with my last couple viewings.
My Rating: 10 out of 10