Gojira (1954)

Director:

Ishirô Honda

Writers:

Ishirô Honda (writer)
Shigeru Kayama (story)
(more)

Release Date:

7 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The legend begins....

Plot:

American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Japan | Nuclear Weapon | Monster Terrorizes City | Giant Monster

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Akira Takarada	...	Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kôchi	...	Emiko Yamane
Akihiko Hirata	...	Daisuke Serizawa-hakase
Takashi Shimura	...	Kyohei Yamane-hakase
Fuyuki Murakami	...	Professor Tanabe
Sachio Sakai	...	Newspaper Reporter Hagiwara
Toranosuke Ogawa	...	Nankai Shipping Company Manager
Ren Yamamoto	...	Masaji the Fisherman
Miki Hayashi	...	Chairman of Diet Committee
Takeo Oikawa	...	Chief of Emergency Headquarters
Seijiro Onda	...	Parliamentarian Oyama
Tsuruko Mano	...	Shinkichi's Mother
Toyoaki Suzuki	...	Shinkichi (Masaji's Younger Brother)
Kokuten Kôdô	...	The Old Fisherman
Kin Sugai	...	Ozawa-san
Tadashi Okabe	...	Reporter Killed on Tower
Ren Imaizumi	...	Radio Operator
Junpei Natsuki	...	Power Substation Engineer
Katsumi Tezuka	...	Gojira / Hagiwara's Editor
Haruo Nakajima	...	Gojira / Power Station Worker
Yasuhisa Tsutsumi
Jiro Suzuki
Saburo Iketani	...	News Reporter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shizuko Higashi	...	Partygoer
Kiyoshi Kamata	...	Partygoer's Escort
Kenji Sahara	...	Young Lover on the sound
Keiji Sakakida	...	Mayor Inada
Tamae Sengo	...	Mother
Ryosaku Takasugi
Ishirô Honda	...	Power Station Worker (The Hand that Throws the Switch) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ishirô Honda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ishirô Honda		writer
Shigeru Kayama		story
Takeo Murata		writer

Produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka	....	producer

Original Music by
Akira Ifukube

Cinematography by
Masao Tamai

Film Editing by
Kazuji Taira		(as Yasunobu Taira)

Production Design by
Satoshi Chuko
Takeo Kita

Art Direction by
Satoshi Chuko
Takeo Kita

Production Management
Teruo Maki	....	executive in charge of production

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Koji Kajita	....	chief assistant director
Susumu Takebayashi	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Ichirô Minawa	....	sound effects editor
Hisashi Shimonaga	....	sound recordist
Nobuyuki Tanaka	....	sound assistant
Norio Tone	....	sound assistant

Special Effects by
Sadamasa Arikawa	....	director of photography: special effects
Kuichiro Kishida	....	special effects lighting
Yoichi Manoda	....	assistant camera
Hiroshi Mukoyama	....	matte work
Fumio Nakadai	....	special effects wire work
Yasuaki Sakamoto	....	production manager
Sokei Tomioka	....	assistant camera
Teizo Toshimitsu	....	monster builder
Eiji Tsuburaya	....	special effects director
Hajime Tsuburaya	....	assistant camera
Akira Watanabe	....	art director
Taka Yuki	....	opticals
Fuminori Ohashi	....	special effects technical advisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Haruo Nakajima	....	stunt choreographer

Camera and Electrical Department
Yuzuru Aizawa	....	assistant camera
Choshiro Ishii	....	lighting technician
Shinji Kojima	....	lighting assistant
Shoshichi Kojima	....	lighting assistant

Other crew
Sei Ikeno	....	assistant: Akira Ifukube
Fumio Nakadai	....	tail supervisor
Shôji Okawa	....	tail supervisor

Production Companies

• Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Distributors

• Toho Company (Japan)
• Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Vestron Video (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Zontarian Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Rialto Pictures (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2005) (UK) (all media)
• Atlantic Film (2006) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Classic Media (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony BMG Music Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Wonder (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Nihon Eiga Satellite Broadcasting (2008) (Japan) (TV)
• Kuk Dong (South Korea)

Other Companies

• Toho Studios  sound stages

Also Known As:

Godzilla (International: English title) (USA)
Kaihatsu keikaku G (Japan) (working title)
Kaitei ni-man mairu kara kita daikaijû (Japan) (working title)
Godzilla (France) [fr]
Godzilla (Hungary) [hu]
Godzilla (Poland) [pl]
Godzilla (Italy) [it]
Godzilla - Der sensationellste Film der Gegenwart (West Germany) (video title) [de]
Godzilla - monstret från havet (Sweden) [sv]
Godzilla, to teras tou aionos (Greece) [el]
Japón bajo el terror del monstruo (Spain) [es]
O Monstro do Oceano Pacífico (Portugal) [pt]

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (nf) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Toba, Mie, Japan

Company:

Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd.

Trivia:

In the Japanese version, right after Dr. Yamane (Takashi Shimura) makes his first appearance (at the conference for the Oto Island survivors), he is embarrassed to notice that his tie was loose, and tucks it back into his jacket. This scene, perhaps one of the film's only bits of comedy relief, has become a pop-culture reference to Godzilla fans in Japan. The film Gojira ni-sen mireniamu (1999), pays tribute to this predicament when the character Shiro Miyasaka (played by Shirô Sano) straightens his loose tie back into his jacket at a military briefing.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The buildings attacked by Godzilla in the model shots, from the way they "slide" on their bases and explode upwards in one whole piece, do not appear to have any foundations (or, indeed, to be fixed to the ground in any way at all).

Quotes:

[last lines]
Kyohei Yamane-hakase: I can't believe that Godzilla was the only surviving member of its species... But if we continue conducting nuclear tests... it's possible that another Godzilla might appear somewhere in the world again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Brother from the Same Planet (#4.14)" (1993)

Remembrances of New Year's Eve, 1960

When one thinks of all the schlock that has come out of Japan when it comes to monster movies, many which use the Godzilla figure, one forgets that this was a pretty darn good movie. I remember as a child, watching it on late night television, in 1960. It was New Year's Eve and the adults were out doing whatever it is they did. The presence of Raymond Burr gave me a sense of comfort (Perry Mason was a staple at our house). I realize he was added for American audiences. It didn't matter to me. Unlike so many of its successors, this was nicely paced, didn't bank on Godzilla being a matinée idol (some of the films are so stupid where the thing becomes a friend to Tokyo, a form of defense). This film has the terror of "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms." The sets were much better. The battle scenes truer than the cheaper things that came later. The monster was a force. I have always enjoyed that scene where one goes over a hill or a rise just before a beach, and on the other side is the monster. The scenes of him wading into the harbor. This is a striking presentation for the early days of monster movies. Of course, it's all based on radiation and the nuclear threat. This stuff enlarges things and makes them rampage. I hope to purchase the Japanese remastered version from 2004. I'd like to see it the way it was intended to be seen.