Movie Review: Gojira (1954)

                     

   Today, in honor of the new Godzilla movie, I will review the original movie that started it all, Gojira!!!  This movie is an amazing film, with few flaws and a great plot, and manages to keep a dark, serious tone due to the dark events from which the monster and film were inspired from. For those wondering, I am reviewing the Japanese version of the film. I will not review the American version yet, but I may in the summer.

    

    This film was created because of both nuclear testing and the devastating atom bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which the Japanese were still recovering from at the time of the film. Godzilla, or Gojira in Japanese, is a symbol of nuclear testing and holocaust, as he devastates Tokyo and the many people in it in the film. The main message behind it is, simply put, "The continued production of weapons of mass destruction will only further progress wars and cause even more uneasiness and distrust between the world's nations"; that's how I interpreted it, anyway! This film really makes you think at some points.

The Oxygen Destroyer

The story is as follows: After several ships go missing in the ocean near Odo Island, natives believe it to be a legendary monster known as "Godzilla". After witnesse report the ships' fates, an investigation crew, along with archaeologist Kyohei Yamane, visit the island and find a trilobite and radioactive footprints. After an encounter with the monster, it's revealed to be dinosaurian in appearance. After Yamane presents his findings, ships go to try and kill Gojira; unfortunately, it fails, as the monster terrorizes a party boat later in the night. While Emiko, Yamane's daughter, wishes to break up with Dr. Serizawa, her arranged engagement and a colleague of her father's, due to her love of Ogata, a sailor. Dr. Serizawa, however, wishes to tell her of his discoveries, which proves to be a deadly weapon that releases oxygen from living creatures in water, reducing them to skeletons and essentially vaporizing them. Though she promises to keep it a secret, in light of the recent attacks oon Tokyo by Godzilla, she tells Ogata. After confronting the doctor, they decide to go and use the superweapon on the monster. I won't tell you if they succeed or not; you'll have to watch the movie to find out what happens!

Greetings! I will destroy your city! How does that sound?

     The special effects, while somewhat dated compared to today's, holds up relatively well. I personally think the atomic breath effects do not hold up at all, while most of the other ones do.The black and white color allows for the strings or anyhing like that used to be hidden almost enirely.While stop-motion isn't employed for the monster, it is used in a few shots, though not very effectively at all. The suit used is my favorite Godzilla design/suit out of the many in the series, and in black and white it looks spectacular. Overall, the special effects are spot-on. No big complaints here!

NOMNOMNOM!!!! Yummy choo-choo!!!

    The plot is superb, and the acting is very good as well; this movie definitely has relatable characters in my opinion. My personal favorite is the archaeologist Yamane; he is conflicted by his wish to study Godzilla, and yet must side with his people and destroy him to save the world from his terror. The underlying message is great, and I wish that superweapons like atom bombs were never invented and shouldn't continue in production. The monster Godzilla is a great monster, having been so popular that a whole film series, comprising of 29 films, was made. His powers are extraordinary, and his design is very unique. Overall, the plot, characters, and message are excellent.

Overall, this film is one of the greats, deserving a spot on your shelf. You can get both the Japanese and American versions in the same package in most releases, so you can compare them to see which was your favorite. Anyway, this film, though it has some dated special effects, has a great plot, characters, and some of the effects aren't that bad at all.

My Final Rating: 4.9 out of 5

Classic film with little to no flaws and good storyline.

Tomorrow, I see the new Godzilla film in IMAX 3D, and I plan on reviewing it tomorrow as well. I know it will be better than '98 as a Godzilla film, and I can't wait to see it. Thanks for reading, and see you when I review Godzilla (2014)!

The King of Monsters Returns!