Gojira (1954)

Directed by Ishirô Honda. Starring Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kôchi, Fuyuki Murakami, Ren Yamamoto, Toyoaki Suzuki, Toranosuke Ogawa, Hiroshi Hayashi.

First Godzilla film is a solemn, fearful affair, gazing with awesome anxiety upon the power of nuclear weapons. The titular ancient creature has been disturbed by hydrogen bomb testing and heads for Tokyo on a rampage, its irradiated fire breath melting and immolating everything in its path, a metaphorical revenge by nature against man for creating the bomb. Far more serious than the average Godzilla romper-stomper, the grimy black & white photography even lends the attack scenes a harrowing quality that brings more pity than excitement (and also partially obscures some of the more obvious instances of cheap cardboard models and rubber suits). The pioneering “suitmation” effects are, naturally, dated today, but still enjoyable to look at, especially compared to most of the campy kaiju pictures to come in the next couple decades. Anglicized title is (of course) Godzilla, but the American version has the specialized title of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which removes about thirty minutes of material and replaces it with inserts featuring actor Raymond Burr (stick with the Japanese original). Followed by a slew of sequels and “kaiju spinoffs,” starting with Godzilla Raids Again.

68/100