James today I watch the movie Unthinkable, and it was one of the most thought-provoking movies I've ever seen. I think you should check it, Samuel L Jackson is in it and it's one of his best performances ever imo.
Shin Godzilla would be a good follow up to this review as it is a modern Japanese take on what would actually happen if some bizarre monster just came up out of the sea and wrecked havoc on Tokyo.
JAMES vs Cinema - GODZILLA is a Force of Nature , an American Reporter said (Raymond Burr) . you Dont reason with Godzilla or try to Bargin with it , you just have to get OUT of its way. IF, you watch the American Version of Godzilla , Raymond Burr as the American Reporter , he gives more Context .
the 1954 Godzilla movie , is a Social Commentary of America using the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki and the Aftermath . IT is said GODIZILLA is a Force of Nature and only appears when the Balance of Nature is Disrupted. Godzilla is the ULTIMATE Equalizer .
One of the most devastating moments of this film emotionally is the scene showing a mother holding her two children close, knowing that there's no escape for them, telling them that they'll be with their father soon. Just crushes me every time I see it.
The hospital scene wrenches your heart further; the mom didn't make it, the kids did, but they lost their mom and they will not only be growing up orphaned, but suffering the effects of exposure to Godzilla's radiation.
When you realize these were the types of scenes very familiar to post war Japanese and not made up for effect. Every Japanese city was fire bombed, just like a monster walking and burning its way through.
@christopherwall2121 if that was there mom how come the daughter cried out saying father instead because I had on the closed captions it was spelled out as father#I've got this movie on dvd&blue ray
Very glad you opted to watch the original Japanese movie as opposed to the American version, which I grew up on. While there's nothing actually wrong with the U.S. version, its focus is just on the monster and the havoc it wreaks. Seeing the movie in its original incarnation, the way it was meant to be seen, I can appreciate the deeper meanings and textures of the story as opposed to it just being another "monster movie."
@@DJKuroh Shin Godzilla is amazing. Its 7 Japanese Academy Awards are testament to that. Including Best Picture. Hideaki Anno has proven himself once again to be a fantastic storyteller when it comes to the human element.
Nothing wrong with the US cut. Most people can't get over there this type of movie would not be allowed in theaters without a dub. The core of the original meaning is still there. The acting and voice acting were really good.
12:29 James you are 100% on point - The design of Godzilla - the TEXTURE of him - was indeed meant to portray a mutated dinosaur. When you see close-ups of this original version of Godzilla, you should not sense scales or reptilian leathery hide, but a creature who is covered in radiation BURN SCARS. Godzilla was given massive powers of durability, strength and size, as well as his classic atomic fire breath. But at the cost of incredible PAIN. For a more modern, updated take on that aspect of Godzilla, check out 2016's Shin Godzilla, which goes much more towards that side of him, then the almost superhero side of Godzilla portrayed by the current American version. BTW - both sides of Godzilla I just mentioned are legit and come from the original Japanese series. That's the beauty of this character - he can be a victim, hero or villain - and sometimes he's all those things at the same time! But the hero version came later. This version - the monstrous victim of atomic fire inflicting his pain on the rest of the world is the original.
This actually serves as a cautionary tale about atomic bombs bring dropped on major cities and what the terrible effects of radiation can do to a person. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima it signaled the end of WWII but began the use of nuclear weapons.
When Godzilla came out, it was conceived and made only 8-9 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Made by people who literally lived to see nuclear warfare firsthand and survived. Which was also why upon release in Japan, Godzilla was received very negatively. It took years for Godzilla to be appreciated for the cinematic masterpiece it really is.
1954's "Godzilla" is not only one of the best monster movies ever made, it's also one of the best movies ever made. Certainly at the time of production Ishiro Honda couldn't have possibly imagined what an impact his creation would end up having around the world so many years later. All he wanted to do was make a fun but serious monster movie, instead he made history. So excited for "Godzilla: Minus One" which will also be a serious take on the monster. December 1st can't get here soon enough!
I saw this movie in 1956 as a 7 year old child. It cost me a dime(10 cents) to see it. It was dark when the movie was over, and I`d never ran home faster than I did that night. Godzilla became my favorite monster that night.
The 2016 reboot/remake "Shin Gojira"/"Shin Godzilla" i believe is the closest we will ever get to the same tone and messaging as this original film here. Taking the messaging and everything from the 1954 film and repurposing it for the modern era was done so perfectly. My favorite Godzilla film and a perfect companion piece to the original film.
Rewatching them now it’s like Anno took that one scene of the government arguing about how to handle Godzilla and turned it into a main plotline of a Godzilla move
I heard there was going to be a continuation where by the end Shin Godzilla evolves to the point that it *becomes the universe.* Would be interesting to see but at the same time tragic since it’s always in pain.
A fine reaction video! I'm glad to see that you're reacting to Godzilla '54 in it's original format. Feels as though not too many reactors give movies of this nature a chance due to the language barrier. So it really is a nice change of pace to see this classic get a chance to shine. Especially one with such historical significance. Hopefully more creators follow in James' footsteps and give this film a watch.
The story of Godzilla's name: The original King Kong (1933) was a big hit in Japan. When Japanese film started up, they wanted to do a Japanese version of Kong. When the script was written, there was not yet a design for the monster they just knew it would be large and aquatic, so they took the "GO" from "gorilla" (from Kong) and combined it with the word "Kujira" (whale) to form GoJira, which Americans translated to Godzilla. Godzilla means gorilla-whale.
This Godzilla film was produced not even 10 years after the nuclear bombings of two of Japan's biggest cities in 1945. Godzilla was a metephor of the dangers of a nuclear bomb. Very thought provoking.
And it was reinforced by the Lucky Dragon No 5 tragedy, when a Japanese fishing boat wandered into an atomic test site. Many of the crew got radiation poisoning and one man died. That was in early 1954. The ship is still preserved as a warning against the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Godzilla represents less the bombs themselves and more the threat of nuclear warfare as a whole. The unchecked destruction that a nuclear conflict can cause on any country, as well as the agony that it brings to people and nature, is really the danger that the original Godzilla embodies. And the Oxygen Destroyer representing the only two ways to make peace with this power we found is to either get rid of it fully or to put it to good use as something other than a weapon. That's why the professor at the end of the film makes the statement of "if we don't stop nuclear testing then another Godzilla might be born". Of course the bombs were a catalyst for this message but Godzilla tends to be confused for a "Walking Hiroshima Allegory" but it goes a bit deeper than that. At least in this film.
Freaky facts: a lot of the aftermath footage is from the days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not just the city footage but the footage of the people as well. The producers did this as a way of showing the world the actual effects of an atomic bomb and the horror it unleashes... The monster was just a cover.
That's why Godzilla was created at all. With the peace treaty Japan's media wasn't allowed to show anything about the bombs effects. It was illegal for them to make movies about atom bombs. Godzilla was the work around as you mentioned
In Japan, Godzilla movies are split up into eras: Shōwa era (1954-1975), Heisei era (1984-1995), Millennium era (1999-2004) and the Reiwa era (2016-present). I grew up watching the Shōwa era (1954-1975) Godzilla movies on TV all the time. I must have watched all those movies dozens of times each. The first Godzilla was a serious movie. The next movie was a cash grab and from then on Godzilla changed from a force of nature to a protector of humans. Basically they turned into kids' movies. Although, I think the last movie of the Showa era, Terror of Mechagodzilla, is actually very good (it has my favorite Godzilla entrance ever). The movie was based on the aftermath of dropping of the atom bomb. But also inspired by the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon 5) incident where a Japanese tuna fishing boat with a crew of 23 men were contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The Americans had given advanced warning of the test, but they underestimated the power of the blast. The US didn't originally take responsibility, but It is estimated that about one hundred fishing boats were contaminated to some degree by fallout from the test. This was national news in Japan when Godzilla was released and was probably on the minds of many of the viewers.
I used to a big godzilla nerd, rewatching this, i realize how much of an allegory the character was meant to be. Edit: Fun Fact; Godzilla’s roar was created by the composer of this movie Akira Ifukube, he dragged a leather glove across the strings of a double bass.
I'll say it...Gojira (1954) is a masterpiece. Ishiro Honda's directing and Akira Ifukube's score are phenomenal. So glad you enjoyed it. Young people today who think they know who Godzilla is need to see this movie!
The end always got me, because it showed Godzilla was just a creature and victim of circumstance. His first “rampage” wasn’t bad by comparison and only let loose his rage after provoked. Other movies has the monster constantly in rampage mode with no purpose.
As a bookend, you should watch the re-edited Godzilla: King of the Monsters “starring” Raymond Burr. It’s a fascinating study of what Hollywood producers thought would be more palatable to American audiences. It loses a lot of the atomic horror message in favor of b-grade monster action. It’s also fun to see the contortions they made filming new footage to insert Burr into the film. I love both equally.
The DVD set I have has interesting commentary on it. While the original Japanese cut contains commentary on the making of the film as a whole, the American version's commentary discusses what had to be done to bring Godzilla to America.
Some interesting things happened in the recut American version. Some of the original movie scenes were moved around, so later when Japanese moviegoers saw the American version, the scenes were jarringly out of place.
From a filmmaking technical standpoint it's brilliant how they incorporate Burr into the original footage, all while he never does interact directly with the Japanese cast... including his alleged friend the Professor. For years (pre-Internet) many of us had no idea Raymond Burr wasn't in the original movie.
The movie is roughly 2 hours long. The build-up to the destruction is like 45 minutes. The destruction itself only lasts like 25 minutes in total. The last 50 minutes show the suffering and aftermath. There is a scene where the reaction skips over, but it's the hospital scene where a little girl cries over her dead mother. Her crying is so visceral, so real, that I get tears in my eyes every time. I showed my mom, and she had nightmares over the scene. The original Godzilla is genuinely a masterpiece.
I recently decided to watch this for the first time because I saw you made a video on it James and I gotta say this movie hit me in the exact same way. Was NOT expecting such powerful, dramatic, and somber filmmaking. Kinda crazy that eventually this franchise would devolve into giant monster fights with very little moral philosophy. Makes me wonder how Godzilla made that transition from death incarnate to Japanese folk hero.
Psyched you did the original version, it really is a great movie! I agree, even without Godzilla, it's a compelling story! Definitely check out the original "King Kong" which is just as dazzling effects-wise (and it's 20 years earlier!), and it's also the most moving telling of the story of all the versions, none other captures the tragedy of King Kong more than the original.
The ending of this film is surprisingly somber, humanistic and powerful when you realize Godzilla isn't a villain. He's a victim too of the radiation who was caught up in the shizzz-storm that is the modern nuclear world. Seeing Godzilla's remains at the end is very sad, just reminds me of a dead dog. Godzilla is just trying to survive and is as vulnerable to death as any other creature on earth.
So glad you watched this absolute classic! Director Ishiro Honda was a WWII vet and after the war drove through the destroyed city of Hiroshima on his way home, which greatly influenced how he approached the film. Nagasaki and Hiroshima are both still very inhabited as well, in Hiroshima there's a memorial in the building closest to the epicenter that was still left standing, it has a very distinct look. That was a great observation about the way Godzilla looks too! They designed him to look like his skin was burned and blistered from the heat of the H bomb
The reason this film was successful in Japan, aside from the whole monsters stomping in buildings fun, is that Godzilla was a stand-in for the atom bomb, that had been dropped in Japan about a decade prior. It had a subtext of the end of WWII and the bombing of Hiroshima snd Nagasaki.
James knows that. He literally alludes to it the entire time, and even acknowledges the time period and used the term "hydrogen bomb", as well as mentioning the rebuilding of Nagasaki. That's the entire conceit of the movie.
As much as I get a kick out of the monster brawls and heroic aura of the character of recent years, this one truly stood with me and still is truly a landmark horror drama film that really created a truly unique personification of Nuclear destruction in this character. No matter what new entries we see of this monster, I will always regard the original film as a classic.
Gojira is a pure masterpiece of film making and one of the most important pieces of art in modern times. It's an anti-war film. Emanating from the deep pain and horror of post ww2, it of course is a stark warning regarding nuclear weaponry, but it goes beyond that and the monster can be seen as a representation of the human races tendency towards self destruction with warfare. A monster that rises again and again from deep in our psych just as godzilla rises from the ocean depths. This message has been obscured over the years as the memories of ww2 have faded and have been replaced with a more romantic and surface Hollywood version. Emphasis has been placed on the nuclear aspect but it obscures the stark representation of the fire bombing of Japanese cities. The scenes of the destruction of Tokyo are starkly the experience of conventional fire bombing and not a nuclear detonation. Even down to the sound effect of the monsters foot steps echoing the sounds of an approaching bombing run. Serazowa's character directly places the blame for the horror of war on all of us as a single race, not one of us can be trusted. His confrontation with the monster at the end is our confrontation with the monster deep within ourselves and the final message of "this horror is coming again" is chilling. Particularly as we watch with detachment the news of today. I just flat out love this f'n movie
Godzilla's appearance was also effective for Japanese audiences at the time. The filmmakers deliberately designed his form to provoke memories of radiation burns. And like you said, they intended the creature to be a god-like force that has no morality, not good or evil. An interesting remake of this movie is SHIN GODZILLA, which was done not long ago and is a major commentary on modern government bureaucracy and how arguments of pride, PR, and jurisdiction can slow down what's needed to just help people and address a situation. There are now several timelines/continuities for the different Godzilla films, but most of them consider the first movie to always be canon (though SHIN GODZILLA does not). So those movie timelines acknowledge that a Godzilla creature was encountered and destroyed in 1954 and then propose that another Godzilla creature rose years later, around the same time other monsters (or "Titans") began appearing, some of which are ancient and some of which are from other planets or dimensions.
Great analysis and reaction video! This film was made in the same year that toho studios created another remarkable film - the Seven Samurai. Takashi Shimura who plays the lead scientist in this movie plays the wise samurai leader in that film
14:21 for later versions and movies they toned that side down, but for this movie you are correct; many parts of Tokyo and other places that Godzilla just so happened to even walk through were irradiated to the point where no-one would be able to live there for years. Thusly, this gives another perfect metaphor to the atomic bombings, as radiation-based events usually leave places unlivable for many years. For Nagasaki and Hiroshima however, since the bomb was detonated in the air, most of the radiation subsided after only 24 hours. The clean-up and restoration did take a year though. 15:15 That is Godzilla's Atomic Breath (sometimes said as Vapor Breath for the '54 incarnation). For this movie, the breath we see is only supposed to be visible to the audience, to show where the radiation is spewing out to. The effects it has on the electrical towers there is that it melts them. So, in real-life, the military would just see him open his mouth, make that almost mechanical sounding exhale, and then in 5 seconds the electrical towers melt from nothing but the invisible might of radiation. But for the other movies, they decided that it would just be a visible attack, and not just a thing only us watchers looking in can see. 18:30 Cool on ya for picking that up. In most Godzilla movies ,you see him destroy things, take out enemy monsters, and then that it. Here though, you get all that other stuff, and then you see the destroyed city afterwards. And then you see the hospitals, filled with the injured and dying. Another thing about that specific panning shot of the destroyed city, if you compare that imagery with some of the photos taken after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they look nearly identical. Ishirō Honda made sure this movie was as close to a metaphor of the Atomic Bombings in 1945 as possible.
The scene with the clock tower was undoubtedly a reference to either "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" or the original Ray Bradbury short story that movie was based on. The whole structure of the film, of course, was patterned after the original "King Kong", which established the template of taking time to building up the story before the introduction of the title monster. At least two other scenes directly referenced and paid hommage to scenes in "King Kong": the destruction of the train by Godzilla and the scene at the radio tower with the flashes of the cameras of the news people. Both of those movies would be great for you to do reactions to!
I can’t say that personally this one is my favorite, there’s a few I enjoy more, but I do think it is genuinely one of the most well made, and serious ones.
I grew up watching the Godzilla films and this one still ranks at the top after all these years. It does not have the overused CGI that the modern Godzilla movies use and it focuses more on the message it wants to deliver while still providing great and suspenseful effects for 50s. Hope you react to more of the earlier Godzilla movies in the future!
One of the best after movie commentaries you’ve done! Excellent video. The end always gets me because it’s not Godzilla’s fault, he too is a victim of the bomb. Also glad you watched the original version. It’s so powerful.
The first GODZILLA is unique in that it was intended to be a serious horror movie/allegory. Not that other ones aren't great campy fun, but they're a different animal. I saw this at the American Film Institute at a 40th anniversary screening (I think it was not on American home video yet.) Audible gasps at the scene where the mother tells her kids "We'll be with your father soon."
Years and years and YEARS ago, I couldn't stand to read all the subtitles of any foreign film. I had to have them English dubbed. now, after all these years, I have gotten to prefer to watch the original non-dubbed version, with the actors' actual voices and in their native tongues, and reading the subtitles is not as big an issue as I once thought it was. Hearing it in the original language gives me more appreciation to the film.
Quick exposition of the tropes you've mentioned - First, yes, there is such a thing as a "liquid oxygen burning bar" which WILL cut through anything and does exceptionally nasty things to biological tissue. Second, this film is from 1954. In 1952, the first H-bomb was tested in the Pacific ocean- it produced 1,000 times the blast of the Hiroshima bomb and was calculated to have released a blast of 1.5 times the power of every explosive used in war over the prior history of humanity. This ALSO raises the "three parts in a million dilemma"- when Arthur Compton and Robbert Oppenheimer, the creators of the atom & hydrogen bombs, though through the 'worst case' results of using an atomic blast to trigger heavy-hydrogen aka deuterium fusion. Basically, if the temperature of an A-bomb could trigger deuterium fusion, then could the temperature of deuterium fusion could trigger hydrogen-oxygen or nitrogen-oxygen fusion? That would be bad, because then the oceans and atmosphere of the Earth would burn in a nuclear fire, erasing all life on earth and likely shattering the Earth into dust. The story goes, the calculations came back that, there was LESS than a 3-in-1-million chance that the H-bomb test would vaporize the Earth in a microsecond. The last trope is from a later novel by Kurt Vonnegut, 'Cat's Cradle' about a lab scientist who discovers a high-temperature version of water ice, Ice-9, that is stable at room temperature- which makes it PERFECT for U.S. tank battalions to turn muddy bogs into solid lakes of ice that tanks can cross without bogging down. Unfortunately, they didn't think this through, as the Ice-9 turns the bogs solid, then turns the streams feeding the bog solid, then the rivers, then the oceans...
was able to visit a museum exhibit in Japan featuring items from various monster movies. They had the oxygen destroyer prop as well as the Godzilla foot prop that smashes the train. Also had some of the monster suits from the 90s and 2000s movies (as well as the Mechagodzilla from the 70s) The actor playing Dr Yamani was fantastic in so many movies (Seven Samurai, Ikiru) that i'd recommend watching.
Oh, right on. The original Gojira (Not the American Godzilla King of The Monsters re-edit) is a classic. I'm not a big Godzilla fan, but this one and Shin Godzilla are amazing.
Big Action Bill has a great video about the history of this film It's like an hour long but it provides more context about the creative process This is definitely a classic masterpiece of cinema. Even if you're not entirely into the kaiju genre it's still important on a historical value.
Next PLEASE watch Shin Godzilla (2016), this version of Godzilla is SO unique, constantly in pain unable to control the walking reactor that he is, highly highly recommend it Edit: to expand, this movie was made with SO much love for the 1954 Godzilla and you can tell, you appreciated the design of Godzilla looking like he was BORN in that kinda environment, well shin Godzilla looks 100x scarier and disgusting awesome looking with the same message and theme. Highly highly recommend after watching this
I remember watching parts of this in film class. It remains an impressive feat of cinema, as well as being a well-told generational warning. I would’ve loved to have seen this in a theater in 1954, I bet people lost their minds. The disaster film that launched (probably) a million other disaster films. There’s a long rabbit hole of “Godzilla vs. -“ films to venture down.
I love your perspective on this film, and I love you talking about understanding as a result. It definitely means a lot if you try to understand others' situations and where they are coming from. I for one, in general terms, am mixed, half black and half white but a lot of people can't tell that from looking at me. So while I understand the struggles of my community, I did not have to personally endure them like my sister and mom had to; and the other black women of my family that came before me. The bare minimum I could do is to emphasize and educate myself about the struggles they've gone through. And the same goes with any other race, ethnicity, etc. Another phenomenal commentary as per usual always sparking fantastic conversations that need to be had =D
I'm so glad you liked this movie. Its my absolute favorite film and why Godzilla is my biggest hobby. that being said, don't expect this level of Darkness and dread in most of the other films if you watch them lol.
The shot where Godzilla melts the high-tension wires, so I've heard, was done by building the towers out of wax, then hitting them with some sort of heat generator, so it would give the effect of melting.
I don't recall if it's mentioned in this movie but I believe the oxygen destroyer had a limited range. That's why it did not kill everything in the ocean. In the latest Godzilla movie I think a two mile radius limitation is mentioned.
I'm so glad you decided to watch this! Godzilla is such an impactful series that I grew up with. Are you going to watch the rest of the movies from this era?
Good choice! Godzilla (1954) is typically taken as a morality tale about nuclear weapons. The franchise, however, is mostly about popcorn. The role of Dr. Kyohei Yamane is played by Takashi Shimura, a favorite actor of legendary director Akira Kurosawa. Shimura played Kambei in Seven Samurai (1954), Sanada in Drunken Angel (1948), Detective Sato in Stray Dog (1949), Kikori in Rashomon (1950), and the lead in Ikiru (1952), and that is in addition to roles in The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), and Kagemusha (1980). Shimura also acted in several other notable classic of Japanese cinema, including Throne of Blood (1957), Kwaidan (1965), and Samurai Assassin (1965).
About the radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both cities were rebuilt just fine because the atomic bombs were detonated way up in the air. The radiation landed on the top of the soil, which all eroded fairly quickly. With Godzilla, it would depend on how deep the radiation he leaves goes into the soil, or if he gets into any groundwater sources. If it’s all just the upper layer, rebuilding shouldn’t be too hard. Given they they do rebuild in the sequel, I’m guessing that’s what happened
It would defiantly take some time, but it would be cool if you could cover the whole Godzilla series, and see how it changes through the decades. Love your reaction, as always
Man the algorithm did me dirty by not recommending this earlier, one of my absolute favorite movies from my childhood! Can't wait to see you appreciate this cultural classic
That bit with the mom and kids wrecks me every time, also the bit with the reporter on the tower. I can't not link it mentally to the way that war ravages regular people.
Nice to see someone's reacting to old cinema. King-Kong (1933) is classic just as this Godzilla movie ( though i've never seen it yet). The oldest movie i've seen so far is soviet movie Alexander Nevsky, which came out 1938. Great stuff btw, i would call it one of the first action movie. Btw, thank you for the content!
It's really nice to see someone appreciate the original Godzilla for what it is. Godzilla has morphed into a lot of different things over the years, that not a lot of people realize the original film very much takes itself seriously and has serious themes. To add a bit to what others have said, Godzilla's skin was modeled to look like that of radiation burns and his head from a particular angle was made to look like a silhouette of a mushroom cloud.
Toho wanted to make a monster movie like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. They also wanted to make a movie about the aftereffects of nuclear war, as Japan was the ONLY country nukes had been used on, just 9 years prior. But USA control/interference at the time would prevent that. So... they made the monster the cause of the destruction and combined the two ideas, and that worked. The B&W look, the look of Godzilla, the music, the story, all very somber and well used. Literally the ONLY Godzilla movie like this. By Godzilla's 5th movie, he started becoming a reptilian superhero, fighting aliens and other monsters and de-evolved into kiddie films. I still love all the Godzilla movies, but this one stands alone as a great movie, and a great allegory to the effects of nuclear war on a population. THANK YOU for watching this!!!
For future reference, the ocean suddenly lighting up and everything catching on fire is meant to be reminiscent of what it's like to be too close to atomic weapons testing. The movie was inspired by a ship actually getting railed with gamma radiation from Castle Bravo's test explosion in the Bikini Atoll (also where we got the word Bikini from). Men returned describing the event and died of their radiation poisoning, just like in the movie.. Except instead of a bomb, it's Godzilla. As Godzilla is representative of atomic weapons. It's why the plot of the Oxygen Destroyer is important, because the moral of the movie is: Reckless arms development in a race to the top will hurt the very people you're meant to protect, and lead to ever increasing horrors that will consume one another with their advancements .. And where will it end? At what point do you have a weapon that's so powerful no other weapon need ever be made? And what happens when that weapon is unleashed on the world? This is why Godzilla is treated as being a victim as much as everyone else in this, even though he's the one who brings the destruction. He didn't ask for any of this to happen to him. You mention Godzilla looks ugly in this movie and you're not the first person to point this out actually, so good job! Shin Godzilla was an attempt to modernize the very look you described, complete with lumpiness and scars and burns, the total lack of eye lids, etc, so if you're interested, try checking that out.
14:00 James - you can indeed clean and rebuild in areas that were irradiated. But it takes a lot of cleanup, depending on the type of radiation involved and the type of accident or bomb. In the case of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both cities were destroyed by bombs that exploded in the AIR - above the cities by a few hundred feet. So the physical destruction and heat was greater, but the radiation dissipated relatively quickly. (Still needed some clean-up in places - particularly directly under the initial blasts) Nagasaki and Hiroshima are fully rebuilt and bustling cities again. On the other hand - the Chernobyl accident is effectively still an ongoing disaster and will be for a long time. Because the nuclear plant melted down. And the radiation got into the air and ground directly. That's why there is still a semi-quarantine around the area - and neighboring town was abandoned and will likely never be rebuilt. If you want to see a real nuclear horror story = check out "The Elephant's Foot - Corpse of Chernobyl" by Kyle Hill, here on UA-cam. It's about THE most radioactive spot in the entire SOLAR system other than Jupiter and the Sun itself - and it's in the basement of the former Chernobyl Nuclear power plant.
The 1954 Godzilla movie is an incredible spectacle that will put you heavily in the feels at the end. The movie 51 years (1995) after this one that mentions the Oxygen Destroyer that was created to kill the original Godzilla. The movie is titled *Godzilla VS Destoroyah.*
I really like this film especially the Japanese original version. The American version had Raymond Burr as an American reporter offering a lot of exposition. This version, GOJIRA, is really a nightmarescape about post-WWII anxiety about the atomic bomb. The music is also quite good. Interestingly this film got its ideas from an American film from a year before called THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS based in part on a story by Ray Bradbury called The Foghorn with tremendously good special effects by Ray Harryhausen about a beast awakened by atomic bomb testing, the first of that type of creature on the loose story..
I appreciate your insight into the humanist ideas found within this movie and the fact that this original incarnation should be seen wherever it can for future generations to learn from the themes and messages it portrays. It is sobering watching the original Godzilla. Surviving behind the scenes materials showed that at various stages of production, the film very nearly went the route of an exploitative or fantastical monster flick, but director Ishiro Honda, having seen first hand the wreckage done by the atomic bombs when he visited their aftermaths, shot the film in a documentary like setting and various fantastical elements in different drafts of the script were eliminated. Interestingly enough in it's original premiere, while the film was a box office success and critically praised in several countries, critics in its home country were not entirely appreciative of the film, some believing it to be a cash grab and disrespectful to the real life horrors of the nuclear incidents that Japan had suffered (keep in mind that the year this film was released, nuclear testing leading to the Castle Bravo contamination at Bikini Atoll took place and the American military's response to its fallout on the surrounding areas was lacking at best). After some time, critics began to see the film's message of an end to weapons of Mass Destruction instead of mere Exploitation. Last thought: If you should ever check out the 1956 American recut, it's true that the humanist themes were downplayed (anti Japanese sentiment was not rampant but still apparent in that time and of course, nuclear catastrophe though feared, was somewhat downplayed in the midst of the Cold War), but they can still be found within the film despite the butchered editing of several scenes. My favorite line comes from the American cut where Ogata after fighting Serizawa for the oxygen destroyer sums up his point saying, "Then you have a responsibility no man has ever faced. You have your fear which might become reality. And you have Godzilla... which IS reality." It never fails to give me chills. Sorry I ranted so long. So glad you checked this film out! it's on my top ten list
Godzilla was the first film to star suitmation. Where a guy just dressed up as a giant monster and destroyed miniatures and had tiny explosives strapped to you also.
Some may disagree, maybe most, but Shin Godzilla was the scariest Godzilla I've seen. That Godzilla didn't Give and F's and no matter what you did he had counter measures to respond. His origin in this was crazy and his transformation were awesome, The response from the people was completely believable. It became one of my favorites. No english subtitles or dubs makes it sincere and definitely worth watching.
I heard that the design of godzilla's skin was inspired by the radioactive burns. Representing the horror of nuclear bomb with a face from hell. Also I like thatthey used a violin to make godzilla's roar.
6:37 is facts. There's something about the old films shot in black and white that have elements a lot of films, even modern art house films, don't capture.
I'm a year late to this party so hope you read this! His skin is all bumpy like that because it's supposed to resemble the scars left on many of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The scene where he uses his breath for the first time.. they made the towers out of wax, then blew hot air on them to get them to melt. There are MANY documentaries online about how they made this (and the rest) of the rubber suit monster movies... This movie is where they learned most of their tricks! The entire special effects department was on a trial and error basis. There is one shot in this movie with a real building superimposed in front of Godzilla. The scene with Godzilla about to attack the Diet Building (Japan's Capitol Building at the time). The actor in the Godzilla suit passed out and fell onto the model of the building and they didn't have time or money to rebuild it. There is a scene where he destroys a famous movie theater in Japan. There are stories of people panicking and running out of the theater, forgetting they were watching a movie. And no... the Oxygen Destroyer would not work as described. You can't split oxygen atoms and make fluid. If anything it would turn oxygen into sulfur or another element lower than oxygen on the periodic table. And PLEASE do reactions to Shin-Godzilla (a VERY different take on Godzilla) and Godzilla Minus One!!! Minus One is simply amazing! It's a great movie that happens to have Godzilla in it! What they did with less than $15 million puts Hollywood to shame!
Not so fun fact: The opening scene with the boat attack was based off the Lucky Dragon incident. During an American nuclear test, a fishing boat named the Lucky Dragon was exposed to the resulting radiation, adding more Japanese disdain for nukes. Also, Harou Nakajima, the guy in the suit, deserves a medal for the shit he went through. The suit weighed 250 pounds and was 150 degrees Fahrenheit inside, not to mention the small explosives wrapped around the suit for the army scenes. The man passed out 3 times and continued playing Godzilla for the next 11 movies because he wanted to, what a legend.
This movie is one of the most important movies in Japanese cinema history. It was a way for the nation to begin to emotionally process the atomic bombings and the American occupation at the end of World War 2, which was less than 10 years before this movie. The occupation ended 2 years before this movie. Genre films are great to contextualize something real world in a fantastical way in order to make it easier to process. The opening sequence with the fishing boat is based on a real world incident called the Lucky Dragon Number 5. Look it up sometime.
Haruo Nakajima (Japanese: 中島 春雄, Hepburn: Nakajima Haruo, January 1, 1929 - August 7, 2017) was a Japanese actor and stuntman. A pioneer of suit acting, he is best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original Godzilla (1954) until Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).
I highly recommend "Shin Godzilla" (2016), as it goes into the reaction of the government a lot like the original. Also, Shin Godzilla's design and abilities are quite terrifying as well.
You got it pretty much bang on about what Godzilla represents in this original film. It’s therefore very interesting to compare him with how he’s portrayed in the West. Here, it very much represents the feelings the Japanese rightfully felt after WW2 about having being nuked by the Americans in the war. In 1954, the Americans tested their biggest thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb codenamed Castle Bravo. It was much larger than expected, the equivalent explosion of more than 1,000 Hiroshima bombs in one device, about 15 megatons, 15,000 kilotons of TNT. The fallout from the test irradiated a Japanese fishing boat sailing downwind of the test site, poisoning most of the crew. The irony of these people being further victims of America’s frightening atomic power, was a direct inspiration for the movie in some of the characters. So it’s actually kinda anti-American in that respect. This mighty nation thinking itself so powerful has used the bomb, unleashing a force of nature worth many thousands of nuclear bombs, it tapped into that fear, Godzilla is a walking metaphor of fear. Compare that to his portrayals in American made movies. Not to say they’re technically shit movies they’re very entertaining. But that’s also kinda the problem. Western audiences when Godzilla first appeared for them in cinema, cared nothing for metaphors and meanings and anything that complex, all they were mostly concerned about was how much stuff Godzilla destroyed or fought. And that’s the difference. American Godzilla movies portray him as a hero to praise and whoop at and go “Yeah, bulldoze that city, beat that monster up, now do the roar, yeah, awesome” very indulgent, very surface level movies. Which in and of itself is indicative of the original metaphor the Japanese gave to him. That the Americans find Godzilla fun, popcorn worthy and entertaining, and the Japanese consider him a reason for running scared and screaming for your life says it all. And I think I know which take on this classic monster I prefer.
You mentioned Godzilla making the places he goes radioactive- kinda varies from movie to movie. In this one? Absolutely. In some of the later Showa era films where he’s the good guy, they kinda forget he’s radioactive at all, and most other G films gloss over that part, being more action movie- ish. My theory is either that future Godzillas don’t give off very strong radiation as long as they aren’t using their atomic breath (helps that some films say Godzilla can absorb radiation to fuel himself)
I hope you'll do some more classic Kaiju films in the future, the first sequel was a cash grab and it shows, then it was the original Vs Kong but it keeps getting more child orientated as the series went on, despite the audience only aging as it grows. I love the most recent reboot, Shin Godzilla, you'd love it. I also recommend Rodan and Mothra's solo films and there are other Toho films that are nothing to do with Godzilla. My personal favourite non-Kaiju film of theirs is Attack of the Mushroom People :D
If you only knew Gojira by his western depiction of course this seems "different" to you, but for the japanese Gojira has always remain a force of nature, both as something to respect and something to fear.
Stranger Things tomorrow!
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Have a great day everyone!
James today I watch the movie Unthinkable, and it was one of the most thought-provoking movies I've ever seen. I think you should check it, Samuel L Jackson is in it and it's one of his best performances ever imo.
Now you are ready for Blue Oyster Cult's 1977 hard rock tribute titled 'Godzilla'.
ua-cam.com/video/myqSETD5_bs/v-deo.html
Shin Godzilla would be a good follow up to this review as it is a modern Japanese take on what would actually happen if some bizarre monster just came up out of the sea and wrecked havoc on Tokyo.
JAMES vs Cinema - GODZILLA is a Force of Nature , an American Reporter said (Raymond Burr) .
you Dont reason with Godzilla or try to Bargin with it , you just have to get OUT of its way.
IF, you watch the American Version of Godzilla , Raymond Burr as the American Reporter , he gives more Context .
the 1954 Godzilla movie , is a Social Commentary of America using the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki and the Aftermath . IT is said GODIZILLA is a Force of Nature and only appears when the Balance of Nature is Disrupted. Godzilla is the ULTIMATE Equalizer .
One of the most devastating moments of this film emotionally is the scene showing a mother holding her two children close, knowing that there's no escape for them, telling them that they'll be with their father soon. Just crushes me every time I see it.
The hospital scene wrenches your heart further; the mom didn't make it, the kids did, but they lost their mom and they will not only be growing up orphaned, but suffering the effects of exposure to Godzilla's radiation.
When you realize these were the types of scenes very familiar to post war Japanese and not made up for effect.
Every Japanese city was fire bombed, just like a monster walking and burning its way through.
Likely died in WW2
@christopherwall2121 Yo lo he's a Liveing Metafor of the Atom bomb's we dropped on Japan
@christopherwall2121 if that was there mom how come the daughter cried out saying father instead because I had on the closed captions it was spelled out as father#I've got this movie on dvd&blue ray
Very glad you opted to watch the original Japanese movie as opposed to the American version, which I grew up on. While there's nothing actually wrong with the U.S. version, its focus is just on the monster and the havoc it wreaks. Seeing the movie in its original incarnation, the way it was meant to be seen, I can appreciate the deeper meanings and textures of the story as opposed to it just being another "monster movie."
Even the newer Japanese movie (Shin Godzilla) is way more terrifying than the recent American movies.
The US cut is kinda trash. I couldn’t finish it.
@@DJKuroh Shin Godzilla is amazing. Its 7 Japanese Academy Awards are testament to that. Including Best Picture. Hideaki Anno has proven himself once again to be a fantastic storyteller when it comes to the human element.
No... there is a LOT wrong with the American version.
Nothing wrong with the US cut. Most people can't get over there this type of movie would not be allowed in theaters without a dub. The core of the original meaning is still there. The acting and voice acting were really good.
12:29 James you are 100% on point - The design of Godzilla - the TEXTURE of him - was indeed meant to portray a mutated dinosaur. When you see close-ups of this original version of Godzilla, you should not sense scales or reptilian leathery hide, but a creature who is covered in radiation BURN SCARS. Godzilla was given massive powers of durability, strength and size, as well as his classic atomic fire breath. But at the cost of incredible PAIN.
For a more modern, updated take on that aspect of Godzilla, check out 2016's Shin Godzilla, which goes much more towards that side of him, then the almost superhero side of Godzilla portrayed by the current American version.
BTW - both sides of Godzilla I just mentioned are legit and come from the original Japanese series. That's the beauty of this character - he can be a victim, hero or villain - and sometimes he's all those things at the same time! But the hero version came later. This version - the monstrous victim of atomic fire inflicting his pain on the rest of the world is the original.
This actually serves as a cautionary tale about atomic bombs bring dropped on major cities and what the terrible effects of radiation can do to a person. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima it signaled the end of WWII but began the use of nuclear weapons.
I actually tap into this alittle here!
When Godzilla came out, it was conceived and made only 8-9 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Made by people who literally lived to see nuclear warfare firsthand and survived. Which was also why upon release in Japan, Godzilla was received very negatively. It took years for Godzilla to be appreciated for the cinematic masterpiece it really is.
1954's "Godzilla" is not only one of the best monster movies ever made, it's also one of the best movies ever made. Certainly at the time of production Ishiro Honda couldn't have possibly imagined what an impact his creation would end up having around the world so many years later. All he wanted to do was make a fun but serious monster movie, instead he made history. So excited for "Godzilla: Minus One" which will also be a serious take on the monster. December 1st can't get here soon enough!
I saw this movie in 1956 as a 7 year old child. It cost me a dime(10 cents) to see it. It was dark when the movie was over, and I`d never ran home faster than I did that night. Godzilla became my favorite monster that night.
The 2016 reboot/remake "Shin Gojira"/"Shin Godzilla" i believe is the closest we will ever get to the same tone and messaging as this original film here. Taking the messaging and everything from the 1954 film and repurposing it for the modern era was done so perfectly. My favorite Godzilla film and a perfect companion piece to the original film.
i lived in Japan during the 2011 tsunami and the Fukushima disaster, Shin Godzilla really felt like a reaction to the governments handling of that
Shin isn't really a remake, it's mostly a spiritual successor at most
@@GaiusIntrepidus It's a remake in the sense that its taking the same pieces and telling a new story. Godzilla's origins are retooled in SG.
Rewatching them now it’s like Anno took that one scene of the government arguing about how to handle Godzilla and turned it into a main plotline of a Godzilla move
I heard there was going to be a continuation where by the end Shin Godzilla evolves to the point that it *becomes the universe.* Would be interesting to see but at the same time tragic since it’s always in pain.
A fine reaction video! I'm glad to see that you're reacting to Godzilla '54 in it's original format. Feels as though not too many reactors give movies of this nature a chance due to the language barrier. So it really is a nice change of pace to see this classic get a chance to shine. Especially one with such historical significance. Hopefully more creators follow in James' footsteps and give this film a watch.
The story of Godzilla's name:
The original King Kong (1933) was a big hit in Japan. When Japanese film started up, they wanted to do a Japanese version of Kong. When the script was written, there was not yet a design for the monster they just knew it would be large and aquatic, so they took the "GO" from "gorilla" (from Kong) and combined it with the word "Kujira" (whale) to form GoJira, which Americans translated to Godzilla.
Godzilla means gorilla-whale.
This Godzilla film was produced not even 10 years after the nuclear bombings of two of Japan's biggest cities in 1945. Godzilla was a metephor of the dangers of a nuclear bomb. Very thought provoking.
And it was reinforced by the Lucky Dragon No 5 tragedy, when a Japanese fishing boat wandered into an atomic test site. Many of the crew got radiation poisoning and one man died. That was in early 1954. The ship is still preserved as a warning against the dangers of nuclear weapons.
James literally brings that up.
Godzilla represents less the bombs themselves and more the threat of nuclear warfare as a whole. The unchecked destruction that a nuclear conflict can cause on any country, as well as the agony that it brings to people and nature, is really the danger that the original Godzilla embodies. And the Oxygen Destroyer representing the only two ways to make peace with this power we found is to either get rid of it fully or to put it to good use as something other than a weapon. That's why the professor at the end of the film makes the statement of "if we don't stop nuclear testing then another Godzilla might be born". Of course the bombs were a catalyst for this message but Godzilla tends to be confused for a "Walking Hiroshima Allegory" but it goes a bit deeper than that. At least in this film.
Freaky facts: a lot of the aftermath footage is from the days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Not just the city footage but the footage of the people as well.
The producers did this as a way of showing the world the actual effects of an atomic bomb and the horror it unleashes... The monster was just a cover.
That's why Godzilla was created at all. With the peace treaty Japan's media wasn't allowed to show anything about the bombs effects. It was illegal for them to make movies about atom bombs. Godzilla was the work around as you mentioned
@@coachmikesfilmroom3111 Ya;
heaven forbid the American kids find out that "duck & cover" won't protect them from an A-bomb!
@@misterprickly lol true.
Being cry-bullies after the atrocities committed on China, Korea, etc.
Funny, I've never heard about this. Where did you read this?
In Japan, Godzilla movies are split up into eras: Shōwa era (1954-1975), Heisei era (1984-1995), Millennium era (1999-2004) and the Reiwa era (2016-present).
I grew up watching the Shōwa era (1954-1975) Godzilla movies on TV all the time. I must have watched all those movies dozens of times each. The first Godzilla was a serious movie. The next movie was a cash grab and from then on Godzilla changed from a force of nature to a protector of humans. Basically they turned into kids' movies. Although, I think the last movie of the Showa era, Terror of Mechagodzilla, is actually very good (it has my favorite Godzilla entrance ever).
The movie was based on the aftermath of dropping of the atom bomb. But also inspired by the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon 5) incident where a Japanese tuna fishing boat with a crew of 23 men were contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954. The Americans had given advanced warning of the test, but they underestimated the power of the blast. The US didn't originally take responsibility, but It is estimated that about one hundred fishing boats were contaminated to some degree by fallout from the test. This was national news in Japan when Godzilla was released and was probably on the minds of many of the viewers.
1954 was a big year for Shimura Takashi, he was Kambei Shimada in Seven Samurai and lead scientist, Dr. Kyohei Yamane in Gōjira
I used to a big godzilla nerd, rewatching this, i realize how much of an allegory the character was meant to be.
Edit: Fun Fact; Godzilla’s roar was created by the composer of this movie Akira Ifukube, he dragged a leather glove across the strings of a double bass.
Gotta give credit to Akira Ifukube, who did the score for this and other Godzilla films for decades after. The score is perfectly menacing.
To hear this score accompany the events of Godzilla Minus One was powerful.
I'll say it...Gojira (1954) is a masterpiece. Ishiro Honda's directing and Akira Ifukube's score are phenomenal. So glad you enjoyed it. Young people today who think they know who Godzilla is need to see this movie!
The end always got me, because it showed Godzilla was just a creature and victim of circumstance. His first “rampage” wasn’t bad by comparison and only let loose his rage after provoked. Other movies has the monster constantly in rampage mode with no purpose.
As a bookend, you should watch the re-edited Godzilla: King of the Monsters “starring” Raymond Burr. It’s a fascinating study of what Hollywood producers thought would be more palatable to American audiences. It loses a lot of the atomic horror message in favor of b-grade monster action. It’s also fun to see the contortions they made filming new footage to insert Burr into the film. I love both equally.
Yes, watching both versions back to back is an interesting study.
The DVD set I have has interesting commentary on it. While the original Japanese cut contains commentary on the making of the film as a whole, the American version's commentary discusses what had to be done to bring Godzilla to America.
Some interesting things happened in the recut American version. Some of the original movie scenes were moved around, so later when Japanese moviegoers saw the American version, the scenes were jarringly out of place.
From a filmmaking technical standpoint it's brilliant how they incorporate Burr into the original footage, all while he never does interact directly with the Japanese cast... including his alleged friend the Professor.
For years (pre-Internet) many of us had no idea Raymond Burr wasn't in the original movie.
What I thought was interesting was they removed the fact that the Scientist was wounded in one of the Atomic Bomb Blast ( I forget which one).
The movie is roughly 2 hours long. The build-up to the destruction is like 45 minutes. The destruction itself only lasts like 25 minutes in total. The last 50 minutes show the suffering and aftermath. There is a scene where the reaction skips over, but it's the hospital scene where a little girl cries over her dead mother.
Her crying is so visceral, so real, that I get tears in my eyes every time. I showed my mom, and she had nightmares over the scene. The original Godzilla is genuinely a masterpiece.
Thanks for doing this one! It’s one of my favorites movies that got me into film analysis and filmmaking!
I can see why! I had a blast with this one.
I recently decided to watch this for the first time because I saw you made a video on it James and I gotta say this movie hit me in the exact same way. Was NOT expecting such powerful, dramatic, and somber filmmaking. Kinda crazy that eventually this franchise would devolve into giant monster fights with very little moral philosophy. Makes me wonder how Godzilla made that transition from death incarnate to Japanese folk hero.
Psyched you did the original version, it really is a great movie! I agree, even without Godzilla, it's a compelling story! Definitely check out the original "King Kong" which is just as dazzling effects-wise (and it's 20 years earlier!), and it's also the most moving telling of the story of all the versions, none other captures the tragedy of King Kong more than the original.
Fun fact: when the film were nearing the climax, the Japanese people actually cried for Godzilla and his death when they saw it.
“Just take Godzilla outta this, still very real.”
**Invisible force begins destroying Japan in 1954.**
The ending of this film is surprisingly somber, humanistic and powerful when you realize Godzilla isn't a villain. He's a victim too of the radiation who was caught up in the shizzz-storm that is the modern nuclear world. Seeing Godzilla's remains at the end is very sad, just reminds me of a dead dog. Godzilla is just trying to survive and is as vulnerable to death as any other creature on earth.
Oh man, it's been years since I've seen this movie. It's not just a classic, it's a masterpiece.
Yes it is!! Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸
So glad you watched this absolute classic! Director Ishiro Honda was a WWII vet and after the war drove through the destroyed city of Hiroshima on his way home, which greatly influenced how he approached the film. Nagasaki and Hiroshima are both still very inhabited as well, in Hiroshima there's a memorial in the building closest to the epicenter that was still left standing, it has a very distinct look.
That was a great observation about the way Godzilla looks too! They designed him to look like his skin was burned and blistered from the heat of the H bomb
The reason this film was successful in Japan, aside from the whole monsters stomping in buildings fun, is that Godzilla was a stand-in for the atom bomb, that had been dropped in Japan about a decade prior. It had a subtext of the end of WWII and the bombing of Hiroshima snd Nagasaki.
James knows that. He literally alludes to it the entire time, and even acknowledges the time period and used the term "hydrogen bomb", as well as mentioning the rebuilding of Nagasaki. That's the entire conceit of the movie.
Ishiro Honda also directed Matango: Attack of the Mushroom People(1963). Seven people are stuck on an island with bizarre mushroom people in the area.
As much as I get a kick out of the monster brawls and heroic aura of the character of recent years, this one truly stood with me and still is truly a landmark horror drama film that really created a truly unique personification of Nuclear destruction in this character.
No matter what new entries we see of this monster, I will always regard the original film as a classic.
Gojira is a pure masterpiece of film making and one of the most important pieces of art in modern times.
It's an anti-war film. Emanating from the deep pain and horror of post ww2, it of course is a stark warning regarding nuclear weaponry, but it goes beyond that and the monster can be seen as a representation of the human races tendency towards self destruction with warfare. A monster that rises again and again from deep in our psych just as godzilla rises from the ocean depths.
This message has been obscured over the years as the memories of ww2 have faded and have been replaced with a more romantic and surface Hollywood version. Emphasis has been placed on the nuclear aspect but it obscures the stark representation of the fire bombing of Japanese cities. The scenes of the destruction of Tokyo are starkly the experience of conventional fire bombing and not a nuclear detonation. Even down to the sound effect of the monsters foot steps echoing the sounds of an approaching bombing run.
Serazowa's character directly places the blame for the horror of war on all of us as a single race, not one of us can be trusted. His confrontation with the monster at the end is our confrontation with the monster deep within ourselves and the final message of "this horror is coming again" is chilling. Particularly as we watch with detachment the news of today.
I just flat out love this f'n movie
Godzilla's appearance was also effective for Japanese audiences at the time. The filmmakers deliberately designed his form to provoke memories of radiation burns. And like you said, they intended the creature to be a god-like force that has no morality, not good or evil. An interesting remake of this movie is SHIN GODZILLA, which was done not long ago and is a major commentary on modern government bureaucracy and how arguments of pride, PR, and jurisdiction can slow down what's needed to just help people and address a situation. There are now several timelines/continuities for the different Godzilla films, but most of them consider the first movie to always be canon (though SHIN GODZILLA does not). So those movie timelines acknowledge that a Godzilla creature was encountered and destroyed in 1954 and then propose that another Godzilla creature rose years later, around the same time other monsters (or "Titans") began appearing, some of which are ancient and some of which are from other planets or dimensions.
Great analysis and reaction video!
This film was made in the same year that toho studios created another remarkable film - the Seven Samurai. Takashi Shimura who plays the lead scientist in this movie plays the wise samurai leader in that film
14:21 for later versions and movies they toned that side down, but for this movie you are correct; many parts of Tokyo and other places that Godzilla just so happened to even walk through were irradiated to the point where no-one would be able to live there for years. Thusly, this gives another perfect metaphor to the atomic bombings, as radiation-based events usually leave places unlivable for many years.
For Nagasaki and Hiroshima however, since the bomb was detonated in the air, most of the radiation subsided after only 24 hours. The clean-up and restoration did take a year though.
15:15 That is Godzilla's Atomic Breath (sometimes said as Vapor Breath for the '54 incarnation). For this movie, the breath we see is only supposed to be visible to the audience, to show where the radiation is spewing out to. The effects it has on the electrical towers there is that it melts them. So, in real-life, the military would just see him open his mouth, make that almost mechanical sounding exhale, and then in 5 seconds the electrical towers melt from nothing but the invisible might of radiation. But for the other movies, they decided that it would just be a visible attack, and not just a thing only us watchers looking in can see.
18:30 Cool on ya for picking that up. In most Godzilla movies ,you see him destroy things, take out enemy monsters, and then that it. Here though, you get all that other stuff, and then you see the destroyed city afterwards. And then you see the hospitals, filled with the injured and dying. Another thing about that specific panning shot of the destroyed city, if you compare that imagery with some of the photos taken after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they look nearly identical. Ishirō Honda made sure this movie was as close to a metaphor of the Atomic Bombings in 1945 as possible.
The scene with the clock tower was undoubtedly a reference to either "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms" or the original Ray Bradbury short story that movie was based on.
The whole structure of the film, of course, was patterned after the original "King Kong", which established the template of taking time to building up the story before the introduction of the title monster. At least two other scenes directly referenced and paid hommage to scenes in "King Kong": the destruction of the train by Godzilla and the scene at the radio tower with the flashes of the cameras of the news people.
Both of those movies would be great for you to do reactions to!
I can’t say that personally this one is my favorite, there’s a few I enjoy more, but I do think it is genuinely one of the most well made, and serious ones.
I grew up watching the Godzilla films and this one still ranks at the top after all these years. It does not have the overused CGI that the modern Godzilla movies use and it focuses more on the message it wants to deliver while still providing great and suspenseful effects for 50s. Hope you react to more of the earlier Godzilla movies in the future!
One of the best after movie commentaries you’ve done! Excellent video. The end always gets me because it’s not Godzilla’s fault, he too is a victim of the bomb. Also glad you watched the original version. It’s so powerful.
The first GODZILLA is unique in that it was intended to be a serious horror movie/allegory.
Not that other ones aren't great campy fun, but they're a different animal.
I saw this at the American Film Institute at a 40th anniversary screening (I think it was not on American home video yet.) Audible gasps at the scene where the mother tells her kids "We'll be with your father soon."
Years and years and YEARS ago, I couldn't stand to read all the subtitles of any foreign film. I had to have them English dubbed. now, after all these years, I have gotten to prefer to watch the original non-dubbed version, with the actors' actual voices and in their native tongues, and reading the subtitles is not as big an issue as I once thought it was. Hearing it in the original language gives me more appreciation to the film.
Quick exposition of the tropes you've mentioned -
First, yes, there is such a thing as a "liquid oxygen burning bar" which WILL cut through anything and does exceptionally nasty things to biological tissue.
Second, this film is from 1954. In 1952, the first H-bomb was tested in the Pacific ocean- it produced 1,000 times the blast of the Hiroshima bomb and was calculated to have released a blast of 1.5 times the power of every explosive used in war over the prior history of humanity. This ALSO raises the "three parts in a million dilemma"- when Arthur Compton and Robbert Oppenheimer, the creators of the atom & hydrogen bombs, though through the 'worst case' results of using an atomic blast to trigger heavy-hydrogen aka deuterium fusion. Basically, if the temperature of an A-bomb could trigger deuterium fusion, then could the temperature of deuterium fusion could trigger hydrogen-oxygen or nitrogen-oxygen fusion?
That would be bad, because then the oceans and atmosphere of the Earth would burn in a nuclear fire, erasing all life on earth and likely shattering the Earth into dust. The story goes, the calculations came back that, there was LESS than a 3-in-1-million chance that the H-bomb test would vaporize the Earth in a microsecond.
The last trope is from a later novel by Kurt Vonnegut, 'Cat's Cradle' about a lab scientist who discovers a high-temperature version of water ice, Ice-9, that is stable at room temperature- which makes it PERFECT for U.S. tank battalions to turn muddy bogs into solid lakes of ice that tanks can cross without bogging down.
Unfortunately, they didn't think this through, as the Ice-9 turns the bogs solid, then turns the streams feeding the bog solid, then the rivers, then the oceans...
was able to visit a museum exhibit in Japan featuring items from various monster movies. They had the oxygen destroyer prop as well as the Godzilla foot prop that smashes the train. Also had some of the monster suits from the 90s and 2000s movies (as well as the Mechagodzilla from the 70s)
The actor playing Dr Yamani was fantastic in so many movies (Seven Samurai, Ikiru) that i'd recommend watching.
Oh, right on. The original Gojira (Not the American Godzilla King of The Monsters re-edit) is a classic. I'm not a big Godzilla fan, but this one and Shin Godzilla are amazing.
Loved this one. Hope you enjoy the commentary to this one!
Big Action Bill has a great video about the history of this film
It's like an hour long but it provides more context about the creative process
This is definitely a classic masterpiece of cinema.
Even if you're not entirely into the kaiju genre it's still important on a historical value.
Next PLEASE watch Shin Godzilla (2016), this version of Godzilla is SO unique, constantly in pain unable to control the walking reactor that he is, highly highly recommend it
Edit: to expand, this movie was made with SO much love for the 1954 Godzilla and you can tell, you appreciated the design of Godzilla looking like he was BORN in that kinda environment, well shin Godzilla looks 100x scarier and disgusting awesome looking with the same message and theme. Highly highly recommend after watching this
2016, not 2018
@@Tabi-Kun you're right, I swear it was 2018 my b
@@PotatoMaGobinus it’s alright
I remember watching parts of this in film class. It remains an impressive feat of cinema, as well as being a well-told generational warning. I would’ve loved to have seen this in a theater in 1954, I bet people lost their minds. The disaster film that launched (probably) a million other disaster films. There’s a long rabbit hole of “Godzilla vs. -“ films to venture down.
I love your perspective on this film, and I love you talking about understanding as a result. It definitely means a lot if you try to understand others' situations and where they are coming from. I for one, in general terms, am mixed, half black and half white but a lot of people can't tell that from looking at me. So while I understand the struggles of my community, I did not have to personally endure them like my sister and mom had to; and the other black women of my family that came before me. The bare minimum I could do is to emphasize and educate myself about the struggles they've gone through. And the same goes with any other race, ethnicity, etc. Another phenomenal commentary as per usual always sparking fantastic conversations that need to be had =D
Godzilla has had one hell of a career: from allegory for nuclear horror to savior of the earth, to force of nature. He's been around man!
I'm so glad you liked this movie. Its my absolute favorite film and why Godzilla is my biggest hobby. that being said, don't expect this level of Darkness and dread in most of the other films if you watch them lol.
The shot where Godzilla melts the high-tension wires, so I've heard, was done by building the towers out of wax, then hitting them with some sort of heat generator, so it would give the effect of melting.
I adore this film. It is so powerful. One scene makes me cry every time I watch it.
17:15 audience actually began to flee the cinema because the miniatures looked so real, they thought they were really being attacked.
I don't recall if it's mentioned in this movie but I believe the oxygen destroyer had a limited range. That's why it did not kill everything in the ocean. In the latest Godzilla movie I think a two mile radius limitation is mentioned.
I'm so glad you decided to watch this! Godzilla is such an impactful series that I grew up with. Are you going to watch the rest of the movies from this era?
Good choice! Godzilla (1954) is typically taken as a morality tale about nuclear weapons. The franchise, however, is mostly about popcorn. The role of Dr. Kyohei Yamane is played by Takashi Shimura, a favorite actor of legendary director Akira Kurosawa. Shimura played Kambei in Seven Samurai (1954), Sanada in Drunken Angel (1948), Detective Sato in Stray Dog (1949), Kikori in Rashomon (1950), and the lead in Ikiru (1952), and that is in addition to roles in The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), and Kagemusha (1980). Shimura also acted in several other notable classic of Japanese cinema, including Throne of Blood (1957), Kwaidan (1965), and Samurai Assassin (1965).
About the radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both cities were rebuilt just fine because the atomic bombs were detonated way up in the air. The radiation landed on the top of the soil, which all eroded fairly quickly. With Godzilla, it would depend on how deep the radiation he leaves goes into the soil, or if he gets into any groundwater sources. If it’s all just the upper layer, rebuilding shouldn’t be too hard. Given they they do rebuild in the sequel, I’m guessing that’s what happened
It would defiantly take some time, but it would be cool if you could cover the whole Godzilla series, and see how it changes through the decades. Love your reaction, as always
Man the algorithm did me dirty by not recommending this earlier, one of my absolute favorite movies from my childhood! Can't wait to see you appreciate this cultural classic
That bit with the mom and kids wrecks me every time, also the bit with the reporter on the tower. I can't not link it mentally to the way that war ravages regular people.
Crazy that this film was made only 11 years after WW2. In that context it really shines a different light on this film .
Fun fact: godzilla's scream was made with the music composer (akira ifokube) got a rubber glove and moved it down a bass
Classic. My mom was a kid in the 50s and 60s and loved a good monster/sci-fi flick.
The whole movie is very dark and depressing, but the "We’ll be where daddy is soon!" scene tore my heart out.
Nice to see someone's reacting to old cinema. King-Kong (1933) is classic just as this Godzilla movie ( though i've never seen it yet). The oldest movie i've seen so far is soviet movie Alexander Nevsky, which came out 1938. Great stuff btw, i would call it one of the first action movie.
Btw, thank you for the content!
"This is the most terrifying resemblance of Godzilla iver seen in my entire life"
Shin Godzilla would like a word
14:20 if I am remembering correctly, the bombs were detonated midair to minimize the radiation in the ground so that rebuilding could begin earlier
It's really nice to see someone appreciate the original Godzilla for what it is. Godzilla has morphed into a lot of different things over the years, that not a lot of people realize the original film very much takes itself seriously and has serious themes.
To add a bit to what others have said, Godzilla's skin was modeled to look like that of radiation burns and his head from a particular angle was made to look like a silhouette of a mushroom cloud.
Thanks for this insightful reaction. You picked up on some great cultural subtext of post-World War II Japan. I love this film so much.
Toho wanted to make a monster movie like The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. They also wanted to make a movie about the aftereffects of nuclear war, as Japan was the ONLY country nukes had been used on, just 9 years prior. But USA control/interference at the time would prevent that. So... they made the monster the cause of the destruction and combined the two ideas, and that worked. The B&W look, the look of Godzilla, the music, the story, all very somber and well used. Literally the ONLY Godzilla movie like this. By Godzilla's 5th movie, he started becoming a reptilian superhero, fighting aliens and other monsters and de-evolved into kiddie films. I still love all the Godzilla movies, but this one stands alone as a great movie, and a great allegory to the effects of nuclear war on a population. THANK YOU for watching this!!!
For future reference, the ocean suddenly lighting up and everything catching on fire is meant to be reminiscent of what it's like to be too close to atomic weapons testing. The movie was inspired by a ship actually getting railed with gamma radiation from Castle Bravo's test explosion in the Bikini Atoll (also where we got the word Bikini from). Men returned describing the event and died of their radiation poisoning, just like in the movie.. Except instead of a bomb, it's Godzilla. As Godzilla is representative of atomic weapons. It's why the plot of the Oxygen Destroyer is important, because the moral of the movie is:
Reckless arms development in a race to the top will hurt the very people you're meant to protect, and lead to ever increasing horrors that will consume one another with their advancements .. And where will it end? At what point do you have a weapon that's so powerful no other weapon need ever be made? And what happens when that weapon is unleashed on the world?
This is why Godzilla is treated as being a victim as much as everyone else in this, even though he's the one who brings the destruction. He didn't ask for any of this to happen to him.
You mention Godzilla looks ugly in this movie and you're not the first person to point this out actually, so good job! Shin Godzilla was an attempt to modernize the very look you described, complete with lumpiness and scars and burns, the total lack of eye lids, etc, so if you're interested, try checking that out.
14:00 James - you can indeed clean and rebuild in areas that were irradiated. But it takes a lot of cleanup, depending on the type of radiation involved and the type of accident or bomb.
In the case of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both cities were destroyed by bombs that exploded in the AIR - above the cities by a few hundred feet. So the physical destruction and heat was greater, but the radiation dissipated relatively quickly. (Still needed some clean-up in places - particularly directly under the initial blasts) Nagasaki and Hiroshima are fully rebuilt and bustling cities again.
On the other hand - the Chernobyl accident is effectively still an ongoing disaster and will be for a long time. Because the nuclear plant melted down. And the radiation got into the air and ground directly. That's why there is still a semi-quarantine around the area - and neighboring town was abandoned and will likely never be rebuilt.
If you want to see a real nuclear horror story = check out "The Elephant's Foot - Corpse of Chernobyl" by Kyle Hill, here on UA-cam. It's about THE most radioactive spot in the entire SOLAR system other than Jupiter and the Sun itself - and it's in the basement of the former Chernobyl Nuclear power plant.
Grew up with films like this. Godzilla, the Green Gargantua and Creature From the Black Lagoon have my favorite movie monster growls/roars.
The 1954 Godzilla movie is an incredible spectacle that will put you heavily in the feels at the end. The movie 51 years (1995) after this one that mentions the Oxygen Destroyer that was created to kill the original Godzilla. The movie is titled *Godzilla VS Destoroyah.*
This movie was one of my first loves as far as film goes. The message is so powerful and I mean, Godzilla is just fuckin cool an iconic.
The Japanese revolutionized the use of miniatures in cinema during this era.
I really like this film especially the Japanese original version. The American version had Raymond Burr as an American reporter offering a lot of exposition. This version, GOJIRA, is really a nightmarescape about post-WWII anxiety about the atomic bomb. The music is also quite good. Interestingly this film got its ideas from an American film from a year before called THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS based in part on a story by Ray Bradbury called The Foghorn with tremendously good special effects by Ray Harryhausen about a beast awakened by atomic bomb testing, the first of that type of creature on the loose story..
I appreciate your insight into the humanist ideas found within this movie and the fact that this original incarnation should be seen wherever it can for future generations to learn from the themes and messages it portrays. It is sobering watching the original Godzilla.
Surviving behind the scenes materials showed that at various stages of production, the film very nearly went the route of an exploitative or fantastical monster flick, but director Ishiro Honda, having seen first hand the wreckage done by the atomic bombs when he visited their aftermaths, shot the film in a documentary like setting and various fantastical elements in different drafts of the script were eliminated.
Interestingly enough in it's original premiere, while the film was a box office success and critically praised in several countries, critics in its home country were not entirely appreciative of the film, some believing it to be a cash grab and disrespectful to the real life horrors of the nuclear incidents that Japan had suffered (keep in mind that the year this film was released, nuclear testing leading to the Castle Bravo contamination at Bikini Atoll took place and the American military's response to its fallout on the surrounding areas was lacking at best). After some time, critics began to see the film's message of an end to weapons of Mass Destruction instead of mere Exploitation.
Last thought: If you should ever check out the 1956 American recut, it's true that the humanist themes were downplayed (anti Japanese sentiment was not rampant but still apparent in that time and of course, nuclear catastrophe though feared, was somewhat downplayed in the midst of the Cold War), but they can still be found within the film despite the butchered editing of several scenes. My favorite line comes from the American cut where Ogata after fighting Serizawa for the oxygen destroyer sums up his point saying, "Then you have a responsibility no man has ever faced. You have your fear which might become reality. And you have Godzilla... which IS reality." It never fails to give me chills.
Sorry I ranted so long. So glad you checked this film out! it's on my top ten list
James you move way up to my top 5 for sure with this one...classic.. 1
Godzilla was the first film to star suitmation. Where a guy just dressed up as a giant monster and destroyed miniatures and had tiny explosives strapped to you also.
Some may disagree, maybe most, but Shin Godzilla was the scariest Godzilla I've seen. That Godzilla didn't Give and F's and no matter what you did he had counter measures to respond. His origin in this was crazy and his transformation were awesome, The response from the people was completely believable. It became one of my favorites. No english subtitles or dubs makes it sincere and definitely worth watching.
I heard that the design of godzilla's skin was inspired by the radioactive burns. Representing the horror of nuclear bomb with a face from hell.
Also I like thatthey used a violin to make godzilla's roar.
6:37 is facts. There's something about the old films shot in black and white that have elements a lot of films, even modern art house films, don't capture.
I'm a year late to this party so hope you read this!
His skin is all bumpy like that because it's supposed to resemble the scars left on many of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The scene where he uses his breath for the first time.. they made the towers out of wax, then blew hot air on them to get them to melt. There are MANY documentaries online about how they made this (and the rest) of the rubber suit monster movies... This movie is where they learned most of their tricks! The entire special effects department was on a trial and error basis.
There is one shot in this movie with a real building superimposed in front of Godzilla. The scene with Godzilla about to attack the Diet Building (Japan's Capitol Building at the time). The actor in the Godzilla suit passed out and fell onto the model of the building and they didn't have time or money to rebuild it.
There is a scene where he destroys a famous movie theater in Japan. There are stories of people panicking and running out of the theater, forgetting they were watching a movie.
And no... the Oxygen Destroyer would not work as described. You can't split oxygen atoms and make fluid. If anything it would turn oxygen into sulfur or another element lower than oxygen on the periodic table.
And PLEASE do reactions to Shin-Godzilla (a VERY different take on Godzilla) and Godzilla Minus One!!! Minus One is simply amazing! It's a great movie that happens to have Godzilla in it! What they did with less than $15 million puts Hollywood to shame!
Along with Pokémon, Nintendo, and Cartoon Network, Godzilla was a big part of my childhood
Not so fun fact: The opening scene with the boat attack was based off the Lucky Dragon incident. During an American nuclear test, a fishing boat named the Lucky Dragon was exposed to the resulting radiation, adding more Japanese disdain for nukes.
Also, Harou Nakajima, the guy in the suit, deserves a medal for the shit he went through. The suit weighed 250 pounds and was 150 degrees Fahrenheit inside, not to mention the small explosives wrapped around the suit for the army scenes. The man passed out 3 times and continued playing Godzilla for the next 11 movies because he wanted to, what a legend.
This movie is one of the most important movies in Japanese cinema history. It was a way for the nation to begin to emotionally process the atomic bombings and the American occupation at the end of World War 2, which was less than 10 years before this movie. The occupation ended 2 years before this movie. Genre films are great to contextualize something real world in a fantastical way in order to make it easier to process.
The opening sequence with the fishing boat is based on a real world incident called the Lucky Dragon Number 5. Look it up sometime.
Haruo Nakajima (Japanese: 中島 春雄, Hepburn: Nakajima Haruo, January 1, 1929 - August 7, 2017) was a Japanese actor and stuntman. A pioneer of suit acting, he is best known for playing Godzilla in 12 consecutive films, starting from the original Godzilla (1954) until Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).
That’s also good about this movie you can also feel sorry for Godzilla because he didn’t ask to be scarred and mutated by a nuclear ☢️ bomb.
Godzilla/Gōjira 1954
Shin Gōjira 2016
Godzilla Minus One 2023
This is the holy Godzilla Trinity.
Thanks for reacting to this classic.
Awesome Work Bro, Thanks 👍👍😎 Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸
THEM! is another great creature feature from the 50s that sets effect standards still used today
Thumbs up, James for using the original Japanese version instead of the American dubbed version. Keep up the good work.
I highly recommend "Shin Godzilla" (2016), as it goes into the reaction of the government a lot like the original. Also, Shin Godzilla's design and abilities are quite terrifying as well.
You got it pretty much bang on about what Godzilla represents in this original film.
It’s therefore very interesting to compare him with how he’s portrayed in the West.
Here, it very much represents the feelings the Japanese rightfully felt after WW2 about having being nuked by the Americans in the war. In 1954, the Americans tested their biggest thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb codenamed Castle Bravo. It was much larger than expected, the equivalent explosion of more than 1,000 Hiroshima bombs in one device, about 15 megatons, 15,000 kilotons of TNT. The fallout from the test irradiated a Japanese fishing boat sailing downwind of the test site, poisoning most of the crew. The irony of these people being further victims of America’s frightening atomic power, was a direct inspiration for the movie in some of the characters.
So it’s actually kinda anti-American in that respect. This mighty nation thinking itself so powerful has used the bomb, unleashing a force of nature worth many thousands of nuclear bombs, it tapped into that fear, Godzilla is a walking metaphor of fear.
Compare that to his portrayals in American made movies. Not to say they’re technically shit movies they’re very entertaining. But that’s also kinda the problem. Western audiences when Godzilla first appeared for them in cinema, cared nothing for metaphors and meanings and anything that complex, all they were mostly concerned about was how much stuff Godzilla destroyed or fought. And that’s the difference.
American Godzilla movies portray him as a hero to praise and whoop at and go “Yeah, bulldoze that city, beat that monster up, now do the roar, yeah, awesome” very indulgent, very surface level movies. Which in and of itself is indicative of the original metaphor the Japanese gave to him. That the Americans find Godzilla fun, popcorn worthy and entertaining, and the Japanese consider him a reason for running scared and screaming for your life says it all.
And I think I know which take on this classic monster I prefer.
You mentioned Godzilla making the places he goes radioactive- kinda varies from movie to movie. In this one? Absolutely. In some of the later Showa era films where he’s the good guy, they kinda forget he’s radioactive at all, and most other G films gloss over that part, being more action movie- ish. My theory is either that future Godzillas don’t give off very strong radiation as long as they aren’t using their atomic breath (helps that some films say Godzilla can absorb radiation to fuel himself)
I hope you'll do some more classic Kaiju films in the future, the first sequel was a cash grab and it shows, then it was the original Vs Kong but it keeps getting more child orientated as the series went on, despite the audience only aging as it grows.
I love the most recent reboot, Shin Godzilla, you'd love it.
I also recommend Rodan and Mothra's solo films and there are other Toho films that are nothing to do with Godzilla. My personal favourite non-Kaiju film of theirs is Attack of the Mushroom People :D
I believe I read once that the sounds Godzilla makes were inspired by the noise of a gate opening.
If you only knew Gojira by his western depiction of course this seems "different" to you, but for the japanese Gojira has always remain a force of nature, both as something to respect and something to fear.