A Monster is Born: Gojira (1954)

Godzilla has starred in twenty-eight films, has won numerous awards, and is an international icon beloved by children all over the world. Not bad for a fictional character. Especially when you consider that this character's first film was a dark, not-so-subtle metaphor for the horrors of nuclear warfare.

Many Americans have never seen the side of the Godzilla legend that is presented in Gojira (1954) and therefore are missing out on an important part of the monster's origin story. Unfortunately, it wasn't until 2006, over fifty years after the movie premiered in Japan, that the original subtitled and uncut version of Gojira was released on DVD in the United States. Up until this point, the only version of the film that was widely available on home video in the United States was the heavily cut and dubbed American version (known as Godzilla: King of the Monsters). The American version, while lovable in its own right as a piece of campy '50's science fiction, does not handle the original story with much care and accuracy. Nearly all of the political messages and illusions found in the original Japanese version were cut so as not to turn-off American viewers.

The political messages in Gojira, while occasionally heavy-handed, are absolutely essential to the storyline. Even Godzilla's first attack, which results in the sinking of a small fishing boat, is a clear reference to a specific nuclear accident, in which United States nuclear tests caused the contamination of the cargo and crew aboard the Lucky Dragon No. 5, a Japanese fishing boat. Viewed in this historical context, Gojira is haunting. Gojira 1954 is, arguably, the only Godzilla movie that is interested in its human character as much as it is interested in Godzilla himself. Here the monster is merely a metaphor for the nuclear threat. He does not have a personality as he does in the later films. This Godzilla does not does not dance and play with children, here he is much more animal like.

In regard to the human characters, this film features my all-time favorite, non-monster Godzilla character: the eye-patch wearing Dr. Serizawa. Serizawa is the type of scientist that only exists in the movies. He's reclusive, lives in a house that resembles a castle, and is tormented by the terrible power of his inventions. Serizawa is the tragic hero of the film. He holds the secret to defeating Godzilla in his invention, "the oxygen destroyer". True to its name, the oxygen destroyer is a device that sucks all the oxygen out of the surrounding water it is placed into. But while it is an object that could prove to be the last hope for humanity, it could also, in the wrong hands, be used as a devastating weapon. It is for this reason that Dr. Serizawa is extremely conflicted. Should he save the world from Godzilla only to hand humanity the keys to further devastation in the form of a deadly weapon? Of course, in the end, Serizawa decides to use the oxygen destroyer to vanquish Godzilla, but only at great personal sacrifice.

Godzilla himself is a powerful, intimidating force in the movie. It was because of budgetary issues that special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya decided to portray the monster as a man in a suit (he had originally wanted to animate Godzilla using stop motion techniques similar to those in King Kong). The resulting "suitmation" technique would become a staple of the Godzilla films. True, it does not look "realistic", but I personally love the look of the Godzilla films and would not be happy if the monsters look different than they do now. The detail in the handcrafted buildings that Godzilla destroys are very impressive. Thanks to the human actor underneath the Godzilla suit, the monster's movements look natural. He moves and reacts to his environment similar to the way in which a real animal would. Backing Godzilla's rampages through Tokyo is a rousing soundtrack, which is topped only by the iconic roar of the monster himself.

Gojira is a genre classic. Anyone with any interest in movie monsters, specifically those from Japan, obviously need to see Gojira in its original, uncut form. It is a film with a serious political message, yet it also manages to be very entertaining and engaging while teaching its lesson. As far as Godzilla goes, he has never been more menacing than he was in this movie, as he lumbers out of the water and into the city under the darkness of night. Godzilla's introduction, his head appearing over the crest of a hill, is a classic moment. On the other hand, Godzilla's death at the end of the movie is sad, in its own way, despite his role here as an unfeeling terror.