Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.
Practical Effects
Suitmation that somehow still feels more real than pixels
Score
Akira Ifukube's roar and theme — iconic for 70 years
Direction
Honda's newsreel aesthetic makes destruction feel documentary-real
Director
Ishirō Honda
Akira Takarada
Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kôchi
Emiko Yamane
Akihiko Hirata
Daisuke Serizawa
Takashi Shimura
Kyohei Yamane
Fuyuki Murakami
Professor Tanabe
Sachio Sakai
Hagiwara
Toranosuke Ogawa
President of Southern Seas Salvage
Ren Yamamoto
Masaji Yamada
Hiroshi Hayashi
Chairman of Diet Committee
Seijirô Onda
Parliamentarian Oyama
Keiji Sakakida
Mayor Inada
Kokuten Kōdō
Elder of Odo Island
Kin Sugai
Mrs. Ozawa
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Honda filmed Godzilla nine years after Hiroshima; the opening ship sequence directly references the Lucky Dragon 5 incident, a real 1954 nuclear accident that poisoned Japanese fishermen.
The original 1954 Japanese cut was re-edited and dubbed for America with Raymond Burr added; it wasn't until 2004 that most Western audiences could see Honda's actual vision.
1954
6.01955
6.91962
7.01964
7.01964
6.81965
6.31966
6.51967
6.91968
5.11969
6.81971
6.41972
6.21973
7.01974
6.81975
JP
