1954's Godzilla, originating the single longest franchise in film history more than 70 years ago, requires no introduction. It is one of the most iconic films in all of cinema, spawning more than 60 sequels, multiple remakes, and remaining one of the most readily recognisable films of the 1950s. While its sequels have varied massively in terms of both quality and their tonal approach to Godzilla, almost none of them have managed to connect with their surrounding social and political contexts in the same way that Ishiro Honda's brilliant original does.
In this film, Godzilla is more than just a variation on the success of previous monster movie hits like 1933's King Kong. Rather, the giant lizard is used as a method to spark an essential conversation about the use of nuclear weaponry. Not only is the monster itself initially woken up by hydrogen bomb tests conducted under the sea, but he also carries radiation on his body in Honda and co-writer Takeo Murata's effort to utilise Godzilla as a way to challenge the use of nuclear weapons. This is quite unlike many of the other Godzilla films which are almost entirely about spectacle and which, often, revolve around a much goofier version of the character. Those films have their own charm, but Honda's film has a tense immediacy to it, a sobering sense of doom.
The film tackles the nuclear war issue by focusing primarily on the people impacted by Godzilla instead of Godzilla himself. While some scenes focus on the monster's destructive capabilities, others zoom in on families soon to be killed by the damage or children mourning their now-deceased parents. It's seriously bleak, very effective filmmaking, sensitive and quietly powerful, a film mourning the 226,000 lives lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And that side of the film functions so well because of the formal brilliance that surrounds it.
For example, the score and sound design, largely courtesy of Akira Ifukube, lend Godzilla much of his intimidating factor. His footsteps mirror the sounds of explosions, his roars (designed by rubbing a hand covered in resin over the strings of a double bass) are thunderous and deeply unsettling. The cinematography by the masterful Masao Tamai also helps to ensure that Godzilla's scale is felt, utilising low-angle shots to show off his size alongside high contrast black and white stock which emphasises the flaming buildings and Godzilla's dark, scaly skin. The creature design is impeccable, even if moments of puppetry do age the film nowadays, deserving as much recognition as the design of something like H.R. Giger's Xenomorph.
Boldly refusing its audience the kind of happy ending that they'd be accustomed to, and instead driving its political point home with a much bleaker final note, Godzilla remains relevant even today, more than 70 years after it was initially released. While its numerous sequels and remakes largely struggle to maintain the impact that this film has had and continues to have, the original film remains a towering beast, a bleak and melancholic view of a world in which the governments and militaries of the world aren't enough to save us from major exterior threats. Criterion's 4K restoration is a beautiful update of this classic film, and also includes the less impactful but undeniably interesting re-edit of the film for American audiences, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1956) alongside a host of special features. The film is a massively influential must-see, and this is the best way to view it outside of the cinema.
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- High-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse's 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Audio commentary for both movies by film historian David Kalat
- Interviews with actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima and special effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
- Interview with legendary Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube
- Featurette detailing Godzilla‘s photographic effects, introduced by special effects director Koichi Kawakita and special effects photographer Motoyoshi Tomioka
- Interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato
- The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla
- Trailers
- PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman
Godzilla releases on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD by The Criterion Collection on November 11th.
