Gojira 1954 (1956) Classic Media Official Website Buy It Now

No one at Toho Studios could have known what horror they were about to unleash back in 1954, but the horror soon turned into something that was beyond anything that the word “icon” could even summarize. Godzilla, or Gojira rather, was never intended to be anything but a cautionary tale, but over fifty years later, the franchise is still going strong and Toho’s latest film in the franchise, Godzilla: Final Wars, marks the end of the series . . . at least for five to ten years.

It was 1956 when the hulking beast was unleashed upon the unsuspecting filmgoers in the United States, but what was seen here wasn’t exactly the same film that was seen in Japan. Instead there were changes to the script, additional characters thrown in, and for most, this is the only version that they know. The original version of the film has played in art house cinemas over the years (and I was fortunate enough to take in a limited engagement locally nearly a year ago) and if you’ve been longing to see the original Gojira as it was intended to be seen, or if you’re simply a fan of the version shown here time and time again, Gojira and Godzilla: King of the Monsters is ready to once again hit fans with a deadly dose of atomic radiation.

The original Japanese version, Gojira, isn’t quite like the films that we all know and love today. Godzilla isn’t fighting against aliens, a theme that is quite common in many of the newer films. He isn’t facing off against other popular monsters like Mothra or Rodan, but instead this is the origin of what would become a legend. Off the coast of the island of Ota, fishing boats have been attacked recently and reports are surfacing regarding a flash of light while others have reported seeing a giant, reptilian monster that the locals call Gojira. An investigation into the phenomenon is soon underway and headed by Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura) and the rumors are in fact all too real.

The question now is if the information should be made public or not, and the theory around the creature is that it has survived a high dose to radiation. While Yamane wants to study the creature, he may not get the chance as Godzilla attacks once again, this time rising out of Tokyo Bay, and scientists have only one possible way to end the threat of the creature for good, Daisuke Serizawa’s oxygen destroyer, but the deadly weapon is something that he may not be willing to use even though the fate of Japan hangs in the balance.

The American version of Gojira, released as Godzilla: King of the Monsters, more or less has the same basic plot behind it, though there is one major difference. The US version of the film features Raymond Burr as Steve Martin, an American reporter who has found himself in Japan right around the time that Godzilla first attacks. Martin now is a part of the investigative team that journeys to Ota island, is present at the attack on Tokyo, and also is a part of the destruction of the creature.

Most Godzilla fans know the Americanized version quite well. What was seen here in 1956 and in the years that followed is an edited version of the original film. Burr’s scenes were edited into the picture, and we can see drastic differences in the film quality throughout the movie. There are also attempts to have the characters on the screen with Burr, and while it is somewhat seamless when they appear, the transitions are very obvious. For instance, you will see a member of the Japanese cast, complete with dubbed dialog, and then the same character has their back to you, a stand in of course, to make it seem as though they were present with Burr during the scene.

Really though, Gojira is all about the original Japanese release. Back when the film was originally released, more than anything else it was a tale about the effects of atomic warfare, something that was still fresh in the Japanese people’s minds after World War II. Some would say that in actuality, Gojira is meant to be the embodiment of the a-bomb and the destruction and death that it causes. True or not, it’s a very good tale, and quite different from the Godzilla films that appear later in the series. Gojira is more of a stark and quite bleak story, lacking the fun quality that the later movies have.

If Gojira itself is meant to symbolize atomic warfare, then it’s interesting that there is another weapon, the Oxygen Destroyer, which is an equally destructive weapon. The devise, created by Serizawa, has the ability to suck the oxygen out of its area of effect, something that a nuclear blast does as well, but in the film; it’s perhaps the only choice to destroy this destructive monster. Even though the primitive version of Godzilla seen in the original film still has powers such as the destructive atomic blast, but Godzilla isn’t trying to ravage Tokyo for any other reason than hunger. When you’re that enormous, finding the right nutrients certainly isn’t going to be easy, and this is one of the only films where you’ll see Godzilla actually taking human lives instead of inadvertently saving them. Another thing that sets the film apart from the other releases is that not only is Godzilla the enemy, but the human characters actually are there to make a difference instead of simply acting as co-stars to a guy in a rubber suit.

Gojira is presented as a two DVD set, both the English and the Japanese versions on their own separate disc and also with their own special features. Godzilla: King of the Monsters only comes with the theatrical trailer that ran here in the states while Gojira not only includes the original Japanese trailer (which clocks in at a healthy two and a half minutes) but information about the creation of the film and the suit itself. These aren’t features that were made back in 1954, but the information contained in the features will give you further insight into the legendary monster. Both films also include commentary featuring Steve Ryfle, author of Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star, and Ed Godziszewski, editor and publisher of Japanese Giants as well as the author of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla. Both have quite a bit of valuable information on this classic film.

This is Gojira as it was meant to be seen; in Japanese and uncut, and that’s the way that it should be. The Burr version does have a place in cinematic history, but only as a side note. Gojira is the king of the monsters for a good reason, and you can remake a giant ape if you want to an impress audiences, but Gojira, the beast that would become known the world over as Godzilla, has stood tall for 50 years and will still be around undoubtedly in another 50.

-mike-