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We just saw the original, 1954 Ishiro Honda Godzilla, now touring art houses in its first American theatrical release.
I've always dug the Godzilla movies as good silly fun, but Godzilla didn't just establish most of the elements that were imitated by all its successors; it's also a solid movie with real characters, completely apart from its kaiju content. I remember seeing the Americanized version with Raymond Burr pasted in (the only version released in the US until now), and finding it uninvolving and tedious, since the character stories that take up much of the running time were so mangled. The movie really deserves viewing in its original form.
Another thing that struck me about it is that, despite the often primitive-looking effects, the destruction seems more real and terrible in it than in most of the subsequent Toho monster movies, since it's taken so seriously. The audience would have had recent memories of Japan being bombed, and Godzilla's big rampage in Tokyo obviously recalls that to some extent; the movie does not shrink from showing the high human cost, and the effect this has on the main characters and society in general. Some of the effects shots are surprisingly good, too: the scene of Godzilla smashing and melting his way through the colossal electric fence designed to keep him off the home islands is classic.
The movie carefully postpones the big reveal of its star, and Godzilla is entirely unseen in his early attack on Ohto Island: the first time he stomps a building, we see it happening from inside, and all that is visible is a strange, terrible light through the windows, after which the house caves in on those inside it. The obvious associations are still powerful.
I've always dug the Godzilla movies as good silly fun, but Godzilla didn't just establish most of the elements that were imitated by all its successors; it's also a solid movie with real characters, completely apart from its kaiju content. I remember seeing the Americanized version with Raymond Burr pasted in (the only version released in the US until now), and finding it uninvolving and tedious, since the character stories that take up much of the running time were so mangled. The movie really deserves viewing in its original form.
Another thing that struck me about it is that, despite the often primitive-looking effects, the destruction seems more real and terrible in it than in most of the subsequent Toho monster movies, since it's taken so seriously. The audience would have had recent memories of Japan being bombed, and Godzilla's big rampage in Tokyo obviously recalls that to some extent; the movie does not shrink from showing the high human cost, and the effect this has on the main characters and society in general. Some of the effects shots are surprisingly good, too: the scene of Godzilla smashing and melting his way through the colossal electric fence designed to keep him off the home islands is classic.
The movie carefully postpones the big reveal of its star, and Godzilla is entirely unseen in his early attack on Ohto Island: the first time he stomps a building, we see it happening from inside, and all that is visible is a strange, terrible light through the windows, after which the house caves in on those inside it. The obvious associations are still powerful.