Godzilla (1954) – Nostalgia Central

When a dinosaur-like beast is awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing and ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.

When 17 vessels explode and sink near Odo Island, Professor Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura), his daughter Emiko (Momoko Kôchi) and the Marine Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada) head to the island to investigate.

There, they witness a giant monster – called “Gojira” (Godzilla) by the locals – destroying the site.

Meanwhile, Emiko meets her old friend Dr Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata), a scientist who reveals a lethal weapon he has developed, the Oxygen Destroyer, but swears her to secrecy.

Godzilla threatens Tokyo and other Japanese cities, and the army and the navy seem incapable of stopping the monster.

In desperation, Emiko discloses Serizawa’s secret to her lover, Ogata. Now they have to convince Serizawa to use the Oxygen Destroyer to kill Godzilla.

Serizawa ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy Godzilla and to keep his invention from falling into the wrong hands.

The titular monster is an allegory for nuclear weapons and the immense damage they can do. It’s an unexpectedly dark and sombre beginning to a series that’s usually a great deal of fun, but for being the first Godzilla movie – and for being a compelling exploration of a serious topic – it excels and endures as a classic.

TRIVIA

• The Japanese name “Gojira” is a combination of the Japanese words for gorilla (“Gorira”) and whale (“Kujira”). The monster is said to have been named because it alluded to a creature of great size and strength.
• It was so hot inside the Godzilla suit used in the pre-CGI era film (temperatures reached up to 60 degrees Celsius/140 degrees Fahrenheit inside the 100 kg/220 lb suit) that actor Haruo Nakajima would frequently faint.

Hideto Ogata
Akira Takarada
Emiko Yamane
Momoko Kôchi
Dr Daisuke Serizawa
Akihiko Hirata
Dr Kyohei Yamane
Takashi Shimura
Professor Tanabe
Fuyuki Murakami
Newspaper Reporter Hagiwara
Sachio Sakai
Nankai Ferry President
Toranosuke Ogawa
Masaji Yamada
Ren Yamamoto
Chairman of Diet Committee
Hiroshi Hayashi
Parliamentarian Oyama
Seijirô Onda
Kuni Yamada
Tsuruko Mano
Chief of Emergency Headquarters
Takeo Oikawa
Shinkichi Yamada
Toyoaki Suzuki
Old Fisherman
Kokuten Kôdô
Prof. Tanabe’s Assistant
Tadashi Okabe
Parliamentarian Ozawa
Kin Sugai
Radio Operator
Ren Imaizumi
Power Substation Engineer
Junpei Natsuki
Gojira/Hagiwara’s Editor
Katsumi Tezuka
Gojira/Godzilla
Haruo Nakajima
Katsumi Tezuka

Director
Ishirô Honda