Gojira (1954)
Runtime: 2 hrs 55 mins
Theatrical Release: May 7, 2004 Limited
Synopsis: The testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean triggers the awakening of a dreadful, 400-foot-tall, fire-breathing prehistoric lizard who commences to wreak havoc on the city of Tokyo. The original Japanese version of GODZILLA, without the Americanized addition of Raymond Burr.... The testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean triggers the awakening of a dreadful, 400-foot-tall, fire-breathing prehistoric lizard who commences to wreak havoc on the city of Tokyo. The original Japanese version of GODZILLA, without the Americanized addition of Raymond Burr. [More]
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kouchi, Akihiko Hirata
DVD Info
Release:
Nov 7, 2006
DVD Features:
- Snap Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
- (unspecified) - English
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
...surprisingly solemn and bitter. It is explicitly a post-Hiroshima nightmare writ large...
A dark, deeply disturbing film with the specter of World War II and the atomic bomb hanging over nearly every scene.
a pioneering behemoth in the history of Japanese cinema, leaving giant footprints in its trail that many have followed but few have filled so impressively.
The special effects for this re-released 1954 film by Ishiro Honda may now look a bit creaky, but the storytelling is muscular and the post-nuclear parable it offers is passionate and fascinatingly ambiguous.
Por trás da história absurdamente divertida, o filme revela uma sociedade às voltas com o trauma da bomba atômica e a busca desesperada pela promessa de paz entre os povos.
Seen afresh in this cut, with Honda’s pulp poetry restored, this ballad of destruction reveals itself as one of the most exciting, enjoyable and moving of them all.
By today's standards, this may feel rather dull and ponderous, but it's actually a remarkably astute film.
A treasure that should remain buried to all but the most gonzo Godzilla followers.
It wasn't until I revisited the first film in the series, which premiered in Japan on Nov. 3, 1954, that I realized how powerful a political statement it makes.
Honda may not have created the most convincing-looking monster in cinema history, but he managed to give his sci-fi/horror movie a social relevance, particularly in postwar Japan.
The rampaging reptile is back to remind us that monsters have meaning.
Maybe it's 50 years late, but we're finally getting to see Godzilla as it was meant to be seen.
Do we want a monster movie with a social conscience, or do we want to see a guy in a lizard suit smash model trains?
Instead of a disjointed monster movie, this original Godzilla is a masterful statement about humankind's monstrous abilities to inflict harm on itself and the world.
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