Oh no, there goes Tokyo.
As I write this, we’re getting the sequel to the 2014 reboot
of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, with promises of kaiju action cranked up to
eleven on the batshit insanity meter. The current decade certainly seems to
have seen a resurgence of the giant monster genre, going back to Cloverfield
and then of course to Pacific Rim, with projects like Rampage in the middle.
But for now, let’s forget all of that—let’s also forget the first time Hollywood
tried to do its own spin on this series. And let’s forget most of the original
series for that matter, as I want to take you back to 1954, and focus entirely
on this one little flick by Ishiro Honda called Gojira, to give my thoughts on
it.
Let’s set the scene—sixty-five years ago, Japan was not even
a decade out of the ravages of the Second World War, with the atomic specter
looming over both it and the United States. America took a more enthusiastic
and fantastical approach to the nuclear age—let’s have giant ants ravaging
California that our brave boys have to eradicate with flamethrowers! Atom-powered
batteries in our cars by the far future of 1985! Brush your teeth with radium
for a healthy glow!
The Japanese, however, still reeled from not only the
firebombing of Tokyo, but Hiroshima and Nagasaki being flattened by the most
devastating weapons yet conceived by man. Toho Studios decided to do their own
take on the sort of atomic-born monster films the US was making, like The Beast
from 20,000 Fathoms, but the tone was very different. Not only were they drawing
from the still recent memory of mushroom clouds, but of the continuing effects
of atomic testing and Cold war escalation. One of these was the ‘Lucky Dragon’
incident, in which a fishing boat drifting too close to an American test found
its catch irradiated, sparking panic in Japanese fish markets. These fears,
these traumatized recollections, turned what could’ve been a knockoff B-movie
into something very serious and special.
Godzilla, or Gojira, whichever you prefer, doesn’t hold back
on this either—starting right off the bat with a fishing boat caught in a
nuclear blast, directly referencing the Lucky Dragon. You don’t have to be
familiar with Japan’s zeitgeist at the time to get a sense of immediate
escalating threat, as subsequent vessels are also lost to things mysterious.
It’s fairly briskly paced too, introducing the main characters of Ogata and
Emiko (played by Akira Takarada and Momoko Kochi), a salvage ship operator and
daughter of the scientist investigating these incidents respectively. There’s
some clichés of the time like spinning newspapers and people talking into
radios very fast, but it’s still pretty watchable to modern viewers.
Before long, we find ourselves on a remote island, with some
neat glimpses of old Japanese customs that ties the film into ancient
mythologies that give it just a little more gravitas. Godzilla’s first attack
happens here, technically, and like any good horror movie, it’s shot and
directed just right to keep your imagination going just a bit more—you only
catch a glimpse of houses caving in during a storm, and something moving in the
night. Even so, the film doesn’t wait too long before we finally see the
titular kaiju, looking over a hill, and for the time, it’s quite a shot.
I compare some of this to horror movies, and honestly, for a
lot of it, it’s fairly apt. Godzilla tends to be seen at night for the most
part, silhouetted, with sometimes just his eyes visible as pinpricks, making
him look positively demonic at times. Considering the limitations of budget and
technology Toho had, its really very well done, and still genuinely
spine-chilling in cinematography throughout. Some little details enhance it in
all the right ways—the real reason Godzilla has that bumpy skin texture? That’s
because here, he’s meant to be covered from head to toe in keloid scars, just
like real fallout victims of the Japanese atomic bombings. Now isn’t that a
thought to bear in mind even for those that chuckle at rubber suits.
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| Damn. |
Aside from the horror aspect, the film doesn’t shy away from
the tragic elements—even Godzilla is given sympathy, as just a creature forced
out of his habitat by nuclear tests, scarred and provoked, and further
disturbed by naval attacks and spotlights cast at him. The human emotional side
is certainly not shied away from—Emiko’s father, Doctor Yamane, is constantly
agonizing about whether to kill such a unique creature, and that’s before we
get introduced to Akihiko Hirata’s Doctor Serizawa. Serizawa arguably
represents the generation of Japanese that survived the war, barely, and is wrought
with bitterness and cynicism. His response to new technologies, that created
and could defeat Godzilla, is disgust and regret, and Hirata really lets these
feelings loose in his performance at times.
Some might consider the first act a little dull, with lots
of meetings and dated scientific jargon (dinosaurs are only two million years
old, apparently), but things really kick in with Godzilla’s first attack, at
the Tokyo docks. The miniatures still look really good for the time, and
Godzilla himself is shot just right, with lots of low angles, fog, and contrast
to enhance the atmosphere. Though there are the occasional model shots current
audiences might scoff at (later on, there’s a skidding toy fire truck that even
for the time looks hokey), it’s the seriousness with which the actors take it,
combined with the presentation that combines horror and disaster, that still
gives it effectiveness.
And then there’s Godzilla’s second attack. This is truly the
highlight of the film, by god, this remains one of the best monster rampages
even sixty five years later. There’s no encouragement to the audience to find
any of it cool or arsum, there’s no loving shots of demolition dominos—as
befitting something made for and by those that saw the destructive aerial
campaigns of total war, it’s shot as a horrific nightmare unfolding. People are
seen crushed by falling debris, the skyline burns apocalyptically, and we even
see a weeping mother tell her children ‘we’ll be seeing daddy soon’ before she
perishes. The black and white arguably enhances the visuals amazingly, giving
it that nightmare feel. And considering all the pyrotechnics, you really have
to give props to the man in the suit, Haruo Nakajima, who is still celebrated
in Japan, even down to their coffee ads.
 |
| Daaaaaamn. |
If all that imagery wasn’t enough, we’re shown the aftermath
of the attack, with Tokyo smouldering, hospitals crammed, and children
diagnosed with radiation poisoning. There’s even a choir of schoolgirls extolling
for peace. Jaded viewers might scoff at the monster suits and miniature
vehicles, but this part? I challenge people not to watch it with a sober face,
considering the historical pretext looming over it all.
Eventually, Serizawa and the others agonize over using a weapon
that could kill the monster, but might only add to the arms race. Eventually,
the doctor sacrifices himself and destroys his research, with Godzilla defeated
seemingly for good. The film ends on a very bittersweet note as such, with the
characters wondering where mankind’s appetite for destruction could go next.
The 1954 original is often seen as the best of the series;
maybe some of the effects are primitive, maybe some aspects are rooted in the
time, but it has a sincerity and an uncompromised message that goes together with
an apocalyptic, doomy atmosphere. You may need to go into it with that
historical mindset to appreciate it fully, but still, I can easily argue why
it’s a well made flick of its time. It certainly resonated with Japanese
audiences of the time, and made lots of money. And with money, comes studio
executives wanting more!
A sequel came out very soon, called Godzilla Raids Again,
having him fight another monster for the first time. This has much more of the
rubber suit cheesiness the series would become known for, with much less of the
great cinematography and lighting, and more odd uncranking. Still, the original
was imported to the US around the same time, given an American recut with
Raymond Burr as an American reporter commenting on absolutely everything
spliced in (and some of the anti-nuclear pessimisms toned down, because hey,
gotta have that radioactive toilet seats!).
A decade later into the sixties, and the series came back with
the famous monster mash of King Kong vs Godzilla. Entertaining, but silly, and
the films kept going this way, increasingly aimed at kids with Godzilla himself
looking more and more like the cookie monster. From this period, I recommend
such glorious nonsense as Godzilla vs Megalon, which has silly kaiju fights
worthy of WWF, or whatever the hell Godzilla vs the Smog Monster is about.
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| Er...damn? |
In
time, though, the series would return to its serious roots when bought back in
the eighties. Films I’ve seen from around then include Godzilla vs Destoroyah,
a direct sequel to the original on its 40th anniversary, which has
such metal things as a burning Godzilla in meltdown fight a demonic precambrian
crustacean.
Through all of the decades, the serious has had ups and downs,
being serious or silly, surprisingly well made or half-assed schlock. I’ve
talked about the 1998 Roland Emmerich version, which was middling even for
these sorts of films; and while the 2014 Gareth Edwards attempt may
understandably not have completely resonated with audiences spoiled by
extravaganzas like Pacific Rim, I at least appreciate the effort to recreate
some of the atmosphere and mood of the Ishiro Honda original. Sure, the 1954
film may have been made in that window where you could get away with being
utterly dead serious about radioactive lizards, but that’s what makes it all
the more special.
Toho went on to do their own reboot in 2016 with Shin
Godzilla, bringing on the director of seminal anime series Neon Genesis
Evangelion. This one wasn’t perfect, but definitely distinct—as the original
touched on the memory of the atomic bombings, this one touched on disasters
like Fukushima, and had an overtone of satire that savaged the Japanese
government. Godzilla himself, for the first time in years, was presented as a
creature malformed by nuclear excess, in constant pain and constant mutation.
Some people might find chunks of it dull, but it the rest was definitely
memorable, with one or two segments best described as ‘absolutely nuts’. So if
you weren’t keen on the 2014 version, you’ll at least find lots to discuss with
this one.
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| Okay, daaamn. |
Some might find the original film just a curiosity, but it’s
a curiosity with significance and one that if nothing else gives a good reading
of the mood in that part of history. Dozens of films, a couple of mediocre
animes, and multiple reboots later, it remains one of the best fifties science
fiction flicks, and one I can still enjoy coming back to.
What else is there to say, besides—go go Godzilla.
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