I have this vague memory as a kid, reading that the original Godzilla (1954; aka Gojira) was on SBS during the day, maybe a weekend, and trying to watch it, feeling bored by the black and white footage and tired of waiting for the monster to show up. How wrong I was. Watching Godzilla in its entirety for the first time – another notch on the belt of the movies I haven’t seen from Danny Peary’s book Cult Movies 2 – I was amazed by how quick the pace was. In comparison to the recent American versions, overburdened with exposition and unnecessary characters that feel stretched at over two hours, the original movie just clips along. Ships have gone missing out in a mysterious spot within the oceans near Japan. Families are distraught and the government is clueless. Only a small fishing island reveals the mighty Godzilla’s emergence, a reptilian creature unearthed from deep in the sea by H-bomb testing. Generally considered the first kaiju movie, Godzilla has a broadly stated metaphor of the nuclear devastation wrought on Japan at the end of WWII, the references to the war and the melancholy moments involving war veterans and survivors give the movie depth and historical currency. Even though it might be a big puppet and an actor in a suit, Godzilla is an unstoppable disaster – not the people’s hero of later movies – and there’s a darkness to the night scenes, the gigantic monster lit by tank fire and explosions, presiding over a city on fire. Watching it now, it was also great to now recognise Takashi Shimura (from Akira Kurosawa films) as the zoologist who wants to study Godzilla. With monster movies I always wonder why would we care about the human characters? But I cared about Shimura’s distraught face as people intend to destroy this creature rather than learn from it. I also loved Dr Serizawa (as played by Akihiko Hirata) and his striking eyepatch look; his mysterious character holds a key to humanity’s salvation while also reenacting the ethical crisis of the scientist who might create another weapon for humans to destroy themselves with. And the main theme by composer Akira Ifukube is still such a killer piece of music. Directed by Ishiro Honda and visual effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Streamed on the Criterion Channel. A delight. Recommended.
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