GOJIRA* (1954)
Directed by: Ichiro Honda
Genre: Daikaiju eiga
THE MOVIE:
When you think of Godzilla, chances are that you picture a big goofy looking rubber dinosaur grappling with a colorful and silly opponent. Unfortunately, most people’s conceptions of the King of the Monsters are rooted in the kid-friendly and badly-dubbed Technicolor movies of the late 60’s and early 70’s when the series had sunk irrevocably into camp. Because of this, most people are surprised by the tone of the original Japanese Gojira which is an urgent and somber meditation on the dangers of nuclear testing and scientific advancement. To a Japanese audience, only nine years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki this must have been powerful stuff.
However, not necessarily original stuff: Gojira was released only a year after The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, an American movie which also featured a giant saurian creature woken by atomic testing which goes on a rampage through a major city. Because of Japan’s legacy as the world’s sole atomic victim, there is an urgency and horror to the material in Japanese hands that’s not there in The Beast as though Gojira is the feverish nightmare of someone who experienced the aftermath of nuclear holocaust. This context is what makes Gojira more than just another radioactive monster movie and gives the film a richness and resonance that it wouldn’t otherwise have.
Another interesting element present in Gojira that is absent from the re-edited American version is a level of ambivalence about Japan’s relationship with America. It seems that the direct inspiration for the movie was a 1953 incident in which American nuclear weapons were tested in Japanese waters and the crew of a Japanese fishing boat became ill from radiation poisoning. This incident is actually directly referred to in the Japanese version of the movie but cut from the U.S. version to make it friendlier to American audiences. Thus, in the Japanese version of the movie, the blame for Godzilla is laid directly on America. There is a symbolic framework in place that makes Godzilla a symbol of U.S. (possibly and or Soviet) power in the world. In this sense, Gojira is a direct ideological ancestor of the 2006 South Korean film, The Host, another film that features a monstrous result of America’s policies in Asia. However, in the case of Gojira this might be overly simplistic. Another way to interpret the movie would be that Godzilla is visited on Japan as punishment for its aggression during the Second World War. It seems that Gojira may involve a bit of self-flagellation. Japan’s relationship with its wartime past is very complicated and they seem to feel simultaneously proud and guilty for their activities during World War II.
Ultimately, Japan’s relationship with Godzilla is very complicated. Per the film, he is literally created by American nuclear testing. But the monster doesn’t go to LA or San Francisco to punish the Americans, he goes straight to Tokyo and completely destroys the city, leaving it as though a bomb were dropped on it. He punishes the Japanese. Over the years in Japanese cinema, Tokyo and other cities are destroyed over and over again. Why do the Japanese seem to enjoy seeing their cities destroyed so much? I wonder how these movies play in neighboring Asian countries that were Japanese occupied during the war. How do the Chinese feel seeing giant monsters destroying Japan? I mean, we have our big explosions and disaster movies as well but it is not as much a fetish for American moviemakers to show this level of meticulous urban destruction. In Godzilla, the Japanese are simultaneously punishing themselves and revisiting their nuclear victimization which is why Godzilla is so potent as a monster and a symbol.
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS:
Gojira pioneered the use of “suitmation,” what Toho Studio calls the combination of rubber suit acting combined with detailed miniature sets. It has since been a staple of Toho’s Godzilla series and one they have been adamant about maintaining even in this age of high tech digital effects.
This was the first of many variations of the Godzilla costume and this one is perhaps a little more dinosaur-like than some of the later suits. It has a larger head than we are used to seeing in the modern Godzilla movies and due to the overall darkness of the film the suit serves nicely in this movie.
MONSTERS FEATURED:
This, along with Godzilla, (1984) and the American Godzilla (1998) are the only films in the series to feature Godzilla without another monster opponent.
MOST MEMORABLE SEQUENCE:
Godzilla’s chilling nocturnal rampage through Tokyo.
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY:
Although the American Godzilla: King of the Monsters has been available on DVD for years, the original Japanese version was unreleased in the U.S. until 2006 when the two disc set Gojira was released featuring both versions of the movie with some documentaries.
The movie is also available on Bluray.
SEQUELS:
There are currently about twenty nine movies in the Godzilla series. This one was immediately followed by:
Godzilla Raids Again (1955), King Kong Vs, Godzilla (1962) and Godzilla Vs. Mothra (1964.)
The movie was also very loosely remade in the United States in 1998 and set for a new American version in 2012.
SEE ALSO:
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Godzilla Vs. Mothra (1964)
Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (2001)
The Host (2006)
THE TRAILER:
TRIVIA:
Godzilla was originally to be realized as a stop-motion creature like the ’33 King Kong or the Rhedosaurus from The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms but Toho Studios lacked the budget and expertise to do this so they opted to go the rubber suit method. Can you imagine how cool a stop motion Godzilla would have been?
*In Japanese, “zee” actually sounds more like “dzjee” so “Gojira” actually becomes “Godzjeera” hence the anglicized Godzilla.
No comments:
Post a Comment