GOJIRA (GODZILLA) THE FIRST ORIGINAL FILM

Giant Monsters were really popular back in the 50's. You had giant spiders, a giant Cyclops, giant Aliens, and of course the one that made the giant monsters popular back in the 30s King Kong. However, out of all those creatures, there is one that tops them all and that's...

                                         GODZILLA


Godzilla is not only the number 1 best giant monster ever, but he's also the most famous giant monster of all time along with King Kong. What makes him popular are the powers he has; his creative design; that iconic roar he has; and the many films that he starred in. Even if you send a monster to kill it, Godzilla would simply kick their giant monster ass. For being a great giant Monster, I'm going to review one Godzilla film a year for Fright Month. So lets start with thee first Godzilla movie...

                     GOJIRA



Gojira (Japanese for Godzilla) was thee first and original version of Godzilla. Half of America confuse the American dubbed one for being the first, but they're 100 percent wrong. This is the real first film. The plot is very simple but deep, but all you really need to know is a giant Monster attacks people and the people are trying to stop it.



Godzilla is a giant radioactive dinosaur like monster, who was resurrected by the nuclear reaction of the Atomic Bomb. Even though it's a guy in a suit, it still for the most part looks like a real life monster (well in this version) from the way he moves, and the way these scenes are shot to make him look so gigantic. What makes Godzilla so scary is the design; the reaction from the people; the destruction it causes; and the best roar to ever be heard on screen. Godzilla also doesn't just use its claws, tail and feet; it also can breathe fire to destroy different parts of the city and while it may look like that it's just smoke coming out of his mouth, the timing and special effects from the destruction of the fire makes it look legit. The film's atmosphere also helps make Godzilla so menacing, with the use of black and white to make it look eerie when walks around it's in the dark, and the music matching the dramatic size and scale of Godzilla's presence, and films grim tone. What's also cool and threatening about Godzilla is you can shoot it, electrocute it, and blow it up all you want, but it will still come after you.



The characters are good and well acted. First, you have Dr.Yamane (Takashi Shimura) who studies the monster and wants to keep it alive. Then there's his daughter Emiko (Momoko Kōchi) who's not just the love interest for our hero, but also becomes the person who comes up with the idea to convince one of our characters to kill Godzilla. You also have the eye patch wearing Doctor named Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) who creates a great weapon that he tries to keep a secret because he doesn't want to use it for war. While these characters are unforgettable, the only character I found bland and forgettable was the boyfriend Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada). It's not a bad performance, its just that he's not that interesting of a character when compared to the others.


What also amazes me about the film is instead of being a campy scary giant monster movie, it's actually treated very seriously. There are disturbing scenes such as when we see dying people either being wounded from the monster or suffering from toxic waste from that the monster has left behind. There's a beautiful and sad scene of a choir in a still standing Church as they sing a chilling song as disturbing images are shown. But for me the scene that gives me depression is when we see a family while Godzilla's attacking the city, as the mother tells the children that they'll be "joining their father soon" while they cower with fear in this flaming city. The film also perfectly shadows the attack on Hiroshima. An atomic bomb awoken the monster Godzilla; Godzilla completely destroys the city and burns people (that looks similar to people being nuked); and the survivors are either dying; living with a serious medical condition; or suffering from the radioactivity from the attack.

This film is really a great foreign film and to me Godzilla is the King Kong of foreign film giant monsters. The characters are likable; the acting's good; the monster is scary and creative; the special effects are nice (If not always great); and the film takes itself really seriously (Though there are a few dark humorous moments). If you haven't seen it check it out, just don't see the American dubbed version, see it the way it's supposed to be seen. Just make sure you have English subtitles while you're watching it. This is overall an amazing start to a great giant monster.

RATING 5/5