Gojira: My Review.

Today I will begin my movie reviews in the Godzilla franchise with Gojira, the original Japanese movie that started it all. Yes, I’m a day late from his 64th birthday.

Godzilla Attacks!

Gojira

Directed by Ishirō Honda and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya, Gojira starred Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata and Takashi Shimura. It was an instant box office smash in Japan. The film begins with the mysterious destruction of a couple of ships near Odo Island. When people come to investigate the occurrences they experience some type of attack at night during the height of a hurricane. Then the scientists arrive to study Odo island where they encounter a giant reptilian monster standing over the hill roaring at them before fleeing to the ocean.

Dr. Serizawa

The story also revolves around the human characters, such as the lead scientist Archeologist Kyohei Yamane, his daughter Emiko, who is engaged to her father’s colleague, Daisuke Serizawa, but is in love with a salvage ship captain, Hideto Ogata. A core scene and plot point of the movie is the break up of Emiko and Serizawa. Before she can break off her engagement to Dr. Serizawa he shares with Emiko his secret weapon he invented, a device which can destroy oxygen in water. After witnessing the horror and the destruction that this device can do to living things Serizawa has Emiko swear to reveal his secret to no one.

Emiko Yamane

Amidst these interpersonal relationships Godzilla begins to attack Tokyo and with each attack being more destructive than the last. Emiko is overcome with grief as she views the destruction Godzilla has brought to her city and nation. She also nurses a her wounded boyfriend, Ogata, who survived Godzilla’s rampage. With the government unable to defeat Godzilla and fearing more death and carnage Emiko betrays Dr. Serizawa and reveals his secret of the Oxygen Destroyer. At first Serizawa refuses to use his weapon. After being convinced of the wisdom of using the weapon Serizawa burns the research papers.

The Japanese Navy brings Ogata and Serizawa to Tokyo Bay to use the weapon to destroy Godzilla. Once the weapon is deployed and Godzilla writhes in agony and is dieing Serizawa cuts the chord to his oxygen tank to sacrifice himself so that the secret of his weapon dies with him. Emiko and Ogata witness the demise of both Serizawa and Godzilla yet there is no comfort in their victory due to the loss of Serizawa coupled with the awareness that the atomic age has released forces that may strike again.

Hideto Ogata

For myself, both the original Japanese version and the adapted American version are equally good movies. I will do a separate review on the American version of this film, “Godzilla, King of the Monsters” at a later date.

There is a somberness to the tone of the film and an urgency, despair and helplessness that would never be repeated in the franchise to this extent. As Godzilla evolved into a more child friendly franchise during the Showa Era, Toho Studios would not attempt to recreate the seriousness of this first film for many years. Once they did try to a more serious attempts at a Godzilla movie in the Heisei Series and beyond, they would never achieve the the same mood and tone which this one set.

The Oxygen Destroyer.

One of the reasons, in my opinion, that the later movies failed to recreate the same mood is that all Godzilla movies have Godzilla fighting another monster (except the 1984 reboot) and those rampages by the big guy seem more motivated toward defeating a threat by another monster than Godzilla being a threat himself. In the original movie Godzilla was something mankind had brought upon himself and was reaping what he sowed. That was not the message in these later films.

I also think the black and white cinematography and the distinctive musical score by Akira Ifukube also helped set the mood. In this film Godzilla is rarely seen in daylight. For most of the scenes in which we encounter this radioactive behemoth he is shrouded is shadow and darkness. This effect makes Godzilla seem like such a menacing and ominous threat. I think keeping Godzilla in the shadows, but not too much to where he is obscured, is another aspect of the cinematography that makes this film so successful. It is an effect we have not seen again.

Haruo Nakajima

What can I say about the acting? Akira Takarada as Ogata, Momoko Kōchi as Emiko and Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Serizawa were all stellar in thier roles. Takarada and Hirata would go on to play multiple roles through the Godzilla franchise. I cannot levy too many accolades on Haruo Nakajima the actor in the suit that brought Godzilla to life for so many movie until his retirement in 1972 (Godzilla vs Gigan). This was his first time playing the iconic character and in this film he set the standards of excellence!

The Eras of Godzilla films

Before I start reviewing the many Godzilla films (and also other non-Godzilla Kaiju movies) I’d like to examine the three major eras that these films are filed under. I’m not exactly sure when fans began to label the eras these films belong to, or even if Toho themselves originated this practice, but with 33 Godzilla films (and more on the way) it does seem like a necessity.

Godzilla Attacks!

In Japan, where the vast overwhelming number of these films originated, these movies belong to the Showa Era (1954-1975), the Heisei Era (1984-1995) and the Millennium Era (1999-2004).

It sounds all smooth, neat and tidy doesn’t it?

It’s not.

Let me explain.

Naming an era in Japan coincides with how the reigns of the Japanese Emperors are named.

I’ll let Wikipedia explain: Traditionally, the Japanese considered it disrespectful to call any person by his given name, and more so for a person of noble rank. This convention is only slightly relaxed in the modern age and it is still inadvisable among friends to use the given name, use of the family name being the common form of address. In the case of the imperial family, it is considered extremely inappropriate to use the given name. Since Emperor Meiji, it has been customary to have one era per Emperor and to rename each Emperor after his death using the name of the era over which he presided. Before Emperor Meiji (1867-1912) the names of the eras were changed more frequently, and the posthumous names of the Emperors were chosen differently.

Outside Japan, the previous Emperor is usually called Hirohito in English, although he was never referred to as Hirohito in Japan, and was renamed Shōwa Tennō after his death, which is the only name that Japanese speakers currently use when referring to him.” The current Emperor, Akihito, is referred to as Heisei Tennō.

The Showa Emperor

The Showa Emperor reigned from 1926 until his death in 1989. Since then the Heisei Emperor has reigned and he is scheduled to abdicate on April 30th, 2019.

Therefore the Godzilla and other Toho Kaiju films released from 1954 until they stopped making them in 1975 are listed as Showa era movies. Films made after 1989, when the Heisei Emperor came to the throne, are listed as Heisei era movies.

The problem is that Toho stopped making Godzilla movies in 1975 and restarted in 1984 with “The Return of Godzilla” placing this movie technically in the Showa Era. However, as far as continuity is concerned, “Return of Godzilla” is not connected to any of the Showa Era films except for the 1954 original Godzilla film. “Return of Godzilla” started a new line of Godzilla films with its own continuity.

The Heisei Emperor

There was a gap of 5 years before the next Godzilla movie in this new series was released. That next movie was “Godzilla vs Biollante” and it was released in Japan on December 16, 1989. The Showa Emperor died in on January 7, 1989 so “Godzilla vs Biollante” is technically the first Heisei Era movie. However, since “The Return of Godzilla” begins a new continuity of Godzilla films it has been grafter onto, or grandfathered in, the Heisei Era despite being a Showa Era movie…technically.

The Showa Era of Godzilla movies lasted 21 years and encompassed 15 Godzilla films. The Heisei Era lasted until 1995 culminating in the film “Godzilla vs Destroyah” wherein Godzilla dies bringing the Heisei Era of movies to a close. After “Godzilla vs Destroyah” Toho stopped making Godzilla movies to allow Tri-Star to make the 1998 first American Godzilla movie. As you all know, that didn’t work out too well.

The very next year, 1999, Toho began producing Godzilla movies once again. The first movie was called “Godzilla 2000: Millennium.” Despite being released during the Heisei Era these movies began a new series of films called the Millennium Series. These movies were all one-off movies and not really connected too much to the movies of the two other eras. If they are connected to other eras it’s to the Showa Era, albeit loosely. They’re not connected to each other either, well, except for two movies. In 2004 with the 50th anniversary of Godzilla movies Toho released “Godzilla: Final Final Wars” and once again placed the Godzilla franchise on hiatus.

In 2014 we saw another attempt at an American produced Godzilla with the release of “Godzilla” from Legendary Studios and directed the Gareth Edwards. This kicked off the Monsterverse series of movies. In 2017 saw the release of “Kong: Skull Island” to positive reviews. In 2019 we’ll see “Godzilla, King of the Monsters” to be followed by “Godzilla vs King Kong” in 2020. The future of the Monsterverse is on shaky ground because Toho has announced it wants to begin making its own Monsterverse after the current contract with Legendary expires in 2020.

In 2016 Toho did produce a new Godzilla movie, “Shin Godzilla,” and this movie also had a limited run here in the states. However, despite its success here and in Japan, Toho recently announced “Shin Godzilla” will not have a sequel as Toho will concentrate on its own series of Godzilla films after the contract with Legendary Studios expires. This leaves “Shin Godzilla” as a one-off film that doesn’t belong to any era. Toho has also been producing an Anime Godzilla series in lieu of being able to make any live action films while Legendary Studios are making their films.

With the Heisei Emperor abdicating next year, Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, will become the new Emperor. I do not know the name of the era under which the new Emperor will reign. It remains to be seen if the new series of Godzilla movies will be named after him or something else?

Well, I’ve rambled long enough. If you’ve read this far without falling asleep I thank you. As you can see the history of the name of the Godzilla Eras is a little complex but still understandable. I have more to say about the continuity of the Showa Era of movies but I will leave that for the next blog entry.