Godzilla: King of the Monsters!

In its original form, GODZILLA (GOJIRA) was meant as an analogy for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending Japan's involvement in World War II. The monster was a representation of nuclear holocaust and its aftermath. Director Ishiro Honda was ingenious in his use of the big lizard as a metaphor for his nation's greatest human tragedy.

Before it could be shown in the United States, big changes had to be made, including the addition of actor Raymond Burr as an extraneous character, and to provide voice-over narration. Burr's character would tell us what was "really" going on. Perhaps, distributors were afraid that American audiences were simply too dense to understand Honda's vision. More than likely, they didn't get it themselves!

GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS was born.

Unfortunately, much of the story's devastating power was lost in the process. Even so, the Americanized version still packs a punch. Honda's idea shines through, and Burr isn't bad in his role, just unnecessary. If this is the only version you've ever seen, then it's advisable to watch the original for some context...

Just a few weeks ago, I watched the original Japanese version of Godzilla. So now, I just also watched the American-edited version with new scenes of Raymond Burr as American reporter Steve Martin narrating most of the movie with some of the Japanese scenes dubbed in English. Other than those new scenes, the movie has most of the same narrative with only a few scenes cut out. Burr as the reporter is quite effective when narrating or talking into a tape machine meant for his boss to receive. And it's mainly because of that narration that I'm giving this version called Godzilla: King of the Monsters! an 8 while I gave the original version a 7.

American studios obviously believed two things: (1) that Godzilla could be sold to American audiences, and (2) that American audiences wouldn't watch the original Japanese version, and so a familiar American actor would have to be added. The end result was the filming of many scenes incorporating Raymond Burr as American newspaper reporter Steve Martin, who just happened to be in Tokyo when Godzilla struck.

In all honesty, I haven't seen the Japanese original ("Gojira") and so I have no basis on which to compare the two versions, so "Godzilla: King Of The Monsters" has to be looked at on its own merits. Let's admit right off the top that it has a lot of weaknesses. The Burr scenes aren't edited in particularly well, there are some strange decisions about dubbing (sometimes the original scenes are left in, with Japanese language and all and a narration by Burr explaining what's happening and sometimes English is dubbed over the original Japanese, and there didn't seem to me to be any particular rhyme or reason for which decision was made to which scene), the special effects are primitive (but it was made in the 1950's), and the monster stretched credibility a bit (partly the costume, and partly that he was 400 feet tall - how would the link between Jurassic era land animals and sea animals be so big?) Having said that, unless your agenda is simply to bash Americans for Americanizing the movie, you also have to admit that it's not bad. The opening scene is marvellous, with Martin being rescued from a destroyed building and brought to a hospital on a stretcher. If you didn't know the story (and we do, so perhaps this loses its impact) you'd swear off the top that this is a movie about an atomic bomb attack. For all the above weaknesses, the movie's fun pretty much all the way through if not particularly scary, and the casting of Burr accomplished what the studios wanted - Godzilla became as much an American cult classic as a Japanese one.

The ending is a bit abrupt, and seemed pretty decisive, leaving me to puzzle where all the sequels came from, but overall, if not great this was still an enjoyable film, probably undeserving of some of the criticism it gets. 6/10

The abuse and destruction unleashed on this Japanese city Tokyo is nothing short of epic in stature. The city, through the various romps of the titular character, literally swirls in flames, buildings fall at amazing speed , and just about every human form of transportation is reduced to rubble. This is the setting for much of the film, Godzilla - King of the Monsters. Despite being nothing more than a film with a man in a rubber suit trashing a miniature Tokyo set, this first Godzilla has much going for it. It is well-paced, and the action is engrossing and climactic. I saw the Americanized version with Raymond Burr, and thought Burr did a fine job playing foreign correspondent Steve Martin. Burr really helps create and add tension in the film with his narration and through the events we see through his eyes. The Japanese actors are very good as is the direction. Really the only low-point of the film for me was the inept dubbing, particularly the Brooklyn accent given to one of the chief Japanese scientists. Quite a gem!

Godzilla is truly a legendary icon who has really stood the test of time for more than fifty years. His first film back in 1954 was very serious compared to most monster movies at the time. Most agree that it's a typical story of a prehistoric creature mutated by radiation rising up to challenge the world with his newfound power, but it's a little more than that. How so? Everything seems to be taken seriously by both filmmakers and the characters in the story. In this U.S. version, dubbing is kept to a very minimum by the lead characters while everyone else is speaking Japanese, which brings a small sense of realism. Godzilla himself is taken seriously by the filmmakers because while the primitive effects are obvious, his actions are like how a real animal reacts to a certain situation like when he approaches the electrical barrier and pauses to look at it curiously or when he snarls at a ringing clock tower because he thinks it might be another animal. He doesn't "attack" Tokyo just for the hell of it, he's just lashing out at whatever attacked him. After Tokyo is destroyed, the scene where the people mourn for the dead and dying truly moved me because the "attack" was treated like an actual disaster. I truly respect that.

Tomoyuki Tanaka really knew how to tell a war related story (war films in Japan were illegal at the time) and make his dinosaur the biggest star (literally) in the world. Steve Martin(Raymond Burr) and Dr. Serizawa are among the best known human characters in the entire series. I give this movie little more credit than before because of how it was made and the angle it was going for. Long live the King!