Happy Birthday, Godzilla

The American Thinker ^ | 05/03/04 | Thomas Lifson

[JusticeTalion]

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of its debut in Japan, a crisp clean print of the original uncut Japanese version of the first Godzilla movie is being released in the United States. What a long strange journey it has been for the beast.

First came monstrous box office success in the 1954 Japanese domestic market, followed by a quick sequel the next year (later released in the Unioted States by Warner Brothers as Gigantis, the Fire Monster). Then, translation to an Americanized version starring Raymond Burr, featuring new English language footage inter-cut with original, much longer film (especially the rampage through Tokyo), released to great success in 1956.

Then came endless cheesy Japanese derivatives, featuring rival monsters such as Rodan, Mothra, and even the robotized Mecha-Godzilla, some of whom engaged in martial arts combat with the original Godzilla, who somehow metamorphosed into a force for good, on occasion.

Finally, the ultimate tribute, a big-budget computer effects-laden American remake, which had the good grace to be so leaden as to make the original look good.

The appearance of the 1954 original Japanese version on American screens (certain to be followed by a commentary-laden DVD release, in case you don’t have access to one of the urban revival houses where it will have its limited theatrical play) is a chance to reflect on how far Japan has come in the interval, as well as the unpredictable resonance of certain pop culture memes.

In 1954, Japan was still recovering from the firebombing of its cities, and grappling with its status as the first and only target of nuclear weapons. Godzilla was fashioned as a commentary on the awfulness of nuclear warfare: brought to life by nuclear testing in the South Pacific, and ravaging Japan (again). As if releasing a genie, toying with the basic structure of matter unleashed the a gigantic id, a monster from the ancient past, bent on destruction, and breathing poisonous atomic halitosis.

All of the Deep Meaning was quickly jettisoned by the film makers of Toho Studios, in the rush to crank out sequels. Besides, the ultimate charm of Godzilla lay in the special effects, created by Eiji Tsuburaya, whose wartime work recreating the attack on Pearl Harbor in miniature was so detailed that many people mistook it for actual combat footage. He built an intricate model of the Ginza district in Tokyo, which was destroyed by an actor in a rubber monster suit. Compared with the stop-motion models then being used by American special effects master Ray Harryhousen, the man-in-suit approach combined fluid naturalistic movement with the delight of highly detailed miniature models.

Eiji Tusburaya, already a prolific innovator in film technique, went on to establish his own production house with his sons in 1963. In a curious recapitulation, one of the many Japanese televisions series produced by Tsuburaya Productions was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. A Hollywood producer by the name of Haim Saban spotted potential in the notion of children who could morph into superheroes, and just as in 1954, determined that inter-cutting new English language footage, with American actors, into the Japanese action sequences, would yield a low-cost television series with considerable appeal. So great was the success of Power Rangers that Saban entered the pantheon of billionaires, and was able to become one of Bill Clinton’s (and the Democratic Party’s) largest contributors.

The 1950s are now considered by film historians to have been a golden age of Japanese cinema. The best-known and most-admired works of Kurosawa come from this period, and represent landmarks of world cinema. Ordinarily, the 1954 Godzilla is not rekoned to be among the masterworks of world cinema. Nevertheless, its odd appeal continues to resonate, and its contribution to language and culture endures. The creators of South Park, for instance, satirized Barbara Streisand gone wild with a monster called Mecha-Streisand, which threatened the tiny Colorado town.

For all of the angst over nuclear weapons, and the deep thinking about mankind’s darker impulses taken life, Godzilla has simply given us a lot of fun over the past five decades. That alone makes it a positive endeavor, one whose golden anniversary is worth celebrating.

[Dick Grayson]

"Aur your base our berong to us!"

[TheBigB]

GODZILLA RULES!!! I can't wait to see that last pic, FINAL WARS.

[Focault's Pendulum]

"Bring On The Pics Of War!!!"

This should be fun.

[4mycountry]

Oh boy. A freeping, godzilla-loving viking kittie with MST3000 taglines.

Take me home, I've seen it all. ;)

[TheBigB]

You talkin' ta me? I said...you talkin' ta me?? ;-)

[Trajan88]

Did Matsui just hit a HR for the Bronx Bombers?

Oh, wait... wrong Godzilla.

Trajan88

[Lockbar]

Happy Birthday, Godzilla, you big, mean-greenie, you!

[TheBigB]

"The Godzilla Geneaology Bop" (courtesy Joel Robinson, Crow T. Robot, and Tom Servo in the SOL)

[In the satellite:]

CROW: Joel?

JOEL: Yeah.

CROW: Joel! Jo--

JOEL: Uh, over here, yeah.

CROW: Oh, there you are. Uh, I'm confused. Uh, Just who is this Godzilla
guy?

SERVO: Yes, wise one. Please, teach us.

JOEL: I don't know if you're ready for this.

SERVO: [at same time as Crow] Oh, please Mr. Joel. Please! Come on. Please!
Please! Please! Please! Please!

CROW: [at same time as Servo] Oh, please! Please! Pleeeeease!

JOEL: Okay, my little robot friends, but we only pass this way once. This is
called the "Godzilla Geneaology Bop." Would you hit it, Professor Cambot?

[music starts]

In order to know Godzilla, we've got to look into his past.

CROW: You know studying geneaology is gonna be a blast.

JOEL: Ah, you've got it little robot pal, we're swinging into high.

SERVO: Come on, let's cut to the chase you couple of geeks, and get to the
family tree!

CROW: Huh?

JOEL: Well, it started with a nuclear blast and pets that were released.

SERVO: Oh, like--

SERVO and CROW: --baby alligators and other nasty beasts?

JOEL: Right. The fusion reaction caused them to grow a thousand times their
size.

SERVO: Oh.

CROW: Well, that explains Godzilla's attractive tail and thunderous thighs!

JOEL: Right.

SERVO: Ah!

JOEL: Now you're getting it little buddy--

CROW: Ah!

JOEL: --but now we must move on.

SERVO: Uh hu.

JOEL: Godzilla's not the only one to benefit from the A-bomb.

SERVO: Yeah. Look, there's Aunty Ness from Scotland's Loch, they married in
the spring. And their first-born was Godzookie, and now we begin to sing!

[in background]

Bop be du-bop! Be du-bidie du be du bop....

[you got the picture....]

CROW: Godzookie went to Hollywood, an agent to the stars. He had an affair
with Lorna Lufts and smoked a big cigar.

SERVO: And outa the lust of the love affair Rob Pearlman resulted.

CROW: Hu!

JOEL: You know, surgery was considered for him, but nobody was consulted! Oh,
I did it again.

CROW: Then Ron met Yoko Ono, and they began to spawn a couple of hundred
horrible things as green as [forest lawn].

SERVO: There they are: there's Kermit the Frog, the Swamp Thing, Hulk, and
Earnest Borgnine too!

CROW: But Earnest Borgnine isn't green!

SERVO: Well put him on a boat and he is!

JOEL and CROW: *WHAT?!*

SERVO: Hey! Who's that at the bottom, a-wallowin' in his shame?

CROW: Oh, that's just Steve Guttenberg of Police Academy fame.

SERVO: Hu.

JOEL: To wrap it up, the worst mutation...

CROW: No, you don't suppose?!

SERVO: Oh yes it is, the horror of horrors--

ALL: --Karl Malden's nose!

SERVO and CROW: Ohhhh nooooo!

JOEL: We got movie--commercial sign on top.

CROW: Dig it.

[Nachum]

And who can ever forget the lyrics to Blue Oyster Cult's song Godzilla!

With a purposeful grimace
and a terrible scowl
he pulls the high tension wire down!

GODZILLA

Oh NO! They say he's got to go!

GODZILLA

OH NO! There goes TOKYO

GODZILLA

Loved that song....

[4mycountry]

I'm lookin' attcha, ain't I?!

[Army Air Corps]

Oh no!
There Goes Tokyo.
Go go Godzilla!

[Lockbar]

Raymond Burr wants a piece of Godzilla's cake. But doesn't want to consume it in a traditional way.

Pic of Mr. Burr at 1970 Mardi Gras.

[4mycountry]

That's just... wrong...

[Junior]

Godzilla -- 60 meters of rompin' stompin' fun!

[TomServo]

One of my favorite bits!!! ;-)

[Long Cut]

You and me both. I've been a HUGE G-Fan my whole life...I've got most of the movies on video or DVD, except the last three, which were just released on DVD.

The most recent cycle of films, known as the "Millennium" series, began in 1999 with "Godzilla 2000".

The prior series, known as the "Heisei" series, is considered by fans to be the best. It started in 1984 with "Godzilla Returns" (known here as "Godzilla 1985") and ended with his "death" in 1995's "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah".

I wish to God that that American company hadn't so solidly screwed the character up. They had such a chance to do it right...I saw some of the designs they rejected. They were awesome. Instead, they wanted to put "thier own names" on the property.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Rinji news o moshiagemasu!
Godzilla ga ginza hoomen e mukatte imasu!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!
Daishkyu hinan shite kudasai!

[TheBigB]

Grrrr...doctor said I needed more iron in my diet...

[Long Cut]

"60 meters of rompin' stompin' fun!"

Depends on the movie.

In the first series ("Shodai"), 1954-1975, he was 50 meters tall, or about 155 feet.

In the "Heisei" series, he began at 80 meters tall, about 175 feet, and mutated further to 100meters, about 328 feet. Those were cool movies to watch, with a monster that size. Also, he looked the best in those, IMHO.

In the "Millennium" series, he's 55 meters tall.