Film Reviews

[Johnlodge]

I finally saw the original Gojira from 1954. No bad dubbing, no edited out scenes, no added scenes with Raymond Burr. It is a much better film than the American "Godzilla: King of the Monsters". Although I do like Raymond Burr's scenes in the American version, I don't like all the stuff they took out. Simple things like scarred Japanese people who were obviously survivors of the bombs, or a woman saying "we'll be with your father soon" as Gojira approaches, insinuating he was lost in the war. This original version makes it much more clear that the monster is an allegory for the H-Bomb.

The musical score is fantastic, especially in the scene where the camera slowly pans across the wreckage of Tokyo after Gojira's attack. It could easily have been footage of Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

After twenty some movies, most people think of Godzilla as being a corny sci-fi flick with a guy in a rubber suit smashing little models, but the original Gojira is something much deeper than that, and I highly recommend it to anybody who has not seen it.

[rb336]

Where did you see it?

[Johnlodge]

I ordered the DVD pictured above, but it was playing in a local theater not that long ago [[Main Art, maybe?)

[Bigb23]

I saw that title at the Library, lodge, but not being a fan of older Japanese sci-fi, I passed on it. I'll try to check it out in the future.