The original Gojira (English title: Godzilla), released in 1954, was directed and written by Honda Ishirô. The concept of a dinosaur-type creature terrorizing the coast of Tokyo came into fruition when producer Tanaka Tomoyuki read of the Lucky Dragon 5 incident and was inspired by an American film of similar concept, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Leading the cast of Gojira is actor Shimura Takashi (Rashomon (1950) and Seven Samurai (1954)), who plays Dr. Yamane Kyouhei; other notable actors includeTakarada Akira, Hirata Akihiko, and famous “suit actor” Nakajima Haruo. Due to critical and financial success, Gojira has spawned many sequels in Japan and remakes in the United States.
The film begins with normative opening credits, but viewers are presented with terrifying roars and subsequent thundering orchestra sounds that initiate fear and suspense. Since Gojira was a ground breaking film at the time, the opening credits would have surely frightened a few! In the opening, we are presented with a scene in which an assembly of navy men aboard a ship near Odo Island are terrified of an unknown force. The ships alongside the men, are shown decimated – which then makes headline news and causes public uproar in Japan. What could cause such a drastic challenge to national security? Reporters hear of this incident and are soon flown in to Odo Island. Dr. Yamane suggests sending investigators to the island. He finds large radioactive footprints, and consequently presents them in a public inquiry. Army ships are deployed, but they succumb to Gojira’s violence. One of Dr. Yamane’s colleagues, Dr. Serizawa (played by actor Hirata Akihiko), invents an “oxygen destroyer” that has the dangerous ability to abolish all sea life-forms – and thus Gojira. After Gojira appears again to attack a coastal city, the Japanese Army decides to create an electric fence to stop Gojira. However, it is futile as Gojira is able to withstand the fence and the army’s gunfire – which give way under his continued rampage.
The most remarkable aspect of the film is the psychological creation of fear. In the opening credits, the type of movie and creature we’ll face is alluded to – an unknown shrieking, wrathful voice angrily roars. In the following scene we are given an image of several ships full of sailors being frightened by something unseen. Since all the ships are destroyed in unison, it gives a feeling that this unknown creature is capable of mass destruction. All in all, the noted scene being around just two minutes quickly elevates the idea of fear, since our greatest qualitative fear is of what we can’t see and what we don’t know. Having the horrific incident making headline news causes a concern for not only Japan as a nation, but its entire people as well. The most horrendous scene in Gojira follows soon afterwards. The Japanese natives’ spiritual ceremony obviously unsuccessful, we are soon shown an image of a destructive storm against a coastal city. The lack of success from the native ceremony possibly hints to how old Japanese traditions may not work in the new age of science. As the scene continues, we are given a shot of a just-woken-family-of-three (asleep is when people are most prone and helpless), in a house that will soon collapse. We see the teenage brother quickly run out; we see nothing but his voice screaming and his distressed older brother and sister-in-law powerless to help. At this point, we still have yet to understand what the physical appearance of Gojira is like; what we can acknowledge is that some unknown force is capable of significant mayhem – having destroyed fleet of ships, cities, and families. Imagining such scenes would truly give one a frightening nightmare!
The editing and camerawork bind the film together. The editing is excellent at utilizing psychological suspense. In the beginning of the movie, we are only shown about two minutes each of Gojira’s wrath. The subsequent scene lengths are exponential to Gojira’s; this creates a sort of suspense and nervousness, as the scenes depict an investigation, a discussion, and a creation of a weapon to use against Gojira. The act of anticipation that this editing provides provokes a prolonged anxiousness and suspense. Also important is how the camerawork transcends the images of the movie. In one scene where Gojira break through the electrical fences and begins destroying Tokyo, we are quickly given multiple shots of the empty city streets. The director pans to a scared mother and daughter for a few seconds, and immediately after shows scenes of Gojira destroying the city. By doing this, viewers are able to see that Gojira is a great enough force to empty cities. However, with the addition of the mother and child, we relate to the scene with pity and fear for humanity’s sake. To put more salt on the wound: after just watching Gojira destroy the city for a few minutes, we are shown again the mother and daughter via a long shot that reveals their scared body language, and then a close-up to see their dramatically frightened facial expressions; the child now says she is scared! The director’s focus on the two promotes the scene to become tragically personal. This is an example of very thoughtful camerawork, where every shot has great significance and emphasis to the story.
Honda Ishirô’s Gojira paved the way for many kaijû (giant monster) films in Japan. Yes, the film is violent, and the strings are visible and corny- but one should not debase it on such aspects. Gojira’s success is due to its cerebralness. The mental scenes/images (or sometimes lack of), combined with the realistic humanism of its human characters, is what establishes Gojira as a cinematic and modern-cultural classic.