King of the Monsters Godzilla Movie Review

A monstrous prehistoric reptile emerges from the depths to terrorize Tokyo after being awakened by atomic testing. Godzilla is finally foiled by means of a heroic scientist's “oxygen destroyer,” though as we all know, he would survive to menace Japan again and again. Scenes featuring Raymond Burr were added in the 1956 American version (directed by Terry Morse), where he serves as a narrator telling the monster's tale in flashbacks. In addition, the scenes in which the scientist sacrifices himself to destroy Godzilla with his invention were downplayed in the U.S. release. Unlike many of the later sequels, the original Godzilla was a grim, serious movie that helped give voice to the world's collective fears about nuclear weapons. Significantly, it was one of the first post-WWII Japanese films to break through commercially in the U.S. Followed by 21(!) sequels to date. AKA: Gojira.

1954 80m/B JP Takashi Shimura, Raymond Burr, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata, Momoko Kochi, Sachio Sakai; D: Inoshiro Honda, Terry Morse; W: Takeo Murata, Inoshiro Honda; C: Masao Tamai; M: Akira Ifukube. VHS, Beta, LV PAR, VES