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The Boondock Saints
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The Boondock Saints
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Troy Duffy
Produced by
Elie Samaha
Lloyd Segan
Robert Fried
Chris Brinker
Written by
Troy Duffy
Starring
Willem Dafoe
Sean Patrick Flanery
Norman Reedus
David Della Rocco
Billy Connolly
Music by
Jeff Danna
Cinematography
Adam Kane
Edited by
Bill DeRonde
Production
company
Franchise Pictures
Brood Syndicate
Fried Films
Lloyd Segan Company
Chris Brinker Productions[1]
Distributed by
Franchise Pictures
Indican Pictures
Release date
November 19, 1999 (1999-11-19) (Denmark)
January 21, 2000 (2000-01-21)
Running time
108 minutes
Country
United States[2]
Language
English
Budget
$6 million[3]
Box office
$30,471[3]
The Boondock Saints is a 1999 American vigilante action film written and directed by Troy Duffy. The film stars Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus as fraternal twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian Mafia in self-defense. After both experience an epiphany, the brothers, together with their friend "Funny Man" (David Della Rocco), set out to rid their home city of Boston, Massachusetts of crime and evil, all the while being pursued by FBI agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe).
Duffy indicates that the screenplay was inspired by personal experience, while living in Los Angeles.[4] Initially regarded as one of the hottest scripts in Hollywood, the movie had a troubled production and was finally given a limited theatrical release of only five theaters for one week due to the Columbine High School massacre. It was met with poor critical reviews; however, the film ultimately grossed about $50 million in domestic video sales[5] and developed a large cult following.[6][7][8] The movie was followed by a 2009 sequel, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, and a third film is currently in development.[9]
Contents
[hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
3.1 Casting and funding
4 Release
4.1 Home media
5 Reception
5.1 Box office
6 Documentary
7 Sequels
8 Comic book
9 References
10 External links
Plot[edit]
Irish-American twin brothers Conner and Murphy MacManus attend Mass, where the priest mentions the fate of murder victim Kitty Genovese. Later, when Conner and Murphy are celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends, three Russian mobsters arrive and announce they want to close the pub and take over the land it is built on. A brawl ensues, and the next morning two of the Russians seek revenge on Conner and Murphy. The twins kill the mobsters in self-defense.
FBI Agent Paul Smecker is assigned to the case, and finds that the police and local news reporters see the MacManus brothers as heroes. The duo turn themselves in at a police station, where Smecker interviews them. After they retell their incident to Smecker, he declines to press charges and allows them to spend the night in a holding cell to avoid attention from the media. That night, they receive a "calling" from God telling them to hunt down wicked men so that the innocent will flourish.
Conner and Murphy resolve to rid Boston of evil men. Conner learns of a meeting of Russian syndicate bosses at a hotel. Having equipped themselves with weaponry and rope from a local underground IRA gun dealer, the brothers quickly kill all nine Russian mobsters, while Rocco, a friend of the brothers and errand boy for local mafia boss Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta, is sent on a hit as an unknowing pawn. The next day, Rocco learns that he was betrayed, having been sent to kill nine Russians with only a six-shot revolver. Rocco commits himself to helping Conner and Murphy. That night, they hunt down and kill Vincenzo Lapazzi, an underboss of the Yakavetta crime family.
Concerned he may be a target, Papa Joe contacts a hitman, Il Duce, to deal with them. After killing a criminal that Rocco had a personal hatred for, the three men are ambushed by Il Duce. Although they manage to chase Il Duce away, the three men suffer serious wounds, including the loss of Rocco's finger. The three return to a safehouse where they treat their wounds.
Hours later as the police conduct an investigation at the crime scene, the investigation seems futile since the brothers covered their tracks by spraying any blood left behind with ammonia. However, Smecker happens upon the part of the finger lost by Rocco and decides to do an independent investigation to see who was behind the gun battle. Smecker is able to track the evidence down to Rocco and his two allies. This leaves Smecker in a difficult scenario, and struggles with the choice of whether to prosecute the three men, or join them in their cause, as Smecker had become sympathetic towards the brothers' actions. After getting drunk at a gay bar and subsequently getting advice from a reluctant priest, Smecker decides to help the trio.
Later, the brothers and Rocco inform Smecker that they plan to infiltrate the Yakavetta headquarters to finish off the family, but Smecker learns they are walking into a trap. The brothers are captured, and Rocco is shot and killed by Papa Joe, but the brothers are able to free themselves. As Papa Joe leaves his house, Smecker arrives in drag and kills a number of soldiers before being knocked unconscious by Il Duce. As the brothers say their family prayer over Rocco, Il Duce enters the room and prepares to open fire. However, he instead finishes the prayer – revealing he is the brothers' father and deciding to join his two sons in their mission.
Three months later, Papa Joe is sent to trial for a third time. However, the reporters on-scene anticipate his acquittal. The brothers and Il Duce, aided by Smecker, infiltrate the trial after sliding their weapons over the metal detector. Unmasked, they make a speech stating that they intend to eradicate evil wherever they find it before reciting their family prayer and killing Papa Joe. The media dubs the three as "the Saints".
Cast[edit]
Norman Reedus (left), Troy Duffy (center), and Sean Patrick Flanery (right) at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
Willem Dafoe as FBI Agent Paul Smecker, a brilliant but emotionally troubled gay man assigned to the murders linked to the MacManus brothers.
Sean Patrick Flanery as Connor MacManus, one-half of the MacManus brothers. He has a tattoo on his left hand that reads "Veritas" ("truth" in Latin). He is more sensible and rational than his brother, and often tries to carefully plan out their missions; however, he usually and foolishly bases his plans on plans used by classic action movies. Connor frequently references John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Charles Bronson.
Norman Reedus as Murphy MacManus, the other half of the MacManus brothers. He has a tattoo on his right hand that reads "Aequitas" ("justice/equality" in Latin). He seems to be the more emotional and hot-headed of the two; however, Murphy is usually shown to be exasperated by Connor's second hand cliche movie plans.
David Della Rocco as David Della Rocco ("The Funny Man"), a henchman of the Yakavetta clan until Papa Joe sets him up to be killed, and a loyal friend of the MacManus brothers.
Billy Connolly as Noah MacManus / Il Duce ("The Duke"), father of Connor and Murphy. He is released from prison by Yakavetta to confront the brothers and Rocco, only to assist the brothers after learning who they are.
Bob Marley as Detective Greenly, a marginally competent Boston Police Department detective assigned to the gang murders.
David Ferry as Detective Dolly, a detective partnered with Greenly and Duffy and an expert in symbology.
Brian Mahoney as Detective Duffy, a detective partnered with Greenly and Dolly.
Carlo Rota as Don Giuseppe "Papa Joe" Yakavetta, leader of a powerful mafia in Boston.
Ron Jeremy as Vincenzo Lapazzi, Yakavetta's right-hand man.
Gerard Parkes as Doc, the owner of an Irish-themed pub who has Tourette syndrome featuring Coprolalia.
Sergio Di Zio one of the men in the Deli that knew about Rocco's set-up
Production[edit]
Troy Duffy's screenplay was inspired by his disgust at seeing a drug dealer taking money from a corpse across the hall from his apartment. Duffy, who was working as a bartender and bouncer, had never written a screenplay before.[4]
Duffy completed the screenplay in fall of 1996 and passed it to a producer's assistant at New Line Cinema to be read by a senior executive. The screenplay changed hands through multiple studios and Duffy was approached by multiple producers for the rights. In March 1997, he was contracted by Paramount Pictures for $500,000, and later in the month, Miramax Films won a bidding war to buy The Boondock Saints. The studio offered $450,000 to Duffy to write and direct the film.[10] The documentary Overnight, which chronicled Duffy's "rags-to-riches-to-rags" story,[7] showed that the script was worth $300,000, and the film itself was originally given a $15 million budget by Miramax's Harvey Weinstein.[11] Duffy's band The Brood would do the soundtrack, and as a bonus, Miramax offered to buy and throw in co-ownership of J. Sloan's, where Duffy worked.[12] Overnight showed that Duffy frequently exhibited abrasive behavior, causing tension for many people involved in the project. Filming of The Boondock Saints was scheduled for the coming autumn in Boston.[13]
Casting and funding[edit]
Duffy sought to cast Stephen Dorff and Mark Wahlberg as the brothers, though Wahlberg passed for Boogie Nights. The director also wanted to cast Billy Connolly and Kenneth Branagh in the film, with Branagh playing FBI Agent Paul Smecker.[14] Duffy also expressed interest in casting Brendan Fraser, Nicky Katt, and Ewan McGregor, with 2 of them as the brothers, but no decisions were finalized. The director later sought Patrick Swayze to play Smecker, but Miramax preferred Sylvester Stallone (with whom the studio had an existing relationship), Bill Murray or Mike Myers.[15] Kevin Spacey and Robert De Niro were also considered for the role of Smecker. Before pre-production work was supposed to begin in Boston in December 1997, Miramax pulled out of the project. Producer Lloyd Segan said that the project had stalled because of casting and location problems.[16] While Duffy was able to keep the writer's fee of $300,000, the studio required the reimbursement of the $150,000 director's fee and the $700,000 advance to develop the project.
The independent studio Franchise Pictures sought to finance the project once other elements were in place. Duffy approached Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus to play the brothers, and Willem Dafoe to play the FBI agent.[15] Having found someone to back the film, filming began in Toronto, with the final scenes being filmed in Boston.[4] The name of Duffy's band The Brood was changed to The Boondock Saints, following the movie's release. The film featured two songs from the band: "Holy Fool",[17] which played during Rocco's tavern shootout, and "Pipes", which played during the credits.
Release[edit]
The Boondock Saints saw a very limited theatrical release, with its distributor showing the film in 2000 on only five screens in the United States for a duration of a week. However, the original unrated version of the film was later re-released in theaters on May 22, 2006.[18] Duffy later funded screenings of the film with help from Blockbuster Video. "Blockbuster saved us [...] They agreed to take it on exclusively, and from there the rest is history."[18] According to Troy Duffy on his audio commentary of the film on DVD, the film's distributor allowed the limited screening in the United States because of the then-recent Columbine High School massacre.[19] The film was shown on major foreign screens (most notably in Japan) with success.[18] Blockbuster released The Boondock Saints as a "Blockbuster Exclusive", a collection of independent direct-to-video films. The Boondock Saints gained a following mostly thanks to word of mouth publicity and was a bestseller when released on DVD. Despite its success, Troy Duffy never saw any of the profits from DVD distribution, having signed away the DVD rights in his contract with Indican.[7] According to Duffy, neither he, his producers nor his principal cast got paid. He sued Franchise Pictures and other undisclosed companies for royalties of the first film and rights to the sequel. After a lengthy lawsuit, Troy Duffy, his producers and the principal cast received an undisclosed amount of The Boondock Saints royalties as well as the sequel rights.
Home media [edit]
The Boondock Saints has been released numerous times on DVD, including an import on March 13, 2001 and an uncut Japanese release published by Toshiba Entertainment, whose special features include anamorphic widescreen, audio commentary, trailers, and interviews with the Japanese media.[20] On May 23, 2006 The Boondock Saints Collector's Edition was published and released by 20th Century Fox on DVD, as well as UMD for the PlayStation Portable.[21] The special features include English and Spanish subtitles, commentary by Billy Connolly and Troy Duffy, deleted scenes and outtakes. It also featured the film's trailer, cast and crew filmographies, and a printable script of the film.[22] 20th Century Fox and Duffy showed an interest in doing a new audio commentary for the special release, but he was unable to because of unresolved legal issues.[23]
Reception[edit]
Despite negative critical reception by critics, it is not shared among the general audience and is still highly favored by them, holding an IMDB score of 7.9/10 from over 205,000 votes. [24]
Critics polled on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 20% "Rotten", with the site's consensus calling the film, "A juvenile, ugly movie that represents the worst tendencies of directors channeling Tarantino."[25] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club described the film, in his review of the DVD, as "less a proper action-thriller" than "a series of gratuitously violent setpieces strung together with only the sketchiest semblance of a plot". Rabin went on to describe the film as "all style and no substance, a film so gleeful in its endorsement of vigilante justice that it almost veers (or ascends) into self-parody."[26] Robert Koehler of Variety described the film in his review as "A belated entry in the hipster crime movie movement that began with Reservoir Dogs, Troy Duffy's "Boondock Saints" mixes blood and Catholic-tinged vigilante justice in excessive portions for sometimes wacky and always brutal effect. [The film is] more interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs."
Koehler also described Flanery and Reedus as "curiously stolid and blank", while praising supporting actors Connolly, Dafoe, and Rota for making the most of their screen time. Koehler also praised the tech personnel, "This uneven exercise in pacing and cutting is abetted by an eclectic score by Jeff Danna and whiz lensing by Adam Kane. Other tech credits fire bull's-eyes."[27]
Film critics have taken note of the film's extreme violence and "slow-motion bloodletting".[28]
Box office[edit]
In its original run, the film only earned $30,471 at five theaters.[5] It later developed a cult following and has grossed about $50 million in domestic video sales.[5]
Documentary[edit]
Main article: Overnight
The documentary film Overnight was released in 2003, following the story of Troy Duffy during his negotiations with Miramax over The Boondock Saints script, as well as his band's struggles to secure a recording contract. Duffy's abrasive behavior strained his relationships with friends and people in the film industry and ultimately led to Miramax pulling out of the project, leaving the film to be made by another studio at half the originally proposed budget.[29]
Sequels[edit]
Main article: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
After numerous delays, Troy Duffy shot a sequel, entitled All Saints Day, in which the brothers return to continue their run of vengeance. It was released October 30, 2009.
In an October 27, 2009 article, director Duffy and actor Connolly mention details regarding a possible third film. They maintained that "it is slowly in the works and is still just an idea". Duffy insists that he wants to get a few more of his films done before returning to the Boondock Saints. Duffy also added that the proposed working title for the third film would be called "Boondock Saints III: Saints Preserve Us".[30]
Again, on February 26, 2013, Duffy stated that he was getting together with Reedus and Flanery to resume talks about The Boondock Saints 3, in hopes that they could make the film a reality for fans.
As of July 2013, Duffy has confirmed in an interview that he is working on the script for the third film, and possibly a TV series. Reedus and Flanery are confirmed to come back, and he is attempting to get Dafoe back as well. (Interview)
On September 3, 2014, the third film, subtitled Legion, was revealed to be in pre-production.[31]
Comic book[edit]
A two-part comic book story, serving as a companion to the movie sequel, was released in May 2010. The series is written by Troy Duffy, produced by Innfusion Inc. and released through 12 Gauge Comics.[32] The Book focuses on a more in depth version of Il Duce's back story as well as telling the story of the brothers during a hit they performed that is not featured in the film. It was paired with a mini book that was featured on the official Boondock Saints website that told a mini-story that takes place before the strip club scene from the first film. These will eventually be released in one single graphic novel. Another story is currently being proposed that would show the brothers' time in Hoag Prison after the events of All Saints Day.[citation needed]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Credits". BFI Film & Television Database. British Film Institute. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Boondock Saints". BFI Film & Television Database. British Film Institute. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b The Boondock Saints at Box Office Mojo
^ Jump up to: a b c Finch, Amy (November 2, 1998). "Boondock Saints". filmvault.com. Retrieved March 30, 2009. (Republished from Boston Phoenix.)
^ Jump up to: a b c Anderson, John (2009-10-18). "Back to the Boondocks, Defiantly". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
Jump up ^ "Boondock Saints, the infamous Cult Classic". Detroitbuzz.com Cult Corner. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Overnight". Roger Ebert review. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
Jump up ^ "DVD Review - Boondock Saints unrated edition". DVDfuture.com. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
Jump up ^ Cornell, David. "Norman Reedus Confirms 'Boondock Saints 3' Will Happen". Inquisitor. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
Jump up ^ Waxman, Sharon (April 14, 1997). "Forward Fast: Hollywood's suddenly drunk on a bartender's idea". The Washington Post.
Jump up ^ "Overnight". Filethirteen.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
Jump up ^ "The Fall of Troy". LAcitybeat.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-21. Retrieved 2006-11-28.
Jump up ^ Johnson, Jason B. (April 1, 1997). "Hub-to-Hollywood dream comes true for scriptwriter". Boston Globe.
Jump up ^ O'Toole, Lesley (December 4, 1997). "Hollywood's young guns". The Times.
^ Jump up to: a b Waxman, Sharon (April 10, 1998). "The two faces of Hollywood: A screenwriter's success story had a happy ending. Then someone changed the script". The Washington Post.
Jump up ^ Raposa, Laura (December 13, 1997). "Miramax 'Saints' hits devil of a snag". Boston Herald.
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints soundtrack listing". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Boondock Saints and Troy Duffy". Moviefreak.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-16. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
Jump up ^ Troy Duffy. DVD-Audio commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox May 21, 2002 release.
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints uncut". Hkflix.com. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints (Unrated Special Edition) (UMD For PlayStation Portable)". Turnerclassicmoviesunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints (Unrated Special Edition) 20th Century Fox 2006". Amazon. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
Jump up ^ "Interview: Troy Duffy". IGN. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints". AVclub.com. Archived from the original on 2006-06-14. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
Jump up ^ Koehler, Robert (2000-01-21). "Boondock Saints". Variety. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
Jump up ^ "Boondock Saints". Brent Simon of Entertainment Today — through Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2006-12-12.
Jump up ^ "Overnight". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
Jump up ^ "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day Movie Trailer - Trailer #1". IGN. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
Jump up ^ "The Boondock Saints 3 Title and Plot Revealed". Cinema Blend. September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Title : Home". 12 Gauge Comics. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
External links[edit]
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text:
Godzilla (1954 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the 1954 film. For other films titled Godzilla, see Godzilla (disambiguation).
Godzilla
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Ishirō Honda
Produced by
Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by
Takeo Murata
Ishirō Honda
Story by
Shigeru Kayama
Starring
Akira Takarada
Momoko Kōchi
Akihiko Hirata
Takashi Shimura
Music by
Akira Ifukube
Cinematography
Masao Tamai
Edited by
Kazuji Taira
Production
company
Toho
Distributed by
Toho
Release date
October 27, 1954[1]
(Nagoya)
November 3, 1954[2]
(Japan)
Running time
96 minutes[3]
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
Budget
¥100 million[4][5]
Box office
¥183 million[6]
(US$1.6 million)
Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira)[Note 1] is a 1954 Japanese science fiction kaiju film featuring Godzilla, produced and distributed by Toho. It is the first film in the Godzilla franchise and the first film in the Shōwa series. The film is directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as the performers for Godzilla. Nakajima would go on to portray the character until his retirement in 1972.
Godzilla went into production after Toho needed a project to replace a Japanese-Indonesian co-production that fell through. Tsuburaya originally opted for a giant octopus before the filmmakers decided on a dinosaur inspired design. The special effects were achieved with a stuntman donning a rubber suit crushing a miniature set of Tokyo. Principal photography and special effects were shot simultaneously by two different crews led by Honda and Tsuburaya, with the former lasting 51 days while the latter lasted 71 days.
Godzilla was initially released in Nagoya on October 27, 1954 and released nationwide a week later on November 3, 1954 and grossed ¥183 million during its theatrical run. In 1956, TransWorld Releasing Corporation and Embassy Pictures released Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, a heavily re-edited "Americanized"[9] version of the original film with additional footage featuring Raymond Burr. In 2004, Rialto Pictures gave the 1954 film a limited theatrical release in the United States to coincide with the franchise's 50th anniversary.
The film spawned a multimedia franchise consisting of 32 films in total, video games, books, comics, toys and other media. The Godzilla franchise has been recognized by Guinness World Records as being the longest running film franchise in history.[10][11] Godzilla has since became an international pop culture film icon, with the character and franchise inspiring countless ripoffs, imitations, parodies and tributes.[12][13][14] The film is also largely credited, because of Eiji Tsuburaya, for establishing the template for Tokusatsu, a technique of practical special effects filmmaking that would become essential in Japan's film industry since the release of 1954's Godzilla.[15]
Contents
[hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Themes
4 Production
4.1 Development
4.2 Writing
4.3 Creature design
4.4 Special effects
4.5 Filming
5 Music
6 Release
6.1 Box office
6.2 North America
7 Critical reception
7.1 Initial Reception
7.2 2004 Release
7.3 Accolades
8 Home media
9 American version
10 Legacy
10.1 American films
11 References
12 External links
Plot[edit]
When the Japanese freighter Eiko-maru is destroyed near Odo Island, another ship – the Bingo-maru – is sent to investigate, only to meet the same fate with few survivors. A fishing boat from Odo is also destroyed, with one survivor. Fishing catches mysteriously drop to zero, blamed by an elder on the ancient sea creature known as "Godzilla". Reporters arrive on Odo Island to further investigate. A villager tells one of the reporters that "something large is going crazy down there", ruining the fishing. That evening, a ritual dance to appease Godzilla is held during which the reporter learns that the locals used to sacrifice young girls to the monster. That night, a large storm strikes the island, destroying the reporters' helicopter, and Godzilla, though very briefly seen, destroys 17 homes, kills nine people and 20 of the villagers' livestock.
Odo residents travel to Tokyo to demand disaster relief. The villagers' and reporters' evidence describes damage consistent with something large crushing the village. The government sends paleontologist Kyohei Yamane to lead an investigation to the island, where giant radioactive footprints and a trilobite are discovered. The village alarm bell is rung and Yamane and the villagers rush to see the monster, retreating after seeing that it is a giant dinosaur, which then roars, and returns to the ocean.
Yamane presents his findings in Tokyo, estimating that Godzilla is 50 metres (164 ft) tall and is evolved from an ancient sea creature becoming a terrestrial animal. He concludes that Godzilla has been disturbed from its deep underwater natural habitat by underwater hydrogen bomb testing. Debate ensues about notifying the public about the danger of the monster. Meanwhile, 17 ships are lost at sea.
Ten frigates are dispatched to attempt to kill the monster using depth charges. The mission disappoints Yamane who wants Godzilla to be studied. Godzilla survives the attack and appears off-shore. Officials appeal to Yamane for ideas to kill the monster, but Yamane tells them that Godzilla is unkillable, having survived H-bomb testing, and must be studied.
Yamane's daughter, Emiko, decides to break off her arranged engagement to Yamane's colleague, Daisuke Serizawa, because of her love for Hideto Ogata, a salvage ship captain. When a reporter arrives and asks to interview Serizawa, Emiko escorts the reporter to Serizawa's lab. After Serizawa refuses to divulge his current work to the reporter, he gives Emiko a demonstration of his recent project on the condition she must keep it a secret. The demonstration horrifies her and she leaves without breaking off the engagement. Shortly after she returns home, the sound of Godzilla's footsteps approaching is heard. Godzilla surfaces from Tokyo Bay and enters the city, attacking Shinagawa, and scattering residents from its path. A passing commuter train collides with the monster, who then destroys the train. After further destruction, Godzilla returns to the ocean.
After consulting with international experts, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces construct a 30-metre-tall (98 ft), 50,000 volt electrified fence along the coast and deploy forces to stop and kill Godzilla. Yamane returns home, dismayed that there is no plan to study Godzilla for its resistance to radiation, where Emiko and Ogata await hoping to get his consent for them to wed. When Ogata disagrees with Yamane, arguing the threat Godzilla poses outweighs any potential benefits from studying the monster, Yamane tells him to leave. Godzilla resurfaces and breaks through the fence to Tokyo with its atomic breath, unleashing a more destructive rampage across the city. Further attempts to kill the monster with tanks and fighter jets fail and Godzilla once again disappears into the ocean. The Wakō Clocktower, the National Diet Building, and the Kachidoki Bridge are destroyed and there is a large loss of life. The day after, hospitals and shelters are crowded to overflowing, and a large portion of the population has radiation poisoning.
Distraught by the devastation, Emiko tells Ogata about Serizawa's research, a weapon called the "Oxygen Destroyer", which disintegrates oxygen atoms and the organisms die of a rotting asphyxiation. Emiko and Ogata go to Serizawa to convince him to use the Oxygen Destroyer but he initially refuses. After watching a program displaying the nation's current tragedy, Serizawa finally accepts Emiko and Ogata's pleas.
A navy ship takes Ogata and Serizawa to plant the device in Tokyo Bay. After finding Godzilla, Serizawa unloads the device and cuts off his air support, taking the secrets of the Oxygen Destroyer to his death. The mission proves to be a success and Godzilla is destroyed but many mourn Serizawa's death. Yamane reveals his belief that if nuclear weapons testing continues, another Godzilla may rise in the future.
Cast[edit]
Akira Takarada as Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kōchi as Emiko Yamane
Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Daisuke Serizawa
Takashi Shimura as Dr. Kyohei Yamane
Fuyuki Murakami as Dr. Tanabe
Sachio Sakai as Hagiwara
Ren Yamamoto as Masaji Yamada
Toyoaki Suzuki as Shinkichi Yamada
Toranosuke Ogawa as President of the Nankai Shipping Company
Hiroshi Hayashi as Chairman of Diet Committee
Seijiro Onda as Oyama, Diet Committee member
Kin Sugai as Ozawa, Diet Committee member
Kokuten Kōdō as The Old Fisherman
Tadashi Okabe as Assistant of Dr. Tanabe
Jiro Mitsuaki as Employee of Nankai Salvage Company
Ren Imaizumi as Radio Officer Nankai Salvage Company
Sokichi Maki as Chief at Maritime Safety Agency
Kenji Sahara as partygoer
Haruo Nakajima as Godzilla and a reporter[16]
Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla & Newspaper deskman[16]
Themes[edit]
In the film, Godzilla symbolizes nuclear holocaust and has since been culturally identified as a strong metaphor for nuclear weapons.[17] In the film, Godzilla's attack mirrors the same horrors the Japanese experienced near the end of World War II, with the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka stated that, "The theme of the film, from the beginning, was the terror of the bomb. Mankind had created the bomb, and now nature was going to take revenge on mankind."[18] Director Ishirō Honda filmed Godzilla's rampage on Tokyo with the mentality that the monster's onslaught was a parallel to, and a physical manifestation of, an atom bomb attack. He stated, "If Godzilla had been a dinosaur or some other animal, he would have been killed by just one cannonball. But if he were equal to an atomic bomb, we wouldn't know what to do. So, I took the characteristics of an atomic bomb and applied them to Godzilla."[18]
Academics Anne Allison, Thomas Schnellbächer, and Steve Ryfle have claimed that Godzilla contains political and cultural undertones that can be attributed to what the Japanese had experienced in World War II and that Japanese audiences were able to emotionally connect to the monster. They theorized that these viewers saw Godzilla as a victim and felt that the creature's backstory reminded them of their experiences in World War II. These academics have also claimed that as the atomic bomb testing that woke Godzilla was carried out by the United States, the film could be seen as a way of blaming the United States for the problems and struggles that the nation experienced after World War II had ended. They also felt that the movie could have served as a cultural coping method to help the people of Japan to help them move on from the events of the war.[19][20][18]
Brian Merchant from Motherboard called the film "a bleak, powerful metaphor for nuclear power that still endures today" and on its themes, he stated: "It's an unflinchingly bleak, deceptively powerful film about coping with and taking responsibility for incomprehensible, manmade tragedy. Specifically, nuclear tragedies. It's arguably the best window into post-war attitudes towards nuclear power we've got—as seen from the perspective of its greatest victims."[21]
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
In 1954, Toho originally planned to produce Eiko-no Kagi-ni (In the Shadow of Glory), a Japanese-Indonesian co-production about the aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, however, anti-Japanese sentiment in Indonesia forced political pressure on the government to deny visas for the Japanese filmmakers.[22] Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka flew to Jakarta to renegotiate with the Indonesian government but was unsuccessful and on the flight back to Japan, conceived the idea for a giant monster film inspired by the 1953 film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and the Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident that happened March of that year.
During his flight, Tanaka wrote an outline with the working title The Giant Monster from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and pitched it to executive producer Iwao Mori. Mori approved the project in April 1954 after special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya agreed to do the film's effects and confirmed that the film was financially feasible. Mori also approved Tanaka's choice to have Ishirō Honda direct the film and shortened the title of the production to Project G (G for Giant), as well as giving the production classified status and ordered Tanaka to minimize his attention on other films and mainly focus on Project G.[23][24]
Writing[edit]
Tsuburaya submitted an outline of his own, written three years before; it featured a giant octopus attacking ships in the Indian ocean. In May 1954, Tanaka hired sci-fi writer Shigeru Kayama to write the story. Only 50 pages long and written in 11 days, Kayama's treatment depicted Dr. Yamane wearing dark shades, a cape and living in a European-style house from which he only emerged at night. Godzilla was portrayed as more animal-like by coming ashore only to find food, with an ostensibly gorilla-like interest in females.
Takeo Murata and director Ishiro Honda co-wrote the screenplay in three weeks, confining themselves in a Japanese Inn in Tokyo's Shibuya ward. Murata and Honda refined and redeveloped key characters and elements by adding the Emiko-Ogata-Serizawa love triangle, holding back on revealing Godzilla, changing Dr. Yamane from a sinister figure to a compassionate scientist, reduced the role of Shinkichi who was featured prominently in Kayama's original story, and added more scenes of destruction.[23][25][26]
Creature design[edit]
The filmmakers took inspiration from various dinosaurs to shape Godzilla's final and iconic design.
Godzilla was designed by Teizo Toshimitsu and Akira Watanabe under Eiji Tsuburaya's supervision.[27] Early on, Tanaka contemplated on having the monster be gorilla-like or whale-like in design due to the name "Gojira" (a combination of the Japanese words for gorilla, gorira, and whale, kujira) but eventually settled on a dinosaur-like design.[28] Kazuyoshi Abe was hired earlier to design Godzilla but his ideas were later rejected due to Godzilla looking too humanoid and mammalian, with a head shaped like a mushroom cloud,[27] however Abe was retained to help draw the film's storyboards.[29] Toshimitsu and Watanabe decided to base Godzilla's design on dinosaurs and, by using dinosaur books and magazines as a reference, combined elements of a Tyrannosaurus, Iguanodon and the dorsal fins of a Stegosaurus.[27]
Despite wanting to have utilized stop motion animation, Tsuburaya reluctantly settled on suitmation.[27] Toshimitsu sculpted three clay models that the suit would be based off. The first two were rejected but the third was approved by Tsuburaya, Tanaka, and Honda.[27]
The Godzilla suit itself was constructed by Kanji Yagi, Koei Yagi, and Eizo Kaimai, who used thin bamboo sticks and wire to build a frame for the interior of the suit and added metal mesh and cushioning over it to bolster its structure and finally applied coats of latex.[27] Coats of molten rubber were additionally applied, followed by carved indentations and strips of latex glued onto the surface of the suit to create Godzilla's scaly hide.[27] This first version of the suit weighed 100 kilograms (220 pounds). For close-ups, Toshimitsu created a smaller scale, mechanical, hand-operated puppet that sprayed streams of mist from its mouth to act as Godzilla's atomic breath.[30]
Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka were chosen to perform in the Godzilla suit, due to their strength and endurance.[27] At the first costume fitting, Nakajima fell down while inside the suit,[31] due to the heavy latex and inflexible materials used to create the suit.[27] This first version of the suit was cut in half and used for scenes requiring only partial shots of Godzilla or close-ups, with the lower-half fitted with rope suspenders for Nakajima to wear.[31][30] A second identical suit was created for full-body shots, which was made lighter than the first suit but Nakajima was still only able to be inside for three minutes before passing out.[31] Nakajima lost 20 pounds during the production of the film.[32]
Tezuka filmed scenes in the Godzilla suit but due to his older body, he was unable to fully commit to the physical demands required of the role. As a result, few of his scenes made it to the final cut as very few scenes were considered usable.[33] Tezuka filled in for Nakajima when he was unavailable or needed relief from the physically demanding role.[30]
Godzilla's name was also a source of consternation for the filmmakers. Because the monster had no name, the first draft of the film was not called Gojira but rather titled G, also known as Kaihatsu keikaku G ("Development Plan G"), the "G" of the title stood for "Giant", however. Nakajima confirmed that Toho held a contest to name the monster. The monster was eventually named Gojira, a combination of the Japanese words gorira (gorilla) and kujira (whale).[34] One explanation that is chalked up to legend is that a hulking Toho Studios employee's physical attributes led him to be nicknamed Gojira.[34]
In a 1998 BBC documentary on Godzilla, Kimi Honda, the widow of the director, dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale, believing that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster, stating, "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one".[28]
Special effects[edit]
Tsuburaya originally wanted to use stop motion for the film's special effects but realized it would have taken seven years to complete based on the then-current staff and infrastructure at Toho.[35] Settling on suitmation and miniature effects, Tsuburaya and his crew scouted the locations Godzilla was to destroy and were nearly arrested after a security guard overheard their plans for destruction but were released after showing police their Toho business cards.[31] Kintaro Makino, the chief of miniature construction, was given blueprints by Akira Watanabe for the miniatures and assigned 30 to 40 workers from the carpentry department to build them, which took a month to build the scaled down version of Ginza.[31] A majority of the miniatures were built at 1:25 scale but the Diet building was scaled down to a 1:33 scale to look smaller than Godzilla.[31]
The buildings' framework were made of thin wooden boards reinforced with a mixture of plaster and white chalk.[31] Explosives were installed inside miniatures that were to be destroyed by Godzilla's atomic breath while some were sprayed with gasoline to make them burn more easily; others included small cracks so they could crumble easily.[31] Optical animation techniques were used for Godzilla's glowing dorsal fins by having hundreds of cells drawn frame-by-frame.[36] Haruo Nakajima perspired inside the suit so much that the Yagi brothers had to dry out the cotton lining every morning and sometimes re-line the interior of the suit and repair damages.[36] The special effects crew spent 71 days on filming.[36]
Filming[edit]
Most of the film was shot in the Toho lot.[37] Honda's team also filmed on location in the Shima Peninsula in Mie Prefecture to film the Odo Island scenes, which used 50 Toho extras and Honda's team establishing their base in the town of Toba.[37] Toho had negotiated with the Japan Self-Defense Forces to film scenes requiring the military and filmed target practices and drills for the film; Honda's team followed a convoy of JSDF vehicles for convoy dispatch scene.[37] 2,000 girls were used from an all-girls high school for the prayer for peace scene.[37] Honda's team spent 51 days shooting the film.[37]
Music[edit]
The score by Akira Ifukube was released three times over a period of 13 years. The first recording was released by Futureland Toshiba in 1993, and nearly contained the film's complete score, missing only a brief source cue used for the pleasure boat scene. The track list is as follows:
No.
Title
Length
1. "Main Title" 1:31
2. "Footsteps" (SFX) 0:49
3. "Eiko-Maru Sinking" 1:06
4. "Bingo-Maru Sinking" 0:23
5. "Uneasiness on Odo Island" 0:49
6. "Rituals of Odo Island" (Source Music) 1:21
7. "The Storm on Odo Island" 1:53
8. "Theme from Odo Island" 0:34
9. "Godzilla appears on Odo Island" 1:02
10. "Frigate March I" 0:42
11. "Horror of the Water Tank" 0:42
12. "Godzilla Comes Ashore" 1:52
13. "Fury of Godzilla" 2:25
14. "Deadly Broadcast" 1:12
15. "Godzilla heads to Tokyo Bay" 1:25
16. "Attack Godzilla!" 1:27
17. "Devastated Tokyo" (Contains SFX) 2:18
18. "The Oxygen Destroyer" 3:11
19. "Prayer for Peace" 2:48
20. "Frigate March II" 0:21
21. "Godzilla Under the Sea" 6:20
22. "Ending" 1:41
The most recent release of the soundtrack was in April 2010, by Classic Media. It included the above tracks and an additional five tracks:
No.
Title
Length
1. "Godzilla Leaving" 1:04
2. "Main Title" (extended) 2:03
3. "First Landing" 3:37
4. "Tokyo In Flames" 2:17
5. "Last Assault" 2:21
Release[edit]
Box office[edit]
Rialto Pictures' poster for the 2004 U.S release of Godzilla.
Godzilla was first released in Nagoya on October 27, 1954 and a week later, released nationwide on November 3, 1954.[1] It sold approximately 9,610,000 tickets and was the eighth best-attended film in Japan that year. It remains the second most-attended "Godzilla" film in Japan, behind King Kong vs. Godzilla.[38] The film grossed ¥183 million during its theatrical run.[6]
North America[edit]
In 1955 and in the 1960's, Godzilla played in theaters catering to Japanese-Americans in predominantly Japanese neighborhoods in the United States. An English subtitled version was shown at film festivals in New York, Chicago and other cities in 1982.[39]
To coincide with Godzilla's 50th anniversary, art-house distributor Rialto Pictures gave the film a traveling tour-style limited release coast-to-coast across the United States. Uncut and featuring English language subtitles, the film's release began on May 7, 2004, and ran until December 19, 2004.[40] Starting in two theaters, the film would gross $38,030 USD in its opening weekend. It never played on more than six screens at any given point during its run. By the end of its run, it grossed $412,520 USD.[41] The film played in roughly sixty theaters[42] and cities across the United States during its 7 1⁄2-month run.
On April 18, 2014, Rialto released the film in another traveling tour style limited release coast to coast across the United States. This was to coincide with not only Godzilla's 60th anniversary, but also in celebration of the new Godzilla movie, which was released in theaters in May. To avoid confusion with the Hollywood film, the release was subtitled The Japanese Original.[43] The film opened with $10,903 playing in one theater in New York City.[44] The film played in roughly 66 theaters in 64 cities from April 18 to October 31.[45] After its run, the film had a final gross of $150,191.[46]
Critical reception[edit]
Initial Reception[edit]
Initially, the film received mixed to negative reviews in Japan. Japanese critics accused the film of exploiting the widespread devastation that the country had suffered in World War II,[47] as well as the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon) incident that occurred a few months before filming began. Ishiro Honda lamented years later in the Tokyo Journal, "They called it grotesque junk, and said it looked like something you'd spit up. I felt sorry for my crew because they had worked so hard!".[48] Honda also stated "At the time they wrote things like 'This movie is absurd, because such giant monsters do not exist.'"
Others said that depicting a fire breathing organism was "strange." Honda also believed Japanese critics began to change their minds after the good reviews the film received in the United States. He stated "The first film critics to appreciate Godzilla were those in the U.S. When Godzilla was released there as Godzilla, King of the Monsters in 1956, the critics said such things as, 'For the start, this film frankly depicts the horrors of the Atomic Bomb.', and by these evaluations, the assessment began to impact critics in Japan and has changed their opinions over the years."[49]
As time went on, the film gained more respect in its home country. In 1984, Kinema Junpo magazine listed Gojira as one of the top 20 Japanese films of all time, while a survey of 370 Japanese movie critics published in Nihon Eiga Besuto 150 (Best 150 Japanese Films), had Godzilla ranked as the 27th best Japanese film ever made.[50]
The film was nominated for two Japanese Movie Association awards. One for best special effects and the other for best film. It won best special effects[51] but lost best picture to Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.[52] The film was re-released theatrically in Japan on November 21, 1982 as part of Toho's 50th anniversary.[53]
2004 Release[edit]
The 2004 American release of Godzilla received critical acclaim by many critics who had never seen the film in its original form without Raymond Burr. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has received a "certified fresh" rating of 93%, with a consensus saying "More than straight monster-movie fare, Gojira offers potent, sobering postwar commentary."[54]
In Entertainment Weekly, Owen Glieberman, who gave the film an A- rating, wrote:
"Godzilla, an ancient beast roused from the ocean depths and irradiated by Japanese H-bomb tests, reduces Tokyo to a pile of ash, yet, like Kong, he grows more sympathetic as his rampage goes on. The characters talk about him not as an enemy but as a force of destiny, a "god." The inescapable subtext is that Japan, in some bizarre way, deserves this hell. Godzilla is pop culture's grandest symbol of nuclear apocalypse, but he is also the primordial spirit of Japanese aggression turned, with something like fate, against itself."[55]
In the Dallas Observer, Luke Y. Thompson wrote:
"A lot of people are likely to be surprised by what they see. The 1954 Japanese cut is shot like a classic film noir, and the buildup to Tokyo's inevitable thrashing is quite slow by today's standards. The echoes of World War II are very strong, and the devastation wrought by Godzilla (played by Haruo Nakajima) is not sugar-coated; it eerily mirrors that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the deaths and injuries are dwelt upon. The monster himself is not fully revealed for quite a while, and even when he finally shows up, he's a malevolent black predator with glistening skin, who stays mostly in the shadows, many times more fearsome than the green-skinned cookie monster who showed up in the various sequels to layeth the smacketh down on the candyasses of numerous alien invaders in ugly leotards."[56]
One of the few recent mixed reviews was written by Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. Ebert admitted the film was "an important one" and "properly decoded, was the Fahrenheit 9/11 of its time," but he also said:
"In these days of flawless special effects, Godzilla and the city he destroys are equally crude. Godzilla at times looks uncannily like a man in a rubber suit, stomping on cardboard sets, as indeed he was, and did. Other scenes show him as a stuffed, awkward animatronic model. This was not state-of-the-art even at the time; King Kong (1933) was much more convincing. When Dr. Serizawa demonstrates the Oxygen Destroyer to his fiancee, Emiko [sic], the super weapon is somewhat anticlimactic. He drops a pill into a tank of tropical fish, the tank lights up, he shouts, "stand back!" the fiancée screams, and the fish go belly-up. Yeah, that'll stop Godzilla in his tracks."[57]
Since its release, Godzilla has been regarded not only as one of the best giant monster films ever made but an important cinematic achievement.[58] The film was ranked #31 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[59] In 2015, Variety named it one of the "10 Best Monster Movies of All-Time."[60]
Accolades[edit]
Year
Award
Category
Recipient
Result
1954 Japan Movie Association Awards Special Effects Godzilla Won
Best Picture Godzilla Nominated
2007 Saturn Awards Best DVD Classic Film Release Godzilla Won
Home media[edit]
The 1956 Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version of the film was released on DVD by Simitar in 1998[61] and Classic Media in 2002.[62] A DVD of the original Japanese version of the film was released in Japan in 2002. The quality of the print used for the Japanese version was partially restored and remastered, including three audio tracks (the original mono track, an isolated audio track, and an isolated track and special effects track), and an interview with Akira Ifukube.
In 2006, Classic Media and Sony BMG Music Entertainment Home Entertainment released a two-disc DVD set titled Gojira: The Original Japanese Masterpiece. This release features both the original 1954 Japanese Gojira film and the 1956 American Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version, making the original Japanese version of the film available on DVD in North America for the first time. This release features theatrical trailers for both films, audio commentary tracks on both films with Godzilla experts Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, two 13-minute documentaries titled "Godzilla Story Development" and "Making of the Godzilla Suit," and a 12-page essay booklet that was written by Steve Ryfle. This release also restores the original ending credits of the American film which, until recently, were thought to have been lost.[63][64]
In the fall of 2005, BFI released the original Japanese version in the UK theatrically, and later in the same year on DVD. The DVD includes the original mono track and several extra features, such as documentaries and commentary tracks by Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski, and Keith Aiken. The DVD also includes a documentary about the Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a Japanese fishing boat that was caught in an American nuclear blast and partially inspired the creation of the movie. A region-4 DVD was released in Australia by Madman Co. Ltd in 2004 for the film's 50th Anniversary.
Classic Media released Godzilla on Blu-ray on September 22, 2009. This release includes the theatrical trailers, featurettes, and audio commentary on Godzilla by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski from the 2006 Classic Media DVD release, but it does not include the 1956 Godzilla, King of the Monsters! version of the film.[65]
On January 24, 2012, The Criterion Collection released a "new high-definition digital restoration" of Godzilla on Blu-ray and DVD. Included as a special feature is Godzilla, King of the Monsters as well as commentary on both films by David Kalat, author of A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series. Also included are interviews with Akira Ikufube, Japanese film critic Tadao Sato, actor Akira Takarada, Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, and effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai.[3][8]
American version[edit]
Main article: Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Following the film's success in Japan, Toho sold the US rights to Joseph E. Levine for $25,000. A heavily altered version of the film was released in the United States and worldwide as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! on April 27, 1956.[6] This version trimmed the original down to 80 minutes and featured new footage with Canadian actor Raymond Burr interacting with doubles spliced with Honda's footage to make it seem like he was part of the original Japanese production. Many of the films political themes were trimmed or removed completely. It was this version of the original Godzilla film that introduced audiences worldwide to the character and franchise and the only version that critics and scholars had access to until 2004 when the 1954 original was released in select theaters in North America. During its theatrical run, Godzilla, King of the Monsters grossed $2 million during its theatrical run, more than what the 1954 original grossed in Japan.[66]
Honda was unaware that that Godzilla had been re-edited until Toho had released Godzilla, King of the Monsters in Japan in May 1957 as Monster King Godzilla. Toho converted the entire film from its original scope to a widescreen 2.35:1 scope, which resulted in an awkward crop for the entire film. Japanese subtitles were given to the Japanese actors since their original dialogue differed greatly from the original script and were dubbed in English.[66] Since the release of the film, Toho had adopted the moniker "King of the Monsters" for Godzilla, which has since appeared in official marketing, advertisement, and promotional materials.[67]
Legacy[edit]
Main article: Godzilla (franchise)
The film became popular enough to spawn 30 Toho sequels, three American adaptations: Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, King Kong vs. Godzilla and Godzilla 1985, and three Hollywood films: Godzilla (1998), Godzilla (2014), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). Godzilla and the franchise also went on to inspire countless ripoffs, imitations, parodies and tributes. The Godzilla franchise has been recognized by Guinness World Records as being the longest running film franchise in history.[10][11] Since his debut, Godzilla has morphed into an international pop culture film icon.[12][13][14]
The film is also largely credited, because of Eiji Tsuburaya, for establishing the template for Tokusatsu, a technique of practical special effects filmmaking that would become essential in Japan's film industry since the release of 1954's Godzilla. Critic and scholar Ryusuke Hikawa stated: "Disney created the template for American animation, In the same way, (special-effects studio) Tsubaraya created the template for the Japanese movie business. It was their use of cheap but craftsman-like approaches to movie-making that made tokusatsu unique."[15]
American films[edit]
Main articles: Godzilla (1998 film) and Godzilla (2014 film)
In 1998, TriStar Pictures released a reimagining of Godzilla, directed by Roland Emmerich. Despite that Emmerich wanted his Godzilla to have nothing to do with the Toho Godzilla, he did maintain some elements from the 1954 original, stating, "We took part of [the original movie’s] basic storyline, in that the creature becomes created by radiation and it becomes a big challenge. But that’s all we took."[68]
In 2014, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures released a reboot of the Godzilla franchise, directed by Gareth Edwards. Edwards stated that his Godzilla film was inspired by the 1954 original,[69] stating, "Godzilla is a metaphor for Hiroshima in the original movie. We tried to keep that, and there are a lot of themes from the '54 movie that we've kept."[70]
References[edit]
Notes
Jump up ^ For the film's initial North American home media release, Classic Media released the film in 2006 under its Japanese title, Gojira,[7] however, Criterion released its own remastered version in 2012 under the film's official English title, Godzilla.[8]
^ Jump up to: a b Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 104.
Jump up ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 106.
^ Jump up to: a b "Godzilla (1954) - The Criterion Collection". Criterion. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 33.
Jump up ^ Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 84.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 105.
Jump up ^ Aiken, Keith (June 29, 2006). "Classic Media's Godzilla Summer". SciFi Japan. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
^ Jump up to: a b Aiken, Keith (November 18, 2011). "Godzilla from The Criterion Collection". SciFi Japan. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Classic Media Reissues the Original Godzilla on DVD". Scifi Japan. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b "TRANSLATION: Guinness World Records® certification". Godzilla.jp. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
^ Jump up to: a b Guinness World Records (September 3, 2014). "Jennifer Lawrence, Game of Thrones, Frozen among new entertainment record holders in Guinness World Records 2015 book". Guinness World Records. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b Ingoglia, Jesse (May 21, 2014). "Godzilla: Monster, Metaphor, Pop Icon". The New York Public Library. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b Patches, Matt (April 11, 2014). "Why Godzilla Remains Pop Culture's Immortal Monster (Opinion)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b Pyzyk, Mark (May 6, 2004). "Hey Godzilla, Why Are You Such a Giant Cultural Symbol?". PopMatters. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b Kelts, Roland (June 12, 2013). "Preserving a classic Japanese art form: tokusatsu magic". The Japan Times. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b Ryfle 1998, p. 351.
Jump up ^ Merchant, Brian (2013-08-23). "A Brief History of Godzilla, Our Never-Ending Nuclear Nightmare". Motherboard (blog). Vice. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ryfle, Steve (Winter 2005). "Godzilla's Footprint". Virginia Quarterly Review. 81 (1): 44–68.
Jump up ^ Allison, Anne (2006-06-30). Millennial Monsters. University of California Press. pp. 45–69. ISBN 9780520245655.
Jump up ^ Schnellbächer, Thomas (November 2002). "Has the Empire Sunk Yet?: The Pacific in Japanese Science Fiction". Science Fiction Studies. 29 (3): 382–396.
Jump up ^ Merchant, Brian (August 23, 2013). "A Brief History of Godzilla, Our Walking Nuclear Nightmare". Motherboard. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
Jump up ^ Ragone 2014, p. 33.
^ Jump up to: a b Ragone 2014, p. 34.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 21.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 24.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 25.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Ryfle 1998, p. 27.
^ Jump up to: a b Ryfle 1998, p. 23.
Jump up ^ Ragone 2014, p. 38.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ragone 2014, p. 39.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Ryfle 1998, p. 29.
Jump up ^ Ragone 2014, p. 42.
Jump up ^ Kalat 2010, p. 17.
^ Jump up to: a b Lees & Cerasini 1998, p. 12.
Jump up ^ Ragone 2014, p. 35.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ryfle 1998, p. 30.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Ryfle 1998, p. 31.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 34.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 55.
Jump up ^ "Godzilla (Original Japanese Version) Weekend Grosses". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
Jump up ^ "Godzilla (Original Japanese Version)". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
Jump up ^ "Henshin!Online". Henshin!Online. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
Jump up ^ "Restored original GODZILLA gets US theatrical release".
Jump up ^ "Godzilla: The Japanese Original Weekend Grosses". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
Jump up ^ "Godzilla: The Japanese Original theatrical schedule". Rialto Pictures. Archived from the original on May 6, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
Jump up ^ "Godzilla: The Japanese Original". Boxofficemojo. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
Jump up ^ Poole, W. Scott (2011). Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting. Waco, Texas: Baylor. ISBN 978-1-60258-314-6.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 37.
Jump up ^ Memories of Ishiro Honda. Twenty Years After The Passing Of Godzilla's Famed Director by Hajime Ishida. Famous Monsters of Filmland #269. Movieland Classics LLC, 2013. Pgs. 19-20
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 38.
Jump up ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 47.
Jump up ^ 500 Godzilla Facts ISBN 978-1-326-37940-7 p. 23
Jump up ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 375.
Jump up ^ Gojira Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
Jump up ^ Entertainment Weekly
Jump up ^ Dallas Observer
Jump up ^ Tallerico, Brian (2004-07-02). "GODZILLA Movie Review & Film Summary (2004) | Roger Ebert". Rogerebert.suntimes.com. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
Jump up ^ "Review: The Criterion Collection's GODZILLA « SciFi Japan". Scifijapan.com. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
Jump up ^ "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema – 31. Godzilla". Empire.
Jump up ^ Khatchatourian, Maane (June 12, 2015). "10 Best Monster Movies of All-Time". Variety. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ DVD: Godzilla King of the Monsters (Simitar) - Toho Kingdom
Jump up ^ DVD: Godzilla King of the Monsters (Classic Media) - Toho Kingdom
Jump up ^ Gojira - Godzilla (Classic Media) (Classic Media) - Toho Kingdom
Jump up ^ DVD Verdict Review - Gojira: The Original Japanese Masterpiece Archived July 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
Jump up ^ DVD Savant Blu-ray Review: Gojira
^ Jump up to: a b Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 106.
Jump up ^ Kalat 2010, p. 29.
Jump up ^ Aiken, Keith (May 31, 2015). "GODZILLA Unmade: The History of Jan De Bont's Unproduced TriStar Film – Part 4 of 4". Scifi Japan. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
Jump up ^ Cheney, Alexandra (March 12, 2014). "'Godzilla' Director: The Film Takes Itself Very Seriously". Variety.
Jump up ^ Newitz, Annalee (July 25, 2013). "Godzilla director Gareth Edwards explains the symbolism of kaiju". io9.
Bibliography
Brothers, Peter H. (2013). Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men: The Fantastic Cinema of Ishiro Honda. CreateSpace. ISBN 9781492790358.
Brothers, Peter H. (2015). Atomic Dreams and the Nuclear Nightmare: The Making of Godzilla (1954). CreateSpace. ISBN 9781508975830.
Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461673743.
Godziszewski, Ed (1994). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla. Daikaiju Enterprises.
Kalat, David (2010). A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series (2nd Edition). McFarland. ISBN 9780786447497.
Lees, J.D.; Cerasini, Marc (1998). The Official Godzilla Compendium. Random House. ISBN 0-679-88822-5.
Ragone, August (2014). Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters (2nd Edition). Chronicle Books. ISBN 978-0-8118-6078-9.
Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan’s Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.
Ryfle, Steve; Godziszewski, Ed (2017). Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 9780819570871.
External links[edit]
Japan portal
Film portal
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Godzilla (1954 film).
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Godzilla (1954 film)
Godzilla at Rotten Tomatoes
Godzilla at Metacritic
"ゴジラ (Gojira)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
Criterion Collection Essay "Godzilla: Poetry After the A-Bomb" by J. Hoberman"
G,history(Japan)
Godzilla on IMDb
Godzilla at AllMovie
G-FAN Magazine
Monster Zero News
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Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
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Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
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Rodan (1956)
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Gorath (1962)
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Dogora (1964)
Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
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King Kong Escapes (1967)
Latitude Zero (1969)
Space Amoeba (1970)
The War in Space (1977)
Gunhed (1989)
Yamato Takeru (1994)
Rebirth of Mothra (1996)
Rebirth of Mothra II (1997)
Rebirth of Mothra III (1998)
Chousei Kantai Sazer-X the Movie: Fight! Star Warriors (2005)
Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007)
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
See also
Gamera
Ultraman
Ultra Series
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Gojirasaurus
Gorgo
The Giant Behemoth
Reptilicus
Yongary: Monster from the Deep
Book
Category
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Aoi shinju (1951)
Nangoku no hada (1952)
The Man Who Came to Port (1952)
Adolescence Part II (1953)
Eagle of the Pacific (1953)
Farewell Rabaul (1954)
Godzilla (1954)
Love Makeup (1955)
Oen-san (1955)
Half Human (1955)
Young Tree (1956)
Night School (1956)
Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
People of Tokyo, Goodbye (1956)
Rodan (1956)
Be Happy, These Two Lovers (1957)
A Teapicker's Song of Goodbye (1957)
A Rainbow Plays in My Heart (1957)
A Farewell to the Woman Called My Sister (1957)
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Song for a Bride (1958)
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Atragon (1963)
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Dogora (1964)
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
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King Kong Escapes (1967)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Latitude Zero (1969)
All Monsters Attack (1969)
Space Amoeba (1970)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Authority control
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LCCN: nr95030363
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