Godzilla (1954)

Reviewed by J. Lunden on January 20, 2012

“Godzilla was baptized in the fire of the H-bomb. What could kill it now?”
-Dr. Yamane

Godzilla was released in Japanese cinemas nine years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and just a few months after the Daigo Fukuryu Maru incident, in which Aikichi Kuboyama became the first casualty of the H-Bomb. Fear of nuclear extinction had permeated the world, but Japan was the only nation to have felt the touch and breathed the aftermath of nuclear warfare. This empirical familiarity is what inspired a group of post-war filmmakers to cast a strange, prehistoric beast (or Kaiju) as an allegorical harbinger.

The story begins with an exaggerated and fictionalized recreation of the Daigo Fukuryu Maru incident, with happy fishermen being consumed by strange underwater lights and deafening roars. When giant, radioactive footprints are discovered in a recently destroyed fishing village, a research team is tasked to investigate. The team consists of a paleontologist, Dr. Yamane (played by the great Takashi Shimura), his daughter/assistant (Momoko Kôchi) and her fiancé (Akira Takarada). Dr. Yamane is determined to study Godzilla, but is quickly disheartened by the military’s somewhat understandable insistence on exterminating the creature. A secondary melodrama is used to introduce Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata), a WWII veteran and secretive scientist who has inadvertently stumbled across the only weapon capable of defeating Godzilla. (He also sports a pretty neat eye patch.) Dr. Serizawa is hesitant to use his discovery against Godzilla, as he fears placing another weapon of mass destruction into the hands of mankind would have far more dire consequences. Dr. Yamane may be the film’s moral center, but it is Serizawa who must deliver its message. It is a brilliant, albeit heavy handed, stroke placing the conflicted veteran-turned-scientist as the film’s hero.

Modern audiences may scoff at the idea of Godzilla as serious artistic expression given that the franchise’s nearly 30 sequels reduce the great beast to monotonous slugfests with other monsters. But there is a stark separation between Honda’s 167-foot abstraction and the modern rock ‘em sock ‘em brawler we’ve come to tolerate. The original film was even nominated for a Japanese Academy Award for Best Picture (rightly losing to Seven Samurai). Like Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong (and Peter Jackson’s undervalued remake), Godzilla’s wrath is provoked by the arrogance of man. Honda paints the creature not just as a ferocious property destroyer, but as a force of retribution, direct punishment for abuses against nature and humanity in the name of science and progress. Dr. Serizawa’s conflict stems from this contradiction. And also like Kong, Godzilla’s demise is a bittersweet victory. Beauty may have killed Kong, but irony killed Godzilla.

Godzilla will never be mistaken for Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or Akira Kurosawa’s I Live in Fear, but Honda’s creature feature shares the same antiwar sentiments. Godzilla is a nightmare for the nuclear age, and even though its cross-eyed, rubber bogeyman inspires more giggles than screams, the film remains a valuable and iconic expression of protest.

Godzilla comes to Blu-ray in its original standard aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The transfer utilizes the AVC codec, takes up 20GB of space on the disc, and has a video bitrate of 24.01Mbps.

Criterion’s transfer comes with good news and bad news. First the good. Comparing this to Classic Media’s 1080i Blu-ray (released in 2009), it appears that Criterion’s transfer is far superior in terms of both contrast and print quality, and it’s progressive. The bad news is that there is only so much a medium-grade restoration can accomplish. While the image is worlds better than what we’ve previously seen on TV and DVD, there is still a fair amount of damage (mostly scratches) and general image instability. However, the bad news is also kind of good news, as these flaws act as a lifesaving shroud for the film’s admirable but dated special effects.

Godzilla is presented here with a 24-bit uncompressed Japanese monaural track at 1152Kbps. English subtitles are presented in glorious white.

The 1-channel sound serves the film well and the mix isn’t hindered by aggressive hiss or distortions. Akira Ifukube’s imposing score is loud and robust and the cacophonous scenes of destruction have been lovingly preserved. More importantly, though, the iconic roar is goose bump-inducing.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (81min):
Criterion has included the American reconfiguration of Godzilla that was released in the US two years after the original film debuted. I’m not particularly a fan of this version, but it is a unique piece that makes for an interesting comparison. The American producers basically inserted Raymond Burr into the original film using dubbing and clever editing. They even recreated sets to match the edits. The film is presented in 1080p and has also been restored.

Commentary:
Film historian David Kalat (A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series) offers up wonderfully informative and engaging commentaries for both the Japanese and US versions of the film.

Cast and Crew (105min):
Here we have nearly two hours of interviews featuring actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima, composer Akira Ifukube, and special effects supervisors Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai. The best interview is, of course, with Haruo Nakajima who actually played Godzilla.

Photographic Effects (9min):
This featurette illustrates some of the visual tricks that brought Godzilla to life.

Tadao Sato (14min):
Here Japanese film critic Tadao Sato offers a cultural perspective on the film.

The Unluckiest Dragon (9min):
This illustrated audio essay is narrated by historian Greg Flugfelder and describes the Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon No. 5) incident.

Theatrical Trailer:
The theatrical trailer for the US version, presented in 1080p.

Booklet and Packaging:
Included is a 14-page booklet featuring an essay by critic J. Hoberman. The disc comes packaged in a thick cardboard sleeve. When you extract and unfold the inner digipak, there is a pop-up of Godzilla’s head. There’s been some controversy about the pop-up, because the creature represented is not the one from the 1954 film. Criterion has stated that the artist was tasked to create an amalgamation of various Godzilla incarnations. Honestly, I don’t care if it’s not the correct Godzilla. It’s a fun addition to the packaging—and the cover art is just gorgeous.

[Click images for full resolution captures]

The following captures are from the US version.