GOJIRA

GOJIRA (1954). Director: Ishiro Honda.

In this original version of Godzilla, the Japanese face nuclear terror all over again when a 50 meter tall animal, an intermediate between dinosaur and mammal, who absorbed the energy from nuclear explosions that removed it from its normal environment, emerges from the ocean.to savage their nation. Of course there's the stupid scientist, Yamane (Takashi Shimura)  who wants to "study" a gigantic monster ravaging Tokyo, but another scientist, Serizawa (Akihito Harata), comes up with a weapon to destroy the creature. Yamane has a daughter, Emiko (Momoko Kochi), who is sort of bethrothed to Serizawa but in love with Hideto (Akira Takarada), who is more of a matinee idol. Some of the more sobering scenes in this fairly "serious" monster movie were cut out of the American version: a child being tested for radiation; a widow huddling with her three children as Gojira approaches and telling them "we'll be seeing your father." Brought to life by "suitmation" -- yes, a man in a monster outfit -- Gojira still manages at times to come off like the embodiment of a nightmare. The miniatures in the film are good and there are some effective process shots of Godzilla smashing through train yards and the like. The film is well-directed and well-acted, although it could be argued that a celebrated actor like Takashi Shimura is pretty much wasted in stuff like this. Inspired by the American sleeper hit The Beast from 20,000 Fathom, Gojira itself influenced such later films as The Giant Behemoth and especially Gorgo.

Verdict: Probably the only time the big guy starred in a movie that's played straight. ***.

GODZILLA (1998)

The big guy stomps through Manhattan

GODZILLA (1998). Director: Roland Emmerich.

Supposedly Godzilla purists really hate this American version of the Big Green Galoot, but who cares? For all of its flaws -- and there are many -- this Godzilla is still much better and much more entertaining, and certainly better to look at, than most of the Japanese Godzilla films put together [admittedly I have not seen all of the modern-day Godzilla films, but the ones I have seen are not terribly good. Also I must qualify that the original Gojira is much better than the many sequels]. This Godzilla is a new species, a mutated hybrid created by atomic fall out. It still roars like the original Godzilla, more or less, but has a new sleek look instead of the dopey one generally used in the Japanese films. Godzilla has a terrific and dramatic opening theme by David Arnold, and one could argue that the rest of the movie doesn't measure up to it. However ...

The movie is done somewhat tongue-in-cheek, an approach that sort of makes all the dramatic build-up and top-notch special effects work seem a bit overdone, were the effects not so splendidly eye-popping at times. One very irritating element to the movie is that the stupid characters in the film worry about minor issues when there's a gargantuan monster on the loose. When Audrey (Maria Pitillo) and old boyfriend Niko (Matthew Broderick) run into each other, they hardly mention the monster even though it would be the uppermost thought of every person on Manhattan Island! In keeping with the unfortunate "lightness" of the tone, the deaths that had to be caused by the monster are underplayed to a ridiculous degree.

But Godzilla certainly has its moments. There's the great scene in Madison Square Garden when the big guy's eggs hatch (Godzilla reproduces asexually; no wonder he's ticked off!) and Broderick and company have to escape from dozens of mini-Godzillas before a bomb goes off! Then there's the climax with the furious Godzilla chasing the protagonists down the streets of Manhattan and onto a bridge where they nearly become his lunch. Nothing like these sequences has ever appeared in any other Godzilla films that I've seen. The monster's rampage through Manhattan when he first arrives is also memorable. Up against the monster, the actors in this, while mostly competent or better, haven't really got a chance.

Verdict: If thirty minutes or so had been left on the editing room floor, and some of the sillier scenes excised as well, this would have been a real contender. As it is, quite entertaining. ***.

GODZILLA ON MY MIND: FIFTY YEARS OF THE KING OF MONSTERS

GODZILLA ON MY MIND: FIFTY YEARS OF THE KING OF MONSTERS. William  Tsutsui. Palgrave Macmillan; 2004.

Full disclosure: Although I am a big giant monster movie fan  and even wrote a book on the subject, I confess I have never been that carried away with Godzilla and its many sequels, although I do check them out from time to time. Tsutsui is right that the original Japanese version, entitled Gojira, is essentially a "serious" film with sombre undertones, and by no means a bad movie. But while it may not have those undertones, I much prefer the American film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the success of which inspired Japanese filmmakers to make Gojira in the first place. [I even prefer The Giant Behemoth and Gorgo, which was sort of an imitation of Godzilla, over Gojira.] That being said, I approached an entire volume devoted to Godzilla with some trepidation. An entire book on Godzilla? Still, Tsutsui almost manages to pull it off, despite the fact that eventually he makes the same points over and over and the book at times seems understandably padded. [A good way to increase the page count would have been to include a filmography, but inexplicably this book doesn't have one, a serious oversight.] Still, Tsutsui writes well and intelligently and his enthusiasm for his subject is a large part of the book's appeal. True, Tsutsui sometimes tries too hard to convince us of Godzilla's influence and significance -- I mean just because something is "influential" doesn't make it especially significant -- and he doesn't seem to acknowledge that there are any other decent giant monster movies out there. His argument that the American-made Godzilla with Matthew Broderick [a disappointing film in many ways] trashed the legend seems to ignore the fact that Japanese filmmakers did a pretty good job of turning Godzilla into a camp parody long before director Roland Emmerich came along. But at least the author acknowledges that many of the Japanese Godzilla movies are quite dreadful, which stirred up the wrath of major demented Godzilla geekazoids in their reviews on Amazon.com. [Get a life! It's also kind of depressing that there are actually people who will go to a Godzilla convention but have never attended the ballet, opera, a classical music concert, or serious theater. Monster movies are fun, but they're not the be-all and end-all!] But when all is said and done, this is an entertaining book and not as stupid as you might expect.

Verdict: Recommended for the more intelligent Godzilla fans, all two or three of them, LOL. ***.