Godzilla (1954 film)

This article is about the 1954 film. For other media with the same title, see Godzilla (disambiguation).

Godzilla
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Katakanaゴジラ
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnGojira
Directed byIshirō Honda
Screenplay byTakeo Murata [ja]
Ishirō Honda
Story byShigeru Kayama [ja]
Produced byTomoyuki Tanaka
Starring
CinematographyMasao Tamai [ja]
Edited byTaichi Taira [ja][1]
Music byAkira Ifukube
Production
company
Distributed byToho[2]
Release dates
  • October 27, 1954 (1954-10-27) (Nagoya)
  • November 3, 1954 (1954-11-03) (Japan)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget¥62.9 million[a]
($900,000)
Box office$2.25 million[6][7]

Godzilla (Japanese: ゴジラ, Hepburn: Gojira)[b] is a 1954 Japanese epic[c] kaiju film directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. Produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., it is the first film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, and Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as Godzilla. In the film, Japan's authorities deal with the sudden appearance of a giant monster, whose attacks trigger fears of nuclear holocaust in post-war Japan.

Godzilla entered production after a Japanese-Indonesian co-production collapsed. Tsuburaya originally proposed for a giant octopus before the filmmakers decided on a dinosaur-inspired creature. Godzilla pioneered a form of special effects called suitmation in which a stunt performer wearing a suit interacts with miniature sets. Principal photography ran 51 days, and special effects photography ran 71 days.

Godzilla premiered in Nagoya on October 27, 1954, and received a wide release in Japan on November 3. It was met with mixed reviews upon release but was a box-office success, winning the Japanese Movie Association Award for Best Special Effects. The film earned ¥183 million in distributor rentals, making it the eighth-highest-grossing Japanese film of that year. In 1956, a heavily-re-edited "Americanized" version, titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, was released in the United States.

The film spawned a multimedia franchise that was recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest-running film franchise in history. The character Godzilla has since become an international popular culture icon. The film and Tsuburaya have been largely credited for establishing the template for tokusatsu media. The film received reappraisal in later years and has since been regarded as one of the best monster films ever made.

The film was followed by the sequel Godzilla Raids Again, released on April 24, 1955.[16]

  1. ^ a b "Godzilla (1954)". The Criterion Collection. Archived from the original on February 21, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Galbraith IV 2008, p. 106.
  3. ^ a b c Ryfle 1998, p. 33.
  4. ^ Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 84.
  5. ^ Ragone 2007, p. 44.
  6. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 34.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference tohokingdom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rialto 2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Gingold, Michael (September 5, 2006). "DVD Review: Gojira". Fangoria. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference CM Gojira was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Aiken, Keith (November 18, 2011). "Godzilla from The Criterion Collection". SciFi Japan. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rialto 2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Ryfle 1998, p. 95.
  14. ^ Ragone 2007, p. 106.
  15. ^ Ryfle & Godziszewski 2017, p. 97.
  16. ^ Kalat 2010, p. 34.


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