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Movie Title: Gojira (1954) Studio: Toho Release Date: November 3, 1954 Director(s): Ishiro Honda Producer(s): Tomoyuki Tanaka Rated (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17, X): N/A Starring: Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata IMDB Page ONLINE MOVIE REVIEW RATING: 5 out of 5

This is the original release in the Godzilla franchise, and Gojira is a significantly different movie that the Americanized version that was released two years later. In this movie we see the struggles that the Japanese people had in coming to grips with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. In this film is a warning that the Japanese people have for the world about the horrors of atomic war.

Gojira was released only nine years after the destruction that ended World War II. Tomoyuki Tanaka and Toho Studios put the anxiety over the war into the form of a 150 foot tall atomic monster, and then unleashed it on Tokyo . Then Toho attempts to offer some kind of closure for the Japanese people as the monster is destroyed. But even in its destruction, the movie leaves open the possibility that it could happen again.

The images in this movie are striking. The detailed panoramic views of a devastated Tokyo look eerily similar to news reels from World War II. The scenes of suffering and disfigured victims in hospital hallways look like something right out of a history text book.

The production itself is a masterpiece in pure movie horror. The anticipation that was built up to the first scene where we actually see Godzilla is done with perfection. Back when this was released, the first sighting of Godzilla must have terrified movie goers just as his destruction surely brought cheers.

The correlation between Godzilla and King Kong is hard to miss. Both started on a tropical island and then were moved to the mainland, although the obvious difference is that Kong was moved against his will and Godzilla chose to attack. Godzilla attacked a moving train just as Kong did, and Godzilla focused his aggressions on a large television tower just as Kong sought out the Empire State Building .

This movie works hand in hand with the black and white film that was used to create it. The dark mood and somber tone of the movie are a perfect match for the black and white look. Godzilla is terrifying in black and white as he destroys the city.

Much of the acting in this movie is excellent, with the exception of the overacting of Momoko Kochi who played the female lead Emiko Yamane. Her frequent, and often inexplicable, outbursts tended to ruin moods expertly set by the other actors, but the rest of the movie more than makes up for any inadequacies in the acting.

This is a horror masterpiece that still works as a frightening film today. The elements of horror are there even if the effects look passé by today's standards. The story is strong, the flow is excellent and the result is perfection.