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Toho Film (Eiga) Co. Ltd. released Gojira / Godzilla to theaters on November 3, 1954. Ishirô Honda directed the film which starred Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, and Akira Takarada.
‘Gojira / Godzilla’ Criterion Summary
Godzilla (a.k.a. Gojira) is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama, made in Japan at a time when the country was reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing in the Pacific. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning almost thirty sequels. A thrilling, tactile spectacle that continues to be a cult phenomenon, the original, 1954 Japanese version is presented here, along with Godzilla, King of the Monsters, the 1956 “Americanized” version.
read MHM’s full summary
Special Features
- New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Audio commentary for both movies by film historian David Kalat
- New interviews with actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima and special effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
- Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube
- Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects, introduced by special effects director Koichi Kawakita and special effects photographer Motoyoshi Tomioka
- New interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato
- The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla
- Trailers for Godzilla and Godzilla, King of the Monsters
- New English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic J. Hoberman
“GODZILLA” (a.k.a. “GOJIRA”) (c) 1954 Toho Co., Ltd. “GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS” (c) 1956 Toho Co., Ltd. Godzilla, Gojira, the character designs and King of the Monsters are trademarks of Toho Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
New cover by Bill Sienkiewicz
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Face in the Crowd is in my top 100. Kazan’s best film imo.