So I guess it goes without saying, but the original Godzilla is a wholly different beast from anything that came before, or anything that would follow. As someone who usually writes about his later adventures and the many other colourful science fiction films from Toho in the 1960s, it's a viewing experience like no other. Even knowing what's to come on a re-watch it's never an entertaining film in the usual sense. It remains a down beat shock to the system after so many films about giant sea monsters versus giant space aliens. Even without looking at the real life tragedy of the crew of the Lucky Dragon No.5 there's something sombre about the whole film. On the surface it might resemble The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms in many ways, but it never feels the same for a variety of reasons.
Ishiro Honda's first foray into the realm of giant monster movies is a sombre affair but it's not a subtle film. While the atomic weapons testing at Bikini Atoll isn't directly referenced and the American navy is never mentioned, the portrayal of an unstoppable sea creature in the place of such devices does the job just as well. The after effects of Godzilla's radioactive nature are very apparent when the researchers at his original resting place near Odo Island finding the water has been poisoned by his arrival. This is the big guy at his most symbolic. While Shin Godzilla would later re-purpose the concept as a more direct reference to natural disasters this remains the most potent iteration. Countless other films from the 1950s might toy with the idea of atomic radiation but this is one of the few to portray its disturbing power.
Beyond the metaphors it's interesting that the eponymous monster is never really defined, and although his nature is discussed it's all pretty vague. After the first sighting Dr. Yamane (Takashi Shimura) tries to describe what might have happened to local fauna after bomb tests in the area. He finds a single trilobite in a stream on the island along with a lot of radioactive sand. The implication is that Godzilla was just another prehistoric animal like this crustacean. Were they both part of an undersea habitat? Nobody goes looking evidence of such a miracle. Godzilla certainly doesn't look anything like a reptile or a dinosaur. He's covered with irregular bumps and malformed spines that glow in the dark. The B-movie origins of the creature distract from the more sinister ideas at work here, and it's never decided if the bombs created a monster or simply awakened one.
Regardless of whether Godzilla was disturbed, injured, or mutated beyond recognition, his presence is that of an angry force of nature rather than an animal. Locals reporting missing cattle are the only evidence of him being something understandable. Perhaps he's just a victim of the arms race, or perhaps he's just a towering symbol of its potential outcome. Most unique in this film is the sheer amount of death and destruction caused as the signature atomic breath is unleashed directly onto innocent civilians. Anyone stood in the monster's path is crushed whether they're fire fighters or journalists. More than a giant spectacle this is part docudrama and part horror movie as sequences show entire city blocks being razed. Many of the later sequels reference this original story, but none of them try to emulate this kind of unsettling tone.
The plot itself concerns various human protagonists including Dr. Yamana and his daughter Emiko (Momoko Kochi). Her father, a palaeontologist, is naturally disturbed by any idea that this new discovery is simply a menace which has to be killed. Elsewhere Emiko's fiancé Dr. Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata) has the means to do just that, after creating a weapon called the Oxygen Destroyer which can obliterate sea life on a large scale. It's a bit contrived that he would reveal such a device immediately after the arrival of an undersea creature, leaving his original intentions really as a mystery. But it's another symbolic plot element underlining the overarching themes; two scientists burdened with their consciences and struggling to make decisions in a time of crisis.
Emiko herself is just a typical love interest and spends most of the film screaming at the sight of various horrors, or tripping over her own feet in whenever something dangerous happens. Her affair with ship captain Ogata (Akira Takarada) is pretty weak and never feels like the focus. Which is odd when various scenes try, and fail, to suggest they're the lead characters in the story. But in some ways that's another interesting idea at work - the more trite elements are not important as this is a tale of scientific responsibility. With no obvious human villain the conflicts are more inter-personal, avoiding any sort of block headed attempt at a standard love triangle. Dr. Yamana's good natured ideals might feel a little sidelined when the weapons technology plot is so focal in the third act, but it's a minor issue.
Elsewhere a variety of great movie traditions arrive, including plenty of great low budget effects work from Eiji Tsuburaya as fighter jets and tanks are smashed. Several classic musical motifs from Akira Ifukube are also introduced. It's no surprise that these themes would go on to be used for decades to come. Godzilla's warped facial features might differ from one shot to the next (perhaps as they change between suit-mation and energy spewing puppet) but the shakiness of certain effects works despite a couple of wonky-eyed close ups. The burnt skin and crooked teeth have never looked more sinister than they are under Masao Tamai's stark black and white photography, and Ifukube's own sound effects remain iconic. Godzilla might be closest to some kind of dinosaur but the final result is far more eerie.
The series would go on to be the longest running film franchise of all time tackling ideas such as corporate greed, advertising, genetic research, and the Cold War. But there have never been any attempts to replicate the bleak and harrowing nature of this original. Despite a few darker instalments as things went on it remains a unique film. It's not a fun experience and really that's the point - this is a film-maker exploring real life concerns under the guise of science fiction; like many of the best genre movies. The messages included are still relevant and as a result it remains essential viewing. Thanks to the likes of the Criterion Collection and the BFI can be seen as it was intended. For those who think of Godzilla as a character that wrestles with aliens, and for everyone else, this is a must see.
4/5
