Ishirō Honda’s Godzilla
It was on an August evening that the crew of the freighter Eiko Maru were relaxing on deck after a long day, making their own entertainment, when the flash of what seemed to be a nuclear blast lit up the horizon, setting the vessel ablaze in the water; sent to assist but with little hope of finding survivors, the fishing boat Bingo Maru suffered the same fate as it approached the coordinates.
The elders of nearby Odo Island fearing the disaster was caused by the awakening of the mythical sea creature Gojira, a giant, terrifying monster who in times past would have been appeased by ceremonial dances and sacrifices, as night falls the village is struck by a terrible storm but it becomes apparent that this was no typhoon when a series of enormous reptilian footprints is found along the beach by the investigating authorities.
All stories have an origin which defines what they are, the deafening roar of Godzilla (Gojira, ゴジラ) announcing its mighty arrival even before the opening titles roll on director Ishirō Honda’s 1954 film which launched not only a series of over thirty films which continue to this day, Godzilla Minus One released last year while the separate Monarch series launched in 2014 continues in parallel, but beneath a runs a deeper story.
Released less than ten years after World War II was brought to an end by the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 and with nuclear tests continuing in the Pacific Ocean, a shadow over the world and the people of Japan in particular, Godzilla was in part creatively inspired by The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, released in the summer of 1953, but its opening recreates the tragedy of the Daigo Fukuryū Maru (“Lucky Dragon 5”), its crew caught in the fallout from a nuclear test in and hospitalised with acute radiation sickness.
The cast led by Takashi Shimura as Doctor Kyohei Yamane, a palaeontologist who wishes to understand Godzilla and its apparent immunity to radiation in hopes it can be used to create a treatment for others, his daughter Emiko (Momoko Kōchi) is caught between salvage operator Hideto Ogata (Akira Takarada), called in to help with rescue operations, and the brilliant but cold Doctor Daisuke Serizawa (Akihiko Hirata), determined to destroy the creature.
Japan portrayed as a modern nation, technologically advanced and rapidly industrialising as it recovers from the war, high voltage barriers and weaponry are no defence against Godzilla who leaves landmarks, neighbourhoods and infrastructure destroyed, reporters staying on the front lines until the very end, dutiful citizens resigned to their fates which are broadcast to the nation, a warning of what is to come.
The sheer volume of scale models created solely to be torn down and burned impressive, the supporting features on Criterion’s new Blu-ray edition details how different shots were achieved with side-by-side comparisons, the limiting factor seeming to be the expressionless monster suit worn by Katsumi Tezuka as he rampages through the miniature cityscape, and frustratingly the print shows its age, dull and scratched in places beyond what the digital restoration can recover.
The comprehensive disc carrying commentaries, interviews and features on the Daigo Fukuryū Maru and the origin of the Japanese “monster movie” craze, also included is the 1956 adaptation starring Raymond Burr as American reporter Steve Martin, not simply a frame or voiceover but a re-edit with new scenes shot on matching sets with costumed body-doubles completing the illusion, Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in some ways better paced with a running time sixteen minutes less than the original and the footage noticeably sharper than the existing material into which they are integrated.
Ishirō Honda’s Godzilla will be available on Blu-ray from Criterion from Monday 11th November
