A Look Back at GODZILLA's 2004 Theatrical Release

Author: Steve Ryfle with Bruce Goldstein

Pressbook Editor: Bruce Goldstein

Source: Rialto Pictures

The following production notes were created by Rialto Pictures for their 2004 theatrical release of GODZILLA. The text is © 2004 Rialto Pictures and © 1998 ECW Press. Godzilla ®, Gojira ® and the character design are trademarks of Toho Co. Ltd. All rights reserved.

50th Anniversary Release! The Complete, Uncut Original! 40 Minutes of Unseen Footage!

GODZILLA

Rialto Pictures Presents the Landmark Monster Movie in Its Original Japanese Version, Never Before Released in the U.S.

Uncut, uncensored, and undubbed, the original "Monster of Mass Destruction" returns to the big screen like you've never seen him before, fully restored with 40 minutes of unseen footage and completely revised subtitles. See where it all began, with this influential classic that has spawned scores of sequels and imitations, but has never been bettered.

On a sunny day and calm waters, a Japanese steamer sinks in flames when the sea erupts; a salvage vessel sent to the rescue disappears the same way; exhausted, incoherent survivors babble of a monster. Could it be…? GODZILLA was one the biggest budgeted films in Japanese history at that time, costing more than twice as much as the average Japanese movie. An enormous hit, it spawned 50 years of sequels, countless rip-offs, and a new genre: the kaiju eiga, or Japanese monster movie. Sold to an American distributor a year later, it was re-cut, re-arranged, dubbed, and re-titled GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS with added scenes (shot in Hollywood) of a pre-PERRY MASON Raymond Burr observing the action from the sidelines.

The original Japanese GODZILLA is one of the great films by a sci-fi master, Ishiro Honda (Akira Kurosawa's close friend and occasional second unit director). The U.S. cut ran 20 minutes shorter, with another 20 snipped to make room for Burr, so that nearly a third (about 40 minutes) was shorn. The unrelentingly grim American version excised all of the film's comic relief (including some astonishing, Strangelove-like black humor) and censored its strong anti-H-Bomb message, turning it into a run-of-the-mill, monster-on-the-loose picture.

In Japan, the original, un-bastardized GODZILLA is regarded as one of the great classics of the cinema. In 1984, the prestigious film journal Kinema Junpo rated it among the top 20 Japanese films of all time. In 1989, a survey of 370 Japanese movie critics, Nihon Eiga Besuto 150 (Best 150 Japanese Films), ranked Godzilla the 27th greatest Japanese feature ever made.

The real (human) star of the movie is Takashi Shimura (best known for his Kurosawa roles, including the leader of THE SEVEN SAMURAI and the doomed man of IKIRU), as a revered paleontologist who insists that Godzilla must be studied, not destroyed (he's in the minority). This first Godzilla is truly terrifying — a 30-story Jurassic behemoth intent on destroying an exquisitely detailed miniature Tokyo — a tour de force by special effects genius Eiji Tsubaraya. Tsubaraya's use of "suitmation" — the often-belittled "actor in monster suit" method — was due to time and budget restraints, but, in concert with noirish cinematography, his low-tech approach is still as thrilling as ever. This print also features new subtitles by Bruce Goldstein and Michie Yamakawa.

GODZILLA ゴジラ

CAST

Dr. Kyohei Yamane…………………………………………………………………………………..Takashi Shimura

Emiko Yamane…………………………………………………………………………………………..Momoko Kochi

Ogata……………………………………………………………………………………………………Akira Takarada

Dr. Serizawa……………………………………………………………………………………………..Akihiko Hirata

Reporter Hagiwara………………………………………………………………………………………..Sachio Sakai

Dr. Tanabe…………………………………………………………………………………………….Fuyuki Murakami

CEO of Nankai Shipping Co……………………………………………………………………….Toranosuke Ogawa

Masaji…………………………………………………………………………………………………….Ren Yamamoto

Chairman of the Diet………………………………………………………………………………………Ken Hayashi

Odo Island mayor Inada………………………………………………………………………………….Keiji Sakakida

Senator Ooyama……………………………………………………………………………………………Seijiro