Ishiro Honda

Godzilla

Godzilla

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.

Film Info

  • Japan
  • 1954
  • 96 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.37:1
  • Japanese
  • Spine #594

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • 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 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

Purchase Options

Collector's Sets

Collector's Set

Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975

Godzilla: The Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975

Blu-ray Box Set

8 Discs

$179.96

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • New high-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • 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 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
Godzilla
Cast
Takashi Shimura
Professor Kyohei Yamane
Akira Takarada
Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kochi
Emiko Yamane
Akihiko Hirata
Dr. Daisuke Serizawa
Fuyuki Murakami
Professor Tanabe
Sachio Sakai
Hagiwara
Toranosuke Ogawa
Nankai Shipping Company manager
Ren Yamamoto
Masaji
Toshiaki Suzuki
Shinkichi
Ken Hayashi
Chairman of the Diet committee
Keiji Sakakida
Village chief
Seijiro Onda
Senator Oyama
Kin Sugai
Senator Ozawa
Kokuten Kodo
Old fisherman
Takeo Oikawa
Chief of Emergency Headquarters
Tsuruko Mano
Shinkichi's mother
Ren Imaizumi
Radio operator
Haruo Nakajima
Godzilla
Katsumi Tezuka
Credits
Director
Ishiro Honda
Producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka
Original story
Shigeru Kayama
Screenplay
Takeo Murata
Screenplay
Ishiro Honda
Music
Akira Ifukube
Director of photography
Masao Tamai
Lighting
Choshiro Ishii
Chief art director
Takeo Kita
Art director
Satoshi Chuko
Editing
Taichi Taira
Special effects director
Eiji Tsuburaya
Special effects art director
Akira Watanabe
Special effects lighting
Kuichiro Kishida
Monster builder
Teizo Toshimitsu
Sound recording
Hisashi Shimonaga
Sound and musical effects
Ichiro Minawa
Production manager
Teruo Maki
Assistant director
Koji Kajita

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