Destruction Through The Decades - PART ONE GODZILLA IN THE 1950's
Throughout the history of cinema, few franchises have had the ability to maintain their presence for long periods of time. One such franchise that is still kicking today, is Godzilla. From Gojira in 1954 to the upcoming Godzilla Vs. Kong slated for November 2020, the towering monster has thrilled audiences all over the world. Created by Toho films, Godzilla's legacy is almost as enormous as the kaiju himself. There have been a total of 35 Godzilla films, and that number will hit 36 later this year. With this series we will take a look back at each decade that Godzilla stomped through, highlighting each film as we go.
THE 1950s:
So here it is, where it all began. Godzilla's reign began in 1954, and since then has become the true father of kaiju films. Now, for this series here, we are not going to go over the "Americanized" re-edits, such as Godzilla: Kings of the Monsters, but American Godzilla films (yes, even the Mathew Broderick one) will be a part of the list as well.
Before we begin, it’s good to get a little refresher in the eras that the Godzilla films fall in. These are the eras that Japan was in, based on the emperor. All Godzilla films from 1954-1975 fall under the Showa era in Japan, and you will see the whole era of films are often lumped together as most films within the eras have a certain feel and presentation about them. So with this in mind, this decade only has two films to offer to us, but they are a great way to start. So lets take a brief look back at the destruction Godzilla brought in his first decade.
GOJIRA
1954
DIRECTED BY ISHIRO HONDA
Now this is considered one of the most iconic monster movies of all time. The ancient creature Godzilla is disturbed from its deep sea revelry by hydrogen bomb tests. As the towering monster begins destroying fishing boats and smashing villages on Odo Island, Godzilla is attacked at sea by the Japanese military, but to no avail. Things take a turn for the worse, as Godzilla sets his sights on Tokyo. The classic scene of Godzilla attacking the train is something that still has quite an impact today. As electric fences and military assault cannot stop the monster, Japan turns to scientist Daisuke Serizawa (remember that name), and his Oxygen Destroyer as their last hope to stop the beast before all of Japan is left in ruins.
All in all, the film is one of the darkest entries into the entire series. Several scenes involving the frantic moments of trying to escape for a giant monster just feel so visceral and real. One particular scene with a mother and her child is truly haunting, a tone that is very unique to this film. Filmed in black and white, its effects were quite amazing for the time, and were pulled of so well that the movie really brings you into those chaotic moments. Of course, it was a huge success, and an icon had been born. Toho moved quickly to ride the wave of success, and work began on a sequel.
GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN
1955
DIRECTED BY MOTOYOSHI ODA
This film offers our first adversary to Godzilla, in the form of Anguirus, a spike-backed quadruped similar to an Ankylosaurus. The story revolves around two pilots accidentally discovering both Godzilla and Anguirus locked in battle before tumbling into the sea. The pilots rush back to the mainland to alert the authorities, and they determine that Anguirus is an ancient enemy of Godzilla, and this Godzilla is in fact another from the same species. So this film does try to tie back slightly to the original, and presents us with a new Godzilla. Godzilla then makes his way to Osaka, laying siege to the city despite the best efforts of the military. Eventually, we get a showdown between Godzilla and Anguirus, with Godzilla claiming victory. As Godzilla heads off to the ocean, a last ditch effort is made to try to bury him underneath the ice of small frozen island. The air attack is successful, and Godzilla is locked away in an icy tomb.
Now despite having a decent box office, the film was looked at as a bit of a disappointment. The movie did not quite meet the expectations that Toho had for it. It has been said that the rushed production on it, to quickly capitalize on the success of the first film, lead to a less than perfect final product, but overall, the film is still very good. For Godzilla fans as well, it has a bit of history with it being the first Godzilla film to have kaiju battles, and obviously, that became a constant in most of the films that followed. It was also the last Godzilla film in black and white, meaning that this first decade of destruction was the only one without any color film of the kaiju action in it. Some of the films had been re-edited and re-cut and colorized later on, but they lack the punch that you would hope.
Now the ‘50s had come to pass, and Godzilla had laid the foundations of what was to come. This can be seen by the near explosion of Godzilla films that came out in the ‘60s. We will tackle all of them and more in the next part of the series, so stay tuned!
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