Godzilla has celebrated his 70th birthday! Arriving in Japan on November 3, 1954, Godzilla was the first of a Japanese kaiju (strange creatures) series of Tokusatsu (live-action) films. Released by Toho Company, LTD, the original film was directed by Ishirô Honda, and written by Honda and Takeo Murata, with story by Shigeru Kayama. A heavily edited version was released in the US as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in 1956 by TransWorld Releasing Corp.
Godzilla was originally called Gojira, a combination of two Japanese words “gorira” which means gorilla and “kujira” which means whale. Following the devastation of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Lucky Dragon 5 incident, Godzilla represented a metaphor for the destruction of nuclear weapons. Not one to be two-dimensional, as the series grew some films portrayed Godzilla as the villain and some as the hero. In some of the movies he could be seen as the lesser of two threats who is still a danger to humanity, but also its protector.
Godzilla’s physical stature is an amphibious, reptilian monster combined with that of a dinosaur that stands in an upright posture with scaly skin, spikes on his back leading down to a tale and a furrowed brow. Art director Akira Watanabe made the monster through a combination of Tyrannosaurus, an Iguanondon, stegosaurus, and an alligator. Traditionally Godzilla has appeared on screen by an actor wearing a costume, though he’s also been brought to life through animatronics, stop motion, and computer generation. Composer Akira Ifukube created his signature roar by recording the sound of a resin coated glove rubbing across the string of a contrabass then slowing it down on the playback.
Toho Company has created 33 films for Godzilla to stomp through, along with a US version in 1998 by Tri-Star and four Legendary Pictures movies starting in 2014. Popularity for the films led to the character’s introduction into TV, music, books, comics, and video games, along with tons of merchandise. The films are well known for their political themes, dark tone, complex mythology, and beloved music that has created a cult following. Happy birthday Godzilla.
