Godzilla (1954)

Partager la citation sur facebook [to Professor Tanabe] Professor Tanabe... I saw it! A creature from the Jurassic era!

Partager la citation sur facebook Following Odo Island tradition, I propose for the time being that we call this creature Godzilla. We encountered Godzilla on Odo Island. This is a photo of its head. We can estimate that it stands approximately 165 feet tall. Why such a creature would appear in our territorial waters is the next question. It was probably hidden away in a deep sea cave, providing for its own survival, and perhaps others like it. However, repeated underwater H-bomb tests have completely destroyed its natural habitat. To put it simply, hydrogen-bomb testing has driven it from its sanctuary.

Partager la citation sur facebook Godzilla was baptized in the fire of the H-bomb and survived. What could kill it now?

Partager la citation sur facebook All they can think of is killing Godzilla. Why don't they try to study its resistance to radiation? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Partager la citation sur facebook I can't believe that Godzilla was the last of its species. If nuclear testing continues, then someday, somewhere in the world... another Godzilla may appear.

Partager la citation sur facebook [describing the Oxygen Destroyer] Just a small ball of this substance could turn all of Tokyo Bay into an aquatic graveyard.

Partager la citation sur facebook If used as a weapon, it could lead humanity to exctinction, just like the H-bomb. But I'm determined to find a use for the Oxygen Destroyer that will benefit society. Until then, I won't reveal its existence.

Partager la citation sur facebook [to Ogata] Ogata... if the Oxygen Destroyer is used even once, the politicians of the world won't stand idly by. They'll inevitably turn it into a weapon. A-bombs against A-bombs, H-bombs against H-bombs — as a scientist — no, as a human being — adding another terrifying weapon to humanity's arsenal is something I can't allow.

Partager la citation sur facebook The Old Fisherman: [describing Godzilla] A giant, terrifying monster. Once it eats all the fish in the sea, it'll come ashore and eat people.

Partager la citation sur facebook Mother: [to her children, as Godzilla destroys the city around her] We're going to join Daddy! We'll be where Daddy is soon!

Partager la citation sur facebook Chief of Emergency Headquarters: Professor, we're really at a loss. If this continues, we'll soon have to close our international shipping lanes. Do you have any ideas? Even the slightest hint would help.
Dr. Kyohei Yamane: Indeed...
Chairman of Diet Committee: Professor Yamane, I'll be blunt. We want to know if there's a way to kill Godzilla.
Dr. Kyohei Yamane: Impossible. Godzilla was baptized in the fire of the H-bomb and survived. What could kill it now? Right now our priority should be to study its incredible powers of survival.

Partager la citation sur facebook Dr. Daisuke Serizawa: Ogata, please forgive me. If it could be put to good use, I'd be the first to reveal it to the world. But right now it's nothing but a weapon of mass destruction. Please understand!
Hideto Ogata: I do understand. But if we don't stop Godzilla now, what's to become of us?
Dr. Daisuke Serizawa: Ogata... if the Oxygen Destroyer is used even once, the politicians of the world won't stand idly by. They'll inevitably turn it into a weapon. A-bombs against A-bombs, H-bombs against H-bombs — as a scientist — no, as a human being — adding another terrifying weapon to humanity's arsenal is something I can't allow.
Hideto Ogata: Then what do we do about the horror before us now? Just let it happen? Only you can save us from this tragedy. Even if you use it to defeat Godzilla, how can it be used as a weapon if you don't publish your research?
Dr. Daisuke Serizawa: Ogata, we human beings are weak creatures. Even if I burn my notes, everything's still in my head. As long as I'm alive, who can say I wouldn't be coerced into using it again? If only I'd never invented it!

Partager la citation sur facebook The legend begins...

Partager la citation sur facebook 2004 Rialto USA release

Partager la citation sur facebook AWESOME!—and then some!

Partager la citation sur facebook It's Alive!

Partager la citation sur facebook spewing flames that scorch the Earth!

Partager la citation sur facebook Incredible, unstoppable titan of terror!

Partager la citation sur facebook Mightiest monster! Mightiest melodrama of them all!

Partager la citation sur facebook Civilization crumbles as its death rays blast a city of 6 million from the face of the Earth!

Partager la citation sur facebook A monster of mass destruction!

Partager la citation sur facebook The Shodai-Godzilla is popular with fans who prefer the first, serious tone Godzilla film. This suit featured a heavy lower body, small arms and a large, round head. The face had pronounced brows while the eyes were completely round with tiny pupils, a feature unique to this costume. The suit also included several features particular to itself and to the Gyakushu-Godzilla: fangs, four toes, a rough underside for the tail and pointed tail tip, and staggered rows of dorsal plates (these features would reappear with the “second” series of Godzilla films from 1984 to present).
Robert Biondi, "The Evolution of Godzilla – G-Suit Variations Throughout the Monster King’s Twenty One Films", G-FAN #16 (July/August 1995)

Partager la citation sur facebook Robert Biondi, "The Evolution of Godzilla – G-Suit Variations Throughout the Monster King’s Twenty One Films", G-FAN #16 (July/August 1995)

Partager la citation sur facebook With its images of panic and mass destruction - including spectacular nightly attacks on Tokyo - and its references to nuclear contamination, black rain, bomb shelters and the incineration of Nagasaki, Godzilla struck a chord of terror with Japanese audiences traumatised by recent history and still living with the fear of radiation poisoning.

Partager la citation sur facebook You might be tempted to laugh at what, by today's standards, are primitive special effects, but very soon this haunting, elegiac mood takes hold of it and you can't just laugh. It is ultimately quite sobering.

Partager la citation sur facebook During the U.S.-led occupation, which lasted until 1952, there was a moratorium on any press coverage dealing with the atomic aftermath in any in-depth way. The thinking was that too much attention to the atomic bombings would derail democratization efforts and would undermine U.S. authority, particularly since the U.S. had already begun using Japanese territory as a base from which to launch bombing raids on Vietnam. With the end of the occupation, some activists and journalists started to deal directly with the atomic bombings, but they were not getting much traction. People were more interested in trying to rebuild. But then there was a real game-changer. The U.S. conducted a nuclear test over the Bikini atoll and a Japanese fishing ship, the Lucky Dragon, its crew, and all their fish were exposed to the fallout radiation. When this hit the newspapers, it ignited an enormous scare, as people throughout the country feared that they had been exposed to nuclear radiation through consuming tainted fish. That was in March 1954, shortly before the release of Gojira, the opening scene of which features a fishing crew exposed to an unexplained, destructive flash of light. So, when that hit the big screens, it touched a real nerve with the Japanese public.

Partager la citation sur facebook About 9.6 million Japanese flocked to the theaters to see “Gojira” when it was released, out of a population of 88 million. Though initially critics panned the film as too Hollywood-esque, it became an increasingly popular hit, and would go down in history as one of Japan’s greatest movies. Produced near the beginning of a golden age in Japanese film—the same decade saw the release of classics like “Seven Samurai,” “Ikiru” and “Rashomon”—“Gojira” marked Japan’s return to the international stage after World War II, paving the way to its hosting of the Olympics in 1964 and the economic boom that would make it a major player on the world stage again.

Partager la citation sur facebook Take Godzilla - from a narrative point of view, its origin was other giant beast movies, like King Kong or some of Ray Harryhausen's work. The first Godzilla film was a very dark, deep piece of filmmaking - almost disturbing in a way. But the love the country and the kids felt for the creature literally evolved Godzilla into a national hero.