There's always a bit of a hesitation when I think about
watching a kaiju film for 31 Days. On the face of it, giant monsters should
obviously be horrifying and therefore count as a horror movie. However, in
practice that's not always the case. Is Pacific
Rim a horror movie? I'd say no - it's a science-fiction/kaiju action movie.
What about Megapython vs Gataroid? I
still don't know as I haven't seen it, despite it being on the recommended list.
I think Bigass Spider counts as
horror/comedy because it makes heavy use of horror tropes - and come on, it's a
bigass spider! Cloverfield is also
very much a horror movie.
And then we have Godzilla,
the grandfather of all kaiju films. I'd argue that most films starring Godzilla
aren't horror movies, really. They're fun monster wrasslin' movies, in which
most of the enjoyment comes from watching giant monsters beating the tar out of
intricately constructed model cities - and each other.
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| But mostly the buildings - I think I can hear a model maker crying somewhere. |
There are exceptions, however. The original film was much
darker and more serious than most - if not all - of the rest of the Showa era
pictures. The same can be said of The Return of Godzilla in relation to the
other Heisei era pictures - though I think there's a bit of a darker tone to
those in general than the previous period. The Millennium era, on the other
hand, stays pretty steadily in the science/action genre from Godzilla 2000 on. If we include American adaptations, then the
Legendary Pictures Godzilla film -
whatever its faults - was much more in the horror line than the 1998 TriStar film.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, other than to say
that giant monster pictures are a struggle to classify as horror films for me
and I tend to set them apart from the genre. With some specific exceptions,
which are the ones I'm writing about today.
I always liked Godzilla, but was never what you would call a
fan. I didn't watch every film nor did I ever pick up a copy of the G-Fan
magazine. I couldn't tell you the names of each monster. I saw a few Godzilla
films when I was a kid - probably on TBS, a channel that also used to show Japanese
tokusatso shows I loved, like Ultraman.
For most of my life my clearest memories and fondness for Godzilla was actually
tied to the Hanna-Barbera cartoon and it's annoying but catchy theme song (and
Godzoooki!).
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| That song's in your head now too, isn't it? |
I liked Godzilla because he was a huge lizard that stomped
on stuff and then set it on fire and occasionally fought other monsters. Beyond
that, I didn't really pay much attention to Godzilla and didn't watch many of his films
until the early 90's.
At that point I was working for a comic book shop and as
a result had interacted with quite a few Godzilla fans. Over time their
enthusiasm got me interested, and I started to watch some of the newer (Heisei)
films and found them fun and enjoyable. When I finally got around to watching
King of the Monsters I was surprised at the seriousness and level of quality in
the film and ran out to pick up a DVD for my collection. It wasn't until the
Criterion release that I was actually able to view the original Japanese
release.
The Medium
I have both of these films on blu-ray. The Criterion version
of Gojira is everything you would expect from that fine institution, with an excellent
restoration and exceptional picture quality. The packaging and extras are also
top-notch. The disk also includes Godzilla,
King of the Monsters - the American version with inserts starring Raymond
Burr. I've always liked that version of the movie and still think it's a
worthwhile watch.
The Kraken Releasing disk of Return of Godzilla just isn't as good. It's decent enough, it just
pales in both production and quality to the Criterion film. It also doesn't
include the American version, Godzilla 1985, which I would have loved to see. It's
acceptable - but then, it has to be.
The Movies
When the fishing vessel Eiko-maru is destroyed another boat,
the Bingo-maru is dispatched to find out what happened. The Bingo-maru
disappears as well and a fishing vessel is destroyed trying to rescue
survivors. Later, the only survivor of the fishing boat arrives on a remote
island, unable to explain what has happened to him. Reporters descend on the
island and the elder villagers blame the disappearances - and the recent vanishing
of fish in the area - on an old legend of a sea monster named Godzilla. That
night a storm arrives - and something else comes with it, bringing destruction
and loss of life.
There's a sense of dread to early scenes in Godzilla, before
we find out what's causing all the problems. The monster himself is only
glimpsed and then only in the middle of a terrible storm. The connection -
Godzilla as force of nature - is one later films abandoned in favor of monster
fighting spectacle. It's nicely done as is the depiction of the immediate
aftermath. All the destruction could easily be from the storm - except for the
giant, radioactive footprints.
Godzilla himself, when he first appears over the top of a
hill, is a bit of a disappointment. Oh, I'm sure he was terrifying when the
movie first came out, but this first appearance - a shaky matte over the top of
the hill - isn't exactly inspiring. A roar and those footprints/tail sweep on
the sand, leading back into the sea, might have been more effective.
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| It actually looks kinda cool when it's not moving. |
That being said, other appearances of Godzilla in the movie
ARE terrifying - especially at night, lit from below by spotlights and fire,
breathing atomic fire on a city and a country completely unprepared to deal
with its rampage.
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| "Line item in the budget - Godzilla reconstruction. All in favor?" |
It's impossible not to see the echoes of the atomic bomb in
Godzilla. A horrific, destructive force that cannot be stopped, cannot be
reasoned with and that leaves absolute destruction, chaos and misery in its
wake. After an attempt to destroy the creature with depth charges, Godzilla
makes landfall. Some of the most effective scenes take place in a hospital full
of victims of the destruction. In 1954 this must have brought back recent and
raw memories of similar scenes in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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| No jokes. This is legit horrifying. |
In the end it's up to Daisaku Serizawa, the first of many
science heroes to appear in Godzilla films, to use his own terrible discovery
to put a stop to Godzilla's attacks. The third wheel in a love triangle that
forms the human backbone to the story, the good Doctor is terrified of what his
discovery could be used for, but acquiesces when it becomes clear that it's the
only way to prevent more horrific destruction.
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| "If only I'd called it something other than Oxygen Destroyer. Something like Oxy-Clean..." |
The Bottom Line
Despite the aging effects sequences, Godzilla remains an
effective and affecting film. It's moody and elegiac in tone and at times can
be quite horrifying. It's a giant monster movie from 1954 - and it's still the
best.
After decades of an increasingly light tone, lots of action
and oodles of monsters, Godzilla had retired. He'd been forced into it, after
declining ticket sales, and he was never really comfortable with the whole
thing. There had been rumors for years of his return - including in an American
version - but Godzilla's 25th anniversary came and went with nary a roar.
Finally, for his 30th anniversary, Toho decided to pull out
all the stops and bring back Godzilla in a big budget feature which would be a
return to his roots. Gone would be the more heroic Godzilla of the Showa films
- instead, The Return of Godzilla would be a direct sequel to the original,
1954 film and it would have a more serious, darker tone.
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| And lasers. Lots of lasers. |
Return has a great opening that puts the film firmly in
horror movie territory for me. After a volcanic eruption, contact is lost with
the fishing vessel Yahata-maru - a neat callback to the opening moments of the
first film. A reporter, Maki, manages to find the vessel adrift and apparently
deserted. Exploring the vessel he finds some of the crew, dead, killed by a
monstrous sea louse that attempts to do the same to him. He's rescued by the
only survivor, Okumura. It's all really well done, with a creepy crawl through
the ship and some gory shots of dead crewmen.
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| Gilligan? |
Okumura tells a tale of a massive creature wrecking the ship
and, having seen pictures, realizes that it's a new Godzilla. Faced with the possibility
of public panic, the government restricts this information - essentially
killing Maki's story about it.
Meanwhile, Godzilla destroys a Soviet submarine on patrol in
the pacific. In the elevated hostile atmosphere of the time the Soviets blame
the Americans and both countries go to high alert. The possibility of nuclear
war seems very real, until the Japanese finally reveal that it's Godzilla
behind the sinking of the sub.
Godzilla is definitely the main menace of the film, but the
tensions between the nuclear powers and with Japan caught in the middle is a
strong subplot - including the accidental launch of a space-based nuclear
weapon! It's a nice touch of contemporary world politics.
Godzilla is confronted by technological wizardry - including
a high-tech aircraft called the Super-X. Given what the scientists know about
Godzilla's physiology - his dependence on nuclear fuel is what leads him to
attack the mainland, consuming the fuel of a nuclear power plant as a result -
they arm the Super-X with cadmium shells. These manage - if only temporarily -
to quell the raging nuclear fire within the monster and Godzilla collapses.
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| There are this many people left in Tokyo? I'd be, like, in Kagoshima. |
Which is when the nuclear missile explodes over Tokyo,
re-awakening Godzilla.
Lots of good stuff in this movie. I generally don't like the
'tech vehicle to defeat Godzilla' trope (unless it's Mecha Godzilla), but the
Super-X is actually used pretty well here. I also like the way Godzilla is
defeated, even if it makes no damn sense (they trick him with a homing signal,
like migrating birds). Unfortunately the pace can be pretty plodding at times,
and the mood is more depressing than elegiac. The cinematography is also pretty
flat and uninspiring, with little in the way of dramatic camera angles or
movement.
The Bottom Line
A decent film and a return to a more somber and
monstrous Godzilla, The Return of Godzilla
paved the way for a resurgence in interest in Godzilla (and a number of fun
Godzilla films, including my favorite, Godzilla
vs Biollante). It's a little too heavy-handed for my taste, but I'm glad to be able to see it after a long absence from US video.
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