Editing Godzilla (1954 film)

{{Short description|1954 Japanese monster film by Ishirō Honda}}
{{about|the 1954 film|other media with the same title|Godzilla (disambiguation)}}

{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2012}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Godzilla
| image          = Gojira 1954 Japanese poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| native_name    = {{Infobox Japanese| katakana=ゴジラ | revhep=Gojira}}
| director       = [[Ishirō Honda]]
| producer       = [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]]
| screenplay     = {{Ill|Takeo Murata|ja|村田武雄}}<br>Ishirō Honda
| story          = {{ill|Shigeru Kayama|ja|香山滋}}
| music          = [[Akira Ifukube]]
| starring       = {{ubl|[[Akira Takarada]]|[[Momoko Kōchi]]|[[Akihiko Hirata]]|[[Takashi Shimura]]}}<!-- These are the four main actors listed on the Japanese poster. Please do not add anyone else. Thank you. -->
| cinematography = {{Ill|Masao Tamai|ja|玉井正夫}}
| editing        = {{Ill|Taichi Taira|ja|平一二}}<ref name="Criterion"/>
| studio         = [[Toho|Toho Co., Ltd.]]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=106}}
| distributor    = Toho{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=106}}
| released       = {{Film date|1954|10|27|Nagoya|1954|11|3|Japan}}
| runtime        = 96 minutes<ref name="Criterion">{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27755-godzilla|title=Godzilla (1954)|work=[[The Criterion Collection]]|access-date=April 14, 2022|url-status=live|archive-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221064005/https://www.criterion.com/films/27755-godzilla}}</ref>
| country        = Japan
| language       = Japanese
| budget         = {{¥|62.9 million}}{{efn|According to Steve Ryfle, the film had a production budget of approximately {{¥|62,893,455}}, equal to roughly {{USD|900,000}} in 1954.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=33}} Print and advertisement costs brought the total budget to {{¥|100 million}},{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=33}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=84}} roughly {{USD|1.5 million}} in 1954.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=33}}{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=44}}}}<br>({{USD|900,000|long=no}})
| gross          = {{US$|2.25 million|long=no}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=34}}<ref name="tohokingdom"/>
}}

{{Nihongo|'''''Godzilla'''''|ゴジラ|''Gojira''|lead=yes}}{{efn|In 2004, [[Rialto Pictures]] released the film in a limited theatrical run as ''Godzilla''.<ref name="Rialto 2004"/> In 2006, Classic Media released the film on DVD/Blu-ray as ''Gojira''.<ref name="CM Fang">{{cite web|url=https://www.fangoria.com/gojira-dvd-review/|title=DVD Review: Gojira|first=Michael|last=Gingold|work=[[Fangoria]]|date=September 5, 2006|access-date=August 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-date=August 9, 2024|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20240809220836/https://www.fangoria.com/gojira-dvd-review/}}</ref><ref name="CM Gojira"/> In 2012, [[The Criterion Collection]] released its own remastered version on DVD/Blu-ray as ''Godzilla''.<ref name="SciFi Japan Criterion">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2011/11/18/godzilla-from-the-criterion-collection-2/|title=Godzilla from The Criterion Collection|last=Aiken|first=Keith|work=SciFi Japan|date=November 18, 2011|access-date=October 11, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622164645/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2011/11/18/godzilla-from-the-criterion-collection-2/}}</ref> In 2014, Rialto Pictures re-released the film in a limited theatrical run as ''Godzilla: The Japanese Original'' to avoid confusion with [[Godzilla (2014 film)|Legendary's ''Godzilla'' film]].<ref name="Rialto 2014"/>}} is a 1954 Japanese [[epic film|epic]]{{efn|Attributed to multiple references:{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=95}}{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=106}}{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=97}}}} ''[[kaiju]]'' film directed and co-written by [[Ishirō Honda]], with special effects by [[Eiji Tsuburaya]]. Produced and distributed by [[Toho|Toho Co., Ltd.]], it is the first film in the [[Godzilla (franchise)|''Godzilla'' franchise]]. The film stars [[Akira Takarada]], [[Momoko Kōchi]], [[Akihiko Hirata]], and [[Takashi Shimura]], with [[Haruo Nakajima]] and [[Katsumi Tezuka]] as [[Godzilla]]. In the film, Japan's authorities deal with the sudden appearance of a giant monster, whose attacks trigger fears of [[nuclear holocaust]] in [[post-occupation Japan|post-war Japan]].

''Godzilla'' entered production after a Japanese-Indonesian co-production collapsed. Tsuburaya originally proposed for a giant [[octopus]] before the filmmakers decided on a [[dinosaur]]-inspired creature. ''Godzilla'' pioneered a form of special effects called [[suitmation]] in which a stunt performer wearing a suit interacts with miniature sets. Principal photography ran 51 days, and special effects photography ran 71 days.

''Godzilla'' premiered in [[Nagoya]] on October 27, 1954, and received a [[wide release]] in Japan on November 3. It was met with mixed reviews upon release but was a box-office success, winning the Japanese Movie Association Award for Best Special Effects. The film earned ¥183 million in [[Box office#Distributor rentals|distributor rentals]], making it the [[List of Japanese films of 1954|eighth-highest-grossing Japanese film of that year]]. In 1956, a heavily-re-edited "Americanized" version, titled ''[[Godzilla, King of the Monsters!]]'', was released in the United States.

The film spawned a multimedia franchise that was recognized by ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the longest-running film franchise in history. The character Godzilla has since become an international popular culture icon. The film and Tsuburaya have been largely credited for establishing the template for ''[[tokusatsu]]'' media. The film received reappraisal in later years and has since been regarded as one of the [[List of films considered the best|best monster films ever made]].

The film was followed by the sequel ''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'', released on April 24, 1955.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=34}}

==Plot==
<!-- PER WP:FILMPLOT, PLOT SUMMARIES FOR FEATURE FILMS SHOULD BE 400-700 WORDS. -->
When the Japanese freighter ''Eiko-maru'' is destroyed near Odo Island, another ship—the ''Bingo-maru''—is sent to investigate, only to meet the same fate with few survivors. A fishing boat from Odo is also destroyed, with one survivor. Fishing catches mysteriously drop to zero, blamed by an elder on the ancient sea creature known as "[[Godzilla]]". Reporters arrive on Odo Island to further investigate. A villager tells one of the reporters that something in the sea is ruining the fishing. That evening, a storm strikes the island, destroying the reporters' helicopter, and Godzilla, briefly seen, destroys 17 homes and kills nine people and 20 of the villagers' livestock.

Odo residents travel to [[Tokyo]] to demand disaster relief.  The villagers' and reporters' evidence describes damage consistent with something large crushing the village. The government sends paleontologist Kyohei Yamane to lead an investigation on the island, where giant radioactive footprints and a [[trilobite]] are discovered. The village alarm bell is rung and Yamane and the villagers rush to see the monster, retreating after seeing that it is a giant [[dinosaur]]. Yamane presents his findings in Tokyo, estimating that Godzilla is {{convert|50|meters}} tall and has evolved from an ancient sea creature becoming a terrestrial creature. He concludes that Godzilla has been disturbed by underwater [[Thermonuclear weapon|hydrogen bomb]] testing. Debate ensues about notifying the public about the danger of the monster. Meanwhile, 17 ships are lost at sea.

Ten [[frigate]]s are dispatched to attempt to kill the monster using [[depth charge]]s. The mission disappoints Yamane, who wants Godzilla to be studied. When Godzilla survives the attack, officials appeal to Yamane for ideas to kill the monster, but Yamane tells them that Godzilla is unkillable, having survived H-bomb testing, and must be studied. Yamane's daughter, Emiko, decides to break off her arranged engagement to Yamane's colleague, Daisuke Serizawa, because of her love for Hideto Ogata, a salvage ship captain. When a reporter arrives and asks to interview Serizawa, Emiko escorts the reporter to Serizawa's home. After Serizawa refuses to divulge his current work to the reporter, he gives Emiko a demonstration of his recent project on the condition that she must keep it a secret. The demonstration horrifies her and she leaves without mentioning the engagement. Shortly after she returns home, Godzilla surfaces from [[Tokyo Bay]] and attacks [[Shinagawa]]. After attacking a passing train, Godzilla returns to the ocean.

After consulting international experts, the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] construct a {{convert|30|meter}} tall and 50,000 volt [[electrified fence]] along the coast and deploy forces to kill Godzilla. Dismayed that there is no plan to study Godzilla for its resistance to radiation, Yamane returns home, where Emiko and Ogata await, hoping to get his consent for them to wed. When Ogata disagrees with Yamane, arguing that the threat that Godzilla poses outweighs any potential benefits from studying the monster, Yamane tells him to leave. Godzilla resurfaces and breaks through the fence to Tokyo with its atomic breath, unleashing more destruction across the city. Further attempts to kill the monster with [[tank]]s and [[Jet fighter|fighter jets]] fail and Godzilla returns to the ocean. The day after, hospitals and shelters are crowded with the maimed and the dead, with some survivors suffering from [[radiation sickness]].

Distraught by the devastation, Emiko tells Ogata about Serizawa's research, a weapon called the "Oxygen Destroyer", which disintegrates [[oxygen]] atoms and causes organisms to [[asphyxiate]], then dissolve, leaving nothing behind. Emiko and Ogata go to Serizawa to convince him to use the Oxygen Destroyer but he initially refuses, explaining that if he uses the device, the world's superpowers will surely force him to construct more Oxygen Destroyers for use as a [[Super weapons|superweapon]]. After watching a program displaying the nation's current tragedy, Serizawa finally accepts their pleas. As Serizawa burns his notes, Emiko breaks down crying.

A navy ship takes Ogata and Serizawa to plant the device in Tokyo Bay. After finding Godzilla, Serizawa activates the device and cuts off his air support, taking the secret of the Oxygen Destroyer to his grave. Godzilla is destroyed, but many mourn Serizawa's death. Yamane believes that if [[nuclear weapons testing]] continues, another Godzilla may rise in the future.

==Cast==
[[File:Godzilla (1954) cast.jpg|thumb|right|The main characters of ''Godzilla'' (1954). From left to right: [[Akira Takarada]], Toshiaki Suzuki, [[Kokuten Kōdō]], [[Momoko Kōchi]], [[Takashi Shimura]], and [[Akihiko Hirata]].]]

*[[Akira Takarada]] as Hideto Ogata
*[[Momoko Kōchi]] as Emiko Yamane
*[[Akihiko Hirata]] as Dr. Daisuke Serizawa
*[[Takashi Shimura]] as Dr. Kyohei Yamane
*Fuyuki Murakami as Dr. Tanabe
*[[Sachio Sakai]] as Hagiwara
*Ren Yamamoto as Masaji Yamada
*Toyoaki Suzuki as Shinkichi Yamada
*Toranosuke Ogawa as the President of the Nankai Shipping Company
*Hiroshi Hayashi as the Chairman of Diet Committee
*Seijiro Onda as Oyama, Diet Committee member
*[[Kin Sugai]] as Ozawa, Diet Committee member
*[[Shoichi Hirose]] as a member of the Diet Committee{{sfn|Yosensha|2014|p=112}}
*[[Kokuten Kōdō]] as the old fisherman
*[[Yū Fujiki]] as ''Eiko-Maru'' wireless communications officer{{sfn|Yosensha|2014|p=106}}
*[[Kenji Sahara]] as a reporter and a partygoer{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=530}}
*[[Ishirō Honda]] as a substation worker{{sfn|Nollen|2019|p=196}}
*[[Haruo Nakajima]] as [[Godzilla]], a newspaper reporter,{{sfn|Tanaka|1983|p=532}} and a substation engineer{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=5}}
*[[Katsumi Tezuka]] as Godzilla and a newspaper deskman

Cast taken from ''Japan's Favorite Mon-Star'',{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=351}} except where cited otherwise.

==Themes==
In the film, Godzilla symbolizes [[nuclear holocaust]] from Japan's perspective and has since been culturally identified as a strong metaphor for nuclear weapons.<ref name="Brian">{{cite web |last=Merchant |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Merchant |date=August 25, 2013 |title=A Brief History of Godzilla, Our Never-Ending Nuclear Nightmare |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-brief-history-of-godzilla-our-never-ending-nuclear-nightmare/ |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |access-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143920/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8gd4e3/a-brief-history-of-godzilla-our-never-ending-nuclear-nightmare |url-status=live }}</ref> Producer [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]] stated, "The theme of the film, from the beginning, was the terror of the bomb. Mankind had created the bomb, and now nature was going to take revenge on mankind."<ref name="footprint"/> Director [[Ishirō Honda]] filmed Godzilla's Tokyo rampage to mirror the [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] and stated, "If Godzilla had been a dinosaur or some other animal, he would have been killed by just one cannonball. But if he were equal to an atomic bomb, we wouldn't know what to do. So, I took the characteristics of an atomic bomb and applied them to Godzilla."<ref name="footprint"/>

On March 1, 1954, just a few months before the film was made, the Japanese fishing vessel ''[[Daigo Fukuryū Maru]]'' ("Lucky Dragon No. 5") had been showered with radioactive fallout from the U.S. military's 15-megaton "[[Castle Bravo]]" hydrogen bomb test at nearby [[Bikini Atoll]].{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=16}} The boat's catch was contaminated, spurring a panic in Japan about the safety of eating fish, and the crew was sickened, with one crew member eventually dying from radiation sickness.{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=16}} The event led to the emergence of a large and enduring [[anti-nuclear movement]] that gathered 30 million signatures on an anti-nuclear petition by August 1955 and eventually became institutionalized as the [[Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs]].{{sfn|Kapur|2018|p=16}} The film's opening scene of Godzilla destroying a Japanese vessel is a direct reference to these events and had a strong impact on Japanese viewers, with the recent event still fresh in the mind of the public.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:02:08}}

Academics [[Anne Allison]], Thomas Schnellbächer, and Steve Ryfle have said that ''Godzilla'' contains political and cultural undertones that can be attributed to what the Japanese had experienced in [[World War II]] and that Japanese audiences were able to connect emotionally to the monster. They theorized that the viewers saw Godzilla as a victim and felt that the creature's backstory reminded them of their experiences in World War II. The academics have also claimed that as the atomic bomb testing that woke Godzilla was carried out by the United States, the film can in a way be seen to blame the United States for the problems and struggles that Japan experienced after World War II had ended. They also felt that the film could have served as a cultural coping method to help the people of Japan move on from the events of the war.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Millennial Monsters |last=Allison|first=Anne|publisher=University of California Press|date=June 30, 2006|isbn=9780520245655|pages=45–69}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schnellbächer |first1=Thomas|title=Has the Empire Sunk Yet?: The Pacific in Japanese Science Fiction|journal=[[Science Fiction Studies]]|date=November 2002 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=382–396|doi=10.1525/sfs.29.3.0382 }}</ref><ref name="footprint">{{cite journal|last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|title=Godzilla's Footprint|journal=Virginia Quarterly Review|date=Winter 2005 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=44–68}}</ref>

[[Brian Merchant]] from ''[[Motherboard (Vice)|Motherboard]]'' called the film "a bleak, powerful metaphor for nuclear power that still endures today," and on its themes, he stated: "It's an unflinchingly bleak, deceptively powerful film about coping with and taking responsibility for the incomprehensible, man-made tragedy. Specifically, nuclear tragedies. It's arguably the best window into post-war attitudes towards nuclear power we've got—as seen from the perspective of its greatest victims."<ref name="Brian"/> [[Terrence Rafferty]] from ''[[The New York Times]]'' said Godzilla was "an obvious gigantic, unsubtle, grimly purposeful metaphor for the atomic bomb" and felt the film was "extraordinarily solemn, full of earnest discussions".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/popcult/handouts/metaphor/godzilla/godzilla.html|title=The Monster That Morphed Into a Metaphor|first=Terrence|last=Rafferty|work=The New York Times|date=May 2, 2004|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=September 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180908202705/https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/popcult/handouts/metaphor/godzilla/godzilla.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Mark Jacobson from the website of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine said that Godzilla "transcends humanist prattle. Very few constructs have so perfectly embodied the overriding fears of a particular era. He is the symbol of a world gone wrong, a work of man that once created cannot be taken back or deleted. He rears up out of the sea as a creature of no particular belief system, apart from even the most elastic version of evolution and taxonomy, a reptilian [[Id (Freud)|id]] that lives inside the deepest recesses of the collective unconscious that cannot be reasoned with, a merciless undertaker who broaches no deals." Regarding the film, Jacobson stated, "Honda's first Godzilla... is in line with these inwardly turned post-war films and perhaps the most brutally unforgiving of them. Shame-ridden self-flagellation was in order, and who better to supply the rubber-suited psychic punishment than the [[Rorschach test|Rorschach]]-shaped big fella himself?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vulture.com/2014/05/godzilla-meaning-monster-metaphors.html|title=What Does Godzilla Mean? The Evolution of a Monster Metaphor|first=Mark|last=Jacobson|work=Vulture|date=May 16, 2014|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612145929/http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/godzilla-meaning-monster-metaphors.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tim Martin from ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' said that the original 1954 film was "a far cry from its [[B movie|B-movie]] successors. It was a sober allegory of a film with ambitions as large as its thrice-normal budget, designed to shock and horrify an adult audience. Its roster of frightening images—cities in flames, overstuffed hospitals, irradiated children—would have been all too familiar to cinema-goers for whom memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were still less than a decade old, while its script posed deliberately inflammatory questions about the balance of postwar power and the development of nuclear energy." Martin also commented on how the film's themes were omitted in the American version by stating, "Its thematic preoccupation with nuclear energy proved even less acceptable to the American distributors who, after buying the film, began an extensive reshoot and re-cut for Western markets."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10788996/Godzilla-why-the-Japanese-original-is-no-joke.html|title=Godzilla: why the Japanese original is no joke|first=Tim|last=Martin|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=May 15, 2014|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614032134/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10788996/Godzilla-why-the-Japanese-original-is-no-joke.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Production==
===Crew===
{{Div col}}
*[[Ishirō Honda]] – director, co-writer
*[[Eiji Tsuburaya]] – special effects director
*{{Ill|Kōji Kajita|ja|梶田興治}} – assistant director
*Teruo Maki – production manager
*{{Ill|Choshiro Ishii|ja|石井長四郎}} – lighting
*{{Ill|Takeo Kita|ja|北猛夫}} – chief art director
*{{Ill|Satoshi Chuko|ja|中古智}} – art director
*[[Akira Watanabe (art director)|Akira Watanabe]] – special effects art director
*{{Ill|Kuichirō Kishida|ja|岸田九一郎}} – special effects lighting
*{{Ill|Teizō Toshimitsu|ja|利光貞三}} – monster builder
*{{Ill|Hisashi Shimonaga|ja|下永尚}} – sound recording
*{{Ill|Ichiro Minawa|ja|三縄一郎}}{{efn|Sometimes credited as '''Ichiro Mitsunawa'''.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=351}}}} – sound and musical effects 
{{Div col end}}
Personnel taken from [[The Criterion Collection]].<ref name="Criterion"/>

===Development===
{{quote box|quote="[If] our hearts were not in it 100 percent it would not have worked. We wanted [the monster] to possess the terrifying characteristics of an atomic bomb. This was our approach, without any reservations."| source= – Honda on his and the crew's vision for the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=85}}|align=right|width=30em}}

In 1954, [[Toho]] originally planned to produce {{nihongo|''In the Shadow of Glory''|栄光のかげに|Eikō no Kage ni}},{{efn|Also known as ''Behind the Glory''{{sfn|Godziszewski|1981|p=17}} and ''In the Shadow of Honor''.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=19}}}} a Japanese-Indonesian co-production that would have starred [[Ryō Ikebe]] as a former Japanese soldier who was stationed in the [[Dutch East Indies]] during the [[Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies|Japanese occupation of Indonesia]], and [[Yoshiko Yamaguchi]] as his half-Indonesian love interest.{{sfn|Motoyama|Matsunomoto|Asai|Suzuki|2012|p=36}} However, anti-Japanese sentiment in Indonesia put political pressure on the government to deny visas for Japanese filmmakers.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=33}} The film was to be co-produced with [[Perfini]], filmed on location in [[Jakarta]] in color, a first for a major Toho production, and was to open markets for Japanese films in Southeast Asia.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=85}}

Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka flew to Jakarta to renegotiate with the Indonesian government but was unsuccessful. On the flight back to Japan, he conceived the idea for a giant monster film, inspired by the 1953 film ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'' and the ''[[Daigo Fukuryū Maru]]'' incident, which happened in March 1954.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=34}} The film's opening sequence is a direct reference to the incident.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:02:08}} Tanaka felt the film had potential because nuclear fears were generating news and monster films were becoming popular because of the financial success of ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' and the 1952 re-release of ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'', the latter of which earned more money than previous releases.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=86}}

During his flight, Tanaka wrote an outline with the working title {{nihongo|''The Giant Monster from 20,000 Miles Beneath the Sea''|海底二万哩から来た大怪獣|Kaitei Niman Mairu kara kita Daikaijū}} and pitched it to executive producer Iwao Mori. Mori approved the project in mid–April 1954 after special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya agreed to do the film's effects and confirmed that the film was financially feasible.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=21}} Mori also felt the project was perfect as a vehicle for Tsuburaya and to test the storyboarding system that he instituted at the time.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=34}} Mori also approved Tanaka's choice to have Ishirō Honda direct the film and shortened the title of the production to ''Project G'' (G for Giant), as well as giving the production classified status and ordered Tanaka to minimize his attention on other films and mainly focus on ''Project G''.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=34}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=21}}

Toho originally intended for [[Senkichi Taniguchi]] to direct the film, as he was originally attached to direct ''In the Shadow of Glory''. However, Taniguchi declined the assignment.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:05:50}} Honda was not Toho's first choice for the film's director, but his wartime experience made him an ideal candidate for the film's anti-nuclear themes.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:06:05}} Several other directors passed on the project, feeling the idea was "stupid," but Honda accepted the assignment because of his interest in science and "unusual things" and stated, "I had no problem taking it seriously."{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=86}} It was during the production of ''Godzilla'' that Honda worked with assistant director Kōji Kajita for the first time.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=84}} Afterwards, Kajita would go on to collaborate with Honda as his chief assistant director for 17 films over the course of 10 years.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=83}} [[Science fiction films]] lacked respect from film critics so Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya agreed on depicting a monster attack as if it were a real event, with the serious tone of a documentary.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=85}}

===Writing===
Tsuburaya submitted an outline of his own that was written three years before ''Godzilla'' and featured a giant octopus attacking ships in the Indian Ocean.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=34}} In May 1954, Tanaka hired sci-fi writer {{ill|Shigeru Kayama|ja|香山滋}} to write the story. Only 50 pages long and written in 11 days, Kayama's treatment depicted Dr. Yamane wearing dark shades, a cape, and living in a European-style house from which he emerged only at night. Godzilla was portrayed as more animal-like by coming ashore to feed on animals, with an ostensibly gorilla-like interest in females. Kayama's story also featured less destruction and borrowed a scene from ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' by having Godzilla attack a lighthouse.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=25}}{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=34}} Kayama added his own critical stance on nuclear weapons by opening with a voice-over detailing and criticizing the 1952 and 1954 [[Thermonuclear weapon|hydrogen bomb]] tests. This was followed by a montage of shots that included real footage of the ''[[Daigo Fukuryū Maru]]'' aftermath, its victims, and the paranoia that followed. Kayama also repurposed ideas from an early story he had written about a giant lizard that strolled on hind legs.{{sfn|Kayama|2023|p=189–223}}

Takeo Murata and Honda co-wrote the screenplay in three weeks and confined themselves in a [[ryokan (inn)|Japanese inn]] in Tokyo's [[Shibuya]] ward. On writing the script, Murata stated, "Director Honda and I...racked our brains to make Mr. Kayama's original treatment into a full, working vision." Murata said that Tsuburaya and Tanaka pitched their ideas as well. Tanaka requested that they do not spend too much money, but Tsuburaya encouraged them to "do whatever it takes to make it work." Murata and Honda redeveloped key characters and elements by adding Emiko's love triangle. In Kayama's story, Serizawa was depicted as merely a colleague of Dr. Yamane's. Godzilla's full appearance was to be revealed during the Odo Island hurricane, but Honda and Murata opted to show parts of the creature as the film built up to his full reveal. Honda and Murata also introduced the characters Hagiwara and Dr. Tanabe in their draft, but the role of Shinkichi, who had a substantial role in Kayama's story, was cut down.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=24–25}}

Honda toned down much of Kayama's political criticism, especially the opening because he felt it was inappropriate to use the ''Daigo Fukuryū Maru'' incident and wanted to depict Godzilla as an invisible fear.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=102}}{{sfn|Kayama|2023|p=189–223}}

A [[novel]], written by Kayama, was published on October 25, 1954, by Iwaya Shoten as {{Nihongo|''Monster Godzilla''|怪獣ゴジラ|''Kaijū Gojira''}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web2.nazca.co.jp/0107hop/data09.html|title=怪獣ゴジラ・小説|work=Nazca.co.jp|language=Japanese|access-date=December 30, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226100858/http://web2.nazca.co.jp/0107hop/data09.html}}</ref>

===Creature design===
[[File:Godzilla (1954).jpg|thumb|alt=Godzilla stands against an armada, used for marketing purposes.|The filmmakers took inspiration from various dinosaurs to shape Godzilla's final design.]]
Godzilla was designed by Teizō Toshimitsu and [[Akira Watanabe (art director)|Akira Watanabe]] under Eiji Tsuburaya's supervision.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} Early on, Tanaka contemplated having the monster be gorilla-like or whale-like in design because of the name "Gojira", a combination of the Japanese words for {{Nihongo|gorilla|ゴリラ|gorira}} and {{Nihongo|whale|クジラ|kujira}}, but he eventually settled on a dinosaur-like design.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=23}} Kazuyoshi Abe was hired earlier to design Godzilla, but his ideas were later rejected since Godzilla looked too humanoid and mammalian, with a head shaped like a mushroom cloud;{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} however, Abe was retained to help draw the film's storyboards.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=38}}

Toshimitsu and Watanabe decided to base Godzilla's design on dinosaurs and, by using dinosaur books and magazines as a reference, combined elements of a [[Tyrannosaurus]], [[Iguanodon]] and the dorsal fins of a [[Stegosaurus]].{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} Despite wanting to use [[stop motion]] animation, Tsuburaya reluctantly settled on [[suitmation]].{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} Toshimitsu sculpted three clay models on which the suit would be based. The first two were rejected, but the third was approved by Tsuburaya, Tanaka, and Honda.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}}

The Godzilla suit was constructed by Kanju Yagi, Yasuei Yagi, and Eizo Kaimai, who used thin bamboo sticks and wire to build a frame for the interior of the suit and added metal mesh and cushioning over it to bolster its structure and finally applied coats of latex.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} Coats of molten rubber were additionally applied, followed by carved indentations and strips of latex glued onto the surface of the suit to create Godzilla's scaly hide.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} This first version of the suit weighed 100 kilograms (220 pounds). For close-ups, Toshimitsu created a smaller-scale, mechanical, hand-operated puppet that sprayed streams of mist from its mouth to act as Godzilla's atomic breath.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=39}}

[[Haruo Nakajima]] and [[Katsumi Tezuka]] were chosen to perform in the Godzilla suit because of their strength and endurance.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} At the first costume fitting, Nakajima fell down inside the suit{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} since it had been created by using heavy latex and inflexible materials.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=27}} This first version of the suit was cut into two and used for scenes requiring only partial shots of Godzilla or close-ups, with the lower half fitted with rope suspenders for Nakajima to wear.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}}{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=39}} For full-body shots, a second identical suit was created, which was made lighter than the first suit, but Nakajima could still be inside for only three minutes before passing out.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} Nakajima lost 20 pounds during the production of the film.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=42}} Nakajima would go on to portray Godzilla and other monsters until his retirement in 1972.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=178}} Tezuka filmed scenes in the Godzilla suit, but his older body made him unable to fully commit to the physical demands required by the role. As a result, few of his scenes made it to the final cut, as very few scenes were considered usable.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=17}} Tezuka filled in for Nakajima when he was unavailable or needed relief from the physically demanding role.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=39}}

Godzilla's name was also a source of consternation for the filmmakers. Because the monster had no name, the first draft of the film was not called ''Gojira'' but rather titled ''G'', also known as ''Kaihatsu keikaku G'' ("''Development Plan G''"), but the "G" of the title stood for "Giant." Nakajima confirmed that Toho held a contest to name the monster.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:24:43}} The monster was eventually named ''Gojira''.{{sfn|Lees|Cerasini|1998|p=12}} One explanation that is chalked up to legend is that a hulking Toho Studios employee's physical attributes led him to be nicknamed ''Gojira''.{{sfn|Lees|Cerasini|1998|p=12}} In a 1998 [[BBC]] documentary on Godzilla, Kimi Honda, the widow of the director, dismissed the employee-name story as a tall tale and stated that she believed that Honda, Tanaka, and Tsuburaya gave "considerable thought" to the name of the monster: "the backstage boys at Toho loved to joke around with tall stories, but I don't believe that one."{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=23}} In 2003, a Japanese television special claimed to have identified the anonymous hulking Toho employee as Shiro Amikura, a Toho contract actor from the 1950s.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:24:06}}

===Special effects===
[[File:Behind the Scenes of Godzilla 1954.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Effects assistants help suit performer Nakajima set up a crucial scene.|The Godzilla suit was produced with rough materials, resulting in a heavy suit that forced performer Haruo Nakajima only being able to act for three minutes before he would pass out from heat and exhaustion. The miniatures were constructed at certain scales to appear smaller than the suit.]]

The film's special effects were directed by Eiji Tsuburaya.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=20}} For the effects footage to sync with the live-action footage, Honda and Tsuburaya would develop plans early during development and briefly meet prior to the day's shoot. Kajita would shuttle Tsuburaya to Honda's set to observe how a scene was being shot and where the actors were being positioned. Kajita also ushered Honda to the effects stage to observe how Tsuburaya was shooting certain effects. Honda edited the live-action footage, and he left blank [[film leader|leaders]] for Tsuburaya to insert the effects footage. At times, Honda had to cut out certain effects footage. Tsuburaya disapproved of these decisions because Honda's cuts did not match the effects; however, Honda had the final say in those matters.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=88}}

Tsuburaya originally wanted to use stop motion for the film's special effects but realized that it would have taken seven years to complete based on the current staff and infrastructure at Toho.{{sfn|Ragone|2007|p=35}} Settling on suitmation and miniature effects, Tsuburaya and his crew scouted the locations that Godzilla was to destroy and was nearly arrested after a security guard overheard their plans for destruction but were released after they showed the police their Toho business cards.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} Kintaro Makino, the chief of miniature construction, was given blueprints by Akira Watanabe for the miniatures and assigned 30 to 40 workers from the carpentry department to build them, which took a month to build the scaled-down version of [[Ginza]].{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} Most of the miniatures were built at a 1:25 scale, but the [[National Diet Building|Diet Building]] was scaled down to a 1:33 scale to look smaller than Godzilla.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} It proved to be too expensive to use stop-motion extensively throughout the picture, but the final film included a stop-motion scene of Godzilla's tail destroying the Nichigeki Theater Building.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ryfle|first=Steve|url=https://www.scifijapan.com/godzilla-toho/godzilla-50th-anniversary-pressbook|title=GODZILLA 50th Anniversary Pressbook|publisher=SciFi Japan|access-date=October 23, 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=26-27}}

The buildings' framework was made of thin wooden boards reinforced with a mixture of plaster and white chalk.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} Explosives were installed inside miniatures that were to be destroyed by Godzilla's atomic breath. Some were sprayed with gasoline to make them burn more easily; others included small cracks so they could crumble easily.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=29}} Optical animation techniques were used for Godzilla's glowing dorsal fins by having hundreds of cells, which were drawn frame by frame.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=30}} Haruo Nakajima perspired inside the suit so much that the Yagi brothers had to dry out the cotton lining every morning and sometimes reline the interior of the suit and repair damages.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=30}}

The typhoon waves were created by stagehands who overturned barrels of water into a water tank where the miniature Odo Island shoreline was built.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:14:10}} Multiple composition shots were used for the Odo Island scenes.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:17:56}} Most of the Odo Island scenes were filmed near rice fields.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:18:11}} Toho hired en masse part-time employees to work on the film's optical effects.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:18:20}} Half of the 400 hired staff were mostly part-timers with little to no experience.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:18:28}} An early version of Godzilla's full reveal was filmed that featured Godzilla, via hand-operated puppet, devouring a cow. Sadamasa Arikawa thought the scene was too gruesome and convinced Tsuburaya to refilm it.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:21:38}} Optical effects were utilized for Godzilla's footprints on the beach by painting them onto glass and inserting them into an area of the live-action footage.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:22:43}} Special effects photography lasted for 71 days.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=30}}

===Filming===
On the first day of filming, Honda addressed a crew of 30 to read the script and to leave the project if they did not feel convinced since he wanted to work only with those who had confidence in him and the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=84}} Most of the film was shot in the Toho lot.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=31}} Honda's team also filmed on location in the [[Shima Peninsula]] in Mie Prefecture to film the Odo Island scenes, which used 50 Toho extras, and Honda's team established their base in the town of Toba.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=31}} Local villagers were also used as extras for the Odo Island scenes.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:08:25}} The dance ritual scene was filmed on location in Mie Prefecture, with local villagers performing as the dancers.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:11:21}} The cast and crew commuted every morning by boat to [[Toba, Mie]], and worked under harsh weather temperatures. Honda worked shirtless and so suffered a blistering sunburn on his back that left permanent scars.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=83}}

Toho had negotiated with the [[Japan Self-Defense Forces]] (JSDF) to film scenes requiring the military and filmed target practices and drills for the film. Honda's team followed a convoy of JSDF vehicles for the convoy dispatch scene.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=31}} Two thousand girls were used from an all-girls high school for the prayer-for-peace scene.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=31}} The filmmakers had little co-operation from the JSDF and had to rely on World War II [[stock footage]], provided by the Japanese military, for certain scenes.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:29:08}} The stock footage was sourced from [[16 mm]] prints.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:29:31}} Honda's team spent 51 days shooting the film.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=31}}

==Music and sound effects==
The film's score was composed by [[Akira Ifukube]]. After meeting with [[Tomoyuki Tanaka]], [[Eiji Tsuburaya]], and [[Ishirō Honda]], Ifukube enthusiastically accepted the job. After learning that the main character was a monster, Ifukube said, "I couldn't sit still when I heard that in this movie the main character was a reptile that would be rampaging through the city." Ifukube was not shown the final film and had only a week to compose his music. Within that time, he was shown only a model of [[Godzilla]] and the screenplay. Tsuburaya briefly showed Ifukube some footage but with the effects missing and Tsuburaya attempted to describe how the scene would unfold. Ifukube recalled, "I was very confused. So I tried to make music that would remind you of something enormous." Ifukube used low-pitch brass and string instruments.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=32}}

It was Honda's idea to make Godzilla roar, despite the fact that reptiles do not have vocal cords. Shimonaga and Minawa were originally tasked with creating the roar, but Ifukube became involved after taking an interest in creating sound effects. Ifukube and Honda discussed what type of sounds were going to be used in certain scenes and other details concerning sounds. Minawa went to the zoo and recorded various animal roars and played them back at certain speeds. However, the sounds proved unsatisfactory and went unused. Ifukube borrowed a [[double bass]] from the Japan Art University's music department and created Godzilla's roar by loosening the strings and rubbing them with a leather glove. The sound was recorded and played at a reduced speed, which achieved the effect of the roar used in the film. The technique would be adopted by Toho as a standard method in creating monster roars in the following years.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=32}}

There are conflicting reports as to how Godzilla's footsteps were created. One claim states that they were created with a knotted rope hitting a kettle drum that was recorded and processed through an echo box. Some Japanese texts claim that the footsteps were sourced from an explosion with the ending clipped off and processed through an electronic reverb unit. However, Ifukube told ''Cult Movies'' that the footsteps were created using a primitive amplifier that made a loud clap when struck. The optical recording equipment contained four audio tracks: one for principal dialogue, one for background chatter, ambient noises, tanks, planes, and one for the roars and footsteps. An independent audio track was used to prevent bleeding over other audio.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=32–33}}

The music and sound effects of Godzilla's rampage were recorded live simultaneously. While Ifukube conducted the NHK Philharmonic orchestra, foley artists watched Godzilla's rampage projected on a screen and used tin, concrete debris, wood, and other equipment to simulate sounds that would sync with the footage. A new take would be needed if the foley artist had missed a cue.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=33}} Many of Ifukube's themes and motifs associated with Godzilla were introduced in the film, such as the March, the Horror theme, and the Requiem. The "Self Defense Force March" had become synonymous with Godzilla that Ifukube later referred to it as "[[Godzilla (Main Theme)|Godzilla's theme]]." Ifukube considered his music for the film his finest film score.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=49}}

==Release==
===Marketing===
During production, Mori devised promotional strategies to generate public interest such as a radio play, 
{{Nihongo|''Monster Godzilla''|怪獣ゴジラ|Kaijū Gojira|lead=no}}; 11 episodes were produced based on the screenplay and were aired on Saturdays on the [[NHK]] radio network from July 17 to September 25, 1954. In an attempt to build mystery, Mori banned reporters from the set and kept the special effects techniques and other behind-the-scenes crafts secret. Nakajima's suit performance as Godzilla would not be revealed until the 1960s. However, Godzilla's image was widely publicized. Godzilla's image was added to the company stationery, cut-out pictures and posters were displayed in theaters and stores, large advertisement balloons were flown to major Japanese cities, and a Godzilla doll was mounted onto a truck and driven around Tokyo. The film's theatrical trailer debuted in theaters on October 20, 1954.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=33}}

===Theatrical===
''Godzilla'' was first released in [[Nagoya]] on October 27, 1954,{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=103–104}} and released nationwide on November 3, 1954.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=106}} At the time of the film's release, it set a new opening day record for any Toho film by selling 33,000 tickets at Toho's cinemas in Tokyo and selling out at Nichigeki Theater. As a result, Toho's CEO personally called Honda to congratulate him. Honda's wife, Kimi, commented "That sort of thing didn't usually happen."{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=104}} An 84-minute cut of the Japanese version was theatrically released in West Germany on April 10, 1956, as ''Godzilla''. That version removes the Japanese Diet argument, the acknowledgment of Godzilla as a "child of the H-bomb," references to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and an altered translation of the mother holding her children.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|pp=29–30}}

From 1955 to the 1960s, ''Godzilla'' played in theaters catering to [[Japanese-Americans]] in predominantly Japanese neighborhoods in the United States. In the summer of 1982,{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=285}} an English-subtitled version was shown at film festivals{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=55}} and art house cinemas{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=285}} in New York, Chicago, and other U.S. cities,{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=55}} including [[Gene Siskel Film Center|The Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago]], where it was screened in late August of that year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 27, 1982 |title=The real 'Godzilla' comes to town with anti-war message underfoot |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/387831185/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Later that year, the film was re-released theatrically in Japan on November 21, to commemorate Toho's 50th anniversary.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=375}} Since its release, the 1954 film remained unavailable officially in the United States until 2004.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2006|loc=00:00:42}}

To coincide with the film's 50th anniversary, art-house distributor [[Rialto Pictures]] gave the film a traveling tour-style limited release, coast-to-coast, across the United States, on May 7, 2004. It ran uncut with English subtitles until December 19, 2004.<ref name="Rialto 2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/12/06/godzilla-50th-anniversary-pressbook/|title=Godzilla 50th Anniversary Pressbook|last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|last2=Goldstein|first2=Bruce|work=SciFi Japan|date=December 6, 2007|access-date=April 6, 2018|archive-date=April 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407115934/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/12/06/godzilla-50th-anniversary-pressbook/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The film never played on more than six screens at any given point during its limited release. The film played in roughly sixty theaters and cities across the United States during its {{frac|7|1|2}}-month release. In October 2005, the [[British Film Institute]] theatrically released the Japanese version in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="BFI"/>

On April 18, 2014, Rialto re-released the film in the United States, coast-to-coast, using another limited-style traveling tour. That coincided with Godzilla's 60th anniversary but also celebrated the American ''Godzilla'' film, which was released that same year. To avoid confusion with the Hollywood feature, the Rialto release was subtitled ''The Japanese Original''.<ref name="Rialto 2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/02/26/restored-original-godzilla-gets-us-theatrical-release/|title=Restored Original Godzilla Gets US Theatrical Release|last1=Goldstein|first1=Bruce|last2=Franklin|first2=Dave|work=SciFi Japan|date=February 26, 2014|access-date=April 6, 2018|archive-date=March 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316155639/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/02/26/restored-original-godzilla-gets-us-theatrical-release/|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was screened in 66 theaters in 64 cities from April 18 to October 31, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rialtopictures.com/godzilla.html |title=Godzilla: The Japanese Original theatrical schedule |publisher=Rialto Pictures |access-date=2014-05-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506075742/http://www.rialtopictures.com/godzilla.html |archive-date=May 6, 2014 |df=mdy}}</ref>

For its 67th anniversary, a [[4K resolution|4K remaster]] of the film, along with other ''Godzilla'' films, was screened in [[Alamo Drafthouse Cinema]] locations on November 3, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/10/alamo-drafthouse-godzilla-screenings-spencer-at-austin-film-festival-lord-and-miller-infinity-fest-film-briefs-1234850523/|title=Alamo Drafthouse Sets 'Godzilla' Anniversary Screenings; 'Spencer' To Close Austin Film Festival; Lord & Miller Headlining Infinity Fest – Film Briefs|first=Matt|last=Grobar|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=October 7, 2021|access-date=October 7, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=October 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007194233/https://deadline.com/2021/10/alamo-drafthouse-godzilla-screenings-spencer-at-austin-film-festival-lord-and-miller-infinity-fest-film-briefs-1234850523/}}</ref>

In 2008, images surfaced online of posters for an alleged unofficial Filipino remake of the film titled ''Tokyo 1960''; purportedly directed by Teodorico C. Santos and starring Tessie Quintana and Eddie del Mar. However, the supposed film's existence has not been verified by Toho or other official parties, and no videos or screenings have ever surfaced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/godzilla-lost-movie-tokyo-1960-unofficial-remake/|title=The Lost Godzilla Movie Tokyo 1960 Explained (Was It An Official Sequel?)|first=Padraig|last=Cotter|work=Screen Rant|date=February 9, 2023|access-date=January 24, 2025|url-status=live|archive-date=January 25, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125071855/https://screenrant.com/godzilla-lost-movie-tokyo-1960-unofficial-remake/}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rawle |first1=Steven |title=Transnational Kaiju: Exploitation, Globilisation and Cult Monster Movies |date=2022 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=9781474475808 |pages=129–130}}</ref>

===American version===
{{main|Godzilla, King of the Monsters!}}
After the film's success in Japan, Toho sold the American rights to [[Joseph E. Levine]] for $25,000. A heavily altered version of the film was released in the United States and worldwide as ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'' on April 27, 1956.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=105}} This version trimmed the original down to 80 minutes and featured new footage with Canadian actor [[Raymond Burr]] interacting with body doubles mixed with Honda's footage to make it seem as if he were part of the original Japanese production. Many of the film's political themes were trimmed or removed completely. It was this version of the original ''Godzilla'' film that introduced audiences worldwide to the character and franchise and the only version to which critics and scholars had access until 2004 when the 1954 film was released in select theaters in North America. ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'' grossed $2 million during its theatrical run, more than what the 1954 film grossed in Japan.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=106}}

Honda was unaware that ''Godzilla'' had been re-edited until Toho released ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'' in Japan in May 1957 as ''Monster King Godzilla''. Toho converted the entire film from its original scope to a widescreen 2.35:1 scope, which resulted in an awkward crop for the entire film. Japanese subtitles were given to the Japanese actors since their original dialogue differed greatly from the original script and were dubbed in English.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=106}} Since the release of the film, Toho has adopted the epithet "King of the Monsters" for Godzilla, which has since appeared in official marketing, advertisement, and promotional materials.{{sfn|Kalat|2010|p=29}}

==Home media==
===Japan===
In 1985, the Japanese version of ''Godzilla'' was released on [[LaserDisc]] in Japan by [[Toho]], followed by a [[VHS]] release in 1988. Toho released the film on [[DVD]] in 2001 and on [[Blu-ray]] in 2009.<ref name="Japan Home Media">{{cite web|url=http://www.ld-dvd-bluray.2-d.jp/smp/hikakugojira.html|title=ゴジラ／怪獣王ゴジラ|work=LD, DVD, & Blu-ray Gallery|language=Japanese|access-date=April 15, 2022|url-status=live|archive-date=March 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316094953/http://www.ld-dvd-bluray.2-d.jp/smp/hikakugojira.html}}</ref> In 2008, Toho remastered the film in [[high-definition video|high-definition]] and premiered it on the Japanese Movie Speciality Channel, along with the rest of the Godzilla films that were also remastered in HD.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scifijapan.com/godzilla-toho/godzilla-x-hi-vision|title=Godzilla X Hi-vision - Godzilla Restored in HD|first=James|last=Ballard|work=SciFi Japan|date=August 7, 2008|access-date=March 26, 2022|url-status=live|archive-date=March 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326184012/https://www.scifijapan.com/godzilla-toho/godzilla-x-hi-vision}}</ref>

In March 2021, Toho premiered a 4K remaster of the film on the [[Nippon TV|Nippon Classic Movie Channel]], along with seven other Godzilla films also remastered in 4K. The 4K remaster, which uses two dupe negatives made in the 1970s and a [[fine grain master positive|fine-grain positive print]] (the best remaining elements), was [[2K resolution|downscaled to 2K]] for broadcast<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nihon-eiga.com/osusume/godzilla4K_2021/|title=『ゴジラ』シリーズ 4Kデジタルリマスター 最恐画質 8ヶ月連続放送|language=Japanese|work=Nihon–eiga.com|access-date=March 26, 2022|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326175658/https://www.nihon-eiga.com/osusume/godzilla4K_2021/}}</ref> and released on [[4K Blu-ray]] in October 2023.<ref name="thedigitalbits">{{cite web |last1=Bjork |first1=Stephen |title=Godzilla (1954) (4K UHD Review) |url=https://thedigitalbits.com/item/godzilla-toho-2024-uhd |website=The Digital Bits |access-date=25 August 2024 |language=en-gb |date=16 January 2024}}</ref>

===International===
The American version was released on VHS and DVD by [[Simitar Entertainment]] in 1998<ref name="Japan Home Media"/> and [[DreamWorks Classics|Classic Media]] in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tohokingdom.com/web_pages/dvd/gkotm_classic_media.htm |title=DVD: Godzilla King of the Monsters (Classic Media) |work=Toho Kingdom |access-date=September 17, 2009 |archive-date=October 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009012834/https://www.tohokingdom.com/dvd/gkotm_classic_media.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, the [[British Film Institute]] released the Japanese version on DVD in the [[United Kingdom]] that includes the original mono track and several extra features, such as documentaries and commentary tracks by film historians Steve Ryfle, Ed Godziszewski, and Keith Aiken. The DVD also includes a documentary about the ''Daigo Fukuryū Maru'', a Japanese fishing boat that was caught in an American nuclear blast and partially inspired the creation of the film.<ref name="BFI">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/03/05/dvd-reviews-godzilla-and-the-mysterians-region-2-discs-from-bfi/#BFI%20Godzilla|title=DVD Reviews: Godzilla and The Mysterians Region 2 Discs from BFI|first=Aaron|last= Cooper|work=SciFi Japan|date=March 5, 2006|access-date=January 29, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708220255/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/03/05/dvd-reviews-godzilla-and-the-mysterians-region-2-discs-from-bfi/}}</ref>

In 2006, Classic Media released the Japanese and American versions on a two-disc DVD in the United States and Canada. This release features trailers and audio commentaries for both films by Ryfle and Godziszewski (separate from the BFI commentaries), two 13-minute documentaries titled "Godzilla Story Development" and "Making of the Godzilla Suit," and a 12-page essay booklet by Ryfle. This release also restores the original ending credits of the American film, which hitherto was thought to have been lost.<ref name="CM Fang"/><ref name="CM Gojira">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/06/29/classic-medias-godzilla-summer/|title=Classic Media's GODZILLA Summer|author=Keith Aiken|work=SciFi Japan|date=June 29, 2006|access-date=January 29, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708222438/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2006/06/29/classic-medias-godzilla-summer/}}</ref> Classic Media would re-issue the Japanese version on [[Blu-ray]] in 2009 and both cuts of the film on DVD in 2014; the latter was released to coincide with [[Godzilla (2014 film)|Legendary Pictures' ''Godzilla'' film]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s3012goji.html |title=DVD Savant Blu-ray Review: Gojira|work=DVDTalk|date=September 14, 2009|first=Glenn|last=Erickson|access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801083702/https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s3012goji.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/03/31/classic-media-reissues-the-original-godzilla-on-dvd/|title=Classic Media Reissues the Original GODZILLA on DVD|author1=Robert Mayo|author2=Rachel Cohen|work=SciFi Japan|date=March 31, 2020|access-date=January 29, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403215520/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2014/03/31/classic-media-reissues-the-original-godzilla-on-dvd/}}</ref>

In 2012, [[the Criterion Collection]] released a "new high-definition digital restoration" of ''Godzilla'' on Blu-ray and DVD. This release, which uses a 1983 print sourced from one of the dupe negatives,<ref name="thedigitalbits"/> includes a remaster of the American version, ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'', as well as other special features such as interviews with Akira Ikufube, Japanese film critic Tadao Sato, actor Akira Takarada, Godzilla performer Haruo Nakajima, effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai and audio commentaries on both films by film historian David Kalat.<ref name="Criterion"/><ref name="SciFi Japan Criterion"/> Criterion would re-release the film on [[Ultra HD Blu-ray|4K Blu-ray]] on November 5, 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/godzilla-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-honda-ishiro/|title=4K UHD Blu-ray Review: Honda Ishirô's 'Godzilla' on the Criterion Collection|first=Budd|last=Wilkins|work=Slant Magazine|date=November 5, 2024|access-date=November 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-date=November 9, 2024|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/M11Le}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Janus Films]] and the Criterion Collection streamed both cuts of the film, as well as other Godzilla titles, on [[Starz]] and [[FilmStruck]].<ref name="Showa Criterion">{{cite web|url=http://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3469049/criterion-collection-obtained-showa-era-godzilla-films/|title=Criterion Collection Has Obtained Most of the Shōwa Era 'Godzilla' Films!|last=Squires|first=John|work=Bloody Disgusting|date=November 8, 2017|access-date=November 8, 2017|archive-date=November 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109063505/http://bloody-disgusting.com/home-video/3469049/criterion-collection-obtained-showa-era-godzilla-films/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, both cuts were included in the ''Godzilla: The Showa Era Films'' Blu-ray box set released by the Criterion Collection, which included all 15 films from the franchise's [[Godzilla (franchise)#Shōwa era (1954–1975)|Shōwa era]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/25/8930381/godzilla-criterion-collection-showa-era-films-release-date|title=Criterion reveals the collection's 1000th disc: the ultimate Godzilla set|last=Patches|first=Matt|date=July 25, 2019|website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|access-date=July 25, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=December 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217223541/https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/25/8930381/godzilla-criterion-collection-showa-era-films-release-date}}</ref> In May 2020, the Japanese and American version became available on [[HBO Max]] upon its launch.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/18/21260243/hbo-max-launch-movies-titles-classic-warner-bros-turner-studio-date-price|title=Here are the hundreds of classic movies people can stream on HBO Max|first=Julia|last=Alexander|work=The Verge|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=November 7, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=June 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618203405/https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/18/21260243/hbo-max-launch-movies-titles-classic-warner-bros-turner-studio-date-price}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
During its initial Japanese theatrical run, the film set an opening record with the highest first-day ticket sales in Tokyo, before it went on to sell {{nowrap|9.69 million}} tickets;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Forrest |first1=Jennifer |title=The Legend Returns and Dies Harder Another Day: Essays on Film Series |date=12 August 2008 |publisher=[[McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-7864-3943-0 |page=214 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GscbAQAAIAAJ |access-date=21 April 2022 |quote=''Gojira'' opened on November 3, 1954 and receipts were strong: the film recorded the best opening-day ticket sales ever in Tokyo and eventually grossed {{¥|152 million}} on {{nowrap|9.69 million}} paid admissions}}</ref> it was the eighth best-attended film in Japan that year.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=34}} The film earned {{¥|183 million}} (just under $510,000) in [[distributor rentals]] during its initial run,{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=105}} with total lifetime gross receipts of {{US$|2.25 million|long=no}}.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=34}}<ref name="tohokingdom">{{cite web |title=Godzilla |url=https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/godzilla_1954.htm |website=Toho Kingdom |access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref> Adjusted for inflation, the film's original Japanese box office run in 1954 was equivalent to {{¥|13.7 billion}} in 1998.<ref name="Nippon">{{cite book |last=Takarada |first=Akira |author-link=Akira Takarada |title=Nippon Godzilla Golden Legend |date=10 August 1998 |publisher=[[Fusosha Publishing]] |isbn=978-4-594-02535-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=31hLAAAACAAJ |language=ja |quote=「ゴジラ」の観客動員数、960万人。現在の入場料に換算すれば、興行収入は137億円となる。|trans-quote=The number of spectators of "Godzilla" is {{nowrap|9.6 million}}. When converted to the current admission fee, the box office revenue would be {{¥|13.7 billion}}.}}</ref>

During its 2004 limited theatrical release in North America, the film grossed $38,030 on its opening weekend and grossed $412,520 by the end of its limited run. For the 2014 limited re-release in North America, it grossed $10,903 after playing in one theater in New York and grossed $150,191 at the end of its run.<ref name="Rialto Release">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0047034/?ref_=bo_se_r_6|title=Godzilla – Rialto Release|publisher=Box Office|access-date=February 14, 2019|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725090152/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0047034/?ref_=bo_se_r_6|url-status=live}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the film sold 3,643 tickets from limited releases in 2005{{ndash}}2006 and 2016{{ndash}}2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Film #24565: Gojira |url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=24565 |website=[[Lumiere (database)|Lumiere]] |publisher=[[European Audiovisual Observatory]] |access-date=20 June 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622112127/http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=24565 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Critical response in Japan===
Before the release of the film, skeptics predicted the film would flop.{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=84}} At the time of the film's release, Japanese reviews were mixed.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=37}} Japanese critics accused the film of exploiting the widespread devastation that the country had suffered in World War II,<ref name="Poole">{{cite book |first=W. Scott |last=Poole |url=http://baylorpress.com/en/Book/266/Monsters_in_America.html |title=Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting |location=Waco, Texas |publisher=Baylor University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-60258-314-6 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930130707/http://www.monstersinamerica.com/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as the ''[[Daigo Fukuryū Maru]]'' incident, which occurred a few months before filming began. Ishiro Honda lamented years later in the ''Tokyo Journal'', "They called it grotesque junk and said it looked like something you'd spit up. I felt sorry for my crew because they had worked so hard!"{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=37}}

Others said that depicting a fire-breathing organism was strange. Honda also believed that Japanese critics began to change their minds after the good reviews the film received in the United States: "The first film critics to appreciate ''Godzilla'' were those in the U.S. When ''Godzilla'' was released there as ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'' in 1956, the critics said such things as, 'For the start, this film frankly depicts the horrors of the Atomic Bomb', and by these evaluations, the assessment began to impact critics in Japan and has changed their opinions over the years."{{sfn|Ishida|2013|pp=19-20}}

As time went on, the film gained more respect in its home country. In 1984, ''[[Kinema Junpo]]'' magazine listed ''Godzilla'' as one of the top 20 Japanese films of all time, and a survey of 370 Japanese film critics published in ''Nihon Eiga Besuto 150'' (''Best 150 Japanese Films''), had ''Godzilla'' ranked as the 27th best Japanese film ever made.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=38}} The film was nominated for two Japanese Movie Association awards: one for best special effects and the other for best film. It won best special effects{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=47}} but lost best picture to [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s ''[[Seven Samurai]]''.<ref name="Higgins">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/godzilla-first-set-a-path-destruction-1954-1213607/|title=Hollywood Flashback: Godzilla First Set Off on a Path to Destruction in 1954|last=Higgins|first=Bill|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=May 30, 2019|access-date=April 11, 2022|url-status=live|archive-date=April 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412012729/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/godzilla-first-set-a-path-destruction-1954-1213607/}}</ref> Kurosawa later listed the film as one of his 100 favorite films.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jagernauth |first=Kevin |date=January 9, 2015 |title=Akira Kurosawa's 100 Favorite Movies Include Films By Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, And More |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2015/01/akira-kurosawas-100-favorite-movies-include-films-by-martin-scorsese-francis-ford-coppola-woody-allen-and-more-268564/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407234847/https://www.indiewire.com/2015/01/akira-kurosawas-100-favorite-movies-include-films-by-martin-scorsese-francis-ford-coppola-woody-allen-and-more-268564/ |archive-date=April 7, 2022 |access-date=April 7, 2022 |work=[[IndieWire]]}}</ref>

[[Noriaki Yuasa]], director of several ''[[Gamera]]'' films, criticized the film for its inaccurate depictions of post-war casualties, calling it “outrageous.”<ref>{{cite web |author=David Milner, Yoshihiko Shibata |date=July 1996 |title= Noriaki Yuasa Interview |url= http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/yuasa.htm |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210302221436/http://www.davmil.org/www.kaijuconversations.com/yuasa.htm |archive-date=2021-03-02 |website= |access-date=2025-01-01}}</ref>

===Critical response overseas===
''Godzilla'' received mostly critical acclaim from Western reviewers. {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|94|7.7|78|More than straight monster-movie fare, ''Gojira'' offers potent, sobering postwar commentary.|ref=yes|access-date=February 3, 2024}} {{Metacritic film prose|79|20|ref=yes|access-date=February 3, 2024}}

[[Owen Gleiberman]] from ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' found the film more "serious" than the 1956 American version but sometimes seemed to drift towards the [[B movie]] tone of films like ''[[Them!]]''<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2004/05/06/godzilla-2/|title=Godzilla|first=Owen|last=Gleiberman|date=May 6, 2004|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=December 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203063457/http://ew.com/article/2004/05/06/godzilla-2/}}</ref> Luke Y. Thompson from ''Dallas Observer'' defended the film's effects as products of their time and felt that viewers would be "surprised by what they see." He stated, "This ain't your standard goofy monster rampage."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/film/burning-japanese-6385294|title=Burning Japanese|first=Luke Y.|last=Thompson|work=Dallas Observer|date=June 17, 2004|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725003147/https://www.dallasobserver.com/film/burning-japanese-6385294}}</ref> [[Peter Bradshaw]] from ''[[The Guardian]]'' awarded the film four stars out of five, praising the storytelling as "muscular" and the "passion" behind its nuclear themes, that the films fervor transcends it past retrospective and contemporary blockbusters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2005/oct/14/6|title=Godzilla|first=Peter|last=Bradshaw|work=The Guardian|date=October 13, 2005|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725011655/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2005/oct/14/6}}</ref> David Nusair from Reel Film Reviews awarded the film one-and-a-half stars out of four. He found the narrative to be "dull", and criticized Honda for failing to write compelling characters and to withhold the viewers attention for the entire experience.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reelfilm.com/mini139.htm|title=Godzilla|first=David|last=Nusair|work=Reel Film Reviews|date=January 9, 2014|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=May 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506190906/https://reelfilm.com/mini139.htm}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] from the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, feeling that the original Japanese version is no different from the poor quality of the 1956 American version. Ebert criticized the effects for looking "crude" and found the effects of 1933's ''King Kong'' to be more convincing.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/godzilla-2004|title=Godzilla|publisher=Rogerebert.com|date=July 2, 2004|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725005018/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/godzilla-2004}}</ref>

Keith Uhlich from ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' awarded the film four stars out of five, praising the film's characters, themes, and Godzilla itself as relevant metaphor for the atomic age.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/us/film/godzilla|title=Godzilla|first=Keith|last=Uhlich|work=Time Out|date=April 15, 2014|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725011115/https://www.timeout.com/us/film/godzilla}}</ref> [[Desson Thomson]] from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' called the film's effects "pretty extraordinary" and "amazingly credible" for their time, but felt the acting seemed melodramatic at times.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22729-2004May12.html|title='Godzilla,' Uncut and Unmatched|first=Desson|last=Thomson|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 14, 2004|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215121731/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22729-2004May12.html}}</ref> [[Mick LaSalle]] from the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' called the film a "classic," stating that the film transcends its own metaphors with its relevant social commentary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/FILM-CLIPS-Also-opening-today-2782430.php#godzilla|title=Godzilla|first=Mick|last=LaSalle|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 7, 2004|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725014122/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/FILM-CLIPS-Also-opening-today-2782430.php}}</ref>

===Accolades===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Date of Ceremony
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="sortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|[[International Film Music Critics Association]]
| February 25, 2017
| [[International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best New Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording|Best Re-Release or Re-Recording of an Existing Score]]
| [[Akira Ifukube]], [[Kaoru Wada]], and Masaru Hayakawa
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/2016-ifmca-awards/ |title=2016 IFMCA Awards |author=[[International Film Music Critics Association|IFMCA]] |date= 2017 | website= IFMCA |access-date= May 2, 2020}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|{{Ill|Japan Film Technological Awards|ja|映像技術賞}}
|1954
| Special Skill
|Eiji Tsuburaya
| rowspan=3 {{won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web |title=日本映画技術賞 受賞一覧 |trans-title=List of Japanese Film Technological Awards Winners|url=http://mpte.jp/outline/kennsyou/technological_prize.html |access-date=September 4, 2024 |publisher={{Ill|Motion Picture and Television Engineering Society of Japan|ja|日本映画テレビ技術協会}} |language=ja }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=3 style="text-align:center;"|[[Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards]]
| March 24, 2007
| Best Classic DVD
| ''Godzilla''
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/03/13/gojira-wins/|title=Gojira Wins|work=SciFi Japan|date=March 13, 2007|access-date=April 10, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126091826/https://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2007/03/13/gojira-wins/}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=2|April 13, 2013
| Best Commentary
| David Kalat
| rowspan=2|<ref>{{cite web|last=Colton|first=David|publisher=CHFB News|url=https://www.rondoaward.com/rondo/rondos.html|title='Cabin in the Woods,' 'Walking Dead' and restored Universal Monster Classics take top Rondo Award honors|work=[[Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards|Rondo Award]]|date=April 13, 2012|access-date=December 30, 2023|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129121448/https://rondoaward.com/rondo/rondos.html}}</ref>
|-
| Best Classic DVD
| ''Godzilla'' (Criterion Blu-Ray)
| {{nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;"|[[Saturn Awards]]
| [[33rd Saturn Awards|May 10, 2007]]
| [[Saturn Award for Best Classic Film DVD Release|Best Classic Film DVD Release]]
| ''Godzilla''
| {{won}}
|<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/awards/superman-tops-saturns-1117964717/ |title='Superman' tops Saturns |author=Variety Staff |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=May 11, 2007 |access-date=December 30, 2023}}</ref>
|-
| [[34th Saturn Awards|June 24, 2008]]
| [[Saturn Award for Best DVD or Blu-ray Collection|Best DVD Collection]]
| "The Godzilla Collection"
| {{nom}}
|<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saturnawards.org/ |title="Enchanted" and "Lost" are the big winners at the 34th Annual Saturn Awards |work=Saturnawards.org |access-date=December 30, 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626144753/http://www.saturnawards.org/ |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref>
|-
|}

==Legacy==
{{main |Godzilla in popular culture|Godzilla (franchise)}}
Since its release, ''Godzilla'' has been regarded as one of the best giant monster films ever made, and critic Allen Perkins called the film "not just a classic monster movie, but also an important cinematic achievement."<ref name="Perkins">{{cite web|last=Perkins|first=Allen|date=November 18, 2011|title=Review: The Criterion Collection's Godzilla|url=https://www.scifijapan.com/dvd-blu-ray-digital/review-the-criterion-collections-godzilla|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725015205/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2012/02/13/review-the-criterion-collections-godzilla/|archive-date=July 25, 2020|access-date=July 24, 2020|publisher=SciFi Japan}}</ref> The film has appeared in several contemporary media outlets's lists ranking the best (science fiction, monster, or foreign) films ever made.{{efn|Attributed to multiple sources.<ref>{{cite web|title = The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema| url =https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/|first=Willow|last= Green|date=June 11, 2010|access-date=December 25, 2020| work = Empire|url-status=live|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225154137/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100-greatest-world-cinema-films/}}</ref><ref name="Rolling Stone Best">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/best-monster-movies-of-all-time-91534/|title=Best Monster Movies of All Time|first1=Alexis|last1=Murphy|first2=Julian|last2=Ring|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725021652/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/best-monster-movies-of-all-time-91534/}}</ref><ref name="Variety Best">{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |url=https://variety.com/gallery/10-best-monster-movies-of-all-time/ |title=10 Best Monster Movies of All-Time |first=Maane | last=Khatchatourian |access-date=August 6, 2015 |date=June 12, 2015|url-status=live|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225153551/https://variety.com/gallery/10-best-monster-movies-of-all-time/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/the-100-best-science-fiction-films-of-all-time/6/ |title=The 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time |website=[[Slant Magazine]] |date=August 9, 2019|access-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102233755/https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/the-100-best-science-fiction-films-of-all-time/6/ |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Time Out Best">{{cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-50-best-monster-movies|title=The 50 best monster movies|work=Time Out|date=October 8, 2019|access-date=July 24, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725021445/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/the-50-best-monster-movies}}</ref>}} In 2017, the [[Visual Effects Society]] added the 1954 film amongst their list of seventy most influential films in visual effects of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pedersen |first=Erik |date=2017-09-12 |title=Visual Effects Society Lists 70 Most Influential VFX Films: Sci-Fi Rules, Superheroes Lag |url=https://deadline.com/2017/09/most-influential-visual-effects-movies-all-time-visual-effects-society-star-wars-steven-spielberg-1202167849/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Deadline |language=en-US|url-status=live|archive-date=November 9, 2024|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/jEElq}}</ref>

The film spawned a multimedia franchise consisting of 38 films in total,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Urquhart |first=Jeremy |date=May 3, 2023 |title=All 36 Godzilla Movies, Ranked From Worst to Best |url=https://collider.com/godzilla-movies-ranked/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]] |language=en}}</ref> video games, books, comics, toys, and other media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popoptiq.com/60-years-of-godzilla-a-history-and-critique-of-the-greatest-monster-movie-series-in-cinema/|title=60 Years Of Godzilla: A History And Critique Of The Greatest Monster Movie Series In Cinema|last=Molinaro|first=Max|work=PopOptiq|date=November 5, 2014|access-date=May 4, 2018|archive-date=May 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505204755/https://www.popoptiq.com/60-years-of-godzilla-a-history-and-critique-of-the-greatest-monster-movie-series-in-cinema/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Godzilla'' franchise has been recognized by ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as being the longest-running film franchise in history.<ref name="G2">{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/9/jennifer-lawrence-game-of-thrones-frozen-among-new-entertainment-record-holders-in-guinness-world-records-2015-book-60021/|title=Jennifer Lawrence, Game of Thrones, Frozen among new entertainment record holders in Guinness World Records 2015 book|work=Guinness World Records|date=September 3, 2014|access-date=February 26, 2016|archive-date=December 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206035254/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2014/9/jennifer-lawrence-game-of-thrones-frozen-among-new-entertainment-record-holders-in-guinness-world-records-2015-book-60021/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since his debut, Godzilla became an international pop culture icon, inspiring countless rip-offs, imitations, parodies and tributes.<ref name="pop1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/05/21/godzilla|title=Godzilla: Monster, Metaphor, Pop Icon|last=Ingoglia|first=Jesse|work=The New York Public Library|date=May 21, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801020507/https://www.nypl.org/blog/2014/05/21/godzilla}}</ref><ref name="pop2">{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/why-godzilla-remains-pop-cultures-694885|title=Why Godzilla Remains Pop Culture's Immortal Monster (Opinion)|last=Patches|first=Matt|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=April 11, 2014|access-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=December 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225160351/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/why-godzilla-remains-pop-cultures-694885}}</ref><ref name="pop3">{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/9pyzyk-2496031297.html|title=Hey Godzilla, Why Are You Such a Giant Cultural Symbol?|last=Pyzyk|first=Mark|work=PopMatters|date=May 6, 2004|access-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128165245/https://www.popmatters.com/godzilla-2496031297.html}}</ref> The 1954 film and its special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya have been largely credited for establishing the template for ''[[tokusatsu]]'', a technique of practical special effects filmmaking that would become essential in Japan's film industry after the release of ''Godzilla''. Critic and scholar Ryusuke Hikawa said: "[[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] created the template for American animation. In the same way, (special-effects studio) Tsuburaya created the template for the Japanese movie business. It was their use of cheap but craftsman-like approaches to movie-making that made tokusatsu unique."<ref name="toku">{{cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/06/12/general/preserving-a-classic-japanese-art-form-tokusatsu-magic/#.Wm0hhraZMk8|title=Preserving a classic Japanese art form: tokusatsu magic|last=Kelts|first=Roland|work=The Japan Times|date=June 12, 2013|access-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922014116/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/06/12/general/preserving-a-classic-japanese-art-form-tokusatsu-magic/}}</ref> Tsuburaya would later reuse footage of [[Godzilla]] from the film for the first episode of ''[[Kaiju Booska]]'' (1966–1967).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andō |first=Mikio |title=円谷プロ画報 |publisher=[[Takeshobo]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-4812494912 |pages=17 |language=ja |trans-title=Tsuburaya Pro Pictorial}}</ref>

[[Steven Spielberg]] cited ''Godzilla'' as an inspiration for ''[[Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park]]'' (1993), specifically the 1956 American localization ''[[Godzilla, King of the Monsters!]]'', which he grew up watching.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=15}} Jason Notte of ''[[HuffPost]]'' credited ''Godzilla, King of the Monsters!'' for heralding foreign films to a wider Western audience, declaring it "the most important foreign film in American history."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-igodzillai-helped-isl_b_169015|title=How Godzilla Helped Slumdog Sweep the Oscars|first=Jason|last=Notte|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=March 26, 2009|access-date=August 4, 2023|url-status=live|archive-date=August 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804161431/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-igodzillai-helped-isl_b_169015}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2017|p=xiii}}

===American films===
{{Main|Godzilla (1998 film)|Godzilla (2014 film)}}
In 1998, [[TriStar Pictures]] released a reboot, titled ''Godzilla'', directed by [[Roland Emmerich]].<ref name="Godzilla History">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/godzilla-history-1201172512/|title=60 Years of Godzilla: Highlights From Monster's 29-Film Career|last=Saperstein|first=Pat|work=Variety|date=May 6, 2014|access-date=February 26, 2018|url-status=live|archive-date=June 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621102258/https://variety.com/2014/film/news/godzilla-history-1201172512/}}</ref> Emmerich wanted his ''Godzilla'' to have nothing to do with Toho's ''Godzilla'' but chose to retain key elements from the 1954 film, stating, "We took part of [the original movie's] basic storyline, in that the creature becomes created by radiation and it becomes a big challenge. But that's all we took."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2015/05/31/godzilla-unmade-the-history-of-jan-de-bonts-unproduced-tristar-film-part-4-of-4/|title=Godzilla Unmade: The History of Jan De Bont's Unproduced TriStar Film – Part 4 of 4|last=Aiken|first=Keith|work=SciFi Japan|date=May 31, 2015|access-date=March 8, 2016|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140106/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2015/05/31/godzilla-unmade-the-history-of-jan-de-bonts-unproduced-tristar-film-part-4-of-4/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, Warner Bros. and [[Legendary Pictures]] released a reboot, also titled ''Godzilla'', directed by [[Gareth Edwards (filmmaker)|Gareth Edwards]].<ref name="Godzilla History"/> Edwards stated that his film was inspired by the 1954 film,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/godzilla-director-the-film-takes-itself-very-seriously-1201130007/|title='Godzilla' Director: The Film Takes Itself Very Seriously|last=Cheney|first=Alexandra|work=Variety|date=March 12, 2014|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143830/https://variety.com/2014/film/news/godzilla-director-the-film-takes-itself-very-seriously-1201130007/|url-status=live}}</ref> and attempted to retain some of its themes, stating, "Godzilla is a metaphor for Hiroshima in the original movie. We tried to keep that, and there are a lot of themes from the '54 movie that we've kept."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://io9.com/godzilla-director-gareth-edwards-explains-the-symbolism-902734240|title=Godzilla director Gareth Edwards explains the symbolism of kaiju|last=Newitz|first=Annalee|work=io9|date=July 25, 2013|access-date=June 9, 2018|archive-date=November 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117024859/http://io9.com/godzilla-director-gareth-edwards-explains-the-symbolism-902734240|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of cult films]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |author-link=Stuart Galbraith IV|title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography|year=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9781461673743 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Godziszewski|first=Ed|url=https://archive.org/details/JapaneseFantasyFilmJournal141982Jodyanimator/Japanese%20Fantasy%20Film%20Journal%2013%20%281981%29%20jodyanimator/|title=Making of Godzilla・Japan's Master of Monsters|journal=The Japanese Fantasy Film Journal|year=1981|issue=13|publisher=Greg Shoemaker}}
*{{cite magazine|last=Ishida|first=Hajime|title=Memories of Ishiro Honda: Twenty Years After the Passing of Godzilla's Famed Director|magazine=[[Famous Monsters of Filmland]]|year=2013|publisher=Movieland Classics|issue=269|asin=B00VIZSD6E}}
*{{cite book |last=Kalat|first=David|year=2010|title=A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series|edition=Second|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=9780786447497}}
*{{cite AV media|first=David|last=Kalat|title=Godzilla Audio Commentary|type=Blu-ray/DVD|publisher=[[The Criterion Collection]]|year=2012}}
*{{cite book |last = Kapur |first = Nick |year = 2018 |title = Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo |publisher = Harvard University Press |location = Cambridge, MA |isbn = 978-0674984424 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Re5hDwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book |last1=Kayama |first1=Shigeru |title=[[Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again]] |date=2023 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-1-5179-1523-0 |page=200}}
*{{cite book |last1=Lees |first1=J.D. |last2=Cerasini |first2=Marc |title=The Official Godzilla Compendium |url=https://archive.org/details/officialgodzilla00lees |url-access=registration |publisher=Random House |year=1998 |isbn=0-679-88822-5 }}
*{{cite book|last1=Motoyama|first1=Sho|last2=Matsunomoto|first2=Kazuhiro|last3=Asai|first3=Kazuyasu|last4=Suzuki|first4=Nobutaka|last5=Kato|first5=Masashi|title=Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works|publisher=villagebooks|year=2012|isbn=978-4864910132|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|last=Nollen|first=Scott Allen|author-link=Scott Allen Nollen|title=Takashi Shimura: Chameleon of Japanese Cinema|date=March 14, 2019|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-1-4766-3569-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Ragone |first=August |year=2007 |title=Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters|publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=978-0-8118-6078-9 }}
*{{cite book |last=Ryfle |first=Steve |year=1998 |title=Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G |url=https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl |url-access=registration |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=1550223488}}
*{{cite AV media|first1=Steve|last1=Ryfle|first2=Ed|last2=Godziszewski|title=Gojira Audio Commentary|type=DVD|publisher=Classic Media|year=2006}}
*{{cite book |last1=Ryfle|first1=Steve|last2=Godziszewski|first2=Ed|url=https://archive.org/details/ishiro-honda-a-life-in-film-from-godzilla-to-kurosawa|title=Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|year=2017|isbn=9780819570871}}
*{{cite book|last=Tanaka|first=Tomoyuki|author-link=Tomoyuki Tanaka|title=The Complete History of Toho Special Effects Movies|publisher=[[Toho|Toho Publishing]]|year=1983|isbn=4-924609-00-5|language=Japanese}}
*{{cite book|title=Movie Hidden Treasure Separate Volume: The First Godzilla Research Reader|publisher=Yosensha|date=24 July 2014|isbn=9784800304520|language=Japanese|ref={{harvid|Yosensha|2014}}}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|display=''Godzilla''|d=y|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|q=y|wikt=no|s=no|species=no|c=Category:Godzilla (1954 film)}}
*{{Official website}} {{in lang|ja}}
*[https://godzilla.com/filmography/godzilla1954/ ''Godzilla''] at Toho's official ''Godzilla'' website
*{{IMDb title}}
*{{TCMDb title}}
*{{Jmdb title|1954|cd003260}}
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2127-godzilla-poetry-after-the-a-bomb ''Godzilla: Poetry After the A-Bomb''] an essay by [[J. Hoberman]] at the [[Criterion Collection]]

{{Ishirō Honda}}
{{Godzilla}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Japan|Speculative fiction}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godzilla (1954 film)}}

[[Category:1954 films]]
[[Category:Kaiju films]]
[[Category:Giant monster films]]
[[Category:1954 horror films]]
[[Category:1950s Japanese films]]
[[Category:1950s monster movies]]
[[Category:1950s political films]]
[[Category:1950s science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:1950s Japanese-language films]]
[[Category:Japanese epic films]]
[[Category:Japanese disaster films]]
[[Category:Japanese black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Japanese horror films]]
[[Category:Japanese political films]]
[[Category:Japanese science fiction films]]
[[Category:Japanese science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:Apocalyptic films]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear films]]<!--Per https://www.sakigake.jp/news/article/20240223AK0009/-->
[[Category:Anti-war films]]<!--Per https://www.sakigake.jp/news/article/20240223AK0009/-->
[[Category:Films about nuclear war and weapons]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ishirō Honda]]
[[Category:Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka]]
[[Category:Films scored by Akira Ifukube]]
[[Category:Films set in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Films set on fictional islands]]
[[Category:Films shot in Japan]]
[[Category:Films shot in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Films using stop-motion animation]]<!--Scene of Godzilla's tail destroying the Nichigeki Theater building-->
[[Category:Godzilla films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]
[[Category:Toho films]]