Considering how iconic Godzilla has become over the past seven decades, first-time viewers of the Japanese Godzilla<\/em> may be surprised by how much it plays like a mystery early on. (This is in contrast with the King of the Monsters <\/em>cut prepared for US release in 1956, which begins in the aftermath of Godzilla\u2019s attack on Tokyo, as Raymond Burr\u2019s foreign correspondent narrates the story in flashback.) In both versions, the behemoth\u2019s thundering footsteps and signature roar are the only sounds heard over the opening titles, and in the Japanese version, they\u2019re the only evidence of its existence until giant footprints start appearing on Odo Island, where a few old-timers have passed down the legend of Godzilla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As it happens, Odo Island is near the shipping lanes where a number of commercial vessels have gone down. The mystery of the capsized boats and their missing crews only takes up 20 minutes of screen time, but it is given extra weight by the casting of Takashi Shimura (erstwhile leader of Akira Kurosawa\u2019s Seven Samurai<\/em>, Toho\u2019s second-most-expensive production of the year) as a paleontologist on the scene. It is during his investigation that Godzilla finally rears its head, causing Shimura\u2019s team and the locals to flee in terror. In many ways, the shot of Godzilla peeking its head over the hill is the make-or-break moment. If it had provoked peals of laughter, the film would have been dead in the water and not led to a franchise 30 titles deep. Rather, it inspired awe and wonder, as did the destruction visited upon Tsuburaya\u2019s highly detailed models, which set a high bar for all the rubber-suited monsters that followed in Godzilla<\/em>\u2019s wake \u2013 at home and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe that Godzilla was the last of its species. If nuclear testing continues, then someday, somewhere in the world, another Godzilla may appear.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In light of the campy, kid-friendly turn the series took in the \u201960s and \u201970s, it\u2019s notable how serious the tone of the first Godzilla<\/em> is. With its offhand references to the atomic bombs dropped on Japan and a mother assuring her children that they\u2019ll \u201cbe where Daddy is soon,\u201d Godzilla<\/em> pulls no punches (although King of the Monsters<\/em> softened some of the blows). Starting with 1962\u2019s King Kong vs. Godzilla<\/em>, the monster\u2019s look and characterization were changed to be more anthropomorphic (witness its victory dance in 1965\u2019s Invasion of Astro-Monster<\/em>) and even heroic. When audiences started to dwindle, though, director Ishiro Honda was brought back to helm the last film of the Showa era, 1975\u2019s Terror of Mechagodzilla<\/em>, one of many times Toho attempted to lay the giant beast to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New blood was tapped for 1984\u2019s Return of Godzilla<\/em>, a mostly successful attempt to mirror the original\u2019s depiction of Godzilla as a force of nature. As it progressed, the Heisei era Return<\/em> inaugurated went off in its own direction, but it did return composer Akira Ifukube to the fold before his retirement. Then came the Millennium era, which ran from 1999 to 2004, when Godzilla: Final Wars<\/em> brought the franchise to yet another close. (Two of the Millennium films also pointedly throw shade at the misbegotten American Godzilla<\/em> from 1998, which is highly satisfying to those of us who had the misfortune to see it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what era they hail from, the best Godzilla films are the ones that contrast the kaiju action with the plight of the civilian populations caught up in it. This facet was given a satirical edge by screenwriter Hideaki Anno when Toho answered Legendary\u2019s 2014 remake (the start of its own ongoing franchise) with 2016\u2019s Shin Godzilla<\/em>, the first of two films (so far) in the Reiwa era. Thanks to Minus One<\/em>\u2019s critical and popular success, it\u2019s doubtful we\u2019ve heard Godzilla\u2019s last roar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGodzilla\u201d is streaming on the <\/em>Criterion Channel<\/em><\/a> with a bevy of supplements, and a number of <\/em>other places<\/em><\/a> without them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/godzilla2-1024x724.jpg\")
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