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Godzilla (1954 film)

Godzilla
Gojira 1954 Japanese poster.jpg
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenplay by Takeo Murata
Ishirō Honda
Story by Shigeru Kayama
Starring Akira Takarada
Momoko Kōchi
Akihiko Hirata
Takashi Shimura
Music by Akira Ifukube
Cinematography Masao Tamai
Edited by Kazuji Taira
Production
company
Distributed by Toho
Release date
  • November 3, 1954 (1954-11-03)
Running time
96 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Budget ¥62 million ($175,000)
Box office ¥152 million

Godzilla (ゴジラ Gojira?) is a 1954 Japanese science fiction tokusatsu kaiju film featuring Godzilla, produced and distributed by Toho. It is the first film in the Godzilla franchise and the first film in the Showa series. The film is directed by Ishirō Honda, with a screenplay by Honda, Takeo Murata, and Shigeru Kayama and stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as the performers for Godzilla. Nakajima would go on to portray the character until his retirement in 1972.

In 1956, TransWorld Releasing Corporation and Embassy Pictures released Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, a heavily re-edited "Americanized" version of the original film with additional footage featuring Raymond Burr. In 2004, Rialto Pictures gave the 1954 film a limited theatrical release in the United States to coincide with the franchise's 50th anniversary.

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 large is going crazy down there" ruining the fishing. That evening, a ritual dance to appease Godzilla is held during which the reporter learns that the locals used to sacrifice young girls. That night, a large storm strikes the island, destroying the reporters' helicopter, and an unseen force destroys 17 homes, kills nine people and 20 of the villagers' livestock.


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