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Written by: Takeo Murata & Ishirô Honda (written by), Shigeru Kayama (story), Tomoyuki Tanaka, Eiji Tsuburaya (story "The Giant Monster from 20, 000 Leagues Under The Sea")
Directed by: Ishirô Honda
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada
Rated: NR [PG]
Watch the trailer
Plot
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable, dinosaur-like beast.
Verdict
It's the movie that started a franchise. While the aesthetic is dated, this movie has a strong theme. Godzilla represents the fear of the hydrogen bomb. To defeat the monster means creating a weapon of mass destruction. Successive movies were b-movie silliness, but this movie's plot is very strong.
It depends.
Review
What do you do with a beast that can't be defeated? Godzilla is ravaging the country and nothing can be done. Bomb testing the U.S. did wakes the beast, and now the country is facing peril. For context this movie released less than ten years after nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan by the U.S.
The effects in the movie are lacking. Godzilla is just a man in the suit, but for the time period I can't fault the movie. What this is doing as a response to Hiroshima and Nagasaki is powerful.
A scientist creates a weapon to not only defeat Godzilla, but kill him. The scientist's concerns are that he'll be forced to make more weapons of mass destruction. Many American scientists regretted creating the bomb, few of them had the foresight to halt production before the destruction possible was showcased.
This movie has a very strong plot, few movies give you as much to think about as this one does.
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