Godzilla
Movie, 1954, Showa era, Set in Tokyo, 1954
Godzilla is #1 of 35 in release order and #1 of 35 in chronological order in the Godzilla.
The story
Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.
Godzilla recap
Ships vanish in flashes of light off Odo Island, and the islanders blame Godzilla, a creature from their legends. A storm night brings something huge ashore, and an expedition led by the palaeontologist Dr. Kyohei Yamane finds giant radioactive footprints and a trilobite, then sees Godzilla rise over a hill. Yamane concludes it is a prehistoric animal disturbed and irradiated by hydrogen bomb tests. Godzilla wades into Tokyo Bay, and later returns at night, breathing atomic fire and levelling the city while the army's electric fences fail. Yamane's daughter Emiko is engaged by arrangement to the reclusive scientist Daisuke Serizawa but loves the salvage officer Hideto Ogata. Serizawa shows her a weapon he has invented, the Oxygen Destroyer, which dissolves living things in water, and swears her to secrecy. After seeing the injured and dying in the city, Emiko tells Ogata, and they beg Serizawa to use it.
Godzilla ending explained
Serizawa agrees after watching a broadcast of schoolgirls singing a prayer for peace, then burns his notes so the weapon can never be rebuilt. He and Ogata dive into Tokyo Bay, and Serizawa sets off the device beside Godzilla, then cuts his own air line so his knowledge dies with him. Godzilla dissolves to a skeleton. Yamane warns that if nuclear testing continues, another Godzilla may appear, and the next film proves him right.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Godzilla
Godzilla is streaming on TCM and HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Fandango At Home.
Ratings
IMDb 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 94%
Where it fits
- Release order: first, before Godzilla Raids Again.
- Chronological order: first, before Godzilla Raids Again.
What to watch before Godzilla
Nothing. Godzilla is the first of the Godzilla essentials, so it's the place to start.
Cast
- Akira Takarada as Hideto Ogata
- Momoko Kôchi as Emiko Yamane
- Akihiko Hirata as Daisuke Serizawa
- Takashi Shimura as Kyohei Yamane
- Fuyuki Murakami as Professor Tanabe
- Sachio Sakai as Hagiwara
- Toranosuke Ogawa as President of Southern Seas Salvage
- Ren Yamamoto as Masaji Yamada
- Hiroshi Hayashi as Chairman of Diet Committee
- Seijirô Onda as Parliamentarian Oyama
- Takeo Oikawa as Chief of Emergency Headquarters
- Keiji Sakakida as Mayor Inada
Directed by Ishirō Honda.