Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Short description
The film follows Steve Martin, an American foreign correspondent who stops in Tokyo and becomes a witness to a series of shipping disasters and the destruction of a village on Odo Island. The cause is a giant prehistoric creature the Japanese call Godzilla, which conventional weapons cannot stop. As the monster reaches the coast and attacks Tokyo, the scientist Dr. Serizawa holds a secret device whose destructive power may exceed that of the creature itself, leaving Japan and the world to weigh which threat is worse.
This is the American version of the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla, re-edited for English-speaking audiences with new footage built around Raymond Burr as the reporter Martin. The Japanese material was directed by Ishirō Honda, working here with Terry O. Morse, the third of the 25 films Honda directed in chronological order, after Godzilla and before Rodan. The international cast includes Takashi Shimura as Dr. Yamane, Momoko Kôchi as his daughter Emiko, Akira Takarada as Ogata and Akihiko Hirata as Dr. Serizawa. Ishirō Honda, Takeo Murata and Al C. Ward share the screenplay credit, and Tomoyuki Tanaka, Richard Kay and Harry Rybnick produced.
Released in 1956, the film runs 81 minutes and was made by TOHO in Japan with Embassy Pictures and Jewell Enterprises in the United States. It took in about 2 million dollars worldwide. Rated 6.3 out of 10 on IMDb from around 9,500 votes and 6.5 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 290 votes, it draws moderate audience scores for a 1950s science-fiction and horror title.
What's left behind the scenes
- Godzilla's roar was created by moving a hand in a rubber glove along the strings of a double bass. This sound was recorded and then significantly slowed down.
- In the American version, Godzilla’s height was increased from almost 70 meters to 180 meters. This was done due to the difference in building height between Japan (where buildings were kept low due to the risk of collapse during earthquakes) and skyscrapers in the USA. The filmmakers believed that Godzilla of the original size would not look as impressive among the towering buildings of New York, which is often compared to Tokyo.
- The Japanese film “Godzilla” (1954), re-edited in 1956 for American distribution.
- All scenes with Raymond Burr (1917-1993) were added after the Japanese version of “Godzilla” (1954) directed by Ishiro Honda (1911-1993) was completed and shown to audiences. They were filmed at a Hollywood studio in six days.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
