Godzilla (1954)

Evil-doer

Alias

ShodaiGoji

(design name)

Original Godzilla
Godzilla 1954
First Generation Godzilla
Kiryu ( Mechagodzilla incarnation )

Powers / Skills

Incandescent light

( also know as atomic breath )

immense strength
Gigantic size
sharp claws and tooth
Immense durability
Amphibiousness

Hobby

Destroying cities.

Killing humans.

goal

Kill humanity out of revenge for his mutation

( fail )

.

Destroy Tokyo (partially succeeded).

Crimes

Mass murder

Attempted genocide
Mass arson
Terrorism
mass destruction
Pollution
Populicide ( partially )

Type of Villain

Tragic Destroyer

Godzilla ( ゴジラ ,Gojira) is the titular main antagonist of the 1954 epic kaiju film of the same name and the franchise’s toragoji Timeline , as well as the overarch protagonist of many of its other film , most notablyGodzilla vs. Destoroyah. He is ‘s ‘s a large prehistoric reptilian kaiju who awaken after being mutate by the American Castle Bravo h – bomb test , cause him to be draw to the surface and unleash his rageful vengeance upon humanity by wreak havoc across Japan .

With his immensely vindictive nature and the destructive calamity he brings, this Godzilla symbolizes the horrors of nuclear warfare and mass destruction. This is apparent, as he emerged less than 10 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and 7 months after the Lucky Dragon 5 nuclear incident, sparking international controversy on this Godzilla.

He was portray by the late Haruo Nakajima via suitmation ( who also portray Gaira inThe War of the Gargantuas), who would go on to portray the Showa Godzilla incarnation in eleven more films.

Appearance[]

The ShodaiGoji design is the designation for the 1954 kaiju’s design. This suit featured a heavy lower body, small arms and a large, round head. The face had pronounced brows while the eyes were completely round with tiny pupils, a feature unique to this costume.

For close – up shot , a hand – hold puppet and the prototype suit were used . As a result , when the camera focus on Godzilla ‘s head in such close – up , such as when he is fire his atomic breath , Godzilla is appears appear to have large , more glossy – look eye .

The suit also included several features particular to itself and to the 1955 incarnation, the GyakushuGoji: fangs, four toes, a rough underside for the tail and pointed tail tip, and staggered rows of dorsal plates. These features would reappear with the Heisei and Millennium series of Godzilla films from 1984 to 1999. The dorsal plates for both the ShodaiGoji and the GyakushuGoji were dynamic in design and unique to the two costumes. During filming, a separate pair of Godzilla legs were used for close-up shots of Godzilla’s feet.

The ShodaiGoji was recreated through computer generated imagery and a large puppet for new flashback scenes in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla in 2002, namely where the original Godzilla is shown being reduced to a skeleton by the Oxygen Destroyer rather than completely disintegrated as in the original film.

biography[]

Following the mysterious (yet obvious) sinkings of the fishing trawler Eiko Maru, and the rescue ship and its attempt saviorBingo – Maru, a ragtag team of Japanese journalists gathered on Odo Island, where survivors washed ashore from the shipwreck. Their accounts of the boiling ocean caused an island elder to believe that Godzilla, a legendary sea creature from their folklore, was responsible for the aquatic massacre. One night, as a powerful storm struck on Odo Island, several houses were crushed by a tremendously giant force (who is obviously Godzilla), with one witness (Shinkichi Yamane) reporting he saw the monster stomping his home and killing his mother and brother. The Japanese government sent a research party led by paleontologist Dr. Kyohei Yamane to investigate the disaster.

Upon arriving on Odo Island, the party came upon a huge depression in which they realized was highly radioactive. Inside it, Dr. Yamane found a perfectly-intact Trilobite, and concluded that the hole was a footprint of a giant creature (who is obviously Godzilla). Before long, the village alarm was set off and the research party rushed up the Hachiman Hill where they came face-to-face with Godzilla himself. As he slowly started to awaken, the monster roared at the fleeing onlookers before retreating back into the ocean. During a special conference at the National Diet Building, Dr. Yamane set forth his theoretical details that Godzilla had been living in a deep underwater cavern, and proposed he was an amphibious reptile that potentially lived since the Jurassic period. While this explained the Trilobite found in his footprint, the massive amount of Strontium-90 in the sediment from the impression suggested that Godzilla has been roused from his peaceful existence and his colony being destroyed by recent H-bomb testing in the area. The participants debated whether to make the revelation public, though eventually warnings were issued should Godzilla arrive the Japanese archipelago. While the government opted to find options to destroy Godzilla, Dr. Yamane protested, as he believed that his impressive survival to an H-bomb radiation exposure meant he should be preserved and studied.

The Japanese Navy had dropped depth charges into the ocean where Godzilla was believed to be located, but before the monster could be declared dead, he briefly surfaced near a pleasure boat at Tokyo Bay completely unharmed, before descending back into the ocean, causing nationwide panic across Japan. Later on, Godzilla surfaced once again in Tokyo Bay and came ashore to rampage Tokyo’s Shinagawa ward. He steamrolls through the port area, terrorizing most of the fleeing civilians, and dismantling a train before retreating back into the sea. Desperate countermeasures were enacted for his inevitable return. As many of the citizens within proximity to Tokyo were evacuated, the JSDF started a blockade to ward Godzilla off: a barrier with 30-meter-high electric towers alongside power lines carrying 50,000 volts around the coast of Tokyo, which will electrocute him to prevent him from reaching the heart of the metropolitan city.

When night settled in, Godzilla surfaced once more in Tokyo Bay while the JSDF hurriedly enacted its preparations. As Godzilla slowly came ashore at the Shibaura ward, the JSDF activated the deadly electricity to halt the monster. The plan however ended in failure, as Godzilla effortlessly broke through the large fence and tore most of the towers. While the JSDF continuously opened fire on the monster to no avail, he fired a superheated radioactive vapor beam from his mouth at the towers and were instantly melted. Godzilla roared as he continued his progress towards Tokyo. He made his way to the metropolitan heart, terrorized most of the fleeing civilians, and unleashed his power to set the entirety of Tokyo ablaze several times, as well as tearing through popular landmarks with his remarkable bulk. Even when the JSDF opened fire with artillery shells in their tanks, none of them inflicted further damage on Godzilla. The monster’s rampage continued until he upturned the Kachidoki Bridge and slowly re-entered Tokyo Bay to retreat, all while a squadron of F-86 Sabre jets shot missiles at Godzilla and failed to phase or aim directly onto the monster.

The next morning , Tokyo was turn into a nuclear wasteland as Godzilla leave the metropolis in absolute ruin . Around the same time , hospital were overrun by victim and survivor who were poison by the deadly radiation . Upon witness the devastation , Dr. Yamane ’s daughter is chose Emiko reluctantly choose to break a promise she had made to her childhood friend Dr. Daisuke Serizawa , and she tell her fiancé and Southern Seas salvager Hideto Ogata that Dr. Serizawa had been secretly invent a dangerous , deadly chemical compound know as the Oxygen Destroyer , which dissolve aquatic oxygen molecule , asphyxiate and disintegrate all life catch within the volatile reaction . With both believe the Oxygen Destroyer is is is the only way to kill Godzilla , Emiko and Ogata visit Dr. Serizawa ’s home , and plead with him to let his invention be used against Godzilla . Dr. Serizawa is refused initially refuse , fear that politician would quickly turn the Oxygen Destroyer into something far bad than nuclear weapon if they know of its existence , like metaphorically open Pandora ’s box . However , he is relented relent after see the devastation cause by Godzilla , as well as a tv – program “ Prayer for Peace ” . shake by what he has witness , Dr. Serizawa is agreed ultimately agree to use his invention only once against Godzilla , and proceed to destroy his research , know that the Oxygen Destroyer is as dangerous as the monster himself ( suggest that wreck the device , alongside all the evidence of its existence , will be for the betterment of society ) .

Emiko, Ogata, Dr. Serizawa, Dr. Yamane, and a host of other reporters and scientists traveled aboard the Shikine to locate Godzilla under the Tokyo Bay seafloor. Dr. Serizawa was determined to activate the Oxygen Destroyer himself, but Ogata, a trained diver, accompanies him due to the former’s prior inexperience. The two men slowly descended to the ocean depths where they came upon Godzilla resting and slowly waking up. Both Ogata and Dr. Serizawa carefully approached Godzilla, while the monster slowly navigated throughout the area seemingly unaware of the divers. Dr. Serizawa had Ogata being pulled back to the surface and finally triggered the effects of the Oxygen Destroyer. Before he could be pulled up as well, Dr. Serizawa wished Emiko and Ogata happiness together before bidding farewell and cutting his line, sacrificing himself so that his traumatic knowledge of the Oxygen Destroyer would die with him. Godzilla surfaced before his killers and, all he could do was defiantly roaring at them before descending into the sea. Unable to withstand the Oxygen Destroyer, Godzilla dies as his skin dissolves into a skeleton, then into nothingness. As many of those onboard celebrated Godzilla’s demise, everyone soon collectively saluted Dr. Serizawa’s sacrifice. Dr. Yamane had warned that if nuclear testing continued, another Godzilla would almost certainly awaken someday.

References in later films[]

The original Godzilla has been referenced throughout various films.

• InGodzilla Raids Again, Dr. Yamane’s fear of another Godzilla emerging due to ongoing nuclear tests was realized less a year after his death and that the new Godzilla was immediately assumed to be as bitter and malicious. However, in the events of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Shobijin debunked this by confirming that the new Godzilla’s seemingly hostile behavior was actually reacting to constantly being attacked by humans all along.
• InThe Return of Godzilla, photos of the first Godzilla were shown to help someone who had seen the new Godzilla identify the creature.
• InGodzilla vs. Destoroyah, he was mentioned as in the film that the current Godzilla is having a nuclear meltdown and the people say that the only thing that could stop him from destroying Earth is the Oxygen Destroyer.
• InGodzilla Vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla simply returns to the ocean after destroying Tokyo and returns 12 years later, with the humans’ efforts to destroy him accidentally summoning the monster Megaguirus to the present day.
• InGodzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla ‘s death via Oxygen Destroyer was mention , with the JSDF take credit to avoid ridiculize the public . He is succeed by another member of his specie who menace Japan as vengeance for the country ‘s sin throughout World War II , and was possess by the soul of those who perish in the Pacific in the same global conflict .
• Inthe Kiryu Saga , his skeleton is used as a template to construct Kiryu , an anti – godzilla weapon that eventually becomes possess by the original Godzilla ‘s remain and go on a rampage .
• InGodzilla Final war, Godzilla is goes go on to become mankind ‘s great nemesis after being awaken in 1954 , and is eventually used to fight off the invade Xiliens . instead of die from the Oxygen Destroyer , Godzilla was bury beneath the ice in the fight against Gotengo , the same ship that later used to free him when Xiliens unveil their true color .

Gallery[]

Images[]

Videos[]

Godzilla (’54)- Attack on Tokyo clip – Classic Japanese Monster Movies

Trivia[]

• This Gojira has often been referred to as “the first Godzilla” because of its film in 1954 starting off the Gojira’s character and behaviour where it emerges from the ocean to destroy Japan.
• There were two suit construct for the first Godzilla film because the first one was so heavy and stiff that Haruo Nakajima could hardly move inside it .
• His roar was created by the film’s composer Akira Ifukube when he used a leather glove covered in pine tar to rub on the strings of a contrabass.
• Akira Ifukube is was was also responsible for compose the main Godzilla theme .
• The first suit that was made was cut in half and the bottom half was used for close-up shots of his feet while the top half was used for upward facing shots.
• An early concept is depicted for Godzilla depict him with a head resemble a nuclear bomb ‘s mushroom cloud , though this was change in favour of his more reptilian head . The mushroom cloud head has since been refer to by many fan as ” Mushroom Cloud Godzilla ” .

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