Godzilla: The Japanese Original

Friday, April 25 - Saturday, May 31, 2014

DCP projection

“Rejoice, guy-in-rubber-suit fans! Sixty years after first trampling his way into the collective consciousness (and with a blockbuster reboot on the horizon), the primordial behemoth known as Godzilla returns… in a new DCP restoration. If you know only the Americanized version—dubbed into English and featuring Raymond Burr in awkwardly incorporated footage—this is your chance to see director Ishiro Honda’s pointedly allegorical Japanese original.

“Starting with a scene that directly parallels a then-current incident (the Daigo Fukuryu Maru disaster, in which a fishing boat’s crew was affected by a nuclear blast), this GODZILLA is prepared to confront the real-life traumas of a devastated country still reeling from the endgame of WWII… More so than in the jokey sequels, this film’s Godzilla comes off as a potent and provocative metaphor, a lumbering embodiment of atomic-age anxieties birthed from mankind’s own desire to destroy. (The creature’s handmade qualities strangely work to the advantage of the film’s themes.) Honda’s satire is cutting, with several characters resigned to living with the threat of constant cataclysm. And the way the filmmaker shoots his central Tokyo-destroying set piece—with fleeing extras, sky-high flames and wanton destruction—calls up plenty of uncomfortable associations, even as it feels like a nation exorcising its demons. GODZILLA is Pop Art as purge.” – Time Out New York

Godzilla®, Gojira and the character design are trademarks of Toho Co., Ltd. © 1954 Toho Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved

  • Country Japan
  • Language In Japanese with newly translated English subtitles
  • Rating NR
  • Year 1954
  • Running Time 96 minutes
  • Director Ishiro Honda

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.