Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

For the discussion of Toho produced and distributed films or shows released before 1980.
JessIAm
Samurai
Posts: 71
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2021 6:29 am

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by JessIAm »

Just saw this for the first time today. Amazing film. Riveting, even with the black and white and older production techniques.

I think this was a very cathartic film for Japan, since it was the first over discussion of atomic bombs.

Lots to notice in this film, and I'm still processing it.

User avatar
LegendZilla
Sazer
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:57 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by LegendZilla »

Regarding Godzilla's breath in the movie, did they intend it to be a super-heated mist rather than a concentrated beam of nuclear energy? Or was that just due to budget limitations? Also, Is it possible that he could've been using his nuclear pulse ability at the start of the film to wreck those boats?
Last edited by LegendZilla on Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Voyager
Keizer
Posts: 7831
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:34 pm
Location: On a boat

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by Voyager »

LegendZilla wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:58 pm Regarding Godzilla's breath in the movie, did they intend it to be a super-heated mist rather than a concentrated beam of nuclear energy? Or was that just due to budget limitations? Also, Is it possible that he could've been using his nuclear pulse ability at the start of the film to wreck those boats?
1. It’s meant to be like a superheated radioactive vapour.
2. No, that was the atomic breath. The Pulse wasn’t conceived until 1989.
Image
For Emperor and Empire!

User avatar
eabaker
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 13758
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:16 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by eabaker »

Voyager wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:47 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:58 pm Regarding Godzilla's breath in the movie, did they intend it to be a super-heated mist rather than a concentrated beam of nuclear energy? Or was that just due to budget limitations? Also, Is it possible that he could've been using his nuclear pulse ability at the start of the film to wreck those boats?
1. It’s meant to be like a superheated radioactive vapour.
Heck, it's still basically depicted as a vapor up through GtTHM or thereabouts.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

User avatar
LegendZilla
Sazer
Posts: 10355
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2013 3:57 am
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by LegendZilla »

eabaker wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:21 pm
Voyager wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:47 pm
LegendZilla wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:58 pm Regarding Godzilla's breath in the movie, did they intend it to be a super-heated mist rather than a concentrated beam of nuclear energy? Or was that just due to budget limitations? Also, Is it possible that he could've been using his nuclear pulse ability at the start of the film to wreck those boats?
1. It’s meant to be like a superheated radioactive vapour.
Heck, it's still basically depicted as a vapor up through GtTHM or thereabouts.
Yeah, but my question is if they resorted to that due to budget limitations.

User avatar
eabaker
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 13758
Joined: Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:16 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by eabaker »

LegendZilla wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:32 pm
eabaker wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:21 pm
Voyager wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:47 pm

1. It’s meant to be like a superheated radioactive vapour.
Heck, it's still basically depicted as a vapor up through GtTHM or thereabouts.
Yeah, but my question is if they resorted to that due to budget limitations.
If anything, I think its becoming a "ray" as time went on is a result of the limited capability of optical technology of the time to sell the idea of a vapor through animation.
Tokyo, a smoldering memorial to the unknown, an unknown which at this very moment still prevails and could at any time lash out with its terrible destruction anywhere else in the world.

User avatar
szmigiel
G-Force Personnel
Posts: 697
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2014 9:54 am
Location: Detroit
Contact:

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by szmigiel »

LegendZilla wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 11:32 pmYeah, but my question is if they resorted to that due to budget limitations.
I don't think I would classify that as budget limitations, but more due to the fact they were pretty much developing the effect techniques as they did the movie. It was probably more a combination of equipment they had for optical effects and limited time more than budget.

User avatar
LSD Jellyfish
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 14254
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:57 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by LSD Jellyfish »

I never really thought about the boat attack in the beginning. It’s the only time we see something like that in the series really. Based on the flash and the way it plays out, it’s obvious it’s nuclear energy coming from Godzilla, either the vapor beam or just excess energy, but it could also be a swamp of radioactive energy from the blast that created Godzilla. One thing that’s actually not clear is the timeline from Godzilla’s birth to when he starts rampaging.

It’s a really strong opening that I don’t think gets enough discussion. The way that everything is relatively chill with the sailors relaxing and BOOM a flash and a horrific disaster. The monster is kept a secret, but we instantly know this is no ordinary monster flick.

Might it also be one of the earliest cold openings for a horror film too? Even King Kong didn’t open with anything to do with the island or monsters. I was thinking of THEM, but that opens with a mystery, and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, but that opens with the nuclear test, and while the monster is freed it doesn’t instantly go on a rampage.
Spirit Ghidorah 2010 wrote: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:54 pm Anno-san pleasures me more than Yamasaki-san.

edgaguirus
Keizer
Posts: 8563
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:25 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by edgaguirus »

I believe that Beginning of the End opened with the grasshoppers attacking a couple in a car. Like Gojira, you don't see the monster, but the couple's reaction implies they see something terrible.

The boat attack is a strong opening, and maybe meant to mimic the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The sailors, as LSD said, are chill and then completely surprised by when the sea boils and explodes. Those living in the two cities were going about their usual lives, suspecting nothing, as the plane dropped the bomb and caused sudden devastation. It may not have been the intent, but it would be a logical parallel for a film that was meant to be a statement on nuclear weapons and war.
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.

User avatar
UltramanGoji
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 17719
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2010 11:40 am

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by UltramanGoji »

edgaguirus wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:02 pm The boat attack is a strong opening, and maybe meant to mimic the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It’s pretty blatantly referencing the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident.
Image

User avatar
Voyager
Keizer
Posts: 7831
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:34 pm
Location: On a boat

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by Voyager »

edgaguirus wrote: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:02 pm

The boat attack is a strong opening, and maybe meant to mimic the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It's a reference to the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident, which happened just earlier, in March 1954.
Last edited by Voyager on Thu Sep 23, 2021 6:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image
For Emperor and Empire!

User avatar
ShinGojira14
Xilien Halfling
Posts: 5340
Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2017 9:08 pm
Location: Under the Wild Montana Skies

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by ShinGojira14 »

An icon turns 67 years old.
"William Knifeman! AH! AH! AH!"

Resized ImageResized Image

edgaguirus
Keizer
Posts: 8563
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:25 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by edgaguirus »

Happy birthday. What gift do you think he'd like? A hearing aid or a cane?
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.

User avatar
Dv-218
Futurian
Posts: 3725
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:18 am

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by Dv-218 »

edgaguirus wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 12:48 pm Happy birthday. What gift do you think he'd like? A hearing aid or a cane?
I think some sort of lotion is long overdue for the old fella, his skin looks horrid these days- almost as if it was disintegrated away from the bones.

User avatar
tbeasley
EDF Instructor
Posts: 2033
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:28 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by tbeasley »

edgaguirus wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 12:48 pm Happy birthday. What gift do you think he'd like? A hearing aid or a cane?
Image

edgaguirus
Keizer
Posts: 8563
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:25 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by edgaguirus »

Very nice.
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.

User avatar
Voyager
Keizer
Posts: 7831
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:34 pm
Location: On a boat

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by Voyager »

For my 5400th post…

It should go without saying that this film (and Mothra vs Godzilla) by far have the best miniatures in the franchise, and possibly the art form itself.
Image
For Emperor and Empire!

User avatar
Gojira1604
JXSDF Technician
Posts: 1170
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:38 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by Gojira1604 »

Which subtitles for this movie are more accurate, the version on YouTube right now or the classic media version?

User avatar
shadowgigan
Futurian
Posts: 3090
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:11 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by shadowgigan »

Voyager wrote: Tue Apr 12, 2022 9:48 pm For my 5400th post…

It should go without saying that this film (and Mothra vs Godzilla) by far have the best miniatures in the franchise, and possibly the art form itself.
They really were incredible. The clocktower scene, the capital building, just iconic shots.

edgaguirus
Keizer
Posts: 8563
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:25 pm

Re: Talkback Thread #1: Godzilla (1954)

Post by edgaguirus »

Speaking of the clock tower scene, it makes me think of the Rhedosaurus. In The Fog Horn, the monster hears the fog horn and then topples the lighthouse. Godzilla hears the chime of the clock, and he tears the clock down. I'm sure it's a coincidence, but it just reminds me of it.
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him.

Post Reply