History Film / Gojira

* DownerEnding: [[sppiler:Godzilla is killed, but at the cost of Dr. Serizawa's life. He destroyed his notes, so there's no more Oxygen Destroyer option if another Godzilla were to come around.]]
* DoomedHometown [=/=] WatchingTroyBurn [=/=] TheTokyoFireball: Geez, talk about fitting 3 tropes in one movie. Tokyo is utterly destroyed by Godzilla while its survivors literally watch it burn. It actually would make you cringe since it would remind you of what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Surprisingly. In contrast to the later films, ''Godzilla'' is perhaps the most depressing piece of work ever written in Japanese cinema, to the point of cynicism. Unlike the later sequels, there's a very clear anti-war and anti-nuclear message written over it. And this is made by the man who saw the aftermath of Hiroshima, and considered to be the ''best'' film of the franchise.

* HappilyAdopted: Somewhat, given the fact that Godzilla killed Shinkichi's mother and brother. Now he's Emiko's adopted brother, and doesn't mind being their new son. In ''Godzilla vs. Destoroyah'', he really does seemed to get along with his adopted father in his picture with Dr. Yamane.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Daisuke Serizawa, one of the scientists involved in the story, is actually aware that Emiko Yamane is with Ogata the whole time. Even he knows she's inseparable with the man. During the climax, [[spoiler: he willingly sacrifices himself so that Emiko and Ogata would be together. (Also to prevent his knowledge of the Oxygen Destroyer from falling into the wrong hands)]].

* {{Leitmotif}}: The theme for the opening credits was ''not'' meant for Godzilla, but for the military. Both Godzilla and the JSDF have two themes.

* LoveTriangle: This is the first monster film (albeit a rather ''tragic [[{{Kaiju}} giant monster film]]'') to use such a trope. Serizawa's obviously in love with Emiko, while she herself is in love with Ogata. This is further complicated when Ogata ''asks'' Serizawa to use the Oxygen Destroyer rather than Emiko, and thus proving his point that humans want to use any one superweapon to be used, despite a living nuclear weapon practically '''destroyed''' their hometown. But Serizawa relents after the destruction of Tokyo, and the love triangle shifted to him going to "I want my beloved to be happy" phase.

* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Used in a horrifying level. During the typhoon scene as Shinkichi shouts to his brother, you can see the lower half of Godzilla on the upper left side of the screen as he destroys Masaji's house.
* MightyGlacier: Just look at that suit. In production, it's the heaviest and stiffest suit ever made (the prototype suit is ''200 pounds''). This works well with the plot, as Godzilla's attack in the second act serves as a rolling nuclear explosion slowly killing everything in his path. Future suits would be made for Godzilla to become a LightningBruiser in later sequels.
* MightyRoar: How Godzilla introduces himself to the Odo Island reseach team.

* NotSoDifferent: If you think the Japanese is heavily afflicted by the atomic bombs, then Godzilla isn't so different. In the climax, Godzilla looks peaceful and it's apparent that he just want to be left alone. Cue the fact that Godzilla ends up a ''TragicMonster''.

** MassOhCrap: In the Odo Island scene, the villagers were scurrying to fight off the monster (apparently, they don't know how huge the thing is). While Dr. Yamane saw the monster, the whole village ran back down after seeing Godzilla.

* ReluctantMadScientist: Though not necessarily "mad", Serizawa relunctantly decided to use the Oxygen Destroy afer seeing the destruction Godzilla caused. Though he intends to use the Oxygen Destroyer once, his [[HeroicSacrifice heroic sacrifice]] is foreshadowed in an eariler scene when [[spoiler: he clearly states that he'd burn his notes at the event of his death]].

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Leans ''very'' hard on the cynicism, as all the tropes tells you, and it stays that way for the remainder of the film.

* WarIsHell: One of the several hidden messages behind this film. The film was made during post-war Japan, 9 years since the first [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki atomic bombing on Hiroshima]], but now Japan had to contend with the Cold War since the nuclear incident with Castle Bravo and ''Lucky Dragon 5'', and we're not kidding, since it ''[[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory actually happened]]''. Let's not forget that Creator/IshiroHonda, the man behind the film, saw what the aftermath of Hiroshima to him, and it [[ShellShockedVeteran haunted him for the rest of his life]]. The climax illustrates this very well, and it shows.

In the 1950's, UsefulNotes/ColdWar tensions were high, monsters created or awakening a monster by nuclear explosions was a thing, and the monster could be defeated in a scientific way. ''Gojira[=/=](Godzilla)'' introduces a new type of radioactive monstrosity in a new, darker way...

''''Gojira'''' (or ''''Godzilla'''' for English-speaking viewers), is a black and white {{kaiju}} {{tokusatsu}} film directed by Creator/IshiroHonda in 1954 and the first film of the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' franchise.

''Gojira'' (or ''Godzilla'' for English-speaking viewers), is a black and white {{kaiju}} {{tokusatsu}} film directed by Creator/IshiroHonda in 1954 and the first film of the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' franchise.

* DownerEnding: Perhaps the most infamous downer endings in Japanese cinema. After the death of Godzilla [[spoiler: and Dr. Serizawa]], Dr. Yamane laments possibility of another Godzilla. He was right [[ThereIsAnother 3 series later]].

* TheHeroDies: Daisuke Serizawa, who is the closest thing to TheHero in the film, makes a HeroicSacrifice in the climax.

* ATeamFiring: So the military brings out fighter jets to attack Godzilla as a last-ditch effort. Too bad the missiles keep missing him, even as he submerges into the ocean.

* DownerEnding: Pethaps the most infamous downer endings in Japanese cinema. After the death of Godzilla [[spoiler: and Dr. Serizawa]], Dr. Yamane laments possibility of another Godzilla. He was right [[ThereIsAnother 3 series later]].

%%* EmotionalTorque:

* BittersweetEnding: After the death of Godzilla [[spoiler: and Dr. Serizawa]], Dr. Yamane laments the possibility of another Godzilla. [[spoiler: He was right [[ThereIsAnother 3 series later]]]].

* AlasPoorVillian: You'd wouldn't ''think so'' towards Godzilla. But when you consider he survived a hydrogen bomb test, you know Ishiro Honda goes out of his way to show that, yes, this gigantic radioactive monstrosity, is a victim to the nuclear age.

Despite debuting to poor reception in Japan initially, ([[VindicatedByHistory in subsequent years, Japanese film scholars and fans of the series have come to consider it one of the best Japanese films ever made]]), ''Gojira'' (or ''Godzilla'', take your pick), was praised by American viewers after the original film was made available outside of Japan with two DVD releases, by Classic Media and Creator/TheCriterionCollection. The English version, ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'' was edited to add American reporter Steve Martin ([[Franchise/PerryMason Raymond]] [[Series/{{Ironside}} Burr]]), and remove some of the slower scenes. (Despite the edits, it still has merit.) There is also the Italian version, ''Film/ItalianGodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'', a much stranger recut that includes colorization and StockFootage from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Leans ''very'' hard on the cynicism, as all the tropes tells you as opposed to the idealism of other sequels.

* ArtMajorBiology: Godzilla is supposedly from the Jurassic Era of dinosaurs(the era itself being 201.3± 0.6 Ma). Shigeru Kayama purposely date the Jurassic Era later than that to tie Godzilla's origins to man.

* BreathWeapon: Godzilla's atomic breath. The monster hadn't used much of his atomic breath until he crossed the electrical wires.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the beginning of the film, we see the fishing boats explode, and earlier, a blinding flash of light. In Godzilla's second raid in Tokyo, they are the result of his [[BreathWeapon Atomic Breath]]
* FromBadToWorse: People finds out Godzilla is a giant radiation-mutated dinosaur. Said mutant dinosaur can ''use'' a radioactive BreathWeapon, and proximity towards him can make people suffer from radiation poisoning.

* LittlestCancerPatient: After Godzilla devastates Tokyo, there's a closeup of a little boy with a Geiger counter waved around his face.

* ToServeMan: During his rampage Godzilla bites down on Tokyo tower to get at the people on it, and gnaws on a train.

* UnbuiltTrope: A monster awaken by a nuclear weapon and attacking innocent people and devastates a major city? Haven't seen that before. A giant monster awaken and mutated to the point of scarring it for life, blames humanity, ''annihilates'' a major city, dies in a TearJerker manner, but no epic fanfare celebrating its' defeat? Holy ''crap''...

* WarIsHell: One of the several hidden messages behind this film. The film was made during post-war Japan, 9 years since the first [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki atomic bombing on Hiroshima]], but now Japan had to contend with the Cold War since the nuclear incident with Castle Bravo and ''Lucky Dragon 5'', and we're not kidding, since it ''[[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory actually happened]]''. Let's not forget that Creator/IshiroHonda, the man behind the film, saw what the aftermath of Hiroshima to him, and it [[ShellShockedVeteran haunted him for the rest of his life]]. The climax illustrates this very well, and it shows.

** Godzilla's as much as a woobie as well. He survived a nuke, he is horribly disfigured (yes, some of Godzilla's facial close-ups look like radiation burns), hates lights, and really wants to be left alone. The footnote on the 2006 Classic Media book even calls them "innocent victims of the nuclear age".

* WarIsHell: One of the several hidden messages behind this film. The film was made during post-war Japan, 9 years since the first [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki atomic bombing on Hiroshima]], but now Japan had to contend with the Cold War since the nuclear incident with Castle Bravo and ''Lucky Dragon 5'', and we're not kidding, since it ''[[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory actually happened]]''. Let's not forget that Creator/IshiroHonda, the man behind the film, saw what the aftermath of Hiroshima and it [[ShellShockedVeteran haunted him for the rest of his life]]. The climax illustrates this very well, and it shows.

* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: Played with. Serizawa clearly has hundreds of research documents and notes for creating the Oxygen Destroyer, but he destroys all of it to prevent the device from ever being used again in the wake of his death and its eventual discovery.

* {{Horror}}: For those of you who don't know, this is technically a ''horror'' film. Unlike most giant monster films and its later sequels (except ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'') that weren't, this one sets it apart differently. The black and white nature of the film lampshades this, and it is actually meant to scare the shit out of you. Not just the picture format, but the music has its level of creepiness.

Something very important to note is that despite the infamous "cheese" factor of its later sequels, for this film, ''[[ReverseCerebusSyndrome not so much]]''. ''Gojira'', its first sequel, ''Film/GodzillaRaidsAgain'', and their American counterparts are horror films. It's amazingly dark and [[TearJerker depressing]], and this is the ''first'' film of the series.

* CentralTheme: '''Tragedy''' and '''Consequences'''. What, you thought we were kidding? Even the central characters are not immune for the latter, which triggered the trope of the former.

* WarIsHell: One of the several hidden messages behind this film. The film was made during post-war Japan, 9 years since the first [[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki atomic bombing on Hiroshima]], but now Japan had to contend with the Cold War since the nuclear incident with Castle Bravo and ''Lucky Dragon 5'', and we're not kidding, since it ''[[LooselyBasedOnATrueStory actually happened]]''. Let's not forget that Creator/IshiroHonda, the man behind the film, saw what the aftermath of Hiroshima and it [[ShellShockedVeteran haunted him for the rest of his life]]. The climax illustrates this very well, and it shows.

* EmotionalTorque: Hoy ''hell''.

* IntrepidReporter: Though not a main character, Hagiwara tries to get the story as much as he can. Throughout the whole movie, he actually survives the ''entire'' film. Probably [[BornLucky born lucky]].

* MadScientist: Inverted. Serizawa's not a mad scientist despite his appearance and lab equipment. Kyohei Yamane, however, was originally gonna be one.

* NextSundayAD: The film takes place in summer 1955 (specifically August) according to the original English sales brochure. However, unlike the Heisei series which always takes place a year than the actual release date, every film afterwards dates the movie in 1954.
* NoHuggingNoKissing: Even though Emiko and Ogata is the film's OfficialCouple (in the eyes of the audience), they don't try to both in this film. Ogata ''does'' indicate that he intends to ask Dr. Yamane for Emiko's hand, but this is quickly forgotten and in any case, there is no fiancé level affection.

* SaveTheVillain: Played with. Kyohei Yamane does not want Godzilla to be killed because he survived the H-Bomb testing in the Pacific. Mention above, Yamane wants to study Godzilla because he's a paleontologist. However, he ends up having to agree to kill Godzilla after what he did to Tokyo.

* TokenRomance: A rather ''tragic'' example in a {{horror}} film, and of a LoveTriangle version. It's one of the rare important subplots where it's another focus of the story, because writing it out wouldn't be as powerful as it than in the final product.

* EmotionalTorque: Hoy ''hell''.

* NothingIsScarier: Used in the first act. You know something is destroying those boats, but the monster is nowhere to be seen. In the typhoon scene, you can hear the footsteps of the monster, the his lower half, followed by crushed buildings, then a crushed helicopter ending with a DramaticWind. ''In that order''.

Despite debuting to poor reception in Japan initially, ([[VindicatedByHistory in subsequent years, Japanese film scholars and fans of the series have come to consider it one of the best Japanese films ever made]]), ''Gojira'' (or ''Godzilla'', take your pick), was praised by American viewers after the original film was made available outside of Japan with two DVD releases, by Classic Media and Creator/TheCriterionCollection. The English version, ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'' was edited to add American reporter Steve Martin ([[Franchise/PerryMason Raymond]] [[Series/{{Ironside}} Burr]]), and remove some of the slower scenes. (Despite the edits, it still has merit.) There is also the Italian version, ''Film/ItalianGodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'', a much stranger recut that includes colorization and StockFootage from WorldWarII.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Considering Creator/IshiroHonda directed this film and its screenplay, there are several references to Japan's experience in the aftermath World War II and the incoming ColdWar: