Trivia / Godzilla (1954)

aka: Gojira

• Ability over Appearance: During the casting production, Akihiko Hirata (twenty-six at the time) played Serizawa, who was meant to be someone in his mid-thirties. However, his commitment to the role earns him much recognition from fans to this day.
• Actor-Inspired Element: To get Godzilla's movements right, Haruo Nakajima would go to the zoo and watch how animals would walk. This is why Godzilla's posture has his hands sideways and arms closer to his body rather than being extended. This posture is consistent when Nakajima portrays Godzilla.
• Bad Export for You: Classic Media’s initial Blu-ray release was not a new HD transfer of the film, but rather an up-converted version of their previous DVD release that also ran a few minutes shorter due to replacing all the optical wipes and fades with digital ones. Fortunately The Criterion Collection fixed these issues.
• Billing Displacement: Akira Takarada receives top billing in the film while Momoko Koichi, and Akihiko Hirata received second and third respectively despite both Emiko and Serizawa being the major players of the movie.
• Blooper: There has been some instances where the overhead wires controlling Godzilla's tail is visible. Such as when Godzilla is being bombarded by cannons, and when his tail is outside a window, the wire can be seen.
• Completely Different Title:
  • Portugal: The Pacific Ocean Monster
  • Spain: Japan Under the Terror of the Monster
• Creator Backlash:
  • Because of this film, Momoko Koichi was typecast to the same role. After The Mysterians, she resorted to stage acting. Koichi would embrace the role for the final time in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah before her death in 1998.
  • Despite the film's ambitious story, Ishir⁠ō Honda lamented the fact that early audiences disliked the film because of its imagery. Now, it's one of Honda's best works of Kaiju.
• Dawson Casting: Inverted. Akihiko Hirata was 26 at the time while his character Daisuke Serizawa is supposed to be in his mid-30s.
• Distanced from Current Events: The movie was actually based on the then-recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru, and so a direct reference was definitely made. The actual Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki wasn't the main point of the film, but the aftermath definitely hit hard than it should have. Ishiro Honda definitely made the film this way to prove a point, and it definitely made it across.
• Dueling Movies: With Akira Kurosawa's own The Seven Samurai even though both movies are created by Toho and both movies' directors were good friends in life.
• Executive Meddling:
  • A rare case where it was a good thing. Tomoyuki Tanaka told Eiji Tsuburaya that it would take seven years to complete via stop-motion. So suitmation was the only option to make the film quicker. This became a staple in later Toho films.
  • In an inverted case: Toho wanted a traditional giant Nuclear Mutant monster film. Ishir⁠ō Honda felt the film definitely needed more than "giant monster awaken by nuclear weapon, military fails to stop it, a mad scientist tried to subvert the military's efforts, scientist creates a powerful superweapon, monster dead". Honda went out of his way to base the film of his trauma of Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the then-recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru was way on the nose. Nonetheless, Ishiro's lack of restraint and the message he wanted to make made this film a classic entry of the series.
• Follow the Leader: The original movie more or less birthed the Kaiju genre (although certainly it owes a debt to previous American giant-monster movies, especially King Kong (1933) and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms), as other film studios other than Toho tried their hand at making monster movies, often with varying results. Some of the more notable ones are The X from Outer Space, Gappa: The Triphibian Monster, Gorgo, Reptilicus, and Yonggary: Monster from the Deep.
• The Foreign Subtitle:
  • Denmark: Godzilla, the King of Monsters
  • Germany: Godzilla: The Original
  • Greece: Godzilla, the Monster of the Century
  • Sweden: Godzilla: The Monster from the Sea
• Genre Turning Point: for the Attack of the Killer Whatever films of the 1950s, launching a whole new sister genre. Ishir⁠ō Honda took the basic premise of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, reintroduced themes explored by that film's inspiration, Ray Bradbury's The Fog Horn, and King Kong (1933), and fused them with layered allegory that resonated with post-WWII audiences worldwide. In the post Godzilla-era, in Japan especially, monsters frequently echo Godzilla's truly horrific and tragic story of a sympathetic creature in the wrong place at the wrong time, its demise a cold necessity to put an end to the suffering humans ultimately caused both the monster and themselves.
• Milestone Celebration: Because 2014 is this film's 60th anniversary, this film is being released in selected theaters.
• No Dub for You: In stark contrast with Spain, who did got a local dub, Latin America had never dubbed this film, nor its Americanized version, despite the popularity of the franchise on that region. The first film of the franchise who did got a local dub was King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1962.
• No Export for You:
  • The film was sent to America in 1955 catering to Japanese-Americans. However, it was picked up later and Americanized as Godzilla: King of the Monsters!. In 2004, the original version was finally viewed in its original form. The fans rejoiced when it was released in 2006 by Classic Media and Criterion Collection.
• Playing Against Type: Music example. Akira Ifukube was advised by his contemporaries to avoid associating himself with the movie this way. He refused and was on board to making music for the film. We know how that turned out.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: A persistent rumor is that the name "Gojira" was originally the nickname of a former employee of Toho. To date, no one living or deceased as ever come forward stating they (or someone they knew) was that person. In reality, Gojira is a combination of the words "Gorilla" and "Kujira" (Japanese for whale). This is because Toho originally planned for Godzilla to be a giant sea-dwelling ape (and later a giant octopus) before settling on a dinosaur. The name was kept for a very simple reason. Toho liked the way it sounded and felt it was a perfect name for a giant monster.
• Reality Subtext:
  • This film wasn't originally a combined tragedy and horror film that it actually is. It was supposed to be your usual giant monster movie until Ishiro Honda modified it as a post-war tragedy, seeing every character go on their daily lives. The context of the film is that despite the normalcy of Japanese life, a nuclear weapon (Godzilla) changed everything, and so the Japanese grew fear of it. In Honda's perspective, nothing is more terrifying than a nuclear weapon. The twist is that Godzilla himself is a victim of this as well, taking Godzilla (the film) a whole different perspective that nuclear weapons create victims.
  • Daisuke Serizawa can be seen as Ishiro Honda, who was a Shell-Shocked Veteran in real life. Honda was just a happy Buddhist who had a positive outlook on life, but during his early film career, he had to make propaganda war films with Eiji Tsuburaya, whose special effects techniques looked realistic. Then he was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army as a foot soldier and was a prisoner of war until his release after the war. And then, he saw what happened to Hiroshima, and it haunted him for the rest of his life. Serizawa is also haunted by his own experiences of the war and gives a damning Gray-and-Grey Morality speech of the Oxygen Destroyer. Serizawa is terrified of its destructive power and why he doesn't want it to be used period. This becomes one of the entire point of the movie.
• Serendipity Writes the Plot: Look at the Godzilla suit. The reason for the Monster Delay in the movie (and for justifiable reasons) is that the suit was heavy. The original suit was 200 pounds with latex materials increasing its weight, which caused Haruo Nakajima and Katzumi Tezuka to collapse due to low air conditions and heat stroke. Even the lighter suit had its own problems. One of the easier ways to use the suit was to cut it in half and film the bottom portion.
• Star-Making Role: Did this for Akira Takarada and Momoko Koichi. Both Takeshi Shimura and Haruo Nakajima were in Akira Kurosawa films while Akihiko Hirata was in several movies before this one. Eventually, both Hirata and Takarada would appear in other films of the franchise, but Koichi left her film career after being Type Casted. Haruo Nakajima would be the King of the Monsters until Godzilla vs. Gigan.
• Spell My Name With An S: Godzilla's Japanese name is a result of the combination of the words "Gorilla" and "kujira" (Japanese for whale). When Godzilla was cataloged to be sent to America, his name was rendered as Godzilla (as explained in the Classic Media commentary). However, GODZILLA was declared as his official English name while Gojira remains his Japanese name. The English name would continue to be used on sequels that involved English-speaking characters, except for King Kong vs. Godzilla.
• Throw It In!:
  • When Dr. Yamane is talking during the first Diet Building discussion, his tie is incorrectly outside of his suit before he notices and tucks it in.
  • Akira Ifukube was recording music for the film while he accidentally stepped on a sound system. This immediately became Godzilla's stomping sound effect in the film.
• Troubled Production:
  • While filming the suit, Haruo Nakajima could barely move the first suit at all due to the latex materials used for its construction increasing the suit's weight to 200 pounds. When he did move, Haruo collapsed on the set due to overheating. When a lighter suit was made, both Haruo and Katzumi Tezuka still have these problems and both would often collapse on the set due to heat exhaustion and would get blisters from it, while it would not be uncommon for at least a cup of swat to be removed form the suit at a time. Air holes could not be sufficient enough due to low air conditions in the studio, and they had to cut the suit in half for Nakajima to use. Despite these problems, Nakajima greatly enjoyed the role until he retired after Godzilla vs. Gigan. This is why Godzilla Raids Again had lighter materials for both Godzilla and Anguruius.
  • Eiji Tsuburaya and his team went around Tokyo to request for blueprints for every building in Tokyo at the time, but authorities thought they were planning a terrorist act. They had to clarify that it wasn't the case and that they were planning to make a movie.
• Urban Legend: The origin of Godzilla's name has long been a source of debate. There are several potential explanations:
  • 1. A stagehand was working at the studio whose nickname was "Gojira", purportedly due to his great size. However, given Godzilla's immense popularity, the notion of such a man remaining completely anonymous for 60 years is improbable, to say the least.
  • 2. Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla's suit actor) stated there was a contest among the staff to think up the name.
  • 3. Ishiro Honda's wife believes it was randomly made up by him and Eiji Tsuburaya, and the staff working on the film often make jokes. Honestly, even we don't know. So take what you will.
• What Could Have Been: Quite a few.
  • Tomoyuki Tanaka initially described the as-yet-unnamed project as a story of a monster awakened by atomic bomb testing. As the story evolved, it was named Project G (G meant Giant at this point), then later to Godzilla. During production, the movie's titular monster was to be a literal cross between a gorilla and a whale, a fire-breathing gorilla, and an octopus, but then decided to make the monster dinosaurian. However, artwork exists of an ape-looking thing with the head of a mushroom cloud, until the final design became the creature we know and love.
  • Akihiko Hirata was originally supposed to play Ogata and Akira Takarada as Serizawa. Takarada confirmed it, and thus, the roles were tastefully switched. This decision may have been a good idea, since Daisuke Serizawa is a heavy role to take, and Akihiko Hirata had experience playing several roles before Serizawa while Takarada didn't have the experience. An existing photo where Hirata wears the kind of clothes Ogata does all but confirms this is the case.
  • Likewise, Godzilla himself was originally going to be portrayed via stop motion animation. The idea was quickly dropped when Tomoyuki Tanaka told Eiji Tsuburaya that it would had taken seven years to finish the film that way, so they had to make a large rubber suit. However, at least one stop-motion scene did make it into the film, in which Godzilla's tail smashes the Nichigeki Theater building during the second attack on Tokyo.
  • Dr. Yamane was originally going to be a full-blown Mad Scientist (wearing a cape, living in a gothic-style house, etc). The original idea was that Yamane was going to sabotage the military's efforts to kill Godzilla. But Ishiro Honda modified the character to one who wanted to Save the Villain because it survived H-Bomb testing.
  • Serizawa was supposed to be a simple scientist in his 40's until Ishiro Honda modified his character as a scarred Shell-Shocked Veteran who is frightened by his own creation.
  • This is one of the two attempts to portray Godzilla as a carnivore (Godzilla vs. Biollante being the second) with Godzilla having a dead cow in his mouth. Tsuburaya's cameraman told him the scene was too graphic so it had to be reshot. Which defeated the purpose of making it the Horror film it already was. The other problem was a matter of scale; the filmed cow would have been unnaturally huge, and an average cow would've been too tiny to see. Alternatively, Godzilla would've been smaller than his intended size (50 meters).
  • Godzilla was originally written as a monster whose rampages were the result of hunger. Hence the deleted dead cow image. It's the reason why the fishermen had no luck and several animals dead. Honda once again modified him as a creature tormented by his radiation burns, and it's very effective.
  • The film crew tried to mix in animal sounds to give Godzilla's roars, but none of the mix and match vocal sounds didn't sound right. Akira Ifukube was the one who thought of rubbing a resin-coated leather glove glove on a bass, and pitched it that it gave the rumbling effect they wanted. And thus, Godzilla's iconic roar is a result of a leather glove on a bass.
  • Godzilla was originally portrayed as a generic giant monster that goes on a rampage and had to be stopped. Until he was modified as a Tragic Monster as a victim of the nuclear age as much as the humans.
  • Several Scenes were cut off during filming. These include:
    • A scene had Ogata and Emiko walk on the beach in the morning. However, Emiko spots some rocks moving (actually Godzilla's tail) and clearly frightens her Ogata goes to grab his rifle and shoots at it while Godzilla's tail slithers away.
    • There was a realistic approach with the electrical towers in the script. In the draft, it took several weeks for the towers to be built, and the civilians simply wanted to go home, due to having to evacuate to bomb shelters.
    • The film was supposed to end with Emiko dropping a lei of flowers as a tribute to Serizawa via helicopter after he kills Godzilla. This was cut out with a Downer-Bittersweet Ending hybrid since everyone who witnessed Godzilla salutes Serizawa's Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Katsumi Tezuka, the other Godzilla suit actor, originally wanted to portray Godzilla entirely by pleading to Tomoyuki Tanaka rather than Eiji Tsuburaya's only choice, Haruo Nakajima.
  • Shigeru Kayama's initial draft, which is written in every example, is read in Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again where it follows his draft rather than Honda's modified screenplay where Godzilla was written as similar as Rhedosaurus' expy. The major difference between Honda and Kayama's version of Godzilla was that Shinkichi was from Odo Island, worked at the marine salvage company, and Childhood Friends with Emiko Yamane (filling the role of Ogata), Ogata was an extra, Serizawa was just a scientist with no one-sided tragic Love Triangle, a Godzilla cult began to spread pamphlets, and Kyohei Yamane was suspected of wanting Godzilla alive.
  • In the The '70s, there was serious consideration to remake this film with the tentative title of King of Monsters: Rebirth of Godzilla. There's no known reason why this remake never got further than a screenplay. But it's believed that production was running behind schedule before it could even start.
• Working Title: Project G.

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