GodzillaThe mutant lizard that emerged from the atomic tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki returned to its natural habitat, Japanese cinema, with its first screening a few months ago. I probably wouldn’t have to leave here In light of the low interest in the two major American productions on the subject, Roland Emmerich’s ‘Godzilla’ (1998) and Gareth Edwards’ ‘Godzilla’ (2014).
What will they know about a creature born of nuclear terror in Hollywood, martyred by two atomic bombs, ordered to be dropped by President Harry S. Truman and undoubtedly applauded by the Hollywood skylarks of 1945? For the past year or so, through Christopher Nolan, they have explored the ambiguous personality of one of these men. Architects of the bomb: Robert Oppenheimer.
Japanese cinema has never abandoned its legendary creature, which is the icon of popular fantasy cinema of the 50s and 60s. The previous movie on the subject was released in 2016. ‘Shin Godzilla’, whose story takes place in modern-day Tokyo. On the contrary, the action of this new Japanese production ‘Godzilla minus one’, which hits Spanish screens this Friday, takes place from the end of the Second World War to 1947. Immediate effect: Godzilla’s first appearance in the film takes place on Odo Island in the middle of the conflict.After disappearing for a while, he reappears in radioactive form after the first nuclear test. At Bikini Atoll, July 1, 1946.
It would be funny if it was a comedy, but it’s not. Godzilla was born in 1954 as a representation of the atomic terror suffered by the Japanese, and in this new fiction a mutant and radioactive monster due to tests Americans continued to do this after the war ended because of their fierce rivalry with the former Soviet Union. Between the lines, This new Japanese Godzilla is highly political and moreover, it questions the ancient rules of honor and courage of kamikaze pilots, which is another theme of the film: the male protagonist failed like a kamikaze and now he wants to save himself by fighting the monster.
Even though it didn’t leave Americans well off – in the past – ‘Godzilla minus one’ became an instant hit in the United States. The film cost 14 million euros and has grossed 48 million worldwide so far. It premiered in Japan on November 3, in the United States where it garnered half of the 48 million viewers, and in parts of Europe on December 1. Your director, Takashi Yamazaki He’s unknown outside the Japanese world – he’s made movies from the series ‘Doraemon’ and ‘Lupine III’ – and the film’s cast isn’t all-star either: Godzilla is digitally animated here in a very physical way, when we see its back is full of thorns or when we witness it becoming erect in all its magnitude, this is the maximum attraction.
Founding movie ‘Godzilla’. ‘Japan is under the terror of the monster’ was made by Ishiro Honda in 1954. the best representative of this franchise ‘King Kong vs. Godzilla’ (1963), ‘Godzilla vs. Some titles, such as ‘the Monsters’ (1964) and ‘Monster Island’ (1969), focused on the clash between giants. Another breeder of the genre would be Jun Fukuda, whose plot films and wilder titles included: ‘Galien, the galaxy monster attacks Earth’ (1972) or ‘Godzilla vs. Cybergodzilla’ (1974).
From Honda’s first film, which influenced the movie ‘Godzilla minus one’, there is a production for the American public called ‘Godzilla, King of the Monsters’ (1956), attributed to Honda and Terry O. Morse. However, this is a distorted montage, as all references to the atomic bomb have been removed and new scenes have been shot starring an American journalist who witnessed the events. The character was played by Raymond Burr. Perry Mason television.
Some aspects of this classic Godzilla review overlap with the recently published ‘Asa Asadora’ manga in our country by Naoki Urasawa, author of the excellent ‘Monster’ and ’21st Century Boys’. The monsters that emerged from the atomic panic are still prevalent in Japanese culture.