Godzilla (1954)
While randomly surfing the web, I came across a wiki completely devoted to the Godzilla series. I am ashamed to admit that the only Godzilla I had seen to that point was the terrible 1998 movie with Matthew Broderick. I felt I owed a movie that is so important to cinema, and science fiction in general, a watch. I went into it expecting to be bored. I often watch a movie while doing other things, so a movie with subtitles makes this harder. Still I wanted to watch the original so I could judge the movie as the director originally intended it.
At first I had to stop and rewind as I missed bits of dialogue, but I found myself well rewarded. What I got was a movie that was deeper than a guy in a rubber suit crushing buildings or horrified Japanese crowds screaming and pointing at the sky. The movie really said something about the times. Here was a nation that had seen the only use of atomic weapons in war. So a movie about an irradiated menace worked well. The threat of radiation being left behind by a creatures that could also crush your house without a care in the world was just the tip of the iceberg.
This was followed up by a debate on the ethical responsibilities man has to science. Should they kill a unique creature? Should they use such a powerful weapon? Should the Oxygen Destroyer have been researched at all? Does its possible future uses for good outweigh its negative implications? Is it ever Ok to break a promise? Is an evil deed justifiable if it removes a greater evil? What responsibility does an individual have to his ideas?
I am sure most people who read my blog have already watched the movie several times. But if you are like me and just thought it was a cult classic that only worked in its era, give it a watch. This is a movie that stands besides "The Day the Earth Stood Still" as classics that must be watched. While some things are dated, the themes presented are as relevant now as they were in 1952.
At first I had to stop and rewind as I missed bits of dialogue, but I found myself well rewarded. What I got was a movie that was deeper than a guy in a rubber suit crushing buildings or horrified Japanese crowds screaming and pointing at the sky. The movie really said something about the times. Here was a nation that had seen the only use of atomic weapons in war. So a movie about an irradiated menace worked well. The threat of radiation being left behind by a creatures that could also crush your house without a care in the world was just the tip of the iceberg.
This was followed up by a debate on the ethical responsibilities man has to science. Should they kill a unique creature? Should they use such a powerful weapon? Should the Oxygen Destroyer have been researched at all? Does its possible future uses for good outweigh its negative implications? Is it ever Ok to break a promise? Is an evil deed justifiable if it removes a greater evil? What responsibility does an individual have to his ideas?
I am sure most people who read my blog have already watched the movie several times. But if you are like me and just thought it was a cult classic that only worked in its era, give it a watch. This is a movie that stands besides "The Day the Earth Stood Still" as classics that must be watched. While some things are dated, the themes presented are as relevant now as they were in 1952.