On 16th May 2014, Toho’s greatest monster will return to the big screen in an American reboot. With just 28 weeks to go, we here at THN are counting down the GODZILLA back catalogue.
Director: Motoyoshi Oda
Starring: Hiroshi Koizumi, Minoru Chiaki, Setsuko Wakayama, Haruo Nakajima, Takashi Shimura
Plot: After a plane goes down on a mysterious island, a new Godzilla is discovered. Only this time he isn’t alone.
A year after the box-office success of GODZILLA came GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN. But this was an entirely different beast altogether. Literally, it was a brand new Godzilla after the death of the original G in the first film. However, it also changed the entire atmosphere and tone and actually influenced the franchise in more ways than the first effort. In some ways it was a shame, but it’s also a lot of fun. Sure, GODZILLA was all seriousness and artistic beauty, whereas the sequel is loud, fun, and mostly delivered as entertainment. From the opening score, this time by Masaru Sato, being a lot bouncier and cheerful, to the fight sequences more concerned with giving you a thrill than they are giving you a feel. It may be unfair to say this was the downfall as Godzilla, as it’s actually that first film which is unlike its monster mashing sequels. There were also a number of huge factors to consider.
Although GODZILLA was a commercial success, being the 2nd most attended Godzilla film in Japan, many critics at the time believed it was exploiting Japan’s recent tragic past. Although in hindsight it is clear to see that no exploitation is present, and it instead holds up a mirror to Japanese society and world politics at the time, it was still decided to make a more user friendly version of the oversized dinosaur. It was also decided that the special effects and Godzilla were the true stars, which meant more destruction was needed. This led to the inclusion of Anguirus, Godzilla’s first cinematic foe. Metaphors were pushed aside, but still present, and the focus was placed mainly on the battle between the beasts, as well as celebrating man’s triumph over such monsters.
GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN does at least give us a trio of lovable, roguish characters to propel things forward. We start with two Japanese fishing pilots whose job it is to search out schools of fish for the boats to come in and do their thing. It’s a rather serene opening suggesting that life has moved on from the first film. Set outside of Tokyo, the destruction is a thing of the past. The two pilots, Tsukioka (Koizumi) and Kobayashi (Chiaki) have their friendship well defined by the banter between them and their female sweethearts in the control room, the women are easily bribed with sweets. Some things in life just work across borders. After Kobayashi crash lands on an island, Tsukioka is there to rescue him, and you can probably see where their friendship is headed. Whereas GODZILLA threw in twists such as the eye-patched scientist NOT being evil, GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN may as well stamp “DEAD” on Kobayashi’s forehead. He even carries around a picture of the girl he loves but is yet to ask to marry. It may only be obvious to today’s audience as we’ve seen this time and time again. But thankfully it’s done very well, and each character is given equal importance.
The rescue attempt leads to the discovery that this is an island inhabited by giant monsters, one being another Godzilla, and the other being an ankylosaur named Anguirus. The feud between the two monsters, which is brushed over quickly at some point by a scientist despite it being all conjecture, forms the action-packed backbone of the film. We could stretch things a bit and say that each monster represents either the US or USSR in the Cold War, and how eventually their battle begins to involve other countries, but it’s mostly just two gargantuan lizards beating the living hell out of each other. For this purpose we are given a much svelter Godzilla, who does at times look as though he has a bit of a crack addiction. It’s great for a ferocious monster look, but also leaves us less connected to him. The thinner look was also practical, as this Godzilla needed to take on an opponent, rather than just stepping on trains and breathing fire. The slimmer costume, once again supplied by the master Eiji Tsuburaya, was specifically designed to allow the man inside the suit, Haruo Nakajima, to have more fluent movements. That’s exactly what you need in monster-on-monster battles. Anguirus is also a wonderfully detailed creation, although it is much harder to imagine he’s real, considering that being a quadruped makes it very obvious it’s a man on all fours.
The two heroes escape without a scratch, but it alerts humanity to the existence of even more monsters. Takashi Shimura is dragged in for a brief cameo to perform some exposition; as he took the lead in 1954’s original and that year’s SEVEN SAMURAI, he was hardly aching for work. Deciding that no physical action can be taken against the terrible duo, it is decided to instead keep the monsters away from civilisation. Again, if we wanted to we could make parallels to Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement, but we’d really be stretching then. The humans realise that Godzilla is attracted to bright lights, thanks to his awakening from the H-Bomb, therefore planes and flares are sent out to keep monsters away from populated areas. Now here we really can make some connections to real world events, as we get the sense that humanity will forever live in fear of the monsters, much like we still live in fear of weapons of mass destruction. All it takes is one simple mistake, and life itself will be threatened. And wouldn’t you just blinking know it, that event actually takes place.
In a cruel twist of fate, a gang of criminals in the midst of being transported decide to take advantage of the citywide blackout which has been imposed to deter the approaching Godzilla from the shore. Their escape leads to a car chase, which in turn leads to a spectacular crash and a huge fireball that brings Godzilla and Anguirus into the heart of the city. It’s a beautifully orchestrated moment of tragedy, as the second Godzilla turns his back on the city we just know something bad is going to happen. Humanity’s way of capitalising on any tragedy is summed up beautifully, as well as giving us a rare spot of film-noir cops and robbers in the middle of a Godzilla movie. Now that’s awesome. If only we’d had a Godzilla voice over.
The resulting fight between Godzilla and Anguirus is fantastic. First we have the excellent performances of the men in suits, each taking wrestling stances without humanising their characters too much. Later films added a Godzilla highland fling, as well as tactics and planning into the fights. Here we are very much given two creatures that just happen to be fighting in populated areas. It’s done more for entertainment than the previous film, but still recognises the tragedy befalling the people. The model design is also noticeably detailed, as buildings crumble away in pieces and don’t just look like simple wooden constructions being crushed under rubber feet. Work has also been put into creating classical temple heritage sites, reminding us of the loss of culture during such devastating events. It ends with Godzilla killing Anguirus, and being lead back out to sea.
This time around, the finale is almost a polar opposite to the original film. It clearly puts this in the realms of enjoyable blockbuster. Unlike the heartfelt ending to the original, where there was no joy to be had in Godzilla’s death, this time it’s all about cheering on the heroes. A full-on assault is launched against Godzilla once he returns to the island, and after Kobayashi sacrifices himself in an attempt to bury the giant monster, it also becomes a revenge fantasy. Everything from character motivation to the music is used to get our hearts racing as we cheer for the human characters. Tsukioka even gives us the old “This one’s for you buddy!” as he helps bury Godzilla in an avalanche of (pretty poor looking) ice. This time celebrations abound, and Godzilla is literally put on ice for later sequels.
Certainly a decent sequel if ever there was one, GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN never reaches the dramatic and unforgettable heights of the original. But then again it never really tries too. GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN is trying to be something completely different, a different cast and a different monster may even place this firmly in the ‘reboot’ category of today. Its influence has continued to echo through the entire series of not just Godzilla films, but other similar themed films and TV shows. An obvious influence on Tsuburaya’s later efforts with Ultraman, and other tokusatsu shows such as Kamen Rider, Iron King, and Super Sentai (the show Power Rangers is edited from). An enjoyable ride, this is the INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS to the original’s SCHINDLER’S LIST.
Dub-Misstep: The dubbed version of GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN is much more faithful than the the dub of the original. First of all there are no American characters shoehorned in to the plot, and no reshoots either. The film is dubbed closely to the original, but again adds huge amounts of voice-over to explain what is going on. It also tries to get very poetic at times (and fails), and comes across as an audiobook in places. Eagle-eared (do eagles have a good sense of hearing?) may notice the voice of George Takei. It’s like ‘Where’s Wally’ with voice-acting. Not terrible, but don’t get me started on the renaming of Godzilla to Gigantis.
Monsters: A different Godzilla from the first film takes on the ankylosaurus, Anguirus. It’s Godzilla’s first fight but the pair would later put their differences behind one another as Anguirus would become an ally to Godzilla. Being a quadruped may seem like a disadvantage, but having a back covered in spikes is always going to be a huge benefit.
Notes For GODZILLA (2014): Sacrificing the deep and meaningful allegory for some smackdown action was understandable for the time. But it would have been nice if the two could have been seamlessly interwoven. Take the joy and excitement of these earlier battles, and see how they are still very much two creatures fighting each other, as later films sometimes made the monsters too human.
G-RATING:
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GODZILLA will be released 16th May 2014. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Akira Takarada, and David Strathairn.
