Hello peeps! I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed reading the first ever Creature Feature article in this spot last month! This month what I've decided to do is a throwback to the stuff that started us all out on sci-fi. Ok, so I wasn't around at the time and neither were most of you, but you are all familiar with this classic oldie. That's right, this month I give it up for the creative genius in Japan that gave us the original Godzilla! And while we've all seen, and probably been more impressed by the latest Hollywood version a few years ago, the original Godzilla was considered cutting edge for its day.

Godzilla - The Original

This month's highlight creature is Godzilla. Godzilla first appeared on the screen in the 1950's. The original Godzilla managed to be unsettlingly unnatural despite the movie's laughable special effects. When the enormous reptile emerged from the ocean, it announced itself with an otherworldly bray. Since it's first sighting, Godzilla has been seen crushing, burning, and melting everything in his path. Unlike some other sci-fi creatures (you'll remember the rather weak ending the Rancor met) Godzilla was unstoppable. The world threw tanks, cannons, high-voltage electric wires, and even fighter jets his way, and yet he always emerged unscathed.

However, like the Rancor, the original Godzilla costume was a foam and plastic costume draped over a lumbering old man. Later Incarnations would see a mechanical version from 1974-75 and 1993, and even a space mutation from 1994.

On July 15, 1995 it was announced that after 21 Godzilla films, Toho simply had no more ideas. So in Godzilla's 22nd film, he would be killed off. And while film production had commenced later that year, a 22nd completed film would never be made. Despite the fact that Toho had come up with a brilliant plot to kill Godzilla off, many fans voiced their objection to such a move. When it became clear to the studio that the film would not be well received, production was abandoned.

Film Fundamentals:

Homeworld: Earth (?), first sighting, off the coast of Japan emerging from the ocean
Height: various movies have him between 2-4 stories tall
Diet: carnivore, he really eats and destroys everything in his path
Claim to Fame: terrorizing 1950's Japan

There is no question about it, Godzilla was never meant to be seen as a natural creature. He was viewed as a primal God/monster that had been created out of the ungodly nuclear horrors of Hiroshima. For those who have seen the original movie, and even those who have not, Godzilla was as much a film about sci-fi as it was a social commentary.

Godzilla symbolized the limitless destructive power of atomic weaponry. Such weaponry, as was used in Hiroshima, would have been on the forefront of everyone's mind as they watched the movie. With the Cold War, and the newly unleashed nuclear warfare becoming a threat, Toho's Godzilla explored the scientific ramifications that could occur. Godzilla, part God, part monster, born out of man's disregard for nature.

Snap Shot:

For more Info: to find out more please visit Godzilla and The Tokyo Film Festival