Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Released Apr 27, 1956

1h 20m

Sci-Fi

List

85%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

A U.S. newsman (Raymond Burr) in Tokyo recounts the story of a huge dinosaur roused from the sea by an atomic blast.

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Bruce Newman

San Jose Mercury News

Rated: 3/4

May 28, 2004

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Alan Ng

Film Threat

Godzilla captures the fear and anxiety of the past through the story of a giant monster.

Rated: 8/10

Sep 9, 2024

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The integration of the new footage into the old is smoothly done.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 18, 2024

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Witney Seibold

Nerdist

The pleasure of watching a Godzilla movie is still intact with this re-cut, but it seems slightly lesser than the original, a little more obvious.

May 21, 2019

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Granddaddy of all Japanese monster films.

Rated: B-

Apr 7, 2012

Full Review

Christopher Long

Movie Metropolis

It's hard not to chuckle at the fiftieth cutaway to an oddly passive Burr after watching a scene from the Honda original, but this cut shouldn't be dismissed either.

Rated: 7/10

Feb 3, 2012

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josh d

The movie that started it all. Held back by a few questionable effects, but overall very good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/09/24

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Zach B

The movie on its own is fine. My main issue with this film is that the nuclear messages aren't there

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/02/24

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Keith H

It's a good english version of the original gojira, Raymond Burr was good, although there were to many shots of him in the movie and some of the OG cast is not in the movie, but, meh it's good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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Marc Z

I just watched the original Japanese film, Gojira. It was really very good. This Americanized version is better; not because it is American, but because of the way it tells the story. The film takes footage from the original, and the same, basic, story, and tells it through the voice of an American reporter, played by Raymond Burr. The framework of Burr as a storyteller works. It makes the story more understandable and relatable. It doesn't;t hurt that Burr is a terrific actor and commands the role. The film, like the original. leaves you to wait for the initial appearance of the, someday, legendary monster, Godzilla. The integration of newer footage with the original is very good. The dubbing and different dialogue for some of the original characters is the weakest part of the film. Really cool to watch both versions back to back.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/13/23

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Ethan G

Nothing special, but at the same time, something special, especially for fans of the "Godzilla" name.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/24/23

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Vincenzo S

Excellent film. It lacks the unintentional goofiness of later films, but it manages to work well taking itself completely seriously. The detail in the miniatures is fantastic. Sure, there are the times where you say to yourself, "Well, that's obviously a toy." but if you find that annoying rather than amusing, then it just isn't for you. Still my favorite Godzilla film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/04/23

Full Review

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Terry Morse

Director

Ishirô Honda

Director

Raymond Burr

Steve Martin

Takashi Shimura

Dr. Yamane

Momoko Kochi

Emiko

Akira Takarada

Ogata

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Synopsis

A U.S. newsman (Raymond Burr) in Tokyo recounts the story of a huge dinosaur roused from the sea by an atomic blast.

Director: Terry Morse, Ishirô Honda
Producer: Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenwriter: Takeo Murata, Ishirô Honda
Production Co: Toho Company Ltd., Jewell Enterprises
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 27, 1956, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 20, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $148.9K
Runtime: 1h 20m

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