Not a big fan of how they dubbed this one. I'll need to see the original, non-Americanized version since so much was apparently changed.

Godzilla is a good example of a movie that gets so overwhelmed with nostalgia that people forget what a terrible movie it truly is. Godzilla is full of far more terrible post World War II nuclear fervor and long, poorly translated dialogue that should've been cut in favor of guys in rubber suits demolishing plastic buildings. The Raymond Burr scenes just feel insulting in their blatant pandering to American viewers. Godzilla may have a long lineage, but it's built on a shaky foundation.

This butchered American release was far from the 9.5 I gave the original. Raymond Burr was never a great actor to begin with, always propped up by better actors(s) around him. Problem is there is no real supporting cast for him here, and it shows. Typical political recutting of Anti-American-weapons international films of the time period; watch Gojira, stay far away from this; they've cut out huge parts of the movie, changed the story, and shoved in Raymond Burr. Not worth the pain of watching.

yay!

Not too bad, really. It ties Godzilla's appearance to Hiroshima, which gives it some seriousness and resonance.

Ugh.

The quintessential post-nuclear fears made into a monster movie movie.

Modern audiences will undoubtedly be confused by the utter seriousness of this brooding black-and-white classic. Excellent Eiji Tsuburaya special effects, while the added American scenes with Burr cut into the original material work surprisingly well. Followed by endless sequels

I gave the Japanese version a much higher rating. This is still very watchable, but it's watered-down whereas the real one is 100 proof.

Tokyo gets flattened by Godzilla in the Americanized version of Gojira.

17 MINUTES from the original was cut for the insertion of Raymond Burr into the American Version (most of which is basically Burr asking "What did he say?"). It also adds a trashiness that the original Japanese version lacks (though the original has it's moments). The start of a pop culture phenomenon. Toe knee :-)

The Japanese cut works, the American one not so much.

The original Japanese version is actually pretty good, the version with Raymond Burr is quite a bit less so.

alot more complex of a plot that I thought it would be

I knew the plot was bad, but I hoped it will have at least some decent action scenes for it's time. Instead, I had moments where Godzilla is just walking downtown Tokyo, with endless tanks shooting at him as he walks out without a scratch. Godzilla apperred for 15 minutes, maybe, and less the scene where Godzilla showing up behind a mountain, all of it was crap. And what do you have when Godzilla isn't on screen? Stupid trama disccussing unrelevant things with unlogical resolutions.

Passes the time.

The americanized version, told from Ray Burr's POV is a neat little movie on it's own, too. Less character more action.