The History of Godzilla (1954)

The History of Godzilla (1954)
[Reupload] Original Upload: 8/7/2020
#Godzilla #godzilladay #Gojira
Sources
- Brian Solomon's "Godzilla FAQ"
- David Kalat's, "A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series".
- Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle's "Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, from Godzilla to Kurosawa"
- Steve Ryfle's "Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of "The Big G".
- wikizilla.org
- www.tohokingdom.com/
You can purchase or rent "Godzilla" at www.amazon.com.

[@Actually-ll1bw]

***UMMM ACTUALLY*** 44:02 - Some reptiles do have vocal cords

[@TheBelieveit1]

pretty much only crocodilians and even then theirs hardly qualifies as vocal cords and is more a technicality than anything, and it sorta makes sense given they are more closely related to birds who can vocalize very well than they are to other reptiles

[@Nethercroc]

Only crocodilians

[@needlefoxx]

Tokay Geckos are vocal as hell

[@jotef3935]

@@needlefoxx q

[@SharktopusUltima6064]

@@TheBelieveit1 Birds are reptiles

[@thomasthomas2418]

One of the most important things about "Godzilla" was that it was the first sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese in American theaters since World War II.

[@theperson8539]

Wonder if they paid any reparations to unduly incarcerated Japanese-Americans after the fact.

[@panzerschliffehohenzollern4863]

​@@theperson8539What Japanese-American?!? - Said the policymaker. (Also FDR's dead so you can't ask for his opinion on the matter anymore so..... under the rug it go.)

[@VideoSmarts1]

@@panzerschliffehohenzollern4863you know these types, always trying to find a handout and digging up skeletons calling it reparations to emotionally coerce you into it

[@david-468]

@@VideoSmarts1no that’s not what that is, WE , America, the United States KILLED roughly 15 million Germans and Japanese 5 million of which were civilians, doesn’t matter how you look at it OUR propaganda called those things bad/atrocities yet we did them anyways , it’s a valid criticism

[@giantmonstermedia1058]

Bill, I’m a life long Godzilla fan, and would consider myself very knowledgeable on the franchise. But I just wanted to say, I’ve just spent the last few days binging your Godzilla history videos, and man I’ve been blown away. you are right on the mark with all your content. You’ve pointed out things I’ve never noticed in nearly 20 years watching these films basically on repeat, like Yamane in the background of the final shot. What a great observation. You’re well researched, well spoken, you got a great sense of humor... Just wanted to say I love your content, and as someone just starting out on KZbin, i have another great content creator I’ll be looking up to

[@BigActionBill]

That’s an amazing compliment, thank you for that. I’m happy you’re enjoying and hopefully I can continue to improve at making these

[@markbelden6883]

@@BigActionBill I was bout to say if you put an emoji I would've got so mad because if you type a long af paragraph then the other person responds with a simple emoji then you are a bad person because *THAT HURTS*

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

That is an excellent comment. You don't see those kind of well informed solid comments. Bravo sir.

[@michaelsergejhelgesson7889]

I fully agree! ( Godzillafan for exactly 50 years, since I saw " Son of Godzilla " in a movietheater in Bavaria, Germany! )

[@TTS-TP]

Now you've made me go back and watch them all again...

[@sabufinisher]

with the amount of research and hard work for making this video it deserves to be an official documentary for Godzilla. THIS VIDEO DESERVES MORE VIEWS!

[@JR-uy2nd]

The movie explanation is plausible. If the oxygen destroyer destroys the oxygen atoms, it will destroy all the organic compounds that make most of the solid parts of the living bodies, but the bones are the part of the body with a higher percentage of inorganic compounds (minerals like calcium) soo its plausible that the living bodies remain by a attack of the oxygen destroyer would be the skeleton. But yes, a lot of hydrogen would be created as well as hydrocarbons, that would be released in gaseous form and that the film shows with the bubbling when the weapon is used.

[@Venom3254]

Destroyah is indeed born

[@sparroni]

The history and trivia that you included is incredibly comprehensive, but I loved the little detail that you included of putting headphones on Godzilla for the soundtrack credits. All of the humorous touches were great!

[@BigActionBill]

It’s a lot of fun to work on, thank you!

[@Verm1n]

58:39 yup! and in the prequel graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening, it's revealed Ishiro Serizawa's father is named Eiji, after Eiji Tsuburaya

[@interviolet6675]

Rest in Peace, Takarada One of the most enduring Godzilla stars He's an icon 💜

[@Homie1_23]

This is why I love history

[@katiemaige4275]

Same

[@Krbrx_DCD]

Same

[@akapints]

When is not school teaching it

[@Grandmaster_Dragonborn]

@@akapints Film school might. This isn’t related to school history :)

[@JuanLopez-tj6yk]

Because history sometimes gives birth to something Legendary. In this case being a somber tale of two monsters, the Folly of Man and Gojira...

[@serghini11]

Fun fact Bill. The Swedish release of Godzilla back in 1957 was called Godzilla Monstret Från Havet (Monster From The Ocean) and it was just the Japanese movie with subtitles. We didn’t get the American edit of the movie but the original uncut version.

[@nixseven6163]

you guys are lucky.

[@SoleMan117]

Did catch Godzilla catch in in Sweden? You hear a lot about his time in Germany, but the Euro-Godzilla experience is something that seems undocumented to me.

[@hydrolito]

Americans have since also watched unedited original with English Subtitles added.

[@michaelsergejhelgesson1637]

@@SoleMan117 I grew up in Bavaria, and watched Godzilla movies at the cinema in our little village in the Alps. When I came to Sweden in 1973, Godzilla was not so well known. One movie on TV in 1973 ( Son of Godzilla ) and one in 1977 ( Destroy all monsters ). Never at the cinemas. That's all!

[@stoneyboyd]

Cool!

[@MrBronx61]

After 67 years, it's STILL the best G-film.

[@qlasalle]

That's not fair it was a brilliant source material 👀 I tried to make interesting counter arguments but its the only Godzilla movie that has gripping human moments. Yeah I'm going to agree profusely on this.

[@caramelcandys]

Eh i still think shin godzilla is better but i see where ur coming from

[@zeno3353]

I’d argue Gojira and Shin Gojira tie for best

[@spiritdetective90]

Shin Godzilla was also great

[@patmurph7769]

So far is the key word. Anyway If I remade godzilla it would take place 31 years after the 1954 incident.it begins with the retelling of 1954 beginning with a a butterfly turning into ash and embers.the new godzilla would be 85 meters but there will be a third 1,760 meter one that would appear.the girl from the first movie would be in bed ridden telling her tale from 1954 later on she would see the new godzilla and say "you killed my family,poisoned me for life,now you kill me what did I do to deserve this" then she will get crushed by godzilla but when Godzilla finally gets killed godzilla cries in pain but 19 years when a magnitude 8.6 earthquake destroys a nuclear power plant the 1,760 meter godzilla awakens and starts destroying Tokyo,San Francisco,and finally Berlin it would go to chernobyl to feast on radiation it would sleep there for 17 years and then it would reawaken

[@danielx7609]

6:46 just for that, Oppenheimer (2023) is now an unofficial Godzilla prequel in my mind.

[@cyphercircuitboard6576]

6:14 "Albert. You remember when I came to you with those calculations, that we thought we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world?" "I remember it well. What of it?" *“I believe we did.”*

[@kingdomcomesuperman3669]

Always keep coming back to this video, the amount of research and presentation is the level of an official documentary and the added context makes me love this movie even more upon rewatches.

[@justnoah2073]

I appreciate first, just how we'll edited this whole video is. I watched the whole thing in one sitting, which I wasn't expecting. I'm so glad you have the titles of the music too. This movie will forever be incredibly unsettling, but the message, Godzilla wasn't a monster, and everybody is the victim.

[@AzeraV]

I love binge watching Godzilla review vids. I can't believe I hadn't found you before. Your research for each is extremely impressive.

[@stillframe8923]

I colourised that phot at 44:00! It was my first colourisation attempt, and I have re-attempted it with more realistic colours since then. Great video anyway, I learnt lots from it

[@BigActionBill]

Wow! It’s amazing, great work. Did you see that Toho is colorizing the entire movie? Idk when it’ll be released though

[@stillframe8923]

@@BigActionBill I couldn't find anything on it. Maybe you were thinking about the 1970s Italian colourisation?

[@BigActionBill]

Toho had an event back in November, Godzilla Festival Online 2020, it was a live stream. It was all in Japanese so I couldn't make it all out but they showed parts of the 1954 film colorized, so I expect that to be released sometime in the future

[@Chicago_Podcast_Authority]

You deserve way more subscribers. Godzilla videos on KZbin have been done to death (Cinemassacre, Up from the Depths) but none have the wealth of information, research and quality that yours possess.

[@DrRipper19]

Some of the shots in the original 1954 film hold up incredibly well. Some of them look more convincing than any CG Godzilla I've ever seen. But then they'll cut to something like the car crash scene or the missiles being launched from the airplanes and it's like "oh yeah..."

[@CL-pd9cp]

A great video essay on what is still the very best Godzilla film ever made.

[@jimmerhardy]

So many aspects merged to make Godzilla one of the all time classics, beginning with the title sequence, the startling roar and relentless musical score, all captured perfectly in this documentary. Well done and thank you.

[@gnphoto21]

This was one of the most informative videos I’ve ever seen! Not only did you cover how the movie was made but you also explained how and why it came to be made. Great job! Can’t wait to see your other videos!

[@greggreattricksnarke5916]

I love watching Godzilla movies on Saturday afternoon's on t.v. I still watch them on dvd now I can't wait until the new Godzilla vs King Kong movie comes over this year in 2021

[@lunaanims8171]

Yup can't wait to see godzilla win :D

[@SpadePyro]

“If you wanna skip the super important context for one of the most important and terrifying ideas ever put on film, skip to 14:00”

[@thomassiroky8714]

Amazing attention to detail. Great job, one of the best Godzilla videos I’ve ever seen

[@Robert-White]

You only have 5,000 subscribers?! This video is super high quality even compared to videos made by channels with 500,000+ subscribers, great job!

[@ENLIGHTENMENT789]

Hi, just got to say that this is the BEST making of Godzilla documentary i have ever seen. from the screen grabs, film clips, rare photo's and general details you go into..Thank you very much for taking so much time and effort in making this for us G-Fans out there😀

[@mikedaikaijufan3976]

I'm currently in the process of rewatching all these for the umpteenth time and I just wanted to put my appreciation out there for your dedication. These are the most comprehensive and informative Godzilla movie reviews I've ever seen. We need more fans like you out there, Bill!

[@enochbrooks633]

Love the content you're making! I just googled Godzilla history because I have been a huge fan my whole life, and your channel came up. Really good work, can't wait to watch the rest on your channel!

[@TheMeJustMe75]

I loved Godzilla movies as a kid. Back in the 80's they were aired on Saturday afternoons.

[@vp_wrld]

This was very interesting and informative. Great work!

[@Jacensbattlegrounds]

You did such an awesome job on this and the others from the series so far. Really enjoyed watching these with my son. Looking forward to the next ones!

[@KDHalliday]

This was put together really well. Great job, man.

[@peterelfman]

Sincerely, great work putting this entire series of videos together. I binged the the entire line, and am looking forward to the next batch.

[@Pa_blito]

great content, it's incredible that you don't have millions of viewers (yet)

[@victorcippitelli2242]

I never saw a very informative, detalled, explained, well narrated video about the first Godzilla movie until today. A very well made documentary video. Is awesome! Good job!

[@BattyWanderer]

This is so incredibly well researched and put together, I love it

[@zeusthefox1585]

Somthing I really liked Minus one for was the effort to show people getting killed by Godzilla. as you said this is normally a rarity and only implied. It was nice having A Godzilla really capture the same kind of Terror the 54 Goji did.

[@Tiberius_Productions]

Thank you for the work you've done for the Godzilla community by making these videos. I know you are doing this as a labor of love to the franchise we love so much, and i'm glad to see Godzilla is becoming more popular than ever here in the US because of KZbinrs like yourself putting in the work to showcase this fantastic franchise that is a staple of Japanese modern culture. I can't wait to see you complete you're "History of Godzilla" series and I look forward to the new Reiwa Era going forward!

[@scottb91007]

Don’t know how you don’t have more subscribers, I love the production put into these videos

[@victorherron2767]

Outstanding! I've seen several treatments of Godzilla's cinematic history, and yours digs deeper than all the others. Excellent job on the edit as well. Best wishes.

[@bonehead2768]

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME GODZILLA VIDEOS- THANK SO VERY MUCH FOR DOING THESE- I REPEATEDLY ENJOY WATCHING THESE OVER & OVER!!! THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING THESE TREASURES!!!

[@fluffcake]

Godzilla's first film is amazing and depressingly dark. It would be something that none would ever hold up to be with Shin and The Return being the only to defy it. (Especially Shin, considering the events at the time.) It was great watching it and legitimately making me cry. It's that great.

[@chriswood1210]

The original is still the one and only. But I like the modern Godzilla. He is primordial and a brawler. Now only if they would have Godzilla go head to head with the military for once.

[@brandonb1681]

This was well researched and presented. TY much. As someone who builds scale models with dioramas, I'm most interested in the sets that Godzilla destroys.

[@WorldTravelA320]

Same

[@Azulzinhokkk]

Came across your channel, and wow, I'm blown away! You clearly put passion and thought into your videos, and it makes them very special. I watched all of it, and gave me some insight that I never thought before. Godzilla 1954 is still my favorite Godzilla film, and you gave me even more appreciation for it than I thought that I could have.

[@knights_of_old]

Great vid! I watched it all, and hope you make more about other Japanese cinema/history subjects. I also appreciated the Jojo clip.

[@howardmaryon]

Thank you for making this, and making it so well. I now understand so much more about the foundation of this monumental movie series, and how it ties in perfectly with Japanese culture and history. I must watch the original now to appreciate the brilliance of this major cinematic milestone.

[@Gunnumn]

I truly love your godzilla series. You add so much context to many of the decisions made behind these films and its greatly interesting. Looking forward to Godzilla vs. Megalon

[@kellybrown685]

Wow. This is such a well done documentary. Thank you!

[@LandonBarton]

This is really wonderfully done and highly detailed, thank you! 🙏

[@bretts8070]

I thought I'd seen all the content and docs ever for Godzilla, but this has proven I haven't! Awesome, well done, and subbed!

[@VintageNarwhal]

Thank you. I’ve been looking to find a video to show my close friends cause apparently I found out they just thought it was just monsters fighting. And had to roughly explain he’s a nuclear allegory and this is gonna help me explain so much info without having to pin all the info together. Thank you so much. Great work.

[@Kaiju-bm4ts]

I know people like that aren't fans but it's still a bit irritating people think godzilla is nothing but fights

[@julien2983]

Incredibly detailed, highly enjoyable! Thank you for making this

[@gojifan93official]

I just have discovered your channel and these videos. These are amazing videos and have given me so much more to love about the films. You sir have earned a sub!

[@LuisSanchezLouieLouie]

Excellent job! Really well put together! And lots of forgotten history. Thank you.

[@TheSaint7770]

Well done, thank you for this!! I watched from start to finish rather spontaneously upon discovering this gem of a job (i.e. this very upload).

[@sketchsawyer]

This is incredible. Thank you!

[@DEricKesler]

This is a really enjoyable and informative documentary. Well done. Thank you.

[@tc6103]

Very detailed video! I learned a lot. Awesome job

[@brycevo]

This. This is such a great review and retrospective. Thank you

[@Evil_Noah]

This is phenomenal work. There's a lot here I never knew about before. This video should have millions of views.

[@etong4595]

I thought I liked Godzilla, but this has given me a whole new understanding. Outstanding work making these educational and fun. Most of your personal anecdotes resonate with me. Recommending this channel to other fans.

[@jjohnston326]

I remember the first time I was lucky enough to view the original Gojira, it blew me away. I think it's the best of them all as far as telling a more serious story.

[@joshuamack2524]

Outstanding review, thanks!

[@hetalianotaku7103]

Fun fact, Akira Ifukube was inspired to become a composer after hearing a radio performance of Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." And you can definitely hear that inspiration in his own work. Nice to know Stravinsky's influence transcends cultures.

[@TehHappieBunnie]

What a spectacular documentary, the amount of respect and love you have for this franchise is evident in how well crafted and researched these videos are ❤

[@TIMWReigo]

I just watched the english version of the OG Godzilla movie starring Raymond Burr and it feels amazing seeing that even in that version they still keep at least some of the dark tones mainly in the effects shots and even the ending. Watching this franchise again starting with the very first is very nostalgic for me. This video was seriously fun to watch seeing the history behind the origin of the #1 non-human character. I can't wait to watch the rest of this series while doing my nightly Godzilla binge.

[@zacharymiller9808]

Thank you for making these. Quality content

[@EchoOscarDelta]

Great video man! 1954 is my favorite and I appreciate your research even pre movie. Well done!

[@michaelsergejhelgesson7889]

Excellent documentary! Just what I needed today!

[@cesarvictoriano8072]

Anyone come back feeling like a bit of history repeated with Godzilla Minus One?

[@DarkShadeAnimations1]

thanks man, made me appreciate this movie so much more

[@seantaylor424]

Absolutely ENTHRALLING video from start to finish! Just when you thought the nuclear war inspiration behind the movie was interesting on its own, you taught me just how risky a production this film was and how groundbreaking it truly was (I had no idea its American dub was such a big hit)! Fan-TASTIC video!

[@andrewray2507]

I really appreciate the little stylized text boxes you used to show people's name and titles. Nice touch. Great video!

[@bunchoshapes5155]

Some of the best videos on the site keep it up

[@CaptainReynolds-flyinspace]

Thanks for the video. You do lot of work to produce this one. So much interesting information. Thank a lot)

[@Windwalker88]

This is just an amazing documentary, learned so much from it. You should be so proud of yourself bro

[@LetsFollowGod123]

Underrated video I liked it👏 I learned alot of information about the movie/studio

[@MattMcIrvin]

I think I saw the Raymond Burr edit first, sometime in the 1990s when I was into watching a lot of cheesy movies, and I found it kind of tedious, a grim but uninvolving first chapter in what would become a surreal and crazy monster series. I saw Honda's original version when the 2004 release came to the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts (a great art house that showed a lot of such things--I'd seen many great films there), and I was stunned. _Godzilla_ was not just a good Godzilla movie but a great movie.

[@rishadq]

Cool, very informative! Thanks for posting.

[@brendoncoyle5905]

Wow ya know i really wasn’t looking for a Godzilla channel, but damn I’m here for this. Excuse me while I binge this entire playlist.

[@callumdonnelly1718]

woah, despite having notifications turned on for your channel youtube sends me none 😭. This looks like a great video!

[@markclincy4353]

As a life long Godzilla fan,I really enjoyed your commentary. It was very informative.

[@jagerzaku9160]

Subscribed my guy, this video blew me away

[@jwjwxx]

So much information! Love the videos!

[@karltons9873]

These are the kind of documentaries I was hoping would be on the Criterion set. Bravo!

[@user-fu6bi1jv4g]

Your “History of…” videos are worthy of being DVD/Blue Ray extras. I can appreciate the research and dedication that goes into these videos. G:KotM (1957) was the first Godzilla film that I saw back in either 1969 or’70, and I watched it while building the Aurora Godzilla model kit. I’ve built that kit two more times since then, in 2000 and then in 2023, each time looking better and better!

[@bee-beargaming]

I can't wait to watch the rest of the series. Very well made videos

[@mattarcher8103]

I'm binging all your videos Bill! Also you're close to 10k so congrats! I love your content man

[@ajclements4627]

I’m a huge tokusatsu and Kaiju fan, and this documentary video is really well done. Subbed!

[@doug2078]

loved the original ! Great job !!

[@stevehoffman9735]

THAT was great, many thanks!

[@GauntletBProductions]

Being a fellow g-fan, I have to say you've done incredible work with these videos. Ive been working on a fictional blog series & have had your videos going in the background as inspiration. I look forward to the rest of the showa, Shin, & the monsterverse. If you're ever up for it, that be sweet if you gave other Toho films this treatment like Rodan, Mothra, the Mysterians & others

[@bendukes3954]

This was amazing... thank you!

[@tessdurberville711]

Very interesting program. Thank you.

[@billriddle9215]

One of the best Godzilla docs I've seen on here...new fan.

[@sledgethomas9499]

Great fucking video? U got sports and Godzilla on ur channel?? Subbed

[@BranUGalen]

Thanks for the wonderful hour!

[@foiltarmogoyf6203]

Your chanel is amazing!

[@josephvollaro4499]

I have all my life been a HUGE fan of this movie and have always tried to find out as much information about it. I am totally floored by your incredible presentation. Dont know how and where you got all this info . Especially behind the scenes clips. But am so glad you did. The story of all the principles also so enlightening I now consider your video as the go to for all us GODZILLA fans as THE SOURCE for all things GODZILLA THANKS