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When we talk about streaming culture, we’re usually enthusing about what’s new, but one of the best things about streaming is how it’s made old and obscure cult hits available to a new generation. Presenting Cult Corner: your weekly look into hidden gems and long-lost curiosities that you can find on streaming.
I’m sad to admit that until recently my understanding of the Kaiju genre was chiefly defined by Pacific Rim, terrible remakes of Godzilla, and Kaiju Big Battel. Oh, and the old Sim City game. Remember when Godzilla would destroy your town? Heh. That was fun.
So, when I found out that Shout! Factory TV was streaming an extensive library of original Japanese Godzilla films — as a part of their recent Kaiju Movie Marathon — I was excited to dive into where the myth of Godzilla all started. I think I expected the original 1954 version of Godzilla would be high camp; what I got was a classy horror film that used a hulking monster to represent our deepest modern fears and anxieties.
Watching the original 1954 version is fascinating because it’s very clearly defined by the year it was made. To put it plainly, the original Godzilla is old. It’s first act moves as slowly as the rampaging beast and the entire film is hampered by the technological constraints of its time period. And yet, you have to be dazzled by the ingenious ways that the director used framing and old school special effects to ratchet up tension. Small character moments and the look on an actor’s face can communicate more peril than the most outrageous visual.
There’s another reason why it’s so important to note that Godzilla was made in 1954 and it’s historical. The United States finally ended the conflict in the Pacific Theater of World War II by dropping not one, but two atomic bombs on Japanese metropolises in August of 1945. It’s estimated that anywhere from 129,000 – 246,000 Japanese citizens were killed and most of them were civilians.
I think it’s really important to remember that the original Godzilla was made less than a decade after this happened. Godzilla is a monster set on destroying not only Tokyo, but the world, and he just so happens to be fueled by radiation. The film’s producer, Tomoyuki Tanaka went on the record and confirmed that “The theme of the film, from the beginning, was the terror of the bomb.” Just as Zack Snyder purposely used imagery that evoked the horror of 9/11 in his controversial take on Superman, Man of Steel, the director of Godzilla knew that he was tapping into his own culture’s fear and sorrow when he shot his film. And it’s interesting to note that Gareth Edwards’ recent remake of the film worked best when it referenced recent memories of mass scale terror attacks and natural disasters.
The best horror films and action adventures always tap into something psychological. The reason that Godzillla has endured for so long and across so many cultures is that the monster emerged as the perfect symbol for our own feelings about the creation of the nuclear age. Godzilla’s rampage is instigated by man’s own scientific meddling. He’s the monster we made, but can never control.
As time went on, and as the shadow of nuclear war dimmed, Godzilla evolved to be just another badass monster that we have to face, but will ultimately destroy. I think this might be why many recent takes on the Kaiju genre feel full of swagger and excitement, but often lack the bite of these early films. The original uncut Japanese version of Godzilla is fraught with the kind of anxiety that you just don’t get from the modern ones. [Watch Godzilla, the Uncut Japanese Original on Shout! Factory TV]
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