4K Review: Criterion's GODZILLA Release Reigns

Our friends at Criterion have always been huge Godzilla supporters. They’ve got tons of titles for sale and streaming on their channel (there are more than 30 sequels!), so it’s no surprise that they recently released the film that started it all on 4K, the 1954 original Gojira/Godzilla, directed by Ishiro Honda.

It took me longer than usual to review this title, due to events here in the U.S.; I couldn’t help but wonder if we’re going right back where we started in a sense. Will the incoming, returning political regime bring us destruction beyond anything we’ve seen? Let’s hope not, but the weight of that question, in addition to many others, has really taken more than enough energy from myself and countless others.

If you’ve seen Godzilla, you probably know what I’m talking about. In post-WWII Japan, the country was depressed on an existential level that many thankfully don’t experience. Hiroshima. Nagasaki. Annihilation. Need I say more?

It’s from this situation that Godzilla was born. The long-dormant lizard hibernating at the bottom of the ocean was awakened by man’s destruction. Restless, the creature rose up from the sea, destroyed ships and stomped on Japan, killing humans unlucky enough to get in its way.

Professor/Scientist Kyohei Yamane, his daughter Emiko and her secret boyfriend, Japanese Marine Hideto Ogata travel to Odo Island to investigate exactly why more than a dozen ships were destroyed in some kind of catastrophic event. Soon, they witness Godzilla on the war path and along with the authorities, have to figure out how they can possibly contain this beast.

Emiko assists Dr. Daisuke Serizawa in his work, and he eventually reveals that he’s found a way to possibly combat the kaiju, but only at the total annihilation of everything in the sea around it. He’s created an “oxygen destroyer” and doesn’t want to use it; he’s just seen his country similarly destroyed and appears to be deeply traumatized.

Meanwhile, the romantic subplot between Emiko and Hideto is compromised as he disagrees with her father on what should be done, and the elder doesn’t take it well.

I hate to spoil a movie, but this one’s legitimately 70 years old, and if you haven’t seen it, you should. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, which is why so many U.S. and global citizens are alarmed right now. It feels like the path of destruction could be near, once again.

Anyway, Dr. Serizawa teams up with rival Hideto, and though Serizawa has been coded as possibly evil, a mad scientist, it’s he who sacrifices himself for the greater good. He burns all of his notes for the oxygen destroyer and heads down to the ocean floor to activate the machine and see that nothing goes wrong. He also cuts his line, preferring to perish along with all of the creatures below. You might guess that he knows Emiko loves Hideto instead, but I prefer to think that the bigger reason is that he decides to die so that no one can hijack him for morally horrific purposes. You know, war making.

The 4K presentation is quite beautiful, and the sound is clear as can be. This release also comes with the previous Blu-ray and all its featurettes.

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
• High-definition digital restoration of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Terry Morse’s 1956 reworking of the original, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary for both movies by film historian David Kalat
• Interviews with actors Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima and special effects technicians Yoshio Irie and Eizo Kaimai
• Interview with legendary Godzilla score composer Akira Ifukube
• Featurette detailing Godzilla’s photographic effects, introduced by special effects director Koichi Kawakita and special effects photographer Motoyoshi Tomioka
• Interview with Japanese-film critic Tadao Sato
• The Unluckiest Dragon, an illustrated audio essay featuring historian Greg Pflugfelder describing the tragic fate of the fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryu Maru, a real-life event that inspired Godzilla
• Trailers
• PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman
• "GODZILLA" (a.k.a. "GOJIRA") (c) 1954 Toho Co., Ltd. "GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS" (c) 1956 Toho Co., Ltd. Godzilla, Gojira, the character designs and King of the Monsters are trademarks of Toho Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz

The cover is gorgeous, the included essay and booklet informative, and it’s a delight to watch the actors, composer, and FX people and assorted crew discuss what went into making the film. There’s also the Americanized version of the film here, but I just can’t bring myself to watch it. Maybe one day, or year.

This 4K release is well worth your time to own a slice of cinema history. Check out more on Criterion’s page for the film here.