Godzilla

Criterion announced its release of Godzilla on Blu ray in October thrusting the movie back into my life. I'm not even 100% sure that I'd seen the entire film, but I knew that it was something I wanted to show my child (also need: Ray Harryhausen films). This feeling was renewed when I went home for Christmas and nieces saw the monster carpets my cousin gave me and while Ruby was slightly off-put, they were both drawn to the creatures. I proceded to show them as many clips from Godzilla as I could find and showed them images of all of the monsters in the world (Josie was particularly transfixed by the Smog Monster, mainly because of the carpet). If there's one fact of life, it's that everyone loves monsters.

After watching the original Godzilla (not the Americanized Godzilla: King of the Monsters), I realized my desire to show my son is slightly more complicated than I'd like. For one, while Godzilla is a terrific film and very interesting, there is a lot of time spent talking about science and how to bring down the monster. I know children are fickle creatures an may check out in the absence of some epic monster madness. When Godzilla is on a rampage, it's a wonder of special effects (especially for 1954 and since Godzilla basically made special effects films viable in Japan) and the miniatures and costume are amazing. When he's not on screen, well, I don't know if kids will care about a pseudo-love triangle.

Also, I would never feel right about showing anyone a dubbed version of the Godzilla and it saddens me that so many hold in their minds the crappy dubbing of the other films in the series. This means I have to wait for the boy to be able to read (unless I want to act out the subtitles for him). How can I possibly wait that long? I plan on starting the Black Christmas tradition this year! He's got to see Godzilla before that. I guess I can just show him the rampaging...

And related to the bad dubbing, as awesome as it is to watch giant monsters clash, in light of the original, it's disappointing to see Godzilla become a defender of Japan (though he's not in all the sequels). He's a monster, dammit! The sequels turn a film about the effects of nuclear testing and the dangers of weapons of mass destruction into somewhat of a joke (though, to be fair, other monsters are created from pollution and such things). Then there's Godzilla's son, Minilla, which really might be the way to intro the series to children but is kind of an embarrassment. But still, men in rubber suits fighting!

Maybe all will go according to plan and the boy will love Godzilla. Aside from the visceral thrills of watching a monster destroy a city, I'm hoping for an early appreciation of Akira Kurosawa regular Takashi Shimura who always seems unsung when paired with Toshiro Mifune but owns the screen just as much in a different, restrained way.

Some people may watch Godzilla (and the Harryhausen films) and say they look cheap, silly, or fake, but to me, that's the magic of it all. Seeing the craftsmanship is amazing to me and it makes it look like the film is tangible. Something that can be made. Something that can be made by me or anyone else who has the desire. Films don't have to be perfect representations of reality but they do have to be sincere expressions of their creators. And ultimately, that's the message I hope to pass along.


This is the King of the Monsters trailer. If you want the original (unembeddable) trailer, click here.

Post-script: Not all of my writing will be through the filter of my child. I'm just stoked to show Godzilla to the kid (and my nieces, for that matter [my nephew is still too young to read much of anything])

Post post-script: Godzilla was nominated for Best Picture at the 1954 Japanese Academy Awards but lost to Seven Samurai (also starring Takashi Shimura). My mind is a little blown by how awesome those awards must have been.