SnoopyStyle
American reporter Steve Martin (Raymond Burr) is a survivor in the aftermath of the devastation in Tokyo. He recounts the events of the past few days. He was flying to Japan to meet scientist Dr. Serizawa. He finds that Serizawa is engaged with some new developments and he joins to cover the situation. Ships have disappeared. Attacks continue and Godzilla lands on Japanese soil. Serizawa suspects that it has been raised by the detonation of the H-bombs.This is the version of Godzilla reworked for the American audience. Raymond Burr's scenes are fine. They are essentially him and his Japanese co-stars reacting to the Godzilla movie. It's the same as the original where the Japanese actors are standing around reacting to the destruction unleashed by Godzilla. Other than being white, Burr's scenes don't stand out much from the rest of the movie. This is Godzilla redux. I do wish for better action with Steve's injury. A building falls on him but it's not really action oriented. This is fine for what it is. It's a cheap way to appeal to the western audience without remaking the entire movie. For purists, this is sacrilegious.
moran-78845
I watched both versions of the original Godzilla and I enjoyed the one with Raymond Burr much better. The first film focused too much upon the uninteresting love triangle. The long scenes with the elderly professor ruminating about saving Godzilla from destruction was goofy considering how dangerous the creature was proving to be. Also, why was the island boy who lost his parents on Odo island suddenly in Tokyo with the professor and his doctor.
utgard14
American version of 1954 Japanese classic Gojira (Godzilla) with added scenes of Raymond Burr as journalist Steve Martin (no doubt a wild & crazy guy) providing narration and an outsider's point of view on the attack on Tokyo by Godzilla. I think most fans tend to prefer the original version to this one. It's easy to see why, though both are good movies. The original is a darker, more intense film. The addition of the Raymond Burr footage in the American version lightens things up as well as eliminating many of the atomic bomb and Hiroshima references. For his part, Burr is fine and his character is well-written and respectful. No boorish American stereotype, thankfully. The Japanese cast is excellent, though you get a much better appreciation for them watching the original. Akira Ifukube's haunting score will stay with you long after the movie is over. The special effects are charmingly quaint but never so poor that it takes you out of the mood the film sets.Godzilla wasn't the first movie of its type but it is one of the better ones, even if judged solely on the level of being a fun monster movie. However, it's the added anti-nuclear theme in a film made by a people directly affected by the atomic bomb a decade before that gives Godzilla a certain gravitas that other giant monster movies from the 1950s don't have. If you are able to enjoy a slowly-paced film with subtitles (not everybody is, let's be honest), then you should seek out the original by all means. Whichever version you watch, I think you will be pleased as both are terrific films with entertainment and historic value. Oh and don't worry about that ending. The movie was followed by a sequel or two...dozen.
AaronCapenBanner
This is the American re-edit of director Ishiro Honda's groundbreaking original, that now stars Raymond Burr as American reporter Steve Martin, who is visiting Japan, and gets caught up in the biggest story of his life. Steve just so happens to know Dr. Serizawa, whose recent experiments have created the very weapon that can destroy Godzilla, if he can bring himself to do so... Reasonably good film does a fairly clever job of integrating Burr into the original, as if he had been there all along, but just off screen! Ragged around the edges to be sure, but an otherwise inspired way of making it accessible to English-speaking audiences. Raymond Burr would reprise this role thirty years later in separate sequel to a new series("Godzilla 1985", based off of "The Return Of Godzilla")
AD
