All right, let's be honest...objectively speaking, the "American" re-release of "Gojira"...with Raymond Burr's scenes mixed in to make it more palatable to Amercian audiences...is a pretty dumb movie. It's a monster movie, for heaven's sake, not "The Seven Samurai" (Though I understand that the director and Kurasawa were lifelong friends.) Still, you can watch this movie decades later after dozens (hundreds?) of remakes, knockoffs, rip-offs and tributes...and you can still see the craft and creativity and freshness that inspired the imagination of viewers and filmmakers.
The buildup to the first actual reveal of the monster is neatly done...and when the camera finally reveals the famous outline looming over the crest of a ridge and the hikers freak and start running for their lives...there are very few scenes in any monster or disaster movie ever made that can rival the revelatory quality of Godzilla's first appearance.
The scenes where Raymond Burr appears aren't as goofy and disconnected as I'd been led to believe - for the most part his voice overs and narration are well considered and not too heavy on the exposition. His scenes look pretty close in lighting, scenery, costumes,and design to the original cut. Also, in most of those scenes, the Japanese actors and extras appearing with him work well to preserve the continuity so he isn't just emoting into a vaccuum. Yes, there are a couple gaffes, but even then Burr was a pro, and he makes it work.
I'm glad I finally got to see the (almost) original...it lived up to its reputation.
The buildup to the first actual reveal of the monster is neatly done...and when the camera finally reveals the famous outline looming over the crest of a ridge and the hikers freak and start running for their lives...there are very few scenes in any monster or disaster movie ever made that can rival the revelatory quality of Godzilla's first appearance.
The scenes where Raymond Burr appears aren't as goofy and disconnected as I'd been led to believe - for the most part his voice overs and narration are well considered and not too heavy on the exposition. His scenes look pretty close in lighting, scenery, costumes,and design to the original cut. Also, in most of those scenes, the Japanese actors and extras appearing with him work well to preserve the continuity so he isn't just emoting into a vaccuum. Yes, there are a couple gaffes, but even then Burr was a pro, and he makes it work.
I'm glad I finally got to see the (almost) original...it lived up to its reputation.