Review of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) by Allan C — 30 Mar 2014

This was the American release version of the film, which cut out a great deal of the original Japanese version and inserted a great deal of scenes starting Raymond Burr, who also narrated a lot of the film.

There was a to more of a political context in the Japanese version, with commentary on American imperialism and the the lasting effects of the a-bomb. In the American version, it's simply a giant monster smashing stuff real good, which actually works pretty well.

The story and build up to the Godzilla attacks are all that interesting, but the special effects for the Godzilla attacks work pretty well and are still a to of fun. Since this film was in black and white, Godzilla actually seemed to look more menacing and had a more serious tone, as compared to the color sequels where the rubber suit was more obvious and the target audience for Godzilla fighting King Kong, giant moths or evil robots were squarely aimed at children.

The Japanese version "Gojira" was certainly not a kids film and although this Americanized version of the film dumbs down the original with it's Raymond Burr narration and inserts, it's still solid entertainment.