Godzilla 1985

1985
PG
1h 27m

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

YOUR RATING

Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.

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Action Epic Dinosaur Adventure Disaster Epic Kaiju Political Drama Political Thriller Sci-Fi Epic Tragedy Action

Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 3 nominations

Videos1

Trailer 1:35

Trailer

Photos63

Storyline

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Trivia
Contrary to popular belief, Raymond Burr was actually quite proud of his association with Godzilla since his debut in the Americanized version of the film from 1956. It came as a surprise to friends and colleagues when he enthusiastically returned for the international release of the 1985 sequel. While working on that film, he used the clout he'd gained from his success on Perry Mason to ensure the film wasn't too heavily edited and Koji Hashimoto's original intentions were preserved. Burr wrote the ending narration himself.

Goofs
Godzilla's appearance keeps changing due to different special effect techniques being used. In particular, the giant animatronic model (known as "Cybot") mostly used for closeups has a drastically different look from the suit: the neck and arms are much thinner, the snout rounder, the ears more prominent, and the eyes and general expression also look different. It also has more robotic movements, as it's being controlled by motors instead of a suit actor.

Quotes
[US version]
Steve Martin: Nature has a way, sometimes, of reminding Man of just how small he is. She occasionally throws up the terrible offsprings of our pride and carelessness... to remind us of how puny we really are in the face of a tornado, an earthquake, or a Godzilla. The reckless ambitions of Man are often dwarfed by their dangerous consequences. For now, Godzilla - that strangely innocent and tragic monster - has gone to earth. Whether he returns or not, or is never again seen by human eyes, the things he has taught us... remain.

Alternate versions
In the US version, the character of Hiroshi Okumura (Shin Takuma) is renamed "Ken" (or "Kenny," as his sister Naoko calls him). However, his character is still called "Hiroshi Okumura" in the credits.

Connections
Edited from The Return of Godzilla (1984)

User reviews74

Review

Featured review

8/10

Return to Godzilla's roots

I would recommend that anyone who has only seen one version of this film make an effort to see whichever version you haven't seen. The changes that have been made between the Japanese/International version and the American version are very telling, in themselves.

Quite a few people criticize the suit design in this movie, but I think it's my favorite out of all the suits from 1954-1995. It looks the least like any 'real' reptile and more like a maddened, nuke-scorched monster. Or maybe just a big, green charcoal briquette with eyes. Anyway, it's feral and mindless, which is what Godzilla originally was. None of this superhero-friend-to-children-single-dad B.S. He's indestructible, he's angry, and he's going to destroy things. Why? Because.

I agree with the criticism of the FX. Even though we don't expect miracles from a Godzilla movie, this one had some rough spots that typically didn't appear in even the cheapest of the series' offerings. One scene in particular comes to mind: when Godzilla does a firesweep of the military equipment firing on him as he comes out of Tokyo bay, the angle of the animated firebreath doesn't match the aim of the monster's head.

I also agree that there isn't enough city-smashing. Some people prefer monster vs. monster battles, some prefer monster vs. military, I'm one of the group that likes to see major metropolitan areas levelled. Frankly, this movie didn't fully satisfy ANY of the three groups, as far as I can tell.

All that said, this is my second-favorite Godzilla film, after the original King of the Monsters and before Godzilla vs. King Kong. De gustibus non est disputandum.