Godzilla

A spectre is hauting Asia. Is the spectre of Gojira. It’s 1954, and the world meets a creature that, for the next seventy years (as of the time I’m writing), will rage almost uninterruptedly across screens.
A giant lizard that destroys cities for its pleasure—and especially for ours. At least, objectively, that’s what it does. But the being created by Tomoyuki Tanaka is much more complex. As deep as the ocean it inhabits. It is, in fact, a warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the madness of mankind, misusing inventions that could otherwise improve life.

The first Godzilla, directed by Ishirô Honda, came at a delicate moment in world history. The Cold War with escalating tensions, the United States testing nuclear weapons, and Japan still unable to forget the bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Things the Americans, however, wanted to forget and, above all, avoid discussing.
So much so that they bought the film but stripped it of its deeper scenes, adding Raymond Burr to tie it all together.

A film later described by critics as very boring and bad. Perhaps, but for me, it holds the charm of films from that era. It’s a masterpiece of the sci-fi genre and, above all, showcases the ingenuity of an exceptional director like Ishirô Honda, who filmed models and papier-mâché houses crushed by an actor, Haruo Nakajima, who endured significant challenges due to the costume’s weight and the scorching heat. A slow film, as was typical for the time, and deeply dramatic, devoid of comic relief and filled with moments that unmistakably address the aforementioned themes.

Several fishing boats explode near Odo Island. At first, it’s thought to be mines, then volcanic activity. But one night, Professor Yamane, his daughter Emiko, and soldier Hideto, while investigating Odo Island, witness a giant creature destroying villages. The locals call it Gojira (Godzilla), a dinosaur that survived in the ocean depths and grew colossal due to radiation. And so begins its rage—or vengeance—against the world.

Scientist Serizawa, meanwhile, might have the solution: a deadly weapon, the Oxygen Destroyer, capable of pulverizing the skeleton of any living being.
But he refuses to reveal this weapon to the world. Yet Godzilla is unstoppable, destroying everything in its path, reaching Tokyo, which is left in ruins. Serizawa ultimately uses the weapon, annihilates Godzilla, and dies along with it, taking the weapon with him so no other human could use it for nefarious purposes. A poignant call to the ethical responsibility of science, which lies at the heart of the film.