Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Name: Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Horror
Released: April 27, 1956
Duration: 80 min
Rating: 61
Cast: Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Fuyuki Murakami, Momoko Kôchi, Raymond Burr

1956

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters!

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Movie Details & Credits

Embassy Pictures | Release Date: April 27, 1956 | TV-PG

Starring: Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Fuyuki Murakami, Momoko Kôchi, Raymond Burr, Ren Yamamoto, Sachio Sakai, Tadashi Okabe, Takashi Shimura, Toyoaki Suzuki

Summary: A 400-foot (122-meter) dinosaur-like beast, awoken from undersea hibernation off the Japanese coast by atomic-bomb testing, attacks Tokyo.

Director: Ishirô Honda and Terry O. Morse

Genre(s): Action, Sci-Fi, Horror

Rating: TV-PG

Runtime: 80 min

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Critic Reviews

Owen Gleiberman

Godzilla is still the most awesome of tacky movie monsters — a Jurassic knockoff of King Kong whose ritual stomping of Tokyo never quite lets you forget that you’re watching a man in a lizard suit trash a very elaborate toy train set. Read full review

Alan Ng

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! is the story that began it all, laying the themes of Japanese kaiju that would endure for decades. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

While much of Godzilla, King of the Monsters is second-rate, there's no doubt that you're watching a star being born. Read full review

James Berardinelli

This is the one Godzilla movie in which the title character plays second fiddle to the humans. While the film's moral and ethical situations are interesting, they are not as compelling as the film's adherents would have us believe, and their resolutions are simplistic. Read full review

The Guardian Rick Moody

The Americans got hold of the much superior Japanese original, Godzilla, and edited into it 20 minutes-worth of Burr, with his vacant and oddly stiff expression, in order to spice things up. Still, without Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, the awesome cinematic hero might have remained a merely regional success, a giant Japanese lizard confined to its own country. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

The 1956 film, which adds Raymond Burr as reporter Steve Martin, feels like watching the original version through a foggy window. The end result is the feeling that something is missing. Read full review

Bosley Crowther

The whole thing is in the category of cheap cinematic horror-stuff. Read full review

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User Reviews

PetarPigeon

Apr 18, 2020

Great monster movie,a lot of great and memorable moments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Kai82

Sep 23, 2021

This is actually the reedited version of the first Godzilla movie for the US market. So it is still the movie that started the franchise and made the Kaiju genre a household name around the world. Godzilla has transcended the media as I do not know any person who has not at least heard ofThis is actually the reedited version of the first Godzilla movie for the US market. So it is still the movie that started the franchise and made the Kaiju genre a household name around the world. Godzilla has transcended the media as I do not know any person who has not at least heard of him. It started as allegory of the dangers of nuclear bombs, dangers of radiation and their consequences. Japan is the only country which suffered a nuclear attack and I say this was a unnecessary crime. By the way when friends and I visited Japan Hiroshima was on our schedule. It was a unique experience that changed us and I would recommend it. Back to the review. The Japanese Production studio Toho was contacted for the rights to Godzilla. It was decided to make changes for the US market or better said audience. To be fair the changes are not that major as the star of the movie is still Godzilla. However the Godzilla movie or basically most Kaiju movies are not for everyone. They have a B movie charm, are often enjoyable silly and some are in the “So bad that it is good” category. Also they are immensely entertaining in a way that is hard to describe. The story follows American reporter Steve Martin (No not the entertainer) as he is investigating a series of strange ship wreckage's near the coast of Japan. A survivor tells a story of an island where the native worship a sea monster as god named Godzilla. He will dig deeper into the matter but his uncovering will surpass his wildest imaginations. I stop here because of spoilers even when everyone should know what will happen in a Godzilla movie. The story works well for the genre. However I do not know if it works as well for non fans. It is in the realm of classic movies that aged a bit. The actors are fine and I think Raymond Burr is excellent here. He is an actor I liked in many roles and he will be forever remembered as Perry Mason. Other than him I praise Takashi Shimura as Dr. Yamane, Momoko Kochi as Emiko and Akira Takarada as Ogata. For the special effects I must admit that those definitely aged badly. Strangely some kind of cheesiness became a staple of the Godzilla movies for a time so I am not sure how to rate this. Overall this is the American version of a classic. Will not say that it is butchered as modern movies would make this statement ridiculousness. In general you need a soft spot for this genre which I have but this prevents me from making recommendations.… Expand

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