Godzilla

In 1954, an enormous beast clawed its way out of the sea, destroying everything in its path-and changing movies forever.

Read our primer on the Godzilla movies

See our IMAX screenings of Godzilla Minus One

  • Director

    Ishiro Honda

  • With

    Akira Takarada, Momoko Kochi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura and Fuyuki Murakami

  • Japan 1954. 96 min

  • Certificate

    PG
    Japanese with English subtitles

This legendary film is one of the great classics of cinema, from noted special effects director Ishiro Honda, a friend and collaborator of Akira Kurosawa. Made in 1954, Godzilla was Japan's first foray into the big budget feature, costing ten times as much as the average Japanese movie and twice as much as the same studio's Seven Samurai which was released the same year.

Takashi Shimura stars as the revered palaeontologist who uncovers the horrible secret at the heart of the monster (Godzilla is a long dormant Jurassic beast awoken by the atom bomb). The original Godzilla is a fierce indictment of the atomic age. An enormous hit for the Toho film studio, the original film created a legendary monster that would enter the lexicon of popular culture worldwide, spawning multiple sequels over seventy years, countless rip-offs, and a new genre: the kaiju eiga or Japanese monster movie. Still rated amongst the top twenty Japanese movies of all time, the original Godzilla is perhaps the definitive monster movie - both a bold metaphor for the atomic age and a thrilling tour de force of pioneering special effects.

Catch this original Godzilla on the largest screen in the UK!