Overrated and overhyped

From my favorite movies..

As Good As It Gets

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Raymond Burr (Steve Martin), Takashi Shimura (Dr Yamane), Akira Takarada {dubbed by James Hong) (Hideto Agata), Momoko Kochi (Emiko), Akihiko Hirata (dubbed by James Hong) (Dr Serizawa), Frank Iwanaga (security officer), Toyoaki Suzuki (boy from Oto Island), Toranosuke Ogawa (shipping company president), Takeo Oikawa (chief of emergency services), Kokuten Kodo (old man on Oto Island), Fuyuki Murakami (scientist with Geiger counter), Mikel Conrad (George Lawrence), Ren Yamamoto (boy's older brother), Sachio Sakai (interviewer on Oro Island), Ryosaku Takasugi (Godzilla), Katsumi Tezuka (also Godzilla), Haruo Nakajima (also Godzilla), Kenji Sahara (man on boat), Tadashi Okabe (reporter on tower), Ren Imaizumi (radio operator), Tsuroko Mano (boys' mother), Miki Hayashi, Kin Sugai.Director: ISHIRO HONDA. Director of all Raymond Burr's scenes: TERRY O. MORSE. Screenplay: Takeo Murata, Ishiro Honda. Story: Shigeru Kayama. Raymond Burr's scenes written by Al C. Ward. Photography: Masao Tamai, and Guy Rose (Burr's scenes). Film editor: Terry O. Morse. Art directors: Takeo Kita, Satoshi Chuko. Set decorator: George Rohr. Music: Akira Ifukube. Special effects: Akira Watanabe, Eiji Tsuburaya, Hiroshi Mukoyama, Kuichiro Kishida. Assistant director: Ira S. Webb. Sound recording: Hisashi Shimonaga, and Art Smith. Original Japanese film, Gojira, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka for Toho in 1954. Producers: Richard Kay, Edward B. Barison, and Harry Rybnick. Executive producers: Joseph E. Levine, Terry Turner.Copyright 1956 by Jewell Enterprises, Inc. U.S. release through Embassy (Eastern states) and TransWorld (western states): April 1956. New York opening at Loew's State (of all places!): 27 April 1956. U.K. release: floating from July 1956. Never theatrically released in Australia. 80 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Rising from the sea bed, a gigantic, radioactive, prehistoric monster makes a beeline for Tokio. An American reporter (Raymond Burr) sees all, knows little.COMMENT: I am not a fan of Godzilla. He's a monster with no character at all. Just stomps on everything in sight. Model trains and cardboard skyscrapers are his meat. I wish he'd eaten the movie instead. Maybe he realized that an inferior product like this — meandering plot, filling-in-time dialogue, pretentious commentary, gosh-awful acting, agonizingly slow direction — would bring on a sure bout of acute indigestion.

I saw this late one night. My parents were in bed and I sneaked downstairs to watch TV. I was about ten and I was transfixed. I was crazy for dinosaurs and had seen "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms." This was a nice addendum to my enjoyment of these big lizards. I think the big guy was handled very well in this film. I never felt Raymond Burr detracted from anything. This was the time of the fear of radiation, and Godzilla, like the Beast, had epic doses of it. Part of the fun is waiting for the thing to show up in the city and start knocking down buildings. He doesn't disappoint. It's too bad that these Japanese production companies went on the cheap later, also creating ludicrous monsters. I will always remember the first one fondly.

American version of 1954 Japanese classic Gojira (Godzilla) with added scenes of Raymond Burr as journalist Steve Martin (no doubt a wild & crazy guy) providing narration and an outsider's point of view on the attack on Tokyo by Godzilla. I think most fans tend to prefer the original version to this one. It's easy to see why, though both are good movies. The original is a darker, more intense film. The addition of the Raymond Burr footage in the American version lightens things up as well as eliminating many of the atomic bomb and Hiroshima references. For his part, Burr is fine and his character is well-written and respectful. No boorish American stereotype, thankfully. The Japanese cast is excellent, though you get a much better appreciation for them watching the original. Akira Ifukube's haunting score will stay with you long after the movie is over. The special effects are charmingly quaint but never so poor that it takes you out of the mood the film sets.Godzilla wasn't the first movie of its type but it is one of the better ones, even if judged solely on the level of being a fun monster movie. However, it's the added anti-nuclear theme in a film made by a people directly affected by the atomic bomb a decade before that gives Godzilla a certain gravitas that other giant monster movies from the 1950s don't have. If you are able to enjoy a slowly-paced film with subtitles (not everybody is, let's be honest), then you should seek out the original by all means. Whichever version you watch, I think you will be pleased as both are terrific films with entertainment and historic value. Oh and don't worry about that ending. The movie was followed by a sequel or two...dozen.

Having not seen all the "Godzilla" movies, I don't know if this is the best one. But, I'm guessing that it does have the best story and characters. There are two versions of this: The original Japanese version ("Gojira"), and the "Americanized" version, where Raymond Burr is inserted into the story, and other cuts are made.I've seen both versions (available from Criterion, by the way). As you'd expect, the original version is better. In this case, however, the Japanese version (which has a separate IMDb page), is far superior. This is because we get to know the characters much better. There is a lot more human emotion in the original. Also, the cutaways to Raymond Burr (shot separately, two years later in the U.S.) don't distract from the story. The cuts from the original are critical, since they are about the characters.A thematic difference is that there is the angle of Godzilla being the product of American Hydrogen Bomb testing. Definitely guessing that Americans didn't want to hear that part, which is why those comments are deleted from the Americanized version.Of course, the 1950's American monster movies blame their monsters on radioactivity, so in that way, there isn't too much of a difference!The original version also has a bit more Godzilla smashy-smashy action! If you are in a hurry to see it, you are in for a wait. 'Zilla doesn't show up (except for a quick head shot) until about the 42-minute mark in both versions.I definitely recommend the Japanese version. Yes, there are subtitles, but it's worth it! The American version runs 1:20 and the Japanese version runs 1:36.Japanese version: ******* (7 Out of 10 Stars) / American version: ***** (5 Out of 10 Stars)