Gojira (1984)

Directors:

Koji Hashimoto
R.J. Kizer

Writers:

Shuichi Nagahara (writer)
Tomoyuki Tanaka (story)

Release Date:

23 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Your favorite fire-breathing monster... Like you've never seen him before!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Kaiju | Giant Monster | Godzilla | Sequel | Remake

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ken Tanaka	...	Goro Maki
Yasuko Sawaguchi	...	Naoko Okumura
Yosuke Natsuki	...	Dr. Hayashida
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Prime Minister Mitamura
Shin Takuma	...	Hiroshi Okumura
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Finance Minister Kanzaki
Taketoshi Naitô	...	Takegami, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Mizuho Suzuki	...	Foreign Minister Emori
Junkichi Orimoto	...	Director-General of the Defense Agency
Hiroshi Koizumi	...	Geologist Minami
Kei Sato	...	Chief Editor Gondo
Takenori Emoto	...	Desk Editor Kitagawa
Sho Hashimoto	...	Captain of Super X
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Home Affairs Minister Isomura
Kunio Murai	...	Secretary Henmi

Also Known As:

Godzilla (International: English title)
Godzilla 1985: The Legend Is Reborn (USA)
Godzilla: 1985 (USA) (closing credits title)
The Return of Godzilla

Runtime:

Germany:82 min | Japan:103 min | USA:87 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Russian | English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (DVD) | Finland:K-14 | Australia:PG | Spain:13 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Company:

Toho Company

Trivia:

First Godzilla movie in Korea to actually be dubbed in Korean. Before then, most of the Godzilla movies in Korea were still in Japanese with Korean subtitles.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Godzilla picks up the train car he lifts it up to his eye so he can look inside. When the camera cuts back to a full body view, he is holding it waste level (US version only).

Quotes:

[Japanese version]
[to Godzilla, who's outside the window of the building]
Bum: What are you doing here? You have the rest of Shinjuku to play with!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: Godzilla 1985 (#1.5)" (1995)

Not the best Godzilla movie, but one of my favorites.

Yes, there are Godzilla movies that have better special effects. There are Godzilla movies that have better stories. There are Godzilla movies that are better directed.

But if you ask me which Godzilla movies are my favorites, I'll rank "Godzilla 1985" over just about all of them.

Why? It may be the mid-80's special effects, which while looking relatively modern still retain some "old school" charm. It may be the excellent Cold War-era politics (compared to today's chaos, the Cold War was practically comforting). It may be the excellent music by Reijiro Koroku, the only Godzilla composer to match Akira Ifukube.

I even enjoy the US dubbed version. While the Dr. Pepper ads and the supposed humor does wear on you, most of the actors do a pretty good job in their roles, though I wish it had been butchered less.

Give "Godzilla 1985" a chance.