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Godzilla

1954 · TMDB 7.6 · ゴジラ

Directed by Ishirō Honda

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

Why it matters

Where Kong was captured by greed, Godzilla was awakened by nuclear tests. Japan's colossal terror shifted monster cinema away from gothic folklore towards post-war fallout, creating an unstoppable physical force spawned entirely by atomic recklessness.

From From External Beast to Internal Trauma

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