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It is quite a feat to dethrone Gojira that King of Godzilla and Kaiju features but in my personal opinion that is exactly what 2023’s Godzilla -1.0 achieved. To justify this position I will have to spoil some of each feature.
Toho Studios
1954’s Gojira, known in the US primarily by the 1955 re-edit Godzilla; King of the Monsters, is an outstanding piece of cinema ruminating on the atomic age and the trauma of the atomic warfare unleashed on Japan and its civilians. (We will not discuss the moral, ethical, military, or political aspect of the twin atomic bomb attacks. That is not the purpose of this essay.) From its opening scene with the hapless fishing trawler blasted by the unseen Gojira, deliberately reminiscent of the ill-fated tuna boat Lucky Dragon 5 and the terrible radiation poisoning its crew suffered from the first hydrogen bomb test, to the film final moments depicting Godzilla reduced to a skeleton by another monstrous super weapon, Gojira is about the atomic age and its ramifications. Co-inhabiting the film with this theme is the story of a love triangle between two men, Ogata and Dr Serizawa and the woman they love Emiko. There simply isn’t enough screen time to develop the triangle into a powerful story line nor does it tie in directly with the theme of the film. Only Serizawa’s research and development of the ‘Oxygen Destroyer’ which provides the means to end Gojira’s rampage provides thematic connection and resolution to the separate storylines.
Gojira (1954) is an amazing feat of budget constrained film making that invented a new genre and that remains thematically relevant 70 years later. It is a great film and until 2023 rules undisputed as the best of the franchise and the entire Kaiju genre.
Toho Studios
Godzilla Minus 1 opens with our main character, Shikishima, a kamikaze pilot who has abandoned his suicidal mission. Landing on Odo island with ‘mechanical troubles’ he witnesses the first appearance oof Godzilla and along with a single mechanic, Tachibana, survives the monsters rampage but earn the wrath of Tachibana. With the war’s ending Shikishima returns to a Tokyo destroyed by firebombing and the contempt of his neighbors for having survived the war. Years later, still suffering from survivors guilt for not pointlessly dying in the war and with an assembled found family, Shikishima’s life is thrown into chaos when Godzilla reappears, even larger than before, and devastates the area. Drawn into the plots and plans to destroy the monster he sees the opportunity to ‘fulfill’ his kamikaze mission in the intricate plan to deal with Godzilla. Reunited with Tachibana to restore an aircraft for the attack Shikishima receives absolution from the mechanic for his action on Odo island and ‘permission’ to live.
Throughout Godzilla Minu 1.0 the theme is about survival, the waste of lives in war, the importance of the government to respect the lives of its people. Shikishima’s emotional arc is tied directly to the ‘war’ against the monster. At its heart this film is the story of one man, his terrible burden surviving where so many others did not, and his finding of peace, love, and absolution. A powerful story with a single compelling character to drive it make Godzilla Minu 1.0 simply the best Godzilla movie ever.
