Godzilla celebrates his 60th birthday today! Back on November 3rd, 1954 the Toho Motion Picture Company released a film in Japanese theaters called
GOJIRA. This film, a major financial success, introduced the monster "Godzilla" to the world. The monster was realized on screen through a man in a heavy, vulcanized rubber suit. The Godzilla suit actor for the 1954 movie was
Haruo Nakajima who would also "suit" many other giant monsters in subsequent Toho kaiju movies. The film
GOJIRA was also a great showcase for the talents of the studios' special effects department lead by (the late) Eiji Tsuburaya. Much of this work can be seen in the detailed, intricate miniatures and the frequently spectacular pyrotechnic effects featured in the 1954 film and subsequent Toho films featuring giant monsters like Rodan, Mothra and Ghidrah(a three headed space dragon).
Godzilla is now arguably the world's most recognized movie monster and has appeared in films from 1954 through 2014, most recently the Legendary Pictures film entitled
GODZILLA which arrived in theaters back in May of this year.
GODZILLA(2014 - Legendary Pictures) was a financial success due to $520 million in worldwide box office receipts.
Godzilla is sixty years young today and as a lifelong fan of Godzilla here's wishing this legendary monster another sixty years of fame and prosperity!
Here's a Toho trailer for
GOJIRA(1954), the very first Godzilla film and still in my opinion one of the greatest giant monster movies ever produced!
Gojira (1954) Trailer by mytrailerdose_com
