Many claim the theme is the personification of total war in the form of Godzilla (whose origin, it's theorized, was H-bomb tests), as an uncontrollable, indiscriminating force of pure destruction. Dr. Serizawa has a weapon to stop Godzilla but he fears it will just become an even greater and terrible danger in itself if he uses it, inserting a note of ultimate sacrifice.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Upstanding, stalwart types prevail. Dr. Serizawa deliberately dies to prevent his weapon from being misused (though he's also on the losing side in a love triangle, which may have had something to do with his mood).

Violence

Godzilla famously destroys public property. Boats, trains, planes, and automobiles are wrecked by the giant reptile. Blood shown on dead and wounded left in the aftermath of a Godzilla attack. There's a scuffle between humans, one of whom dies offscreen in more or less a suicide.

Sex

Language

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A character smokes cigarettes and a pipe.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the violence here is of a war-scale variety, with ships, islands, trains, planes, and ultimately an entire city, Tokyo, destroyed, with dead and wounded. The culprit is a giant monster, though, rather than an army. While Godzilla was sometimes a good-guy monster and friend to children in later movies, he is just a menace here. Characters smoke cigarettes and cigars. The finale involves a suicide by a key character. Different versions of Godzilla (aka Gojira, in the original Japanese) exist on DVD; the Japanese original was released in 1954, while the edited "American cut" -- which tells the story from the POV of a U.S. reporter -- was released in 1956. Picture quality varies wildly (sometimes even in the same edition!).

User Reviews

Parents say
Kids say

Adult Written byher354 January 2, 2015

age 18+

Put Godzila in time out

This movie is a wonderful treat as it is a classic, but it's not a flick for the kiddies. While many Godzilla films are silly and humorous, this- being the... Continue reading

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Adult Written byKnowbeforeyouwatch September 15, 2017

age 14+

We love Godzilla it's a classic but be aware of this...

This is a classic movie for Godzilla fans but be aware when they go to an island of natives there are a couple of older women who are topless. Nothing provocat... Continue reading

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Teen, 15 years old Written byGodzillman July 30, 2013

age 12+

Great movie, but very dark

This is a great movie. However, it should be noted that it is not for kids. This movie is VERY dark in mood, and rather depressing sometimes. Godzilla is create... Continue reading

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Teen, 13 years old Written bypicardisbetter May 6, 2015

age 10+

You reviewers are so picky

The only things the kids will remember from the movie is the annoyingly bad puppetry and the fire, no I'm sorry the FIRE

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What's the story?

After a series of mysterious disasters at sea leave Japanese ships sunken, with no survivors, scientists and investigators trace the fatal phenomenon to a radiation-tainted island not far from Pacific Ocean H-bomb test sites, where natives have folk-legends of a vast evil spirit called Godzilla dwelling in the water. After one especially stormy night the researchers and media see the culprit, an immense dinosaur, stirred and mutated by the atomic fallout. The military tries to use depth charges to destroy Godzilla, but this only drives the monster into Tokyo bay. Godzilla wades ashore and completely devastates the city. One lone scientist on the periphery happens to have invented a chemical weapon able to destroy Godzilla -- but resists using it on fierce moral grounds. The original Japanese version came out in 1954; in the shorter, "Americanized" version, released in 1956, a U.S. reporter (Raymond Burr) is an onlooker during the crisis. (Despite his grave demeanor, his all-American name, oft-repeated, may inspire giggles: "Steve Martin.")

Is it any good?

Seen today, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is plainly primitive in its special effects but still powerful in the way things are presented in stone-serious fashion without any humor. (Unless one counts the repetition of the name "Steve Martin" in the 80-minute version.) Though plenty of giant-radioactive-mutant monster movies emanated from Hollywood in the 1950s, the iconic Japan import Godzilla uranium-mined a particularly rich path through the minds of young moviegoers then and since, with seemingly endless sequels and campy follow-ups that evolved into city-destroying Japanese monster tag-team wrestling matches.

Though it's art blasphemy, we actually like the 1956 Raymond Burr version better than the lengthier, talkier original 1954 Japanese cut. Burr is very skillfully inserted into the narrative after the fact and anchors the film's tone with the sober narration and delivery of a broadcast war correspondent. Those who jeered the American Godzilla remake of 1998 often forget that the Japanese did a color rehash themselves, sort of, in 1985, with Burr repeating his role.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the impact of Godzilla. Does it still hold up? Can you see why audiences of 1956 were wowed by the f/x?
Talk about Dr. Serizawa's reluctance to use his ultimate weapon against Godzilla and his grim decision at the end. Is he justified?
Japanese Godzilla filmmakers have made it a tradition to do their films with monster suits and miniatures, not CGI or stop-motion. Ask young viewers if they enjoy such visuals or would prefer something more realistic and high-tech.