Godzilla (1984)

*Not to be confused with Godzilla (1954).*
— Tagline

— International tagline

— Trailer for *Godzilla 1985*

 Directed by
 Budget
$2 million (USA)

Godzilla (also known as The Return of Godzilla) is a 1984 tokusatsu kaiju film produced by Toho, and the sixteenth installment in the Godzilla series, as well as the first in the Heisei series. The film was released to Japanese theaters on December 15, 1984, and to American theaters on August 23, 1985.

A reboot to the *Godzilla* franchise and the first entry in the Heisei series of films, *The Return of Godzilla* ignores every film after the 1954 original and returns to the series' darker and more serious roots. When the fishing boat *Yahata-Maru* is destroyed at sea, the sole survivor reports that the culprit was none other than Godzilla. The Japanese government seeks to avoid a panic by keeping the monster's return a secret, but is forced to reveal it to the world when Godzilla sinks a Soviet nuclear submarine and escalates Cold War tensions to a breaking point. Both the Soviets and Americans are eager to test their nuclear arsenals against the King of the Monsters, while the Japanese Prime Minister remains firm in his refusal to condone the use of nuclear weapons. While delegates from all three nations debate how to proceed, Godzilla begins to make his way to Tokyo, which is now defended by the advanced hovering warship Super X. But when Godzilla triggers a Soviet nuclear missile to accidentally launch at Tokyo, suddenly he may no longer be the biggest threat to the Japanese capital.

## Plot

Three months after the eruption of Daikokujima Island in the Izu Islands , a newspaper reporter Makigoro sailing in the vicinity discovered the missing fishing boat "Godai Hachimanmaru." You will encounter a mummified corpse of a sailor on the ship and a giant fungus that is about 1 meter long . Hiroshi Okumura, the only survivor of the ship rescued by Maki, testified that he saw a giant creature that appeared with a roar from Daikokujima, which collapsed due to a mysterious light during a disaster. Okumura's teacher Shin Hayashida was convinced that the giant creature was Godzilla awakened by the Daikokujima eruption .

Maki, who was trying to get the special property of the mysterious giant creature, was thwarted by the government's news control that feared panic, but instead was allowed exclusive contact with Hayashida. Maki, who was favored by Okumura's sister Naoko who was helping at Hayashida's laboratory, shed the fact that Okumura was already rescued but was arrested for hiding the information of Godzilla, but his brother and sister at the hospital Because she "covered" her reunion, she buys Naoko's antipathy.

At that time, Japan had been sailing in the waters around the Soviet Union of nuclear submarines is the case that is sunk occur. The United States denied involvement, but the Soviet Union concluded that it was an American attack, and both troops were ready for war. While tensions were running in the east-west relations, an analysis of a sea surface photograph of the Soviet submarine captured by the Self - Defense Force 's P-3C patrol aircraft revealed that the submarine was sunk by Godzilla. In response to this, the Japanese government finally lifts the ban on Godzilla reporting to prevent the conflict between the East and West camps.

Immediately after that , Godzilla appeared at the Ihama Nuclear Power Station in Shizuoka Prefecture . Godzilla destroys the nuclear power plant in front of Hayashida who was traveling to the site by helicopter, takes out the core of the reactor and absorbs all the radiation, and leaves to the sea so that the migratory bird flying above can be drawn. .. Hayashida believes that the magnetic substance in Godzilla's body reacts to the ultrasonic waves emitted by migratory birds to stimulate the homing instinct, and the synthetic ultrasonic waves guide Godzilla to Miharayama and then drop it to the artificially erupted crater. To the Japanese government.

Meanwhile, the United States and the Soviet Union urge the Japanese government to use tactical nuclear weapons against Godzilla . In particular, the Soviet Union insisted on the retaliation for the original submarine sinking, and although the United States was in tune with the Soviet Union, Prime Minister Mitamura continued to firmly refuse it from the standpoint of the three non-nuclear principles . The prime minister's efforts will avoid the crisis of U.S.-Soviet nuclear tactics against Godzilla tactics, but as the possibility of landing in Godzilla Tokyo increases more and more, the government also anti-Godzilla weapons including the new capital defense ship Super X Or, it was in preparation for the Godzilla guidance operation proposed by Hayashida.

Eventually, Godzilla finally landed at Tokyo Port under the strict caution of the SDF . During the battle, a nuclear missile command device of a ground attack satellite secretly loaded on a Soviet cargo ship anchored in Tokyo Bay malfunctioned due to Godzilla's attack, and the countdown of nuclear missile launch has begun. It was

Godzilla destroys the city as if to follow a nightmare 30 years ago. Hayashida and his colleagues , who have finally completed an ultrasonic wave generator that guides Godzilla at a research institute in Shinjuku and headed for Izu-Oshima , are trapped inside the building due to the battle between Godzilla and the SDF.

And finally, the Super X, who has performed a sortie and endured the heat rays of Godzilla as expected , succeeds in defeating Godzilla using a cadmium bullet that suppresses a nuclear reaction . Hayashida is also relieved to reach Izu Oshima in this chance, but the Soviet satellite, which had been counting down due to the malfunction of the above-mentioned command device, will launch a nuclear missile toward Godzilla in Shinjuku. When the Soviet Union was informed that it could not cope with its own capabilities, the Japanese government urgently requested the US to intercept the nuclear missile.

In Shinjuku, Okumura came to pick up Hayashida et al. with a SDF helicopter, but due to the unstable turbulence of the skyscrapers in Shinjuku , it was barely possible to pull up Hayashida and the ultrasonic transmitter. The remaining Maki and Naoko are frightened by the fear of Godzilla sleeping in front of them and the approaching nuclear missile.

At that time, the intercepting missile launched by the US military succeeded in shooting down the Soviet nuclear missile. Although the worst-case scenario of a nuclear explosion in the Shinjuku city center was avoided, nuclear explosion itself can not be avoided, in the stratosphere high-altitude nuclear explosion due to electromagnetic pulse caused a large-scale power outage in Tokyo. When it was thought that he would finally recover from the turmoil of the power outage, Godzilla awakened due to the shock of a lightning strike caused by a high concentration electromagnetic cloud. Super X responds again, but there is no way to stop Godzilla in Super X, which loses cadmium bullets and has means of attack only with conventional weapons, and it is finally destroyed. Godzilla approaches Maki and Naoko, who were trying to escape from the destroyed building during the battle as the area became a sea of ​​fire, but at the same time, the ultrasonic generator was activated at Mt. Godzilla left Tokyo and headed to Mt. Mihara, where volcanic activity began, and dropped into the lava while roaring to the artificially erupted crater. Hayashida was silently gazing at Mt.

## Cast

* Kiyoki Mitamura Prime Minister: Katsura Kobayashi
* Makigoro: Ken Tanaka
* Naoko Okumura: Yasuko Sawaguchi
* Hiroshi Okumura: Asabu Taku
* Finance Minister Kanzaki: Eitaro Ozawa
* Chief Secretary Takegami: Taketoshi Naito
* Minister of Autonomy Isomura: Nobuo Kaneko
* Minister of International Trade and Industry Kasaoka: Takeshi Kato
* Foreign Minister Emori: Mizuho Suzuki
* Mohri Defense Agency Secretary: Junkichi Orimoto
* Chairman Toru Kakurai: Shinsuke Mikimoto
* Okochi Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport : Mita Mita
* Hidaka Environment Agency Director: Yoshifumi Tajima
* Kajita Science and Technology Agency Director: Kiyoshi Yamamoto
* Dr. Minami: Hiroshi Koizumi
* Noboru Hemi Internal Manager: Kunio Murai
* Akiyama Super X Sky curtain executive: Isao Hashimoto
* Operator: Tetsuya Ushio
* Captain Gomaru Hachiman: Takashi Ebata
* Fisherman, No. 5 Hachimanmaru: Chiyuki Tahara
* Gohachimanmaru Radio Director: Shigeo Kato
* Super X Assistant: Kenji Fukuda
* Shinkansen driver: Taiga Mori
* Ishimaruuchi Staff : Kenichi Urata
* Akemi: Yumiko Tanaka
* Operators: Kensui Watanabe , Yuhiro Fuse
* Uno technology officer: Kazechushin
* Rosenberg US Envoy: Walter Nichols
* Cefsky Soviet Special Envoy: Alexandr Kyris[1]
* Colonel Kashirin: Luke Johnston
* Soviet submarine captain: Dennis Falt
* Godo Editorial Director: Kei Sato
* Kitagawa Desk: Mengiki Emoto
* Photographer Uejo: Shinpei Hayashiya
* Shinkansen passenger: Hiroshi Kamayatsu
* Newscaster: Takero Morimoto
* Nuclear power staff: Koji Ishizaka
* Vagrant: Tetsuya Takeda (special appearance)
* Shin Hayashida: Yosuke Natsuki

Uncredited

* Kramer US Ambassador: Joe Raznack
* The Seamov Soviet Ambassador: Joseph Grace
* Deputy Chief of the Soviet Union: Nigel Reed
* Parachevo sailor: Terry Sonberg
* Shinkansen passengers: Setsuko Kawaguchi , Nabeyakan
* Crowds gathering in the open space of Shinjuku: Akira Toriyama  , Yuji Horii  , Akira Sakuma

## Staff

* Production/draft: Tomoyuki Tanaka
* Screenplay: Shuichi Nagahara
* Co-production: Fumio Tanaka
* Photography: Kazuto Hara
* Art: Akira Sakuragi
* Recording: Nobuyuki Tanaka
* Lighting: Shinji Kojima
* Edit: Yoshimin Kuroiwa
* Assistant Director: Takao Okawara
* Assistant director
	+ Kensho Yamashita
	+ Hitoshi Hoshino
	+ Yu Kubo
* Computer Graphics: Yu Tsuchiya
* Video cooperation
	+ Toshifumi Sakata ( Tokai University Information Technology Center)
* Producer: Takahide Mori
* Special staff
	+ Takeuchi Hitoshi
	+ Hideo Aoki
	+ Nobuhiko Osaki
	+ Klein Uberstein
	+ Soichiro Tahara
* Music: Reijiro Koroku
	+ Conductor: Katsuaki Nakatani
	+ Performance: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
	+ Music production cooperation: Toho Music Publishing (Producer Tadahiko Maeda)
	+ Original Soundtrack: King Records ( Star Child Label)
* Group B staff
	+ Director: Kensho Yamashita
	+ Director Assistant: Kunio Miyoshi
	+ Photo: Takehisa Takarada
	+ Photography Assistant: Toshio Makimura
	+ Lighting: Akira Oba
	+ Lighting Assistant: Yasuo Watanabe, Kazumi Kawagoe
	+ Production Section: Riho Hayashi
* Special technology
	+ Photo: Takeshi Yamamoto , Toshimitsu Oneda
	+ Art: Yasuyuki Inoue
	+ Lighting: Kohei Mikami
	+ Molding: Nobuyuki Yasumaru
	+ Special effects: Tadaaki Watanabe , Kume
	+ Operation: Koji Matsumoto, Mitsuo Miyagawa
	+ Cybot Production: Shunichi Mizuno
	+ Assistant Director: Eiichi Asada
	+ Visual effect: Takeshi Miyanishi
	+ Drawing: Takeaki Tsukada, Yoshio Ishii
	+ Synthesis: Yoshikazu Manoda
	+ Producer: Masayuki Ikeda
	+ Director assistants: Kiyotaka Matsumoto , Hideki Chiba
	+ Steel: Takashi Nakao
	+ Photography Assistant: Toshio Yamaga, Fujio Okawa, Tetsuya Sakai, Hiroshi Kisho
	+ Art assistant: Kan Kobayashi, Naoyuki Yoshimura, Takashi Naganuma
* Production cooperation: Toho Video Co., Ltd.
* Art production: Toho Art Co., Ltd.
* Development: Tokyo Lab
* Cooperation
	+ Toho Recording Center
	+ Toho effect group
	+ Kyoto Costume
* Sponsor
	+ Mitsubishi Motors
	+ Seiko
* Special skill director: Akinori Nakano
* Director: Koji Hashimoto
* Toho movie works
* Distribution: Toho

Godzilla 1985 The Legend is Reborn

* Director: R.J. Kizer
* Screenplay: Lisa Tomei
* Production: Anthony Randel
* Additional Music by   Chris Young
* Cinematography by   Steven Dubin
* Edited by   Michael Spence
* Assistant Directing by   Lee S. Berger

## Titles

* Godzilla (Original Japanese Title)
* Godzilla lives! (Early US title)
* Godzilla 1985 (United States)
* Godzilla: The Legend is Reborn (US trailer title)
* Godzilla 1984 (American DVD/Blu-ray title)
* Godzilla: The Return of the Monster (Germany)
* The Return of Godzilla 1986 (Mexico)
* The Return of Godzilla (Italian release title)

## Release

*Godzilla* was released on December 15, 1984 in Japan where it was distributed by Toho. The film's budget was $6.25 million. It was a reasonable success in Japan, with attendance figures at approximately 3,200,000 admissions, and the box office gross being ¥2.89 billion.

### U.S. release

After acquiring The Return of Godzilla for distribution in North America, New World Pictures changed the title to Godzilla 1985. The company heavily re-edited the film. Most significantly, they added around ten minutes of new footage, most of it set at the Pentagon, with Raymond Burr reprising his role as Steve Martin from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!. As the actor Steve Martin had risen to prominence since the U.S. release of the original film, the fictional Martin's first name is never spoken in the film, and the end credits list him as "Steven Martin."

Much of the original version was deleted or altered:

* Shortened and altered: During the film's opening, instead of seeing the crew of the *Yahata Maru*'s reaction after Godzilla roars, the film cuts to a shot of Steve Martin.
* Shortened: Goro's fight with Shockirus, the louse's screech was also changed.
* Deleted: Goro calling his editor from an island.
* Deleted: Professor Hayashida showing Okumura photographs of Godzilla's 1954 attack and later discussing Shockirus with an aide at the police hospital.
* Shortened: The scene where Naoko learns her brother is alive; Goro snaps pictures of them reunited, which angers Naoko because she realizes he only helped her in order to get the scoop.
* Shortened: The meeting between the Japanese Prime Minister and the Russian and American ambassadors. Also deleted was a scene after the meeting in which the prime minister explains to his aides how he was able to reach a consensus with both sides. Furthermore, this scene appears before Godzilla's attack on the nuclear power plant in the American version, whereas in the Japanese version it appears afterwords.
* Deleted: Hayashida and Naoko making a wave generator.
* Altered: Godzilla's first attack on the nuclear power plant.
* Added: Part of Christopher Young's score from *Def-Con 4* in several scenes (including Godzilla's attack on the Soviet submarine, the scene where the SDF armored division arrives in Tokyo Bay, and Okumura's near-death experience during the helicopter extraction in Tokyo).
* Deleted: A shot of an American nuclear missile satellite in space (probably done in order to make America appear less aggressive).
* Altered: Almost all of Godzilla's rampage through Tokyo. Scenes of a crowd fleeing Godzilla that appeared later in the Japanese print were moved to an earlier point in the movie (and corresponding footage of them gathering around Godzilla after he is knocked out by the Super X was removed), the Super X fight was re-arranged (in the Japanese version, Godzilla fires his atomic ray at the Super X after being hit with cadmium missiles, not before), and various other scenes of destruction were either placed in a different order or deleted completely. Some fans were particularly upset by the removal of a shot showing Godzilla reflected in the windows of a large skyscraper during the scene in which he attacks the Bullet Train.
* Deleted: Almost all shots which employed a life-size replica of Godzilla's foot (mostly seen near the end); only one shot of the big foot crushing parked cars during the nuclear power plant scene was kept.
* Added: When Godzilla falls into the erupting Mount Mihara, he screams at a high pitch. This scream was actually recorded by Toho for an alternative monaural mix and was included in the international version of the film. Godzilla's roars prior to falling into the volcano are also different in the U.S. version.
* Added: Stock footage from the original *Godzilla* during one of the new scenes set in the Pentagon.

The most controversial change was the scene where the Russian officer Colonel Kashirin valiantly attempts to stop the launch of a nuclear weapon. New World edited the scene and added a brief shot of Kashirin pressing the launch button so that Kashirin actually launches the nuclear weapon. This and a few other changes pertaining to the Americans and Soviets were likely due to Cold War tensions at the time, in order to portray the United States in a more benevolent light and portray the Soviets as villainous.

The new scenes set in the Pentagon have been similarly controversial among fans. Many take issue with the comedic dialogue spoken by the American characters and their lack of contribution to the plot of the film. Also infamous is the product placement for Dr Pepper, as a Dr Pepper machine is seen multiple times in the scenes set in the Pentagon, with one character even shown drinking a can of Dr Pepper. However, Raymond Burr's performance has been generally more well-received and appreciated, especially by fans of his performance in *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!*. Reportedly, New World wanted to dub and re-edit the film into a tongue-in-cheek parody, but Raymond Burr, taking the message of the original *Godzilla* very seriously, convinced them to keep the film relatively serious and delivered all of his lines in a straightforward and serious manner that was meant to be respectful to the film and the character of Godzilla. Burr's character even shows noticeable annoyance and displeasure at an army major's jokes about the destruction Godzilla causes.

The American version has caused some confusion as to the identity of the Godzilla featured in the film. While the Japanese version never specifies whether it is meant to be the same Godzilla from 1954, having somehow survived the Oxygen Destroyer, or an entirely different Godzilla (later clarified in *Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah*, which establishes it is a separate Godzilla), the American version takes measures to imply it is the original Godzilla. At one point, Steve Martin even says that "Thirty years ago, they never found any corpse." The American version also states that Godzilla first attacked Tokyo in 1956, the year that *Godzilla, King of the Monsters!* was released in the United States, rather than 1954.

In addition, the theatrical release, and most home video versions, was accompanied by Marv Newland's short cartoon, *Bambi Meets Godzilla*.

The American version, even with the added Raymond Burr footage, only runs 87 minutes; 16 minutes shorter than the Japanese print.

It is interesting to note that Raymond Burr's character is never referred to by his full name, only as "Martin" or "Mr. Martin", for the entirety of the U.S. version, though the end credits list him as "Steven Martin." This was to avoid association with comedian Steve Martin, who had begun to become quite popular around the time this film was released in America.

The closing narration, spoken by Raymond Burr, is as follows:

New World released *Godzilla 1985* on VHS in the late 1980's and early 1990's following its theatrical release. When New World was acquired by 20th Century Fox in 1997, the home video rights to its library of films released from 1984 to 1991, including *Godzilla 1985*, were acquired by Anchor Bay Entertainment. The company released it as part of a VHS box set in 1997 in anticipation of the upcoming American Godzilla film, along with *Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster*, *Son of Godzilla*, *Godzilla vs. Gigan* and *Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla*. While Anchor Bay's other Godzilla films were acquired by new distributors after its rights lapsed, primarily Classic Media and Sony, legal issues arose regarding who held the rights to *Godzilla 1985*, and as a result Toho withheld the film from distribution in North America for nearly two decades. An exception was the satellite channel Monsters HD, which aired *Godzilla 1985* several times in the mid-2000's. A 2006 broadcast, which used a workprint of the film slightly different from the theatrical version, was recorded in standard definition and is currently in circulation online.

On May 19, 2016, Kraken Releasing, which had previously released *Ebirah, Horror of the Deep*, *Godzilla vs. Hedorah* and *Godzilla vs. Gigan* on DVD and Blu-ray, announced it had acquired the rights to the film, and released it on DVD and Blu-ray on September 13, 2016. However, due to the ongoing rights issues regarding *Godzilla 1985*, Kraken's discs only offered the Japanese version of the film and the international English dub track. According to Kraken Releasing co-founder Matt Greenfield, the inclusion of additional music composed by Christopher Young for the score of the film *Def-Con 4* in the soundtrack for *Godzilla 1985* was among the factors that prevented its inclusion. It was the last Godzilla film to be released on DVD in the U.S., with the exception of *Shin Godzilla*, which at the time was still playing in Japanese theaters.

#### Dubbing

Shortly after the film's completion, Toho's foreign sales division, Toho International Co., Ltd, had the film dubbed into English by an unidentified firm in Hong Kong. No cuts were made, though credits and other titles were accordingly rendered in English. The International English dub features the voice of news anchor and radio announcer John Culkin in the role of Goro Maki, and actor Barry Haigh as Prime Minister Mitamura. The English version fully dubs all dialogue into English, including that of the Soviet and American characters. The International English dub was released on VHS in the UK by Carlton Home Entertainment on July 24, 1998.

In 2016, the International English dub was included on the U.S. DVD and Blu-Ray releases from Kraken, though the audio mix was not the original monaural track that was originally heard on Toho's English language prints. The English dialogue was originally mixed with an alternate music and effects track that contained different music edits and sound effects from the Japanese theatrical version, most notably a distinct "cry" produced by Godzilla during the film's ending. The U.S. home video version instead uses the conventional music and effects track used for the regular Japanese version mixed in DTS 5.1 surround sound instead of mono.

### United Kingdom release

Entertainment Film Distributors distributed *Godzilla 1985* in the United Kingdom in 1986. The British Board of Film Classification required 17 seconds of cuts to the Shockirus's attack on Goro Maki for the film to receive a PG rating, as they felt it would "frighten kids under the seats never to re-emerge, and also load them with false anxieties regarding the rest of the movie to come." However, New World was able to issue it on VHS the following year uncut, as the BBFC felt the scene's impact was reduced on a TV screen. In 1998, Carlton Home Entertainment released the international dub of *The Return of Godzilla* on VHS.

## Production

— Teruyoshi Nakano

After the box office failure of Mechagodzilla's Counterattack, Toho attempted to reinvigorate the franchise several times during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first attempt was the announcement of a color remake of the original 1954 film entitled *The Rebirth of Godzilla and bride of godzilla (writen by Tomoyuki Tanaka)* in 1977, but the project was shelved. A year later, it was announced that Toho would develop a film jointly with UPA studios entitled *Godzilla vs. the Devil*, though this, along with UPA producer Henry G. Saperstein's proposed *Godzilla vs. Gargantua*, also never materialized.

*Godzilla* series creator Tomoyuki Tanaka took charge of reviving the franchise in 1979, Godzilla's 25th anniversary, intending to return the series to its dark, anti-nuclear roots in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident. Hoping to win back adult audiences alienated by the fantastical approach to *Godzilla* films taken during the 1970s, Tanaka was further encouraged in his vision by the contemporary success of adult-oriented horror and science fiction movies like *King Kong*, *Invasion of the Body Snatchers*, *Alien* and *The Thing*. A draft story entitled *The Resurrection of Godzilla* was submitted by Akira Murao in 1980, and had Godzilla pitted against a shape-shifting monster called Bakan in the backdrop of an illegal nuclear waste disposal site, though the project was cancelled due to budgetary concerns. In 1983, American director Steve Miner proposed directing a *Godzilla* film at his own expense. Toho approved of the project, and Miner hired Fred Dekker to write the screenplay and paleosculptor Steve Czerkas to redesign the monster. The project was however hampered by Miner's insistence on using prohibitively costly stop-motion animation and shooting the film in 3D, and was thus rejected by major American movie studios. Under pressure from a 10,000-member group of Japanese *Godzilla* fans calling themselves the "Godzilla Resurrection Committee", Tanaka decided to helm a Japanese film for "strictly domestic consumption" to be released jointly alongside Miner's movie.
Construction of the hydraulic "Cybot" Godzilla
In an effort to disavow Godzilla's increasingly heroic and anthropomorphic depiction in previous films, Tanaka insisted on making a direct sequel to the original 1954 movie. He hired screenwriter Shuichi Nagahara, who wrote a screenplay combining elements of the previously cancelled *The Resurrection of Godzilla* and Miner's still unproduced film, including an intensification of hostilities during the Cold War and a flying fortress which fires missiles into Godzilla's mouth. Koji Hashimoto was hired as director after Ishirō Honda declined the offer, as he was assisting Akira Kurosawa with *Kagemusha* and *Ran*, and felt that the franchise should have been discontinued after the death of Eiji Tsuburaya.

Composer Akira Ifukube was offered to score the film but respectfully declined. At the time, it was rumored that Ifukube refused to participate in the film due to the changes made to Godzilla, stating, "I do not write music for 80-meter monsters". However, this quote was later clarified, by Ifukube's biographer Erik Homenick and *Japanese Giants* editor Ed Godziszewski, as a joke spread by fans which was later misinterpreted as fact. Ifukube declined to score the film due to his priorities, at the time, teaching composition at the Tokyo College of Music.