The masterpiece that instantly made the name ‘Godzilla’ known around the world has been lovingly restored in 4K to mark 70 years of watching this great monster lay ruin to all in his wake.

Hydrogen-bomb testing near Bikini Island revives a dormant prehistoric kaiju near Odo Island, who promptly makes his way to Tokyo. After the city is decimated, it appears impossible to find a way to eliminate the legendary Godzilla. Luckily, a young scientist has secretly developed an oxygen destroyer that could be used as a weapon to destroy him.

Born out of a nation’s reckoning with the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII, and in response to nuclear fallout from US atomic-bomb testing in 1954, the memorable first Godzilla movie established the ‘special-effects monster movie’ genre in the postwar Japanese film industry. An exquisite combination of Ishirō Honda’s sincere drama depicting the horrors of nuclear weapons and Eiji Tsuburaya’s special effects, along with excellent sound design and music – no aspect has been overlooked in this beautiful restoration.

“Rarely has the open wound of widespread devastation been transposed to celluloid with greater visceral impact.” – The Village Voice

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