Incredible, unstoppable titan of terror!
During an assignment, foreign correspondent Steve Martin spends a layover in Tokyo and is caught amid the rampage of an unstoppable prehistoric monster the Japanese call 'Godzilla'. The only hope for both Japan and the world lies on a secret weapon, which may prove more destructive than the monster itself.
Cast
Raymond Burr
Steve Martin
Takashi Shimura
Dr. Yamane
Momoko KÃŽchi
Emiko Yamane
Akira Takarada
Ogata
Akihiko Hirata
Dr. Serizawa
Sachio Sakai
Hagiwara
Fuyuki Murakami
Dr. Tabata
Ren Yamamoto
Seiji
Toyoaki Suzuki
Shinkichi
Tadashi Okabe
Dr. Tabata's Assistant
Toranosuke Ogawa
President of Company
Frank Iwanaga
Security Officer Tomo Iwanaga
Sammee Tong
Dr. Yamane / Dr. Tabata (voice) (uncredited)
James Hong
Ogata / Dr. Serizawa / Hagiwara (voice) (uncredited)
Mikel Conrad
George Lawrence (uncredited)
Paul Frees
Unidentified Character (voice) (uncredited)
Hiroshi Hayashi
Chairman of Diet Committee (uncredited)
Ren Imaizumi
Radio Operator (uncredited)
Kokuten KÅdÅ
The Old Fisherman (uncredited)
Takeo Oikawa
Chief of Emergency Headquarters (uncredited)
Tsuruko Mano
The Boy's Mother (uncredited)
Kenji Sahara
Man on Boat (uncredited)
Kin Sugai
Ozawa-san (uncredited)
Lee Miller
Man in Line at Airport (uncredited)
Haruo Nakajima
Godzilla (uncredited)
Katsumi Tezuka
Godzilla (uncredited)
Ryosaku Takasugi
Godzilla (uncredited)
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- Release Date 05/18/1956
- Language English
- Directors IshirÅ Honda, Terry O. Morse
- Editor Kazuji Taira
- Cinematographers Guy Roe, Masao Tamai
- Producers Harold Ross, Paul Schreibman, Edward B. Barison, Richard Kay, Harry Rybnick, Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Companies Jewell Enterprises Inc., Embassy Pictures, TransWorld Releasing Corporation, TOHO, Toho Laboratory
- Budget $25,000
| Country | Date | Format | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Apr 27, 1956 | Premiere (Loew's State Theatre, New York City, New York. Uses original title/title card, "GODZILLA".) | NR |
| United States | May 18, 1956 | Theatrical (Beginning of expansion to other theaters across the US.) | NR |
| Canada | Aug 5, 1956 | Premiere | PG |
| Canada | Aug 6, 1956 | Theatrical | PG |
| Italy | Jan 1, 1957 | Theatrical (Paramount Pictures/Documento Film release titled "Godzilla". Dubbing by Fonolux. Exact date unknown.) | â |
| SE | Jan 28, 1957 | Theatrical | â |
| United Kingdom | Feb 1, 1957 | Theatrical (Eros Films release) | â |
| BE | Mar 14, 1957 | Theatrical (Les Films du Verseau release titled "Godzilla". 92-minutes, re-adds Japanese footage that was cut from the US version. Dubbing by Studios "S.I.M.".) | â |
| France | Mar 14, 1957 | Theatrical (Les Films du Verseau release titled "Godzilla". 92-minutes, re-adds Japanese footage that was cut from the US version. Dubbing by Studios "S.I.M.".) | â |
| Japan | May 29, 1957 | Theatrical (Toho Co., Ltd. release titled "Monster King Godzilla". In English with Japanese subtitles. Cropped from 1:37:1 to 2:35:1. Uses Original NYC "GODZILLA" title card.) | â |
| Australia | Sep 16, 1957 | Theatrical | â |
| Brazil | Jan 1, 1958 | Theatrical (Exact date unknown.) | â |
| IS | Aug 30, 1958 | Theatrical | â |
| Italy | Jan 1, 1977 | Theatrical (Luigi Cozzi/Paramount/Documento Film release titled "Godzilla" (widely referred to as "Cozzilla"). 96-minutes, re-edited with new footage and colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70". Uses Fonolux dub from 1957. Date unknown.) | â |
| United States | May 5, 1998 | Physical (Simitar Entertainment DVD. 2-sided disc with original 1.37:1 aspect ratio on one side, and a cropped 1.66:1 presentation on the opposite side.) | â |
| Germany | Aug 5, 1998 | Theatrical | 12 |
| United States | Feb 23, 1999 | Physical (Simitar Entertainment DVD set titled "Godzilla: 5 Rampaging Movies". Packaged w/"Godzilla versus The Thing", "Godzilla versus Monster Zero", "Godzilla's Revenge", and "Terror of Mechagodzilla". 5 discs, same features as 1998 disc.) | â |
| United States | Mar 1, 2001 | Physical (Goodtimes Entertainment DVD. 1.33:1 aspect ratio.) | NR |
| United States | Sep 17, 2002 | Physical (Classic Media/Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Wonder DVD. 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Same video master as Simitar's release.) | â |
| United States | Sep 5, 2006 | Physical (Classic Media Collector's Edition DVD Digipack. Packaged with "Godzilla" (1954) (two discs). Same presentation for US version as the 2002 release. Includes 12-page booklet.) | NR |
| United States | Jan 24, 2012 | Physical (The Criterion Collection DVD / Blu-ray Digipack. First new restoration of the US version since the 1983 Vestron Video VHS. Packaged with "Godzilla" (1954) (two disc DVD) (one disc BD).) | â |
| United States | May 13, 2014 | Physical (Classic Media DVD. Reissue of the 2006 set with the same features, but in a standard DVD keep case and excluding the booklet.) | NR |
| United States | Oct 29, 2019 | Physical (The Criterion Collection Blu-ray set titled "Godzilla, the Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975". Same as 2012 release but with updated menus. Packaged with "Godzilla" (1954) (same disc, disc 1/8).) | â |
| United Kingdom | Nov 25, 2019 | Physical (The Criterion Collection/Sony Blu-ray set titled "Godzilla, the Showa-Era Films, 1954-1975".) | â |
| Brazil | Jun 22, 2021 | Physical (Obras-Primas do Cinema Blu-ray Digipack set. Portuguese subtitles. Packaged with "Godzilla" (1954) and "Godzilla Raids Again" (1955) (two discs).) | 12 |
| Japan | Oct 25, 2023 | Physical (TOHO Visual Entertainment 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Uses the last known, tattered and incomplete print of "Monster King Godzilla" (1957) for its presentation, only in standard HD. Packaged with "Godzilla" (1954) (same disc).) | â |
| United States | Nov 5, 2024 | Physical (The Criterion Collection 4K UHD + Blu-ray. US version is in standard HD only. Packaged with "Godzilla" (1954).) | â |
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