Original 1954 Japanese Relase of "Godzilla." Running time 98 minutes. Produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka. Directed by Ishiro Honda. Screenplay by Takeo Murata and Ishiro Honda, from a story by Shigeru Kayama. Music by Akira Ifukube. Special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. "Godzilla" played by Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka. Also starring Takashi Shimura, Monoko Kochi, Akira Takarada and Akihiko Hirata and "Dr. Serizawa."

     By Stephen Pytak 

     The recent limited theatrical release of
this classic is a dream come true.
     I caught it in Philadelphia in late May,
at a 10 p.m. show at the Ritz 5, with a bottle
of carbonated grapefruit juice. There was a 
decent crowd of 15-25 there too.
     Everyone had a few laughs. The special
effects are kind of dated. Even I still get a 
charge when the Big G chomps down on a 
passenger train.
     But this version of the film will haunt
you much more because what's included
is some rich drama.
     Remember, it was made less than a 
decade after World War II, and fear
over the arms race, the point of the film
actually, is expressed by the Japanese 
people.
     One cut scene features a woman on
a train reading a newspaper story about
a Gojira spotting.
     "First the black rain, then contaminated 
tuna, and now this," she spits.
     When "Gojira" was introduced to 
American audiences, some dialog and 
other scenes were removed. It was reduced
to 81 minutes and retitled "Godzilla, King
of the Monsters." And, oh yeah, the film
had a new star, Raymond Burr as "Steve
Martin."
     Forget that and try to seek out "Gojira"
while it plays the art house circuit.
     They're calling it "Godzilla." That's cool.
But I'll always refer back to its original 
title.