David Edelstein on the original Japanese version of my beloved Godzilla, Gojira:

The long section of Gojira—nearly 15 minutes—in which the monster destroys much of Tokyo is like nothing in any science-fiction film before or since. In the American cut, there are frequent inserts of Burr, yakking away on his mike as he narrates the creature's comings and goings. The original, though, is nearly wordless. There is a Japanese TV announcer: He watches the devastation from a high tower; wonders, "Has the world been sent back two million years?"; and has time to report on his own death as Gojira moves toward his tower, closing with an earnest, "Sayonara." Elsewhere, a mother leans against a wall and whispers to her little daughter, "We'll be joining your daddy soon. Just a little longer." It's the last minute or two that is the most harrowing. The music stops, and in the silence Gojira walks between the broken buildings, the cityscape behind him aglow, seeming to contemplate his handiwork.

Edelstein, as always, does a nice job of capturing the essence of the film. The later Godzilla movies, such as the battles with Mothra and King Kong, are a bit silly but great fun, they exult in the pleasure of destruction. I always found the original, even the butchered American version, a bit too dark and slow for the 10 year old me. Looking back on it, I think I couldn't relate to the film's pathos.