Shin Godzilla

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shinji Higuchi directs. Kosuke Yamada behind the camera. Shiro Sagisu scores. Hideaki Anno cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Italian, German, English, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.
• 2Released 10 years ago.
• 3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Italian, German, English, Japanese.
• 4273+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
• 5Directed by Shinji Higuchi, shot by Kosuke Yamada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Shiro Sagisu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Hideaki Anno shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Hiroki Hasegawa and Yutaka Takenouchi and Satomi Ishihara carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "A god incarnate. A city doomed.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt4262980 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Classified under 20 themes, including "japan", "monster", "bureaucracy", "politics".
• 12Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Kosuke Yamada

Original score

Shiro Sagisu

Editing

Hideaki Anno

Production design

Yuji Hayashida

Makeup / hair

Rie Suda

VFX supervisor

Atsuki Sato

Sound

Hideaki Anno

Stunt coordinator

Hiroki Ezawa

Runtime

120 min · 2h 0m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$15,000,000

Box office

$78,053,145

Return

520% of budget

Original language

JA

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Shin Godzilla (2016) ↗

Also by

Shinji Higuchi

• 
  Vandread Integral

  2001 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Vandread Turbulence

  2002 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Shin Ultraman

  2022 · ★ 7.5
• 
  Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water

  1990 · ★ 7.4
• 
  The Floating Castle

  2012 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Bullet Train Explosion

  2025 · ★ 6.8

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  SHIN GODZILLA:ORTHOchromatic Official Teaser [Subtitled]

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  4K Official Trailer [Subtitled]

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  4K Remaster Official Teaser Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Frank Ochieng2016-10-19

  One might nostalgically recall the days back when the cheesy yet infectious Japanese monster movies were such a magnificent draw during those hazy Saturday afternoons showcasing the double creature feature matinees that aired weekly on television. We were considered very lucky if we had Mothera battle Gamera in one showing followed up by experiencing the sheer thrill of watching Rodan take on his latest ferocious foe as well. However, as well-known as these mentioned Far East big screen beasts were in all their glorious rage and colorful destruction nobody was as legendary or instrumental in seriously wreaking havoc on vulnerable Japanese soil both heroically or horrendously than our heralded King of Carnage in the celebrated Godzilla. The famed and humongous rumble-and-tumble reptile makes a grand return courtesy of Toho Studios reviving the catastrophic critter in writer/co-director Hideaki Anno’s and Shinji Higuchi’s monster mash offering Godzilla Resurgence (a.k.a.”Shin Godzilla”). Interestingly, the last Godzilla flick that was released by Toho Studios was more than a decade ago in 2004. Naturally, Japanese audiences were privileged to the exploitative antics of the favorable large lizard when Godzilla Resurgence premiered earlier this year. Thankfully, Anno’s and Higuchi’s spry creature concoction is now showing up in limited release in other countries as Godzilla dusts off his combative cobwebs from yesteryear and makes a contemporary return to the cinematic psyches for baby-boomers looking to revive their childhood memories of the spike-toothed rampaging rogue doing what he does best: stomping through the endangered streets of Japan in the name of high-wire popcorn entertainment. In any event, there is a willing welcome wagon to embrace this familiar and feisty monstrous menace with robust enjoyment. There have been previous Godzilla editions that were not necessarily received with the pat-on-the-back reception (yes Roland Emmerich–we are referencing your disastrous take on 1998’s Godzilla). Still, Godzilla Resurgence accomplishes the impossible as it stays close to its humble 1954 roots while managing to sprinkle some fresh impishness within its clever manufactured mayhem. The screening experience of viewing the majestic monster Godzilla is stunning and surreal because the film’s handlers create the terrorizing tension and torture of a full-scale predator crashing his way into the miniature-sized obstacles (people, buildings, bridges, power lines, etc.) with demolished durability. The physical details on the Godzilla monster are hideously wondrous and every bloody drool from the creature’s jagged mouth and ominous scaly skin is profoundly sinister. The thought of Godzilla’s two-ton tail pouncing and waving with destructive defiance generates the additional mystique of this Asia-based destroyer. For those not quite informed about the backstory of the Godzilla mythology it is quite simple: a classical creature was born/created back in 1954 at Toho Studios where filmmaker Ishiro Honda presented a monster flick that would go on to endure as a cult favorite in Japanese cinema and elsewhere around the world for the next six decades. Sure, the various Godzilla installments (not including the derivative American versions) were saddled in inspired cheesiness (you got to love the laughable “man-in-the-monster-suit” cheapened special effects) with toy model sets serving as a deteriorating Japanese background to Godzilla’s cinematic wrath. Nevertheless, the clear message was received thoughtfully and philosophically–Godzilla and his creepy contemporaries was conceived and symbolic of that country’s disillusionment with its atomic bombing past. As a result, the Japanese-based beasts were reflective of the man-made devastation that haunted a targeted region of the world that knew annihilation and humiliation. Godzilla made for some escapist thrills and chills for Japanese movie audiences in the heyday of the 50’s and 60’s but Honda’s alarming predatory pest would also resonate as a freakish catalyst for the country’s past and present turmoil for political, societal and technological survival. Hence, Godzilla is a representative (and product) of a historical nuclear blast that remains as an immense ugly chapter in humanity. Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla) introduces good ole Godzilla as a mystery wrecking machine unbeknownst to the Tokyo city officials that have no clue in how to contain the unknown boisterous, beastly intruder as he storms through Japan like a loose sledgehammer through a light bulb factory. Once the return of the ravenous Godzilla had been identified the big brass now has to figure out how to eradicate the enormous fiendish phenomenon. Do they nuke the corrosive creature without the dire consequences of sacrificing its jeopardized citizens in the territory? As the Japanese government agonizes over what should be done with Godzilla’s dubious presence as he methodically smashes everything in his wicked path the cynicism grows moment by moment. Specifically, why is Godzilla’s tumultuous existence impacting their way of life? Is the creature’s overstayed welcome some sort of plot from the rest of the world to dump unrest and debauchery on their sacred grounds? Better yet can the foreign superpowers such as the United States, China or Russia collaborate to help terminate the mighty monster? Will Godzilla disturb global concerns and if so how will the militaristic mindset play out in Japan’s beleaguered backyard? Godzilla Resurgence aims to be more than just a typical giant monster movie mired in splashy CGI special effects and engulfed explosions. Anno (“Evangelion”) and Higuchi (“Attack on Titan”) actually serve up a sophisticated and thought-provoking creature caper that digs underneath the throwaway exploitation surface. The tongue-in-cheek nostalgia is firmly maintained and the moviegoers are treated to their share of Godzilla’s manic mischievousness. Importantly, Anno and Higuchi amp up their brand of a disguised political potboiler in the form of a sci-fi monster B movie that sufficiently labors at mirroring the current-day chaos and conflicts that bombard a modern-day Japan (or any inserted nation for that matter). Whether spotlighting international trust/distrust or pinpointing kaiju (meaning “big, brutal monsters”) terrorism as an allegory for Japan’s temporary unseen but inevitable national fallout caused by an impenetrable nature disaster it is quite revealing that Godzilla Resurgence delves beyond its cartoonish ruination. Whatever interpretation that one derives from Godzilla Resurgence the verdict is undeniably sound that Toho Studios delivers a lively and message-driven platform about uncontrollable forces and critical decisions that befall an ambivalent country undergoing in-house scrutiny. To put it in layman’s terms: Godzilla Resurgence is a surprisingly well-done despite its sometimes campy makeup. Surely Resurgence is solid enough to uphold the G-man’s beloved legacy in the kaiju genre. Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla) 2016 Toho Studios 2 hrs. Starring: Hiroki Hasegawa, Satomi Ishihara, Yutaka Takenouchi, Ren Ohsugi, Akira Emoto Directed by: Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi Written by: Hideaki Anno MPAA Rating: NR Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy/Action & Adventure/Drama Critic’s rating: * stars (out of 4 stars) (c) Frank Ochieng 2016

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Toho Pictures

  JP

• 

  Cine Bazar

  JP

Key crew

• StoryboardHideaki Anno
• StoryboardMasayuki
• StoryboardKazuya Tsurumaki
• StoryboardMahiro Maeda
• StoryboardShinji Higuchi
• StoryboardIkki Todoroki
• Production DesignYuji Hayashida
• Production DesignEri Sakushima
• Visual Effects DirectorShinji Higuchi
• Art DesignerMasato Inatsuki
• Sound RecordistJun Nakamura
• Sound EffectsToru Noguchi
• Visual Effects ProducerTetsuo Ôya
• Makeup & HairRie Suda
• Conceptual DesignMahiro Maeda
• Character DesignerTakayuki Takeya
• Set DecorationAkira Sakamoto
• Special Effects SupervisorKatsuro Onoue
• Second Unit CinematographerKeizo Suzuki
• Second Unit CinematographerKeiichi Sakurai
• Second Unit DirectorYusuke Ishida
• Sound MixerHaru Yamada
• ProducerYoshihiro Sato
• MusicAkira Ifukube

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• japan
• monster
• bureaucracy
• politics
• giant monster
• nuclear radiation
• political incompetence
• tokyo, japan
• destruction
• reboot
• kaiju
• satirical
• political turmoil
• human made disaster
• godzilla
• nuclear disaster
• us japan relations
• tokusatsu
• intense
• urban collapse

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2024-07-14· JAPAN CUTS (black-and-white version)
• Theatrical (limited)2016-10-11PG-13
• Theatrical2025-08-14PG-13· 4K remaster
• Theatrical2025-08-31PG-13· Black-and-white version
• Digital2025-12-01PG-13· HBO Max
• Physical2025-10-28PG-13· Deluxe Collector's Edition / 4K Ultra HD SteelBook / 4K Ultra HD Standard / Blu-ray

Also known as

International titles

• Godzilla ResurgenceUS
• God GodzillaUS
• Shin GojiraJP
• Годзілла: ВідродженняUA
• 新哥斯拉CN
• Godzillan paluuFI
• Ґодзілла: ВідродженняUA
• シンゴジラJP
• シン・ゴジラ：オルソJP
• Shin Godzilla: ORTHOchromaticUS
• Godzilla RessurgeBR
• Shin Godzilla 4KUS
• SHIN GODZILLA:ORTHOchromaticUS
• Godzilla ResurgencePL
• Godzilla ResurgeMX