Godzilla 1985

"Prepare yourself: the greatest star of all has returned."

1985 1h 27m JA

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6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 202

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Synopsis

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Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.

“Prepare yourself: the greatest star of all has returned.”

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Cast

Raymond Burr
Steven Martin
Keiju Kobayashi
Prime Minister Mitamura
Ken Tanaka
Goro Maki
Yasuko Sawaguchi
Naoko Okumura
Shin Takuma
Hiroshi "Ken" Okumura
Warren J. Kemmerling
General Goodhue
James Scott Hess
Colonel Raschen
Travis Swords
Major McDonough

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Koji Hashimoto
Writers: Lisa Tomei, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Hideichi Nagahara
Languages: English, Russian
Countries: United States of America, Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $4M — a 20.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Americanized Godzilla Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Koji Hashimoto, shot by Kazutami Hara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Koji Hashimoto directs. Kazutami Hara behind the camera. Reijirō Koroku scores. Yoshitami Kuroiwa cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Japan. Dialogue in English, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $4M — a 20.6× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
441 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Russian.
6International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Japan.
7Part of the "Americanized Godzilla Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
8Directed by Koji Hashimoto, shot by Kazutami Hara. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
9Original score by Reijirō Koroku. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
10Editor Yoshitami Kuroiwa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
11Raymond Burr and Keiju Kobayashi and Ken Tanaka carry the top of the cast.
12Marketing tagline: "Prepare yourself: the greatest star of all has returned.".
13IMDB entry: tt0087344 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
14Classified under 13 themes, including "japan", "helicopter", "monster", "submarine".
15Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kazutami Hara
Original score: Reijirō Koroku
Editing: Yoshitami Kuroiwa
Production design: Akira Sakuragi
Costume design: Kenji Kawasaki
Makeup / hair: Mary Michael George
Sound: John Wilkinson
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000
Box office: $4,116,395
Return: 2058% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Godzilla 1985 (1985)

Part of

Americanized Godzilla Collection

Because of the Godzilla franchise success in Japan, heavily re-edited "Americanized" versions of some films were made for a theatrical release more suitable for the American audience.