CPB Writes

I'm pleased to announce that the Patreon for this site is live! $5 patrons have access to essays as they're completed as well as the occasional exclusive essay, while $2 patrons get to read everything that posts to the site a week early as well as a few bonus goodies. (Naturally, $5-tier subscribers also get access to everything at the $2 tier.) I'm hopeful that my work here can be a viable source of at least partial income for the forseeable future, so any support you can throw my way is greatly appreciated!

Here's an article I wrote for Left Voice on the classic Godzilla series at 70, including a recap of my analysis of the first film. Expect some clues in regards to what approaches I'll be taking in later We Call It Godzilla entries, as well. Enjoy!

Info Also Known As: Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956 US Edit); Japan Under the Terror of the Monster (Spain); Godzilla - the Monster from the Sea (Sweden); The Monster of the Pacific Ocean (Portugal); Doom Awakened (North Macedonia/Czechoslovakia); Godzilla, the Monster of the Century (Greece); Tokyo 1960 (Philippines) Director: Honda Ishiro. Screenplay: Murata Takeo and Honda Ishiro, from a story by Shigeru Kayama*. Director of Special Effects: Tsuburaya Eiji. Composer: Ifukube Akira.  Runtime: 96 minutes (Japan), 80 minutes (US edit) *Kayama’s estate prefers that his name be rendered in western order, from personal name to surname, so I have done so. What’s it About? This is the one that started it all, in vivid black-and-white. A series of disasters at sea leads to the discovery of a prehistoric, dinosaur-like marine creature that has been awakened, irradiated, and enraged by American hydrogen bomb tests off the coast of Japan. Before long, Gojira makes his way from sea...