The Return of Godzilla (1984) on Netflix
NR19841h 43mHorrorSci-FiThriller
A fishing crew sees a monster rise from an erupting volcano. Reporter Goro Maki finds the survivor, Hiroshi Okumura, who says the creature is a new Godzilla. Officials suppress the story.
- Netflix2.4/5
- IMDb6.8/103,855 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes27%
Trailer
Plot summary
Days after the Yahata Maru's crew watches a giant monster emerge from the erupting volcano on Daikoku Island, reporter Goro Maki finds the Japanese fishing vessel intact, with all hands dead except Hiroshi Okumura, who is badly wounded. A giant Shockirus sea louse attacks Maki, and Okumura drives it off. In Tokyo, Okumura identifies the creature he saw as a new Godzilla and writes it up, but under government pressure Maki's editor withholds the article to prevent panic. Maki seeks out Professor Hayashida, whose parents died in Godzilla's 1954 attack, and at his laboratory meets Naoko Okumura, who learns her brother is alive in a police hospital. When a Soviet submarine is sunk in the Pacific and Moscow blames Washington, the Japanese reveal that Godzilla caused it.
Cast
Show all 20 cast
- Walter Nicholsas Rosenburg, Special Envoy for the President of the United States
- Takenori Emotoas Desk Editor Kitagawa
- Sho Hashimotoas Captain of Super X
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Return of Godzilla (1984)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Taking inspiration from the publicity around Dino De Laurentiis's 40-foot King Kong model, Toho spent a reported $420,000-$475,000 on a 16-foot-high robotic Godzilla, dubbed the Cybot, used for close-up shots of the creature's head.
- New World reportedly planned to rewrite the dialogue of its American version into a tongue-in-cheek comedy starring Leslie Nielsen, but dropped the plan because Raymond Burr, who took Godzilla as a nuclear metaphor seriously, objected.
- The Godzilla suit was built for stuntman Hiroshi Yamawaki, but he dropped out suddenly and was replaced by veteran suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, who had played Hedorah and Gigan. Because the 110 kg suit was not built to his measurements, Satsuma could last only ten minutes inside it and lost 12 pounds during filming.
- A Dr Pepper marketing director insisted that Raymond Burr drink Dr Pepper during a scene in the American version, a suggestion put to the actor by Kizer. Burr reportedly answered with one of his withering glares and said nothing.
- In the American version, Soviet Colonel Kashirin deliberately launches the nuclear missile instead of dying while trying to prevent its launch, a change director R. J. Kizer attributed to New World management's conservative leanings.
- The Return of Godzilla was the second Japanese film ever to use computer-generated imagery for visual effects, after Hashimoto's own debut Bye-Bye Jupiter (1984). The CGI was created by Japan Computer Graphics Lab, Japan's first commercial CG studio.
- Tanaka and Nakano supervised suit-maker Noboyuki Yasumaru in building a new Godzilla design with ears and four toes, features not seen since Godzilla Raids Again. Nakano added elements suggesting sadness, such as downward-slanting eyes and sloping shoulders.
- Hoping to keep Godzilla from moving in an overly human fashion, Nakano instructed suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma to base his movements on Noh, a traditional Japanese dance.
